It's the same with the deep-fried Mars Bar, it probably started out as a dare."

He may be on to something; neither dish is what you would imagine to be appetising but both have become the most well-known items . . . whether stereotypically or not . . . in Scottish cuisine. "Wat aboot Rumbledethumps?" I hear you say. Well, it's not that well-known and it's really just a Colcannon/'bubble and squeak' hybrid. I suppose there are those who think we Irish eat nothing but potatoes and cabbage, but there is some truth in that foodie myth also. Anyway, I'll get back to the deep-fried Mars Bar later.

We were in the Bull & Castle Gastro Pub to try out their beer-matching menu, where "meals are matched perfectly [their italics] to a beer".

An image of "Silenus . . . God of Beer" embellished the menu. Silenus is not, in fact, the god of beer; there is no god of beer. Silenus is not even a god, although he is immortal.

He is more of a wine drinker and he is Dionysus's mate. They go out on the rip together quite a lot, apparently, but never has there been any mention in Greek mythology of them skulling pints.

The Bull & Castle is not the most beautiful dining room, or bar for that matter. It's a pub in the very old sense of the word, kind of like a 17th-century inn dragged kicking and bawling into the 21st century, so if you are looking to fine dine forget about it.

On the other hand, if you want to swill fancy beer and acquire some tasty ballast, you could do worse on a night out. It could also be a great place for all the women out there who want to change their man; it's like a beginners' dining room for the terminal pub-goer.

To start, I went for the bruchetta, probably a bad choice in here but I felt daring.

It was okay but the rocket it sat on hadn't been dried properly so a wee estuary flowed around my plate. My Scotch on the rocks mate PT had the pate with warm crusty bread, pineapple and pimento chutney.

The chutney was quite tasty but the pate was too young and could have done with more time to set and let flavours develop . . .

and the fact that it came in a jar didn't do much to advance the art of food presentation.

We each had a Samuel Adams Boston lager with our starters; I've long been a fan of this lager as I used to drink it when I lived in Boston. Sam Adams was once voted the best beer in America and I have yet to find its better stateside.

Our waitress was a softly spoken San Franciscan. She seemed new to the job so I pared back my typically robust interrogation . . . and besides, PT had fallen in love with her on first sight, so she could do no wrong.

Being in an FXB shop, I thought it would be rude not get beefy. My 10oz ribeye with wild mushroom jus, sauteed potatoes tossed in rock salt and red onion was a very good slab of bovinity. This was 'perfectly' accompanied by a jolly bottle of 1698 Strong Ale.

The ale was slightly sweet, slightly bitter with hints of caramel and honey, in all not a bad brew. It went reasonably well with the ribeye and pratties.

PT opted for FXB's roast beef dinner with potatoes, onions and mushrooms and Yorkshire pudding covered in Bishop's Finger (it's a type of beer, not the ultimate in dare cuisine) gravy. He thought the beef was okay, but the gravy was a bit too sloppy. The Yorkshire pudding was, I suspect, the frozen variety: hard and tasteless. PT's beer accompaniment was a half litre of Macardles Irish ale, something I hadn't seen in a bar since the 1980s and didn't think existed anymore. It is a malty ale with not much else going on character-wise apart from a subtle metallic taste, which neither of us enjoyed.

Soon it was dessert o'clock. For a very long time, I have wanted to try a deep-fried Mars Bar and here was my chance. The dessert menu read "Deep Fried Mars Bar . . . Mars bars are coated in a sugar batter andfried in their own fryer. . . go on! ! !" So we did.

They both came out in the most badly chipped dishes . . . missing chunks and razor sharp edges accentuated the feeling we were entering daring territory with this dish.

PT took the first bite and really liked it. They came accompanied by vanilla ice cream and a berry compote. I have to admit . . .

there may have been a novelty factor involved here . . . I enjoyed it too, although I would have liked if the bar itself had been a bit hotter/melted as the chocolatey malt nougat was still a bit too chewy. Too much work, not enough rest and play.

Just like the deep-fried Mars Bar, the Bull & Castle is an oddity worth visiting, you just might like it.

Bull & Castle Gastro Pub & Beer Hall 5-7 Lord Edward Street Christchurch Dublin 2 Tel: 01 475 1122