Maybe it's my mountain heritage, maybe it's just a personality thing, but I don't have that strong sense of belonging to the sea that some people have. Don't get me wrong, I like it just fine as long as it's warm and calm, but it doesn't exert some strange indefinable, tidal pull over me. But to some, like my guest this week, it's full of memories, defining moments, adventures and pleasures. We were sitting in the bar of The Forty Foot, part of the new development of Dun Laoghaire's Pavilion site and through its wall of glass you can see the harbour and beyond that Dublin Bay. 'Over there,' said Thelma Mansfield pointing towards the coal harbour, 'my brother hooked the biggest conger eel I've ever seen. Over there, by Cooper's slip, my father and I used to fish for mackerel, and we used for fish for plaice as well. My brother and sister and me grew up on the sea here.'

The reason why we were in the bar needs an explanation. Thelma had phoned to book us a table and was told that they no longer take reservations, you just turn up. 'Come at about eight-thirty and there should be a table,' they said, so we did. We passed the long window of the bar, the doorman opened the doors to us and we went upstairs to the restaurant. There was no room at the inn. 'Come back in about forty minutes and we'll have a table.' We gave Thelma's name which was written down, and went downstairs to the bar. I was puzzled; if they can take your name and hold a table once you've got there, why not by phone before you do? If this hadn't been a review meal I'd probably have wandered off somewhere else, but that's why we ended up in the bar.

Both downstairs and upstairs in The Foot are very modern in design, bold expanses of plain wood, wooden floors, big central counters both upstairs and down, subtle lighting and the areas divided up visually to create areas of interaction. It's pleasing and welcoming, but the big pleasure is the view. Even without evoking in me the memories that it evoked in Thelma, it still looked good. As we started to go upstairs at the allotted time, we met one of the waiting staff who had come downstairs to fetch us - a nice touch. After another short wait, while we read the menus on a comfy sofa, we were shown to our table, which was by the window and worth waiting for.

The menu had a distinctly Mediterranean feel to it; mozzarella with roasted peppers, rocket salad with sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts, duck salad with pancetta are some of the starters, while main courses include dishes like pork fillet wrapped in Parma ham, supreme of chicken with a basil risotto, chicken fillet with chorizo, veal fillet with lemon and tarragon sauce, grilled vegetables and goats cheese. Pappardelle, penne and linguini were the pastas on offer, all with vaguely Mediterranean sauces. The starters are priced in the €6-10 range, the main courses from the late teens to early twenties.

The drinks list has two pages of wines, two of cocktails and one of beers, so you should be able to find a tipple that pleases. I confined myself to the wine list, which is fairly well spread between Old and New World, with prices very much in the normal range. At last I had a guest who likes red wines, so I was happy to choose the Causino Macul 'Antiguas Reservas' from Chile. This description means 'ancient reserves', so the vintage date of 2000 raised a smile.

Our starters arrived promptly, an endive salad for Thelma and a rocket one me. Both of these were pleasant enough, but I learnt again that just because something sounds Mediterranean on the menu doesn't mean it'll taste that way - whatever dressing was on the salads was a little bland, but that might be a comfort to some. For main courses Thelma had chosen the veal and I'd chosen the supreme of chicken, since my first choice - the pork - was no longer available. Both dishes came with just enough mash and vegetables that if you weren't very hungry there'd be no need to order any extras. Of the two dishes, I thought Thelma's much the better - there's a limit to what you can do with farmed chicken - but we both enjoyed our meals and the service was courteous and efficient. We finished with a dessert between us; a delice of hazelnut. It was one of those bought-in desserts, but we picked at it happily. An espresso for me finished the meal and our bill came to €93.27, not including service.

Now it's not my habit to review restaurants that are still finding their feet, and the reason is simply that they tend to be uneven until all the teething problems are sorted out. This means that I could hit lucky, and you the reader, may not on a subsequent occasion. I mention this because before the night was through we found ourselves in conversation with the only other remaining tables, one of which had had a happy experience, the other less so.

There's no doubt that there's a good deal of enthusiasm here and the location really is terrific, both for its view and for the design of the interior. I'm not usually influenced by comments from other diners, preferring to rely on my own judgement, but in this case I pass it on, because it does reinforce my contention that new restaurants need time to settle in. Incidentally, if you're thinking of trying any of the three restaurants in the Pavilion complex, be warned. The car park alongside intends shortly to shut at 11 o'clock, a time that's about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.