Recently I got an email suggesting that that there was something deeply wrong with spending money in restaurants when there were homeless people on the streets. It's a valid point. Spending money in restaurants is a strange thing. There can be a lot of pleasure in good food, pleasing surroundings and convivial company, yet still there's a voice inside you saying you could have eaten at home for a week for that money, or indeed, so could someone else. But the same argument could be made about clothes. Is a £1,000 handbag justifiable? Or what about a £250,000 car? The more you think about it, there are things in just about every sphere that cost many times the average and are beyond the reach of the majority. What it comes down to is whether we have a right to spend our disposable income as we see fit.

All of the preceding remarks come as a result of an expensive meal - the most expensive of the past twelve months - so questions like value for money inevitably raise their heads. The restaurant in question is called 'The Kish' and it's part of the re-development of the old Coliemore Hotel, a place I remember well as a young man. My wife and I had arranged to meet our guests there and we arrived a little early, giving us plenty of time to take in the surroundings. They've only recently opened, so little things like a sign on the road announcing its whereabouts is still to be put in place. For the moment it's not that easy to find, as our guests, John and Isabella Boorman, discovered. But when you do find it, the first thing you notice from the car park is the amount of beautiful granite stonework around you. A flight of granite steps leads down to a courtyard with granite paving slabs and granite walls. A nice touch: as we neared the front door someone inside opened it for us.

Immediately inside there's a reception area with big Morocco leather-covered sofas and club chairs, which surround beautifully crafted low wooden tables. The ceiling in this area has tiny twinkling lights, like stars in the firmament, set into wood and the whole ceiling is sloped toward the windows, which look out over the sea. The curve of Dublin Bay is visible right out to Howth and on the night we were there a gibbous moon hung low in the sky, reflecting its light over the ripples of a calm sea. No doubt, it's a striking room. It's evident that much money has been spent. Inside, too, there's a lot of cut granite stonework, which harmonises well with the wooden floor and the slate inter-spacing.

While we were musing on the surroundings we were given menus and a wine list. Both of these have high prices - you have been warned. The menu has starters that run up to £13.00 and the main courses are all around £22, so if you were to have a dessert, which cost £7, you would find it easy to spend over £40 per person only on food. The wine list is a mixture of relatively unknown wines, some good French wines, and not too many under £20. Any that I knew appeared to be marked up higher than usual and in the end I chose the Australian Madfish Bay Chardonnay at £22, which is a fine wine despite its peculiar name.

With a little help from me flagging them down on the road outside, John and Isabella eventually found us and it was time to make our selections from the menu. The menu is heavily inclined to fish, which is no surprise given the location. A langoustine bisque for Isabella, roasted scallops for John, a langoustine salad for Susie and a pyramid of foie gras for me. To follow Isabella picked the fillet of cod, John had the black sole, Susie unusually decided to eat the fillet of beef and I had the fillet of brill. With that done and another bottle of the Madfish ordered we went to our table overlooking the sea.

First we were brought an amuse bouche of parsnip soup with a chicken raviolo, served as is becoming increasingly common, in an espresso cup. Both the soup and the immersed raviolo were very good and raised our expectations for what was to follow. Then came the breads, served from a wicker trug. There was a variety to choose from and I picked and enjoyed both the tomato and olive rolls.

The starters came and were beautifully presented. I was impressed throughout the meal by the quality of the crockery, cutlery, glassware and table accoutrements. Here, too, there has been no scrimping on quality. Of all the starters I'm happy to relate that mine was probably the best; a little round of foie gras entombed in a quivering pyramid of aspic. Delightful to eat with Melba toast and delightful to behold.

And all the while we were enjoying excellent service. Certainly the ratio of waiting staff to customers seemed higher than usual - although whether that was a function of the night we were there, I don't know. What it did mean, though, was that we never had a moment trying to catch a waiter's eye.

The main courses arrived and they were as beautifully presented as the starters. Since we'd all picked different dishes there was a lot of swapping and sampling to be done. They were all competently made and as I said, looked very well on the plate, but they were all, in a way, unremarkable. Good, even very good, but not excitingly good. But that said, there wasn't much left on the plates when they were cleared away and it was time for dessert. In the end we only ordered one and put it in the middle of table for all to share. A mix of meringue and parfaits in layers it was truly delicious - a good end to the meal.

The bill came to just over £60 a head, including service charge, which is expensive by any standards, but what you get in The Kish for your money goes a long way to softening the blow. A beautiful room with a stunning view, immaculate service and generously large tables with comfortable chairs. And talking of chairs, as we left we noticed the lift that's installed for wheel-chair access to the courtyard. Another nice touch. The affluent burghers of Dalkey should be well pleased to have this new addition to their dining choices. It takes courage to open a new restaurant and aim high right from the start; I wish The Kish well.