Restaurants are feeling the pinch of harder economic times in Dublin city and are closing in record numbers this year, according to new figures.
Anecdotal evidence of a downturn with recent high-profile restaurant closures has now been backed up by figures compiled by the Restaurants Association of Ireland (RAI) which suggest that the failure rate has doubled in the last year.
The RAI has lost 20 members in the first six months of this year, the majority of them from restaurant closures in the Dublin area, double the rate of previous years.
The new figures come as one of the city's most successful restaurateurs warned that there were now too many restaurants in the capital.
Mr Derry Clarke, chef and owner of L'Écrivain, said restaurants would have to provide "quality and value" if they were to survive.
He was speaking at Food and Wine magazine's annual awards, where he was named chef of the year, while L'Écrivain won Restaurant of the Year.
Mr Clarke, whose restaurant received a Michelin star this year, said he had not been adversely affected by the economic downturn.
"We've had a very good year this year," he said. "People who do a top job will survive.
"But I do think there are too many restaurants in Dublin at the moment, and more will close.
"Some restaurants opened as the boom took off, and their business hasn't been justified in terms of quality.
"They have relied too much on tourism, rather than developing a broad customer market."
Mr Clarke believes restaurants should concentrate on "minding the customers you have".
His comments were echoed by Mr Tom Mythen, chairman of the RAI, who said there was a "shakeout" in the sector in Dublin.
"We've lost 20 members in first six months of this year," he said.
"It's been a very uneven season, but people are definitely being more careful with their euro.
"They are looking twice before they spend it. People who might have been eating out twice a week are only doing it once a week."