Thorntons Restaurant - a Star performer.
Apart from faultless service, a meal like this is the very pinnacle of gastronomy. Not only are the ingredients carefully sourced, they're also prepared with immense skill. It may not be the sort of dining experience that you'd want every week, but for a special occasion, for a treat, it's something that anyone with an interest in food should try at least once.

Michie Sushi, Ranelagh.
This week brought one of those surprises. It was a restaurant that wasn't easy to find, that's tiny inside, very plain almost to the point of discomfort, and which serves raw fish. You can see at once that it isn't going to appeal to everyone. You won't find a starter, main course and dessert on this menu. But if you're one of those people to whom surroundings matter less than what's on the plate, read on.

Bistro One, Foxrock Village.
Restaurants, you may have noticed, generally have a short life -- five to eight years is the average.

There are a few reasons for this: if the restaurant is successful, the owners may decide to move to bigger premises; fashions change and restaurateurs often respond by revamping everything and changing the name; sometimes leases come up for renewal and the rent becomes too much; sometimes they run out of energy, and sometimes they simply fail to make money and close.