Anyway, we eventually pulled onto the gravelly drive outside. From there we could hear what sounded like a restaurant full of contented diners. We went in and it was. For a restaurant literally in the middle of nowhere (no offence meant to its neighbours), the Belfry had attracted a sizeable crowd for a Thursday. In the vestibule, a comments book lay open. Flicking through its pages revealed high praise, "We love you!", "Great Service, great food, will definitely be back". Beside the comments book, a menu. Scanning it, I came across the opening hours: "WED-FRI Dinner:

18 H 00 To 21 H 00". My knees weakened and my stomach groaned, the website had said "A la Carte Menu, Wednesday to Saturday, 6:00pm . . . 10:00pm". Rushing in to the dining room and finding a waitress, I pulled my finger across my neck and raised my eyebrows, it was now 9.25pm. The waitress turned out to be Florienne Servieres, one half of the proprietors. She smiled, "I will ask the chef".

She was back out minutes later with another smile saying "Yes, no problem, take the table on the altar." Sacrelicious.

The menu at the Belfry is short and under the influence of La France. Six starters and six mains may seem too few options, but what lovely options they were: terrine of foie gras, organic smoked fish, the cleverly-named Soup of the Moment.

Moments before our starter plates came out, an amuse bouche of salmon tartare and black olive came out, a spoon apiece. It was magnificent, a great beginning. My starter of organic smoked fish cannelloni was superb, well-structured, distinctive and a perfect size for a starter. KR had ordered the Fresh herbs risotto with Parmean shavings. It too was good, it had an interesting milky, tarragonny character, although it was just a shade below cooked perfectly.

Our chairs were remarkably comfortable and there were plenty of interesting details.

The interior was, well, like a church. Actually, it wasn't so like a church we felt the need to whisper. The renovation had been kind to the original structure yet the room had its own personality. I particularly loved the floor beneath the altar . . . dark terracotta tiles featured eye-catching curlicues and crosses.

Beside us, a baby grand sat unplayed (I hear it is tinkled every now and then).

After the starters had been cleared, a sorbet was placed in front of us. It was a palatecleansing rhubarb and set us up nicely for our mains. KR had ordered the Rump of lamb (of God? ), rosti potato, glazed carrot and pearl onion, lentils and lamb jus. The lamb was beautiful, succulent; the rump is not often used in restaurants but is clearly a great cut when cooked well. I really liked the rosti too, but I love rostis. Overall it was a winning dish: well thought out, well cooked and executed. My only quibble was with the size, which I will come back to later. My main was sea bass. As a whole the dish was memorable and served me well, I am really just being persnickety about the following . . . the fish was very, very slightly over-cooked. The accompanying purees, vegetable mounds etc, were each interesting enough but the potato was a shade dry. Pretty much the only flaws in all of our dishes. Portion sizes were in my mind a little small, possibly to encourage side-ordering . . . all side dishes were 3.95, which isn't extortionate.

Service throughout was French and verged on impeccable. Each member of staff was friendly, knowledgeable and where there was a gap in their knowledge they were willing to find out. I asked about the ingredients of the amuse bouche and one of our waiters came back with the list, one of which was "How you say. . . ah yes, T, L, C, haha!". For wine we had a glass each of the house white, a well-chosen chardonnay. The list is short yet impressive, as is the cellar. It is French heavy but has some New World beauties too.

The dessert list reminded me of that from l'Gueueleton in Dublin. KR had the Chocolate moelleux and basil ice cream. For me, my favourite, Creme brulee and this was one of the best I've had. I demolished it in seconds. It was accompanied by some fab brittle cookies too. I'm still talking about it. KR said the moelleux was okay, the ice cream fine.

We finished with a smooth espresso ( 3.20! ! ) from the deliciously retro Faema and a suppable tea. All in all, a nearreligious experience.

TTHE BILL

1 Risotto 8.50
1 Smoked Fish 12.50
1 Rump of lamb 29.50
1 Sea Bass 29.00
1 Chocolate moelleux 8.00
1 Creme Brulee 7.50
1 Tea 2.50
1 Espresso 3.20
2 House Wine 10.00
TOTAL 110.70

The Belfry
Castlepollard Road, Ballynegall, Mullingar, County Westmeath
Tel: 044 93 42488