My Dublin: The city according to singer Farah Elle

Farah Elle is a Libyan-Irish composer and performer based on the Meath coast.

With her new single Play It By Ear available today (20th), she tells us all about her favourite haunts and hangouts in the city, and closer to home…

Home is…

I live on the Meath coast, with family – I’ve been living here since I was 10.

It’s one of these towns that there isn’t really a whole lot happening, but it’s very quaint and it has a huge mix of people that have left Dublin to get a bit more of a nature experience, so there are loads of poets and artists. It’s a very creative spot.

How I get around the city:

Driving is kind of a necessity for me because of where I live. I’d usually drive in and leave the car somewhere around Phibsborough, and I’d walk around.

I think Dublin, especially on a sunny day, is honestly just one of the best places that you can be. There is something very special about it. On the other hand, Dublin on a rainy day is so grim. So I am very pick and choosy about how much time I spend in the city.

The best place in the city for a date:

Glas [on Chatham Street] – it’s this fabulous vegan and veggie restaurant. It’s just such an experience.

It’s not the type of place where you would go and have a massive carvery-type feed. It’s got lots of little meals, full of flavour, and you have to take your time with every single bite and just experience it. I totally love it there, it’s such a vibe.

My favourite restaurant in Dublin:

Token – the food there is so good. It’s this spot in Smithfield, and it’s actually an arcade bar, but you can also eat and drink there and you can take your food with you, so I collect it and take it home.

They have a whole vegan menu, and it’s super-delicious. I’ve been there once for the arcade vibe, but it’s not really my kind of thing. It was fun, but the food is the winner.

My go-to café or coffee shop:

There’s this one in the city called WokeCup Café, again in Smithfield – really yummy coffee – and then there’s this place called Ariosa By The Sea in Laytown [in Meath].

It’s overlooking the sea and the coffee is so delicious. They have this little seating area and it’s a little sun trap, and I just love going there in the mornings with my notebook and having a coffee and writing and looking at the sea. It’s just perfect.

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Where I get my exercise:

My thing is just being in nature. I love uphill walking – I don’t like flat ground, really – so I love walking around Howth or Killiney, where the environment is so beautiful and you can walk for hours. That’s my favourite thing.

I love playing football for fun, and I have a pair of rollerblades that I always say I should use more. As long as it’s fun for me and it doesn’t feel like I’m exercising on purpose, that’s my favourite kind.

My favourite shops:

Lucy’s Lounge is really nice, old second-hand shop in Temple Bar. They have a lot of artists making stuff and selling it in there, and I just love that.

But my favourite kind of atmosphere is a market. Blackrock Market is a lovely one and Dún Laoghaire has a good market. Anywhere where there’s a market, basically, I’m all over it!

I think it’s because it’s part of Libyan culture to go to the market and haggle, so I associate markets with holidays and family time. I’m so good at haggling, I literally have zero shame!

My favourite place for a pampering session:

There’s a nail bar in the city that’s not bad at all. It’s called K Nails and it’s just across from MusicMaker [on Exchequer Street]. If I’m getting my nails done in the city, I’ll go there.

The other day, I went for a massage in a place called Himalayan Beauty off Stephen’s Green, and that was lovely.

My favourite place in Dublin to get away from it all:

Killiney Hill – you sort of you have this balance of forest and seaside, and you also feel like you’re on a mountain. You feel like you can see the whole world from the top.

It’s really good for perspective and outstandingly beautiful nature. It’s quite peaceful out there.

My favourite place to let my hair down:

I’d say Yamamori Tengu is a good spot. They have good DJs and nights for people from all over the world. It’s such a good vibe if you just want to dance.

I was a Valentine’s ball with a group of my friends and we danced to 4am there. It was loads of brilliant music [like] Afrobeat, and such a good atmosphere.

The last live event I went to:

Isn’t it shocking that the last one I went to was my own? In March, I had a gig in the Sugar Club.

I sort of feel like I’m starting again now, which is really good and exciting in its own way, because it kind of feels like a new beginning.

Dublin’s best kept secret:

There’s this place called the basin in Blessington Street and it’s so lovely. I’m housesitting at the moment; my friend has this little rooftop garden that looks over the basin and I spent my morning there.

It’s so random, because it’s right in the middle of quite a busy part of town, but it doesn’t feel like you’re in town at all when you’re there.

Farah Elle’s new single Play It By Ear is out now. A debut album is forthcoming.