Funny old world so it is, one week you're at one end of Dublin Bay overlooking the sea while you dine, the next week you're north of the other end. I still get surprised at the synchronicity of things and improbable coincidences, but maybe it's no more than simple pattern recognition. In this case the pattern wasn't hard to spot; this, like last week's restaurant, was a purpose-built, very modern dining room with superb views over the sea. Clearly this was the result of a great deal of expenditure. Anyway, to start at the start, my guest May Frisby and I had planned to go to Malahide. We had one of those cross-purposes conversations that went like this; 'What's its name again?' 'Cruzzo.' 'Caruso?' 'No, Cruzzo.' 'Ah yes, Crusoe'. 'No, Cruzzo - with two zeds.'

There was still a faint glimmer of western light in the sky when we arrived at the Malahide Marina, with stars beginning to make their presence felt in a moonless sky. The sea was still, the harbour lights reflecting prettily on its surface while a flotilla of moored yachts and cruisers bobbed gently, silent testament to the new affluence. It's an impressive sight; you enter the Marina through an enormous porte-cochere and find yourself in a small town of apartment blocks stretching out in all directions. Follow the road over the suspension-crippling speed ramps till the very end and you're outside Cruzzo, a two-storey building that straddles the marina like the bridge of a ship.

Inside it's all glass and wood and designer lighting. There's a bar at ground level and from there a wide flight of stairs takes you up to the two-tiered dining room. It was busy, and a large table of maybe twenty or so people took up most of the upper tier, where our table was. We got our menus and some mineral water quickly, but it was twenty-five minutes before I got a wine list, which gave us plenty of time to take in the menu. Starters range from €5 to €10.20 with tiger prawns, rock oysters and smoked salmon representing the seafood, then a black pudding, a goats' cheese fritter, chicken liver pate and three different salads. Main courses included pan fried chicken at €18, sirloin steak at €23, fillet of beef at €27.20, braised leg of lamb at €19.95, herb crusted monkfish at €24.50, supreme of salmon at €19.95, Thai duck at €19.35, sea bass at €24.50 and the odd-sounding pear and walnut tart with a blue cheese sauce at €13.55. The main courses don't come with much garnish, so you could add side orders, which range from €3 to €4.20, to those prices. In case you're still thinking in old money, that comes to about £20 for a main course with vegetables.

The wine list is average in length and begins with a page of Champagnes, going all the way up to a Dom Perignon at €193. Then there's a page of French whites from €24.95 up to €88.25, which includes stalwarts like Chablis, Pouilly Fuisse, Puligny Montrachet, Sancerre and Pouilly Fume. The reds are mostly Bordeaux petit chateaux running from €22 to €152 for a Lynch Bages 1996. Next comes Spain and Italy - Campo Viejo, Faustino, Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Barolo, and Campofiorin all making an appearance. Then onto Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and Chile. House wines are all around €20. I'd almost finished reading the list when our starters arrived, so impelled by circumstance, I quickly picked out the Pinot Grigio at €20.95.

May had chosen the artichoke salad as a starter, which came with roasted artichokes, green leaves and slices of Parmesan and rather nice it was, too. I'd picked the goats' cheese fritter, which was mild-tasting, but just a little tepid. Still, I enjoyed it and ate most of it.

But it was the main courses that showed up the strains in the system. It seems this was the end of a very busy day in Cruzzo, and maybe energy levels were beginning to dip. May looked forlornly at her monkfish. Three small, grey pieces of herbed fish lay on the plate surrounded by what tasted exactly like supermarket pasta tomato sauce - over-herbed and over-sugared - a long way from what is known as 'provencale'. The fish itself, echoing my starter, was barely warm, but that isn't something that bothers May or me much, more importantly it was so tough it was hard to cut even with a serrated knife. I'd picked the braised leg of lamb, which I think would have been better described as shank, and it was tasty enough, although rather stringy.

The service on the night was a little uneven, possibly as a result of the large table taking up everyone's attention. It was friendly, verging almost on the familiar, with lots of pats on the shoulder for both May and me. So for once, by the time it came to desserts, we were both hungry enough to have one; an individual bread and butter pudding for May and three scoops of sorbet for me. The sorbets were very good; a redcurrant, a mango and a passionfruit, but the bread and butter pudding was somewhat artless, a stodgy little dome surrounded by an indifferent chocolate sauce.

I've little doubt that Cruzzo can do better than this; it had all the hallmarks of a night when everyone was tired and just a little behind the curve. Still, a bill of €112.35 with a tip still to add means that even by city-centre standards it isn't cheap, and really for that kind of money there isn't much excuse for letting standards slip. A pleasing room and fine views should be an addition to a good meal, not a substitute for one.