The granddaddy of the capital's cafés, Bewley's Oriental Café recently came within a heartbeat of extinction, after having served coffee and sticky buns to Dubliners since its founding by the Quakers in 1842. Fortunately the old dame has been saved and turned into a combination café, pizza, and pasta joint, with a quality fish restaurant on the first floor. Best of all the new owners have brought back some of the old grandeur associated with Bewley's, including the exotic picture wallpaper and trademark stained-glass windows, designed by the distinguished early-20th-century artist Harry Clarke. The place is worth a visit if only to sit in the super-comfortable velvet seats over a cup of quality coffee, and people-watch just like Dubliners have for well over 150 years. There's even a cute little theater upstairs with lunchtime shows. The ticket price (EUR 14) incudes homemade soup and a sandwich.