The Russell is an elegant space but the preponderance of Graham Knuttel prints made my eyes go a bit funny after a while . . . get enough exposure to something and you begin to act like it I suppose. All of the prints featured former taoisigh. I was joined by an alluring actress, GO'L, an old friend who, as always, acted like she was a fun companion. Ten minutes after being seated we had to ask for water and a wine list . . . however, after these initial glitches, service went well.

We ordered still water, which came out in an elegant bottle with 'The Russell Restaurant' printed onto it. Unfortunately the contents weren't as elegant, not spring, not mineral, just plain old filtered water. The fact they were charging 4.50 for this only added to my indignation.

It's an old trick to have mains and starters reasonably priced and everything else expensive. As diners, we tend to check the prices of starters and mains and then forget about the rest. These extras . . . coffee, dessert, water, sides . . . can result in a considerable bill at what initially seemed like a reasonably priced restaurant.

"Seafood gratin, gratin of seafood, Knockanore cheese glaze" for the actress to start and "Prawns, a classic prawn cocktail" for the critic. The gratin was a bit shy of seafood: we could only find four pieces. Perhaps the rest may have been tangled up in the cheesy matter.

My prawn cocktail was superb. This 1960s' classic has seen some poor adaptations over the years yet this was true to the original: succulent . . . NOT watery . . . prawns, crisp iceberg lettuce and a sweet marie-rose. The only thing I found odd was the addition of cherry tomatoes but that's just nit-picking . . . it was great.

With our starters, we had a glass each of a nice Viognier, which married the prawn cocktail especially well.

The room was now positively buzzing with young-ish, happy diners clearly enjoying their evening. I must say the buzz was really palpable, something which is often lacking in restaurants these days.

For mains, the thespian decided she would, for once, break her vow of never eating any animal that has been immortalised as a cartoon character and ordered the "Crisp honey roast half duck, orange-scented stuffing coated with a rich orange and cointreau sauce" . . . duck a l'orange, basically, an '80s classic.

I ordered the roast fillet of turbot with asparagus and citrus hollandaise. Acting like she'd just found enlightenment, the thesp' gasped positively at her first bite . . . "Goodbye Daffy, hello crispy!" It was fantastic. My turbot was slightly disappointing, cooked perfectly and a great piece o' pesc, but the addition of a swirl of sweet chilli sauce on the plate fought with the citrus Hollandaise for centre stage in the mouth; too stylish.

I sipped a drinkable white Rioja with my turbot and the actress had a cabernet sauvignon with blackcurrant flavours, which was "very nice". Just as GO'L finished off poor Donald, Billy Idol's 'White Wedding' came piping through the speakers, the perfect finish to a perfect '80s dish.

Desserts came slowly, which suited us fine. A chocolate fondant for GO'L was just okay; it could have been a bit gooier inside. The accompanying vanilla icecream was, alas, pretty poor; we didn't detect any natural vanilla, only essence. For 8.50, I think real vanilla is the least you might expect from your dessert. My bread and butter pudding was an 'adaptation' of the original and didn't really kick it for me either. A latte and an espresso where both good but exorbitant at 6.20 for the pair.

I found The Russell to be charming and sophisticated, with a great atmosphere and friendly staff. The food was mostly good but the prices were just a bit too steep. The Russell is close to getting it right but should seriously tweak the extras on the menu to represent better value.