We went as a group for yet another 30th birthday (mine is yet to come so be prepared - suggestions for somewhere new would also be welcomed!). This time sixteen of us went to Wexford for the weekend - it's not too far from Dublin & it is one of the few town in Ireland where we didn't visit when we were all "singletons" on the rampage!

A group booking had been made in Fordes Restaurant in the heart of Wexford town, overlooking the statue of Commodore Barry. One would assume that if you make a booking for 16 people at the one sitting, that they would wish to be seated together in a convivial group - not so in Fordes. We entered the far dining room to be greeted by two round tables set for eight - not exactly the best start to a birthday celebration when the birthday was faced with the view of the back of a slightly balding male head. Not only were we separated but it was as hot as the bowels of hell! Not an ounce of ventilation was in existence & then as the saying goes. horses sweated, men perspired and ladies glowed.

After some resistance from the two ladies serving our room, we moved the tables together & "squashed up" to get cosy. Let me just say that these two ladies could have made life much easier for themselves if they had anticipated their customers needs rather then running over to us every few moments. There is no point in providing 16 people with 2 jugs of water & expecting them to make it last in stifling heat - staff should have their eye on the ball at all times. It was very tiresome having to constantly request replenishment - good attentive staff would be throwing down the jugs at the rate of 1 per 4 people. It was nearly as difficult to get hold of the wine! My side of the table opted for white wine & chose an Italian wine (£15) which was the only one under £20 which was not a Chardonnay!. The others chose a Merlot & a bottle of the ubiquitous Chardonnay - neither suited my rather overheated palate but the Italian wine was excellent - dry, fresh and crisp (unfortunately it ran out during the main course prompting a change to Chardonnay for the others and a ½ bottle of Muscadet for myself). The two ladies were also rather snappish when asked for information on food or indeed more water.

Despite the rocky start, the food was superb. Fordes have a rare gem in their chef who knows how to choose, plate and cook food. We had a choice of 6 starters, which varied from chowder to avocado & brie salad to my own which was asparagus spears wrapped in parma ham, deepfried and served on a bed of seasonal leaves with roasted peppers & soured cream. It was delicious & a sentry watch had to be mounted on my plate to stop certain people from gobbling it all up.

Mains were many and varied - steak, chicken, lamb and ostrich all featured on this exciting list. I however chose lemon sole (served off the bone) served with baby steamed and boiled potatoes, the crispiest mangetout and the most unusual potato croquette I have ever tasted. It looked like a spring roll, it cut like a spring roll but it was full of mashed potato! I normally wouldn't entertain the nasty orange frozen rubbish that pass as croquettes, but these were spectacular - unfortunately there was 1 per person & definitely none left over!!!

After much moaning & groaning, dessert menus were left for our perusal - the two hits on this list were the Tia Maria & chocolate mousse cake on a pool of crème anglaise and iced raspberry charlotte with a ginger syrup. Unfortunately, a lack of Tia Maria & a warm plate marred an otherwise lovely dessert. When will people learn that cold things go on cold plates & hot things go on hot plates! The meal was rounded off for some greedy piggies (including myself) with coffee & a cognac. Both perfectly acceptable although I thought the cognac was a mite harsh - perhaps I'm just too used to the high life!

After that feast of food and drink, the bill was incredibly good value - £40 per head including an EU wine lake (the birthday girl didn't pay). I would definitely return to Fordes but would recommend that they retrain their staff, keep their chef and buy some fans for warm evenings!