Robert Doggett, the Trocadero's frontof-house man, is one of Dublin's best-loved maitre d's. I have met him only a handful of times but he has that rare ability to make you feel as if you've known each other for years.

On this occasion, Robert wasn't onstage, although I did recognise a few of the other staffers.

'The Troc' as it's referred to by its many regulars is . . . sorry about the cliche . . . a Dublin institution. It's frequented by the Irish acting illuminati, dahling. Luvvies and their fans have been draping themselves across the furniture in here for over 50 years and the palpable sense of a million heartfelt air kisses lingers in the air, dahling.

Red velvet banquettes, heavy red drapes and the head-shots of a thousand or so actors grin or smoulder down at you as you tuck into any of the 'classic' restaurant dishes from the menu and recall the talent of the young Gielgud or bemoan the fact that you will 'never. . . play. . . the Dane', it's all very, very dramatic. There is a certain Art-Deco feel to the interior with its scallop shell seats and the new bar has a glamorous 1930s veneer too. The only thing that might make Marlene Dietrich look out of place in this joint would be her cigarette.

The crowd at The Troc on this particular evening was mostly attractive, short-haired females of a certain age. I presume it was the pre-theatre crowd, Andrew's Lane Theatre (where the final curtain fell last weekend) is a tipsy saunter around the corner, the Olympia, Project Theatre and the Gaiety are not much farther.

The pre-theatre menu is served between five and 7pm and diners must 'vacate by 7pm sharp', which is fair enough. My gripe here was the price: 25 a head for two courses including tea or coffee seemed just a little bit steep to me considering that for 12 more, you can get three courses plus tea or coffee in the Michelin-starred Chapter One; or for the same price, you can have three courses plus tea or coffee in other recommendable restaurants. But one must remember that the food, or value for money, have never headlined at the Trocadero. You come here for the atmosphere and a light sprinkling of stardust.

The pre-theatre menu has starters and mains . . . no desserts. We asked our waiter would it be possible to swap a starter for a dessert for the same pre-theatre price and it was no problem. Service was warm and attentive. The starters were a hotch-potch of safe options, from fried brie to pate with cumberland sauce. The mains consisted of duck, salmon, pasta, chicken and a veggie option, again all quite safe. I went for the Roast breast of barbary duck with redcurrant gravy. It was quite good, the duck was cooked perfectly, slightly pinkish with a dry crisp skin, the redcurrant gravy wasn't too sweet. KR's sweet and sour chicken on the other hand was poor, poor, poor. The red sauce tasted more like an Italian ragu than it did an Oriental sweet and sour and the parsley sprinkled over it just added to its overall identity crisis.

The Trocadero features 'Wines of the Month', usually a red and a white. We both ordered the featured Chenin blanc and were pleasantly surprised by its A-list presence: dry, mildly acidic with a subtle viscosity.

A new wine monthly is a good way of keeping your list fresh and keeping regulars interested.

The room became more and more packed as our time slot wore on, a small crowd of twenty-something girls took the long table opposite us and the party atmosphere was notched up. I was amazed at how busy the room had got and this was all still before 7pm, most other restaurateurs would kill to have a room this busy, so early on in the evening.

Clearly the relatively high pre-theatre prices do nothing to deter the crowd.

For desserts, I had a reasonable fresh fruit salad with fresh cream and KR had an utterly appalling chocolate tart with fruit compost, sorry compote. I presume it was an oversight, but the pastry on the tart had definitely entered its twilight years, it just tasted old. Desserts were joined by two good espressos and the bill.

The Troc is a good spot if feeling fabulous and thespy is one's thing. The food won't wow and it's not great value for money, but the atmosphere will linger long after the final curtain has been lowered.

The Trocadero
4 St Andrew's Street Dublin 2
Tel: 01 6775545
www. trocadero. ie

THE BILL
1 Sweet & Sour Chicken
1 Fruit Salad
1 Espresso 25.00
1 Barbary Duck
1 Chocolate Tart
1 Espresso 25.00
2 Glasses Chenin Blanc 13.50
TOTAL 63.50