Another immigrant that I know once likened arriving in Ireland to landing in a vat of treacle - in the sense that once it's savoured it's very hard to leave. I was eighteen when I got here and I haven't left yet. I can remember after a week or so of savouring undergraduate delights thinking to myself 'I could live here very easily'. It's a very welcoming country and the way of life is deeply seductive; craic agus ceoil exert a powerful pull. My guest and I discussed this over dinner, because like me she came to TCD and then intended to leave, and just like me she hasn't managed yet.

Amber Ryan is an Australian, who knows a thing or two about food and wine. Actually this isn't surprising, there's a strong and healthy restaurant scene in Sydney and Australian chefs are good at combining Western and Eastern approaches to cookery. In recent years they've been as inventive with their cookery as they have with their wine-making and the thought did occur to me that this would be a perfect opportunity to try an Australian restaurant. The logistics of the driving made this difficult, so instead we set off for Bond, a restaurant with a modern feel at the fashionable end of Gardiner Street.

Bond is on the corner with a view of Gandon's Customs House and it's bright and airy. There are wooden tables made of dark, thick traves some of which are surrounded by benches made of the same sized wood. They're attractive to the eye, but I'd guess not very comfortable for a long sit. Some of tables have stacking chairs around them, that although not padded, do give a little comfort, so we chose a table for two that had them. Before you get too comfortable there's a trip downstairs to make. The reason is that downstairs, apart from housing the loos, is set out like a wine shop - which it is. A couple of hundred wines are on display and you can buy them as you would in an off-license, or you can pick one for your meal. There's a standard corkage charge of £5 which is added to the downstairs cost. It's an idea that I like a lot and I'd love to see it more frequently. Bond also do a range of bottled beers.

But before we went in search of wine we picked out our meals. It's not a long menu, but there are some interesting dishes on it. As an aside, the price structure is a little out of the ordinary. It's a pretty general rule in restaurants that if the starters are under a fiver, you can expect main courses in the £10-£15 range and with starters in the £5 to £10 range you'll find main courses from £15-£20. Bond doesn't fit this pattern - starters are mostly under a fiver, but the main courses run up to £22, which in my view unbalances the menu. Apart from the starters and main courses there are pizzas at £6.95, and assuming that I read the menu correctly, they have some extraordinary toppings like roasted pears and Cashel Blue cheese, and spiced chicken and melted Gouda. Interestingly different, but not something I'd be in a hurry to try.

Obviously we were going to drink an Australian wine, so I asked Amber to pick one from the many on display downstairs. She picked one out almost at once, a Riesling varietal from the Leeuwin Estate on the Margaret River. 'One of my mother's favourite places on earth - and see that painting on the label? That's by John Olsen, one of Australia's best-known painters. We gave one to my mother for her birthday.' I'm glad she was able to make the choice, because most of Australian wines displayed were totally unknown to me. A good choice it was too, not a flowery Riesling but faintly perfumed at £13.95 plus £5 corkage.

Back at the table there was a tiny wait before the starters arrived; the chicken spring rolls for Amber and the prawn, scallop and squid fritto for me. These were both good, but for once I got the better of the deal - the fritto misto was perfectly done; tender rings of squid in a crisp batter, with no trace of residual cooking oils. The wine was slipping down easily, the service was friendly and casual, the conversation was stimulating. All the ingredients for a happy evening's dining, with the possible exception of a hard chair.

For her main course Amber had chosen one of the daily specials, on this evening a veal chop served with bok choi and I'd chosen the roast Barbary duck. These were both competently made, although you could eat in some of Dublin's finest restaurants at these main course prices. Still, I reasoned to myself, you'd be paying a whole deal more for your wine in those same restaurants, so I decided it was a question of swings and roundabouts. Both of our main courses were generous in portion and we both more or less managed to clear the plates.

Feeling a little replete, we had a hiatus before attempting a dessert, during which time I learnt a little more about life in the Antipodes. Never having been there, I'm now left with a strong urge to do so. With this little pause out of the way, we shared a dessert between us, a vanilla crème caramel that rounded off the meal well.

They take their coffee seriously here, so I had an espresso while Amber had a digestif. It was good too, but the pretty little demitasse was designed without a handle, so fingers made of asbestos would have helped. I enjoyed my evening in Bond; it has some innovative touches in its menu and I liked its approach to the wine list. Our bill came to £76.10, not including service.