November as a month holds an annual pattern for me; usually I abstain from alcohol and cut back on all excess in order to have a few pennies left for the Christmas presents. This year I have been out for dinner on three occasions in the first week. There is another family event planned for next week so its small tasteful presents for my family and an extra jog in Phoenix Park for myself.

I was out to meet a colleague and some friends for dinner on Friday 2nd November, on the previous Wednesday the plans changed and I had to pick the venue. I try to have an organised approach to this kind on scenario, so I just picked the Ely from a previously drawn up hit list and made the booking on the same day. I made the booking for five people possibly four for the Friday night at 7pm. I was bit annoyed after the booking because the manager insisted on knowing the exact number.

We arrived promptly at 7pm; I have an annoying habit of wanting to be on time, you know the type of person I am, you are delighted with yourself after negotiating the traffic only to find me sitting there looking at the menus. If I were you I would not worry about it, being on time is just something I and those like me require of ourselves.

The Ely is a split-level wine bar and café, the levels being joined by a hallway, in keeping with the tradition of the building, which leads to a downstairs bar and dining area. We made our way downstairs where the bar greets you at the foot of the stairs and at eye level there is a blackboard informing you of some of the special priced wines on offer. The dining area consists of plush seats and round wooden tables and floors and soft lavender (that's the colour description as given by our female guests) lighting on the brick walls. The tables and seating are very much designed as places where you can relax into your chair enjoy a glass of, say, Bollinger Grande Année 1992 for £18.70 and muse over your day in the office.

We were eventually seated at 8pm; in the meantime we decided to enjoy a glass of Erdinger Weissbräu, a German white beer with a smooth finish. The wine list is extensive covering the traditional wine regions like Bordeaux, California, Burgundy, South France, Rhöne, Italy and Spain and New World options like Chile, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia. After an earlier tasting we decided on the Santa Digna Cabernet Sauvignon from the Curico Valley at £14.95. It has a strong ruby colour with fruit overtones particularly blackberries.

The menu is printed on a single sheet of paper, starters range from Fresh Soup of the day (£3.95) to a Bakers Dozen of Kilkee Atlantic Oysters for £15.95. In between you have choices such as chicken liver and brandy pate, smoked salmon pate with citrus coulis, roast breast of duck salad and cherry tomato with crispy organic bacon at £7.95. The word organic appears with all pork, lamb and beef dishes and upon closer inspection of the menu you are informed that they are sourced from the family farm in Burren, Co. Clare. It's a comforting thought that your meat has been hand picked but I was left imagining the cattle and sheep wandering around in the harsh environs of the Burren looking for succulent organic grass among the limestone rock. Main courses included fresh organic pasta of the day £9.50, chargrilled chicken and crab salad with a lemon and crème fraiche dressing, banger and mash (of course with organic pork sausage) at £9.50, traditional Irish stew with organic Burren lamb and a cold charger which is a selection of Irish and continental cheeses served with a variety of salami and hams.

I chose the duck salad to start and just had to have the bangers and mash to follow, the other selections included chunky oven roasted tomato soup and the cherry tomato with crispy salad as starters and lamb kebab and chargrilled chicken and crab salad as the main course. I enjoyed the toasted cashew nuts and hoi-sin sauce that was served with my duck salad; it was well presented on a large white plate. A quick glance around the table revealed satisfied faces, Thèrse being particularly happy with her soup. With my appetite whetted I was looking forward to the main event. The main courses were delivered to our table, I say delivered instead of served purposefully as it was left to us to sort out who was getting what and pass the relevant dish to the hungry party in question. The main courses were on a par with what had gone before, simple dishes with minimum of fuss but good flavours in the base ingredients. I might even give the bangers and mash a try myself, although I think that a good onion gravy would not have gone amiss with this dish.

We decided we would have a dessert; Aileen and I had a cheese plate for £7.95, John a lemon meringue (£3.95) with Thèrse slouching back into her chair and opting out. Everything was acceptable although I would have liked a hard cheese available on the cheese plate.

The Ely is wine bar and café, although in my opinion it leans towards the wine bar. As I stated earlier the seating is more suited towards relaxing and enjoying wine than food. We were there on a Friday night when it was full of office workers, no doubt discussing the trials and tribulations of the week. While we were eating the meal I noticed that there was only one other table dining. If you are comfortable in an after work atmosphere, eating your food below knee level, drinking wine from a vast cellar and organising your own order then Friday night in the Ely is the place to be. I think the Ely is best enjoyed as a café on a midweek night where you can choose one of the comfortable corner areas to enjoy their good value fare. The bill came to £142.55 for five people of which £96.85 was for food. I will be back but earlier in the week.

Tel. 01-6768986