Using a combination of multipole methods and the method of matched asymptotic expansions, we present a solution procedure for acoustic plane wave scattering by a single Helmholtz resonator in two dimensions. Closed-form representations for the multipole scattering coefficients of the resonator are derived, valid at low frequencies, with three fundamental configurations examined in detail: the thin-walled, moderately thick-walled and extremely thick-walled limits. Additionally, we examine the impact of dissipation for extremely thick-walled resonators, and also numerically evaluate the scattering, absorption and extinction cross-sections (efficiencies) for representative resonators in all three wall thickness regimes. In general, we observe strong enhancement in both the scattered fields and cross-sections at the Helmholtz resonance frequencies. As expected, dissipation is shown to shift the resonance frequency, reduce the amplitude of the field, and reduce the extinction efficiency at the fundamental Helmholtz resonance. Finally, we confirm results in the literature on Willis-like coupling effects for this resonator design, and connect these findings to earlier works by several of the authors on two-dimensional arrays of resonators, deducing that depolarizability effects (off-diagonal terms) for a single resonator do not ensure the existence of Willis coupling effects (bianisotropy) in bulk. This article is part of the theme issue 'Wave generation and transmission in multi-scale complex media and structured metamaterials (part 2)'.