Moore Street in Dublin 1 is becoming a food district. It’s where the Paris Bakery was opened in November by French baker Yannick Forel. He used to work as a baker at BrookLodge Hotel and was involved in the patisserie at Fallon Byrne before opening his own place. The cafe has the kinds of bread and artfully made pastries you get in villages in France. The bakers bake the bread from 10pm the previous night until 7am. The pastries are prepared from 4am until 11am. Forel has tentative plans to open a patisserie school in the building and they are trying to find a southside location in which to expand.

The “baguette du chef” costs €1.60 and has that soft crust finish that makes the pre-made, twice-baked French sticks we’re used to seem like plywood. I buy two mini Danish pastries, one with cinnamon and one with raisins, a loaf of herbes-de-Provence bread, a baguette and a lemon tart. The pastries are delicious. You can eat in or take it all home. My bill is €11.90. The baguette bag hangs off my handlebars on the way home and I am unable to resist tearing off a small piece at every red light. Those with longer journeys may want to buy two baguettes at a time to avoid arriving home with an empty bag and a guilty, flour-dusted face.

The Paris Bakery, 18 Moore Street, Dublin 1, tel: 01-8044112