'It might be a bit of fun', said Rita Crosbie, 'just as long as you don't mind being at a table with only women.' I thought about that for a moment, then decided that it might be quite nice to be the only man. 'As long as you promise to be gentle,' I said. Seems that Rita and Irene and Bernadine and Loretta have a girlie night out every now and then and this time the venue was 'The Bistro' which has, said Rita, quite the best lighting of any restaurant in Dublin. I had a notion that if the artist Susan Morley and me were to join this group from the start, reviewing the restaurant might take second place to the conversation, so in the end Susie booked us a table for two, Rita booked a table for four and we decided to meet up once we'd finished eating. Good plan.

Now if there was even a lingering qualm about being the only male, entering the restaurant could well have exacerbated it. There two rooms, one for non-smokers and one for those who do, and on first glance both rooms were filled entirely with women. Tables of four, six, and even eight contained not one solitary male. Even the waiting staff were female. The air was thick with oestrogen, scent and laughter. We sat at a good-sized table and looking around the room I saw that there was one other man, making me feel less like a fish out of water. I've mentioned it before, I know, but it's still a puzzle to me. Where are the men? Baby-sitting? Watching football? In the pub? I can't think of another country where the sexes are so unevenly represented in restaurants, except maybe restaurants in countries with a strict Islamic code, where you can find only men. Any theories on this would be gratefully accepted.

The first thing that struck me was how right Rita was about the lighting. It's about as perfect as I've come across. Each table has its own soft downlighting as well as proper candles - enough light to read the menu, but gentle enough to make everyone look as good as possible. Could that be an answer to my question? Anyway, the effect is soothing, so you begin the evening with a sense of well-being. The room, too, is nicely decorated; brick and wood have been sensitively combined, there are pastel shades on the walls and some colourful paintings. Thinking about the candles, it occurred to me how much more pleasing the light from real candles is, as opposed to the omnipresent night-lights, with their pathetic luminary output.

There were two menus to look through, both of them a la carte, and they had just the sort of dishes listed you'd expect to see on a bistro menu, nothing very haute cuisine, just good, reliable dishes at middle-of-the-road prices. Starters, in the 5.50 - 9.50 euro range, included a good pate, deep-fried Brie, baked wild mushrooms, crab cakes and chicken won tons. Susie chose the Caprese salad and I picked the antipasto - a mixed plate of prosciutto, salami, olives and roasted peppers. Main courses are mostly priced at 18.50 euros, except for the fish dishes like hake and turbot, which come at 23.50 euros. Good to see that the main courses come with accompaniments, so there's no need to add on the cost of side orders. Six pasta dishes are on offer, priced between 10 and 12 euros, as well as salads for the less ravenous. Susie chose the roast turbot and I chose the rack of lamb. 'Can we have a white wine?' asked my wife, prompting the thought that on about eight of the last ten review meals my guests have drunk only white wine. Is this a gender thing as well?

The wine list is simple, not overly long, and reasonably priced. There's a selection from most of the wine-producing countries and from it I chose the Mad Fish Chardonnay from Australia at 25.50 euros. The first time I chose this wine it was for its name alone, but this time I picked it because I liked the wine.

The starters arrived looking very well on the plate; Susie's salad of mozzarella, basil and tomatoes was served with a small green salad, while my antipasto could have been served in an Italian trattoria. The only thing missing was bread, which came promptly when asked for, as did some good olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I liked both of these starters; they were simple, tasty, and prepared with good ingredients. The main courses were equally successful, Susie's turbot made her very happy indeed, although the promised taste of truffle on the potatoes needed a receptive palate to find it. I'd asked for my rack of lamb pink, and that's just how I got it. Unusually this rack was made up of four cutlets, rather than the more often encountered three, it was trimmed of fat, and still made a generous portion of meat on the plate.

As ever we chose just one dessert between us, a brandy snap basket filled with three balls of home made ice cream; a chocolate, a coffee and a vanilla. I'm a sucker for brandy snaps, and the crunch coupled with the good ice-cream made a fine combination. By this time the laughter from our friends' table was irresistible, so we ordered a herbal tea for Susie and an espresso for me and went over to join them. Evidently they'd eaten every bit as well as we had and were now happily enjoying their after-dinner drinks. Which isn't surprising, really, as this restaurant is a very comfortable place to be; there's good service and good food. Added together that's a package that pleases, so I felt that a bill for 103 euros was money well spent.