Meal Ticket: Punnet Food Emporium, Dublin 2

This small U-shaped premises starts out as a health food store, reaches a coffee dock and juicing station and takes a sharp turn right to a deli and an indoor seating area. Far nicer on these spring mornings is to take a seat outside and watch the workers scurrying along.

Open from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (weekends are in the pipeline), Punnet is packed from first light. It’s one of the few places in the area offering excellent coffees (hand roasted by McCabes in Co Wicklow) and a huge range of Pukka and Clipper teas. They stock more than 50 flavours and if you don’t find one you like behind the counter, you’re invited to grab a box from the shop and they’ll make it for you.

There’s a fridge of cold pressed juices for €5 a pop. The celery, cucumber, ginger, spinach, kale, apple, lime and avocado is very good. They do 3- and 5-day cleanses (€75-€130) and people are collecting their allocation on the morning we visit. Breakfast comes in a pot, a wrap or a bowl. The best is the wrap (€3.95), which is loaded with fresh avocado, quinoa, egg, beetroot, tomato and sage pesto, and will keep you going long past lunchtime.

Although lunch is pretty tasty too: there’s a selection of wraps, including a healthy seaweed wrap (using nori sheets instead of bread) with broccoli, avocado, carrot, ginger, quinoa and leaves (€5) and some interesting salad boxes with a choice of one leaf, servings of vegetables, one meat and one sauce for €6.95.

There’s some homemade protein balls (€3.95) and some of the healthiest caramel slices around, made with almonds, coconut oil, maple syrup, tahini and other healthy ingredients. They’re not cheap at €3.95 each, but the burgeoning health food market and rise in Paleo die-hards have proven a real money spinner in Ireland and people are happy to stump up for high-protein treats.

Another trend available at Punnet is “Bulletproof coffee”: black coffee with unsalted butter and “Brain Octane Oil”. Proponents claim the creamy combo turns your cup of coffee into a potent source of health and energy. Yes, I don’t buy it either. But others do and two people order a cup (€3.50) while I’m queuing for my bog standard - and very satisfying - Americano (€2.60).