Room with a view

EATING out is usually best done as a couple or in a goodly-sized group; intimate or varied and boisterous are best.

So, if you go to Ballycotton’s lovely Bayview as a couple, beware. You’ll find yourself ensnared in a ménage à trois whether you like it or not. It’s more or less impossible to sit in the bright, airy dining room and not be seduced by the view. It must one of the very best from any restaurant in these islands. From its cliff-top vantage, the panorama leads your eye away from Ballycotton’s tidy harbour, right across the bay and, miles away to the north, Knockadoon head.

On a bright summer’s evening, the ever-changing light on the sea adds a dimension to a night’s dining that very few restaurants can match. It creates a calming atmosphere where silence — and the view — can be a shared pleasure as rewarding as most conversations. There are very few places, much less restaurants, where the view has such an undeniable presence.