The self service café at Avoca Kilmacanogue will be known to many. It has been a hit ever since it opened and I can't help thinking that in a way it is a victim of its own success – there have been plenty of occasions when the food offering would have been just the ticket (there is something for everyone on an Avoca menu) but we couldn't face the queues, which for lunch in particular tend to start early and linger late.

We are more than happy, therefore, to be invited to join the in-laws for lunch in the waitress service Fern House Cafe. Its Thursday lunchtime and the place is chock-a-block with well-scrubbed children and their families. It's confirmation season, with three local schools in action. On a bright spring day the Fern House – an elegant construction filled with big, BIG plants and the quirky ethnic furniture and accessories (think chandeliers decorated with cutlery) that are typical of the Avoca style – looks like an excellent choice for a multi-generational family gathering, particularly on a good day such as this when the children can be allowed to let off steam outside while the grown-ups linger over their wine. There are some tables outside on a terrace and one hardy chap is eating alfresco.

From previous experience we know that Avoca portions tend to the hearty and so
decide to opt for two courses apiece – starters and mains for me and Felim, mains and puds for Angela and Jimmy. Felim's Spinach and Feta Croquettes with Pomegranate and Mint Salad (€6.95) are tasty and substantial – deep-fried, potato-based parcels of flavour. My Prawn Cocktail with Fennel, Tomato and Marie Rose Sauce (€9.95), a tower of small prawns already dressed, is more than pleasant – in an un-challenging and slightly bland way.

Angela's Avoca Fish Pie (€14.95) features salmon, cod and smoked haddock (the dyed variety, unfortunately) in a creamy dill sauce topped with mashed potato. To quibble, the ration of potato to fish is skewed, but it's a tasty dish that is polished off in its substantial entirety. Jimmy is in heaven with his Honey-glazed Bacon Loin with Creamed Savoy Cabbage, Mashed Potato and Parsley Sauce (€16.95) – a classic dish, well-executed. Felim has spent the morning working in the garden and that's his justification for ordering the special of Tagliatelle with Crab Toes and Prawns in a Cream and Garlic Sauce (€16.95) which is surprisingly light and disappears in short order. My Roast Butternut Squash & Organic Leaf Salad with Feta, Roast Peppers, Spiced Chickpeas and Lentils, Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, Smoked Nuts and Kilmac Dressing (€13.95) is perfection – the kind of substantial, healthy salad that I'd be happy to eat for lunch every day but with too many constituent elements to be a realistic possibility at home. Yum and more yum. Burgers at a nearby table look very good, as do the chunky duck fat chips that accompany them.

After a short pause, Angela takes on the Duo of Apple & Berry and Plum & Custard Crumbles (€5.95) – either one of which would have been sufficient in terms of portion size – and acquits herself admirably. My mother-in-law, it has to be said, is the queen of crumble-making and for Avoca's offerings to pass her muster is praise indeed. Jimmy is kind enough to say that Bread & Butter Pudding with Crème Anglaise (€5.95) isn't as good as the one I make but I think he was just being polite.

Lunch for four, including one apple juice, teas and coffees, comes to €116.16 including 10% service which is added to the bill and goes directly to the staff. There is a generosity and unpretentiousness to the Avoca way of doing things that imparts a general sense of well-being and good value for money.

The Fern House opens for dinner too – I have heard good reports and know that it is popular with locals who tend to drive over, get a taxi home and return to collect their car the next morning.

Fern House Cafe At Avoca, Kilmacanogue, Co. Wicklow. Ph: 01-2746990. Rating: 4/5