My guest was adamant; if we were going to review a restaurant together, it had to be in Bray. I've been told that Bray is one of the largest conurbations in Ireland, yet it supports surprisingly few restaurants. 'I think I've been to most of the restaurants in Bray already,' I said. 'What about the new one above the aquarium?' asked my soon-to-be guest. I had to confess that I didn't know there was a new one above the aquarium, so now that I was aware of it, the piscatorially named 'Barracuda' was where we decided to go. Bray happens to be the heartland and the constituency of my dinner companion that night, Liz McManus, so there was sense in her suggestion. And there was an added bonus; the night we went, there wasn't just a meal, there was a concert by Mary Coughlan as well.

Bray seafront has been much prettified of late, restoring it to something approaching the one-time elegance of its Victorian esplanade. The aquarium is almost in the middle of the promenade; a large, modern building that has some interesting architectural features, plus there's the intensely practical point that it's surrounded by acres of parking. As we walked along the seafront towards it, practically everyone on the pavement stopped to say hello to Liz - clearly she's held in much affection by the citizenry of Bray. Progress was slow, but eventually we arrived at Barracuda. The ground floor of the aquarium is mostly occupied by fish, but there is a bar area downstairs, and upstairs is where the restaurant is. After saying hello to loads of people in the bar, we went upstairs to the dining room to say hello to loads more.

It's a big dining room, a very big dining room. Visually, however, it's broken up by different levels and different areas defined by low partitions. We were sat by a window overlooking the sea, where the waves broke gently on the newly reconstructed strand. It took me a while to take in how big this place is; there were upwards of two hundred people there, but it didn't feel like it because of the way the room has been divided. The interior works very well; it's modern and uncluttered but with enough features to distract the eye. The central area has a suspended wooden ceiling whose design I rather liked and the whole thing has an airy and spacious feeling to it.

As soon as we sat down we were brought menus and a wine list. Since this was a special occasion there was a short menu with a set price of £25. It doesn't take a restaurant reviewer to realise that to serve 250 people quickly, you can't make food that takes a lot of last-minute preparation. Think of it as the sort of food that you might get at a wedding and you have it. Simple and a little unadventurous, to ensure that most palates will find it agreeable. So to be clear, the fact that it was a special occasion and special menu also means that I really don't know with how the restaurant operates on other nights of the week.

The choice of starters was a minestrone, a seafood chowder, breaded mushrooms in garlic butter and chicken liver pate. For main courses there was roast salmon steak, breast of chicken with a white wine sauce, a four-cheese ravioli and medallions of beef. Liz chose the minestrone followed by the salmon, while I picked the mushrooms and the beef. There was a one-page wine list for the night with plenty of wines for under £20, but in deference to my illustrious guest I picked the Marques de Caceres Reserva at £22, a good Spanish Rioja that went down well. A large bottle of mineral water completed our order.

With that done we were able to relax and chat while we waited for our food. I've known Bray fairly well for over twenty years and it has gone through something of a metamorphosis over those years. The Dart line has brought it a housing boom, the shops are catering increasingly for a discerning and affluent clientele and as I said, the seafront and promenade has had a lot of work done to it. It has the definite air of a town that's prospering. It can't be a coincidence that the energetic Liz McManus is a driving force in this town.

Our starters came and went uneventfully, and during our main courses Mary Coughlan began to sing accompanied at the piano by Professor Peter O'Brien. Despite the odd table of talkers and whisperers Mary soon had the room in her thrall. She was in wonderful voice and went through a playlist of great songs, from the blues of Etta James to the sophistication of Cole Porter. Frankly, I loved it. When we'd finished our main courses Mary was on a break between sets, and Liz took me over to meet her and her Italo-American husband. When Mary went back to the microphone, Liz and I went back to our table for puddings; an ice-cream for her and a pecan pie for me. I'm not usually a big fan of puddings, but the pecan pie was truly excellent. Couple this with Mary dedicating a song to that 'pretend Italian' while she pointed at me, and you can believe me when I tell you that I was more than contented.

With the concert over, we did a little social table-hopping and Liz introduced me to several Bray luminaries. There was a strong sense amongst them that they all wanted Barracuda to succeed, despite some reservations. 'I thought the food could have been better,' said one. I though about that, and replied that a four-course dinner with Mary Coughlan singing to you for £25, seemed like pretty good value to me. If it sounds like good value to you, then you can check it out yourself any Thursday night until April 12th.

As the witching hour approached it was time to go. The bill came to £74.95 not including service. Walking slowly down the promenade back to the car it occurred to me that for many years I've held politicians in the same sort of esteem that most people reserve for journalists. Over the course of this meal I realised how untenable an intellectual position that is. Liz McManus is impressive. This energetic, passionate and iconoclastic lady could make anyone who has lost their faith in politicians regain it with ease.