If you want to be where in the right place to soak in Dublin society atmosphere and spot some well known faces from theatre and film hit the Unicorn restaurant on a Friday for lunch. Book the last sitting and you can stay all afternoon. The service can be slow but for atmosphere and decent Italian food it can't be beaten. Then head over the road to Doheny and Nesbitt for a drink or two and join the mass madness that is Dublin for those who are middle aged and really know how to enjoy a night out. The Ely wine bar is around the corner and serves great wines by the glass or bottle and good food to go with it.

Other people watching spots:

A window table in Hogan's Pub on South Great Georges Street, huge glass windows give you a great view on Dubliners passing by. The crowd inside are office proffesionals, bikers, students, gays, tourists. A great Dublin mix.

A windowseat in Fitzer's in Temple Bar, any time of day or night, and they do a great value early bird to boot.

Trastevere in Temple Bar- all the external walls are glass, and they have outdoor dining in the main square of Temple Bar during the summer

A drink at the Bailey on Duke St where young Dublin's beautiful set hang out once the sun starts to shine 

"Little Italy" - Quartiere Bloom on the banks of the northside of the Liffey has introduced a number of Italian Entoecas and Tavernas with outdoor seating and lots of glass to watch the city go about it's business, great antipasti and excellent wines make for a very enjoyable afternoon

St Stephen's Green/the Iveagh Gardens - grab a sandwich at lunchtime and head into the park, a great mix of  students, tourists, toddlers and officeworkers take to the green to soak the sun and feed the ducks if there's any heat at all.

One of the best streets in Dublin to relax for a few hours outside(if the weather holds!!) is South WIlliam St., with the best spots for nibbles and coffee being ' Lunch', and ' Lemon', both beside each other (well, the Port House is in the middle of them but you cannot miss either of them).  Particularly recommended in 'Lunch' is their spicy beef pizza, served with salsa, guacamole and sour cream and tortilla chips on top of spicy beef, peppers and cheese- absolutly fab, will fill you for hours and at €11.50 not at all expensive- will definitly do two people for a light lunch!  'Lemon' does amazing crepes and coffee, one of the nicest sweet crepes is the choc buttons and Baileys crepe, served with vanilla Icecream, v.yum, and about €5.50.

For a more substantial dinner, and a beverage or few, The Clarendon Pub, Clarendon Street (around the corner from the aforementioned places) is another great bar, really well designed with the nicest staff in Dublin, not to mention the food!  They have a great outdoor area at the front of the bar, and the entire front of the building is floor to ceiling glass.  Everything on the main course menu is very well priced, between €10-€16, and the nicest, most reasonably priced steak served in a bar! The desserts shouldn't go without a mention either, but as they do change the menu from time to time; let's just say they're all good!