Restaurant review: Seabank Bistro, Dublin

WE FIRST catch a glimpse of the Seabank Bistro last summer — the sun is beaming down, we are driving by wishing we had a convertible; there are diners in summer clothes languishing by outdoor tables, dipping into the al fresco food and sipping on chilled white wine.

There are views over the Malahide estuary, and the restaurant is well placed, weather-wise, in that it’s sheltered from the winds by the nearby embankment, yet close enough to the sea to generate a salty-enough atmosphere.

All you need to complete the picture is Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Sean Connery and Tony Curtis flirting with each other, Martinis in their hands, to convince you that you were not in Co Dublin at all but rather in a coastal town on the French Riviera. As we pass by en route to nearby Portmarnock, we make a mental note to pay Seabank Bistro a visit.