A leading chef has hit out at restaurant prices in the Republic, saying they need to drop by at least a third.

Ken Hom, a star of BBC cookery shows, said he was "shocked" by prices Irish restaurants are charging and said they would have to drop their prices to survive.

"It used to be property prices in Ireland I couldn't believe. Now it's what restaurants charge over here. I was pretty shocked dining out in Dublin," Mr Hom said.

"These establishments could all drop their prices by at least a third. Instead of dining out regularly, people will confine eating out to special occasions. The only way restaurants can survive in Ireland is to begin offering diners value for money."

However Irish restaurateur Derry Clarke, the owner of L'Ecrivain, disagreed with Mr Hom.

"Ken must be off his head. I'm doing lunch now for €25.

"A third off that would be fast food prices. All over Ireland restaurants have been attempting to give customers better value for money," he said.

Mr Hom, who visited Dublin yesterday to mark the dawn of the Chinese New Year and to promote a new Tesco meal range bearing his name, said the high prices charged by Irish restaurants have left him considering opening his own Dublin establishment.

"I'd love to open a place in Dublin which would offer good value for money and somewhere where the Irish people wouldn't be charged an arm and a leg.

"I know the restaurant owners have to pay high rents but these shouldn't be passed on to the customers in the form of sky high prices."