Stefanie Preissner: My Dublin Favourites

What do you like best about Dublin?

I love the proximity to everything. It doesn’t feel stultifying or provincial and yet I can pretty much walk anywhere I need to go. Also – Dublin Bikes is the only subscription that makes me smile when I see it coming out of my bank account. It’s such an efficient and useful service.

What do you think is the most iconic thing about modern Dublin?

Unfortunately, it’s the extortionate rent prices and the housing crisis that seem to have become a virus we can’t get ahead of.

What is your favourite place to eat?

I go through phases of eating the same thing for lunch every day. Tang, Sprout and Kokoro Sushi are always good. Dublin has a pronounced strength when it comes to great, diverse food.

Dublin’s best bar?

I don’t drink so can I choose Sprout & Co. Salad Bar? I know you don’t make friends with salad...

Where do you like to pick up ingredients for cooking?

I pick up the bulk of my groceries in Dunne’s while I’m doing a grocery shop for my Nana, but I have been known to travel to Avoca for some of their fresh produce straight from local farms.

Where do you shop for clothes?

Athliesure is my happy place. When I have to get dressed up, I tend to borrow from my friends and family. On my book tour last month, Síle Seoige and Amy Huberman gave me dresses and I felt like a kid dressing up in my big sister’s clothes.

Favourite Dublin building?

The building on the corner of Parliament Street and the quays is cool. It has the story of how soap is made decorated onto its facade. It used to be a Johnson & Johnson building I think.

Your Dublin music?

Myself and a very special someone send each other Dermot Kennedy songs on Spotify when we’re thinking of each other. So Dermot is a current favourite – but if it all goes belly up, he’ll be added to the ‘Cannot Listen To’ pile with Adele and the Counting Crows.

Favourite Dublin neighbourhood?

I love Cabra. It’s close to my friends, not far from my nana and they have a Roosters Piri Piri chicken wing spot. It’s the place to be!

Your Dublin hero?

Dustin! Growing up he was a bold genius. I listened to his album Unplucked on repeat for years. To this day I can’t listen to ‘Walk This Way’ without adding Dustin’s asides under my breath.

What is your most loved spot in Dublin to catch some me-time?

On the 122 bus. I love taking the bus. I’m lucky because I never have to travel during rush hour, so I find it quite relaxing.

What is your favourite place to bring friends / family when they visit Dublin?

I like to bring my Mam to the Ramen Bar on South William Street. It’s dark and quiet and you forget you’re in Dublin City centre. Outside of that, you’ll find me showing people around Blanchardstown Shopping Centre. I’m not really one for being out in nature, so I’m sorry for my consumerist answers. I hear the Phoenix Park is lovely…

• Stefanie Preissner’s Can I Say No? is out now published by Hachette