Saba, 7 South William Street, Dublin 2

Cocktails and Thai food for lunch? Yes, please. Saba, the award-winning Thai and Vietnamese restaurant has relocated from Clarendon Street to South William Street. The new location is a magnificent Georgian building whose stunning features have lovingly been restored. The space includes exposed brick walls, walnut floors and a large glass roof which floods the room with light. The lunch menu at both the South William Street and the Kildare Village locations feature equal amounts of both lighter and heartier dishes and of course, as a reward for braving the Christmas crowds, a selection of unique cocktails. Phuket Passion anyone? www.sabadublin.com

Donnybrook Fair, Dundrum Town Centre

Located in Dundrum Town Centre’s Pembroke Square quarter, the stunning new food emporium from Donnybrook Fair is a cornucopia of all things food related. The new space features a food market on the ground floor and The Loft Restaurant and bar on the first floor which opens this weekend. Its location makes it the perfect stop off for a relaxed lunch, far from the madding crowd. Open Monday to Wednesday, 8am – 6pm and Thursday to Saturday, 8am – 9:30pm. www.donnybrookfair.ie

Lennan’s Yard, Dawson Street, Dublin 2

The newly opened Lennan’s Yard on Dublin’s Dawson Street is bound to have something that takes your fancy with its cocktail bar, restaurant and gastropub in the former Savills auctioneer’s premises, hidden away behind 14-15 St Stephen’s Green. The lunch menu features a selection of four starters and five mains with various sides to choose from, all of which are individually priced. Mains include hake Kiev with curried crab, Muscat grapes and squid ink aioli or a sharing striploin from Peter Hannan. Intrigued? We certainly are. www.instagram.com/lennansyard/

Sprout Kitchen, Kildare Village

Lunch at the newly opened Sprout at Kildare Village would certainly have the ability to fuel a frenzied shopping spree this December, with none of the guilt attached (not that we would ever subscribe to that!). Seasonal specials include The Sprout Christmas Bowl which is chock full of herb roasted chicken, local Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, festive nutty bulgur, pomegranates, shredded kale and fresh cranberry vinaigrette with crispy sourdough stuffing. For the vegan palate, the Vegan Hoisin Shrooms with spicy tofu, brown rice, hoisin mushrooms, shredded kale, red cabbage, spring onion, pickled beansprout and carrot, red chili and tamari spiced seeds with ginger sesame dressing sounds good enough to tempt even this carnivore to the dark side. www.sproutfoodco.com

Container Coffee, Thomas St., Dublin 8

Perhaps it’s just us, but there appears to be a distinct lack of Christmas sandwiches around. Admittedly, we have just passed over into December, so we assume our feeds will be bombarded in the next couple of weeks with sandwiches piled high with turkey and all the trimmings. For now, the Christmas sandwich from Container Coffee looks dreamy to us and appears to be filled with all sorts of oozing cheesiness on top of all the usual suspects. There is even some greenery in there for good measure. For afters, the Christmas cookies also look decidedly delicious. www.containercoffee.ie