Walk to the opposite end of the sea front and turn right up the hill towards the village centre and you can reward yourself with a visit to the Abbey Tavern, a beautifully restored pub lit by candles and gas lamps. The bar menu is more limited here, but the quality is excellent and it's good value. A bowl of delicious seafood chowder and yet more smoked salmon set us back about £7.20, a pint of Guinness £2.11. There are restaurants of various descriptions and price ranges all along the seafront - Irish, Indian, Italian, even Russian. Best of all is the award-winning King Sitric where the selection, quality and preparation of seafood is simply outstanding, as is everything else on the menu, not to mention the amazing ground floor wine cellar where guests are welcome to browse.
 The restaurant is on the first floor, taking advantage of the sea view, and on a December Saturday night was packed and pleasingly noisy as the Irish had obviously come to enjoy themselves, as well as their food, rather that sit in the reverential quiet you get in many a British restaurant. Mind you, eating food of this standard verges on a religious experience for me, and it was all so stunning it's hard to pick out highlights. Lobster, smoked salmon, seafood quenelles, crab bisque, mallard with roast vegetables and scallops with black and white pudding were just some of the star turns that weekend. A five course table d'hote dinner is about £28, but I guarantee it's worth every penny, if you can manage it. Lunch works out cheaper and you can always have just one or two courses. We went the whole hog and stayed there for two nights because the friendly owners, Aidan and Joan McManus, have recently added eight lovely bedrooms, each named after a lighthouse.
 Our window gave us a vantage point over the little bay where the restaurant's lobsters are caught and let us watch seabirds sunning themselves on the rocks or foraging in the pools left by the retreating tide. We did manage to tear ourselves away from this seaside idyll and spend some time in the city, the contrast making both aspects of the holiday all the more enjoyable. Bargain break Stena Line Holidays are currently offering two nights at the three-star Royal Dublin Hotel in the city's famous O'Connell Street from just £102 per person, including the ferry crossing for car and passengers. You also get a free Dublin Guide and sightseeing tour and it's available for travel up until December 29, with the price based on four people travelling together. See www.stenalinehols.co.uk. | 
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