There are a few trips that I've been saving for the advent of good weather - which has turned out to be a somewhat longer wait than I was expecting. One of these was a visit to Enniscree Lodge, which is at the top end of Glencree with impressive views of the valley and the Wicklow Hills. For me it's a drive across the Sally Gap, which on long, bright summer evenings is a real pleasure. When a single such evening eventually arrived, my wife and I grabbed the opportunity and set off for dinner.

Arriving in the gravelled car-park I was struck by the number of British registered cars - clearly this is place on the tourist map. After admiring the view for a bit in the evening sunshine we walked up a set of welcoming-looking steps that lead from the car-park into a pretty garden and from there up a paved path to patio doors with a sign on them saying 'Please use the other door.' A gentle stroll back down the garden, through the car park and round the other side of the building took us to the front door and in.

Inside we found a small bar with a blazing fire where we were made comfortable and given menus and a wine list. I was just about to remark to Susie how young the wine waiter seemed when it occurred to me that he was about the same age as I was when I started a restaurant. I kept the thought to myself and rued the passing of the years. The wine list has about fifty wines, and the vast majority fall into the £15-25 range which is nice to see. I chose a Chilean Cabernet from it which happened to be out of stock. My second choice was the Brown Brothers Cabernet from Australia at £17.50. I was asked if I wanted it on the table and I said I did, and two bottles of mineral water as well. The menu is a table d'hote at £26 which comprises a choice of starters, a sorbet, a choice of main courses and then puddings or cheese.

For starters Susie chose dill-cured salmon with saffron mayonnaise and I picked roast pigeon breast. To follow Susie chose duck breast with a lime and cassis sauce while I chose the sirloin steak with forest mushroom sauce. After a while we were shown to our table which was next to one of the large picture windows in the dining room and afforded us a great view across the valley. The background music was playing 'O mio babbo caro' which was used in 'A Room with a View' as the lovers frolicked in the hills above Florence, so with the impressive view unfolding before us, it seemed unusually appropriate.

The table was nicely laid with linen, which I like, and there was a tray of two breads - the brown I liked a lot, the sweeter white, dense and under-yeasted, less so. As promised our wine was on the table and as we ate our starters it became apparent it was going to stay there unless I poured it myself, which I did. I was a little surprised that no one came to go through the little ceremony of pouring and tasting to see if the wine was to our satisfaction. As it happens, it was - but I still missed the ritual. Susie's starter was good with a well-balanced sauce and my pigeon breast was tasty, but a little overcooked for my taste. The salmon was served with potato salad, and mine was served on a potato cake with some scattered salad leaves, which seems to be becoming the norm for the presentation of anything.

Next came the sorbet, which was flavoured with passion fruit and came complete with a few seeds. I like the idea of a sorbet in a meal, it refreshes the palate after anything rich and leaves you in better shape for the main course. The main courses arrived and as with the starters, were presented on the omni-present potato cakes. Around the central pile of both dishes there was half a boiled potato, one florette of broccoli, a section of courgette stuffed with chopped tomato, and two baby sweetcorns. Both dishes came with a dark jus on the plate. I don't want to be pedantic here, but at this time of year the only fresh forest mushrooms available are morels - otherwise you have to use dried mushrooms, which need to be re-constituted in water. The ones on my steak had not been properly reconstituted and were hard and chewy, but the meat was good and I ate it with pleasure. I enjoyed a piece of Susie's duck as well, the cassis in the sauce making a delicate balance of sweetness with the lime.

Once we'd finished our main course there was plenty of time to look around the room because we sat in front of empty plates for over twenty minutes. Once again I find myself writing that one person serving six tables is simply not sufficient. The waitress was working hard, and as fast as she could, but there should have been someone else. At £26 a head for a set dinner I want more than perfunctory service. When I think of it now, not only had no one poured my wine, no one had come to ask if the meal was to our liking. Not major complaints, but enough to niggle. Susie stared out of the window while we waited patiently. 'Great view,' she said.

Eventually we ordered our desserts; a warm citrus fruit tart and a chocolate terrine with a berry sauce. My tart was beautifully made and tasted very good indeed and Susie's terrine was rich and luscious. They were the real stars of the meal. We finished our meal with acceptable cafetierestyle coffee. We looked out of the window at the crepuscular sky. It really is a wonderful view. And yet I felt oddly discontent. The two people who had served us were friendly and polite, the food had been competent, if unexciting - the room has a view. So why the discontent? I suppose that the no-frills service had left me expecting more from the food. I mean, if you're not paying for amazing service then you must be paying for the food. But the main courses had been something of let down, so I was left with the view. Enniscree Lodge is a very pretty place that is trying hard, but it would need some adjustment of either price, food or service before I could be persuaded to return.