Wicklow has this much in common with ancient Gaul: you can divide it into three parts. There's the Northern bit, which serves as a green surround to Dublin, the Southern bit which bases itself around Arklow, and the Western bit across the Wicklow Gap, of which I know little. What I can tell you about Wicklow folk is that if they're not going to Dublin to eat, the choices are few, and of those few that do exist, not all are wonderful. Which is surprising, as Wicklow has grown in population faster in recent years than most counties. So when Wicklow resident Harry Harrison told me about a good restaurant on the Quays in Wicklow town I was intrigued, pleased and curious.

I'd spent mid-summer's day with the artist Susan Morley at the geographical centre of Ireland; Uisneach. It was a celebration for World Prayer and Peace Day and I felt much uplifted by the experience, and in particular by the place itself, which oozes pre-Celtic earth-magic from every boulder and tussock. No better place to be, I thought, to celebrate the solstice. For once the rain held off, a balmy breeze blew and all felt right with the world as a wonderfully mixed and colourful group of people celebrated the lighting of the sacred fire. Back in Wicklow by evening, the sun was still unshrouded as we parked on the Quays and watched it setting - a rosy pink glow suffusing the buildings that line the riverside.

Rugatino's River Café is right on the river. You walk in to an oblong room, the far side of which is entirely picture windows overlooking the estuary. A deck runs the whole length outside, and a few tables are in place out there for the adventurous or mad, who want to eat there while in turn being eaten by midges. There's a pronounced aquatic theme in the décor; a beautifully built Edwardian wooden scull hangs from the ceiling while the walls are covered with photographs of people and boats. We were lucky enough to be shown to one of the window tables, where we looked across at the seemingly derelict Wire Ropes building and fantasised about being property developers. Ah, what beauty we'd bring to the quays if only we'd had a few million to spend..

Rugatino's is called a café and the décor is entirely in keeping with that. Good-sized, plain wooden tables are simply set with decent cutlery and crockery and it's busy and noisy, just like a good café should be. I started with the wine list and once again this week I found a very reasonably priced list. It's not a long list, two side of an A4 sheet, but there's plenty of choice under £20. They're mostly New World wines; Australian, Chilean and South African, but there's a few French classics as well, like Chablis and Chateau Neuf de Pape. A couple of house wines are on offer for £10.50. Finding a list that's reasonably priced like this one puts me in a good mood at once, and makes me more receptive to the place in general. Seeing as how it was the mid-summer festival, the Artist and I felt that a bottle of bubbly might go down well. A bottle of the Australian Angas Brut at £20 filled the bill.

The menu is very much in the today's mod-med style. New Zealand green-lipped mussels, quenelles of goats cheese, smoked duck antipasto, spicy chicken wings, melon and Parma ham, deep-fried potato skins, all of which came in the £5 to £7 bracket. Main courses included simple dishes like grilled sirloin steak as well as more interesting dishes like fillet of beef teriyaki, pan-seared gravadlax of salmon, barbecued lamb cutlets, tandoori spiced monkfish, pan-fried veal escalopes with a sage and juniper berry beurre blanc, a supreme of chicken stuffed with brie and a seared Barbary duck breast. All main course came with a selection of vegetables or a salad and cost between £13 and £16.

After endless deliberation the Artist decided to have the smoked duck salad from the menu and the fresh tuna steak special from the blackboard. I did it the other way round and had the potato cakes with bacon from the blackboard and the veal from the menu. A plate of home-made bread arrived and we settled in to waiting for the food. The Artist had a Good Feeling about it, and when the starters arrived she was proved correct. I perfunctorily tasted her duck, and she grudgingly tasted my potato cakes, but the fact was that we were both delighted with our own choices.

Main courses came and the effect was much the same. Susie wanted me to taste her tuna, which she pronounced 'exquisite', but frankly I had no intention of letting anything interfere with the taste of my veal escalopes, which were about as perfect as I've had in a while. Whoever was in the kitchen, we decided, knew what they were doing. There was delicacy of touch in every part of this meal and a deftness with flavours, which is the mark of a really fine chef. Up to this point the meal had been faultless, so I wasn't going to leave without tasting the desserts.

The temptations on offer included a double chocolate Swiss torte, passion fruit roulade, a cappuccino and nut gateau, strawberry Romanov torte, a Boston key lime mascarpone and a crème fraiche cheese cake, all of which were priced at £3.95. A passion fruit roulade for Susie and a strawberry torte for me completed this excellent meal.

Finding good food in pleasing surroundings with reasonably priced wine is what I'm endlessly looking for. Imagine my pleasure at finding such a place so close to home. We settled a bill of £76.45 and it was time to go home into the barely dark night.