It's like a scene from a 1970s zombie movie, with its tottering parade of animated corpses weaving into the night.
That pungent smell rankling the nostrils is not, however, the stench of rotting flesh but the nefarious reek of beer and chips. Oh the horror, the horror . . .
While fries and kebabs remain firm favourites with most post-pub revellers, the deepening influence of continental cafe culture discernible around Dublin and other cities has fuelled a low-key renaissance in witching-hour dining habits. We're quite a distance from the round-the-clock cappuccino bars of London and Paris - the era of the boozy take-away promises to endure for some time to come - but a modicum of choice, at least, exists.
Dublin's Kaffe Moka (South Anne Street) leads this gentle revolution. The fare, while scarcely lavish, is light years from the McDelights elsewhere. Vaguely Mediterranean in tone, the restaurant serves a pleasantly varied sandwich selection bolstered by a range of tempting desserts. e Mocha's Kaffe Moka'smajor draw is the 4 a.m. closing-time at weekends. An artfully-appointed three-storey layout plays its part, too. The low lighting, Sunday supplement trip-hop and candle-in-wine-bottle decor is pure cliche, of course, but would you rather be queueing for garlic dip 'n' onion rings?
Close by, Sufi's Coffee Bar (Lower Stephen Street) is a snappy variation on the same theme. With a similar menu and opening hours (4 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 1 a.m. Thursday and Sunday), Sufi's is distinguished by its appealingly batty oblong layout. Affably disconcerting, especially after a few. The strawberry cheesecake demands attention - a thing of rare wonder.
Outside the city centre, Cafe Moda in Rathmines operates in the same vein. It's small and bustling with a menu weighed heavily towards Italian panini rolls. Its best feature is a cutesy games room secreted away behind the main dining area. Nothing beats a hand of whist after an evening on the tiles.
It would be remiss to cast an eye over Dublin's after-hours restaurant scene without reference to that hardy - if oft derided - perennial, the fast-food emporium. Cheap and nasty yes, but so, so necessary. Where else for a gratuitous feast at 3 a.m.? Having assiduously steered clear of the late night market for years, the big players, McDonalds and Burger King, recently bowed to the inevitable and extended their closing times to 3.30 a.m. at weekends. Must I really mention the food? Burger heaven or hell - depending on your inclination. Other notable players in this hotly-contested sector include home-grown chains Abrakebabra and Supermacs.
Both serve until 4 a.m. at weekends. Shackled by a strong, if sad, fondness for Ab-Kebab rooted in a squalid, and cash-strapped, undergraduate tenure I feel morally bound to wax lyrical over the exquisite delights of the chain's chicken baps - near transcendental if you're sufficiently tanked up on cheap lager. And the spongy green seats are kinda neat. If you're finishing a bit earlier, there's Pasta Fresca on Chatham Street, which opens 'til midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and there's always the old reliable, Bewleys on Grafton Street, which is open 'til 12.30 a.m. every day.
LATE-night coffee shops arrived with a flourish in Cork in the mid-1990s and the city is today strewn with artfully appointed cafes ideal for wantonly frittering away the wee hours. Tribes (Tuckey Street) caters for the glassy-eyed mobs sluicing each weekend from pubs and clubs lining neighbouring South Main Street. Rendered in delicious hardwoods, it offers a charismatic blend of broody ambience and quality munchies. What better postscript to an evening at nearby Sir Henry's nightclub, infamous for its heaving techno fests and poser-replete alternative rock evenings? The 3.30 a.m. closing time helps. Personal fave? The vanilla cappuccinos.
Kafkas (Maylor Street) comes over like a slumber-party for grown-ups - there are frumpy couches and voluptuous cushions everywhere. The standard menu is served until 3 a.m. Polos (Washington Street) and Oz (Grand Parade) drip kooky charm and dish out sumptuous sarnies. Unfortunately, closing time is set at a relatively early 11 p.m. Boo and indeed hiss, but "late night" for a cafe, I suppose. Sad to say, latenight eateries are notably scarce elsewhere although Galway's gaily bohemian Cafe Apostasy, makes the grade, not least for serving until 4 a.m.