The restaurant was buzzing when myself and my dinner companion entered Dunne and Crescenzi, only a stone’s throw from Sandymount Green on Saturday night.

You needed to have a reservation as the local Italian fare is in high demand. The room has a great atmosphere which my friend described as ‘rustic’. By this for a moment, I thought he meant ‘rough and ready’.

However, the small, busy room is a cut above this in style and décor, and the service was prompt, courteous and friendly, as our waitress, who had a look of a 1930s Hollywood beauty, with a flower in her blonde hair, answered all our queries about the menu.

We were seated at a cosy table beside dark wood shelves of wines which line both sides of the room like a cellar. The wine list was a study of regional Italian wines so extensive I didn’t get past the first page. A glass of house white and a bottle of San Pelegrino sparkling water appeared as if by magic as we deliberated over the evening menu.

Between courses we embarked on a game of chess as my guest had brought along his mini board. Generally speaking, there are two sittings for dinner on a busy night, the first at 7pm, and the second at 9pm.

To start, he had ‘formaggio’, a selection of farmhouse cheeses with focaccia. This was a substantial mix of hard and soft rugged cheeses with high impact, served with honey. I had ‘insalata misto’– a salad of mixed leaves, drenched in balsamic vinagrette, sun-dried tomatoes and prosciutto ham. There was no butter to be seen, and all the breads came drizzled with olive oil.

I lost the game of chess despite the sustenance and resolved to master the Sicilian opening and a few other gambits.

Fillet steak was ordered well done and to be slow-cooked would take 40 minutes so we had plenty of time to take in the room. We described the ambience as ‘perfect’, or what you might expect from your local Italian where they are fanatical about good food.

On the sound system were both unfamiliar pieces and 1980s classics. The steak was well worth the wait, cooked with rosemary and came with oven-baked potatoes and zesty mangetout. My pasta with truffle-stuffed mushrooms and radicchio was ‘meaty’ and satisfying.

We ordered chocolate and almond cake for dessert and Italian biscuits which we took to a friend, along with a bottle of red wine priced at €9.50. There is a table full of food goods which you can take out, including pastas, olive oils, sauces and wines, all imported.

For two starters, two mains, two bottles of water, a glass of house white and a glass of Prosecco as well as dessert, the bill came to €87.50, which was fair enough.

Dunne and Crescenzi, 11 Seafort Avenue, Sandymount, Tel:01-667-3252.