What we had?

Loin of pork £11.25

Sirloin steak £14.95

Cauliflower side order £2.75

Cromore sundae £3.50

Chocolate brownie £3.50

Apple juice £1.75

Tea x 2 £2.40

Total: £40.10

Tel: 7083 1919

Drive into Portstewart any day from now on and you're going to have a battle on your hands trying to find a parking space.

It's worth the fight, however, if your patience wins out and you secure a coveted place by the seaside, for the town itself is so picturesque with quaint gift shops and ice cream parlours.

Stop for a while on your way into the town, however, and you're in for a wonderful treat, too. On the roadside, at the edge of Portstewart, is Cromore Halt Inn, a family-owned restaurant with rooms where you'll get a hearty meal which is cooked and served with care and attention. And it has its own, extensive, carpark.

Just past the very photogenic railway halt, it's a modern building which has a bistro — for which you don't have to book — and a slightly posher restaurant, for which you do. That's where my dad and I went last week to see if the good reports I'd recently heard were to be believed.

Happily, we were attended to as soon as we made an appearance at the door and immediately shown to a table (which was pleasingly large — I hate it when tables for two are so small that you're always watching your cutlery doesn't fall to the floor ... or that your elbows don't touch the person at the next table).

While the building and decor are modern, the menu will appeal to those who love traditional food. There's nothing too way out here which, as it happens, suits us just fine. No words that need translating, no chance something will turn out to be snails or frogs' legs.

We decided to skip the starters as often they dampen your appetite for the main course — and there looked as if there was plenty to savour there, with seafood, meat and vegetarian options.

Another plus point was that your main course comes with a side order included, and you can pay for extra if you wish.

I chose loin of pork with caramelised apple and stuffing made with peaches, while dad went for the sirloin steak with chips and an extra order of cauliflower.

My pork was fabulous — very tender, it came with a generous helping of stuffing which, with the peaches, was delicious.

And while I should have chosen baby potatoes to be as healthy as possible, the potato wedges were excellent too.

The apple chunks gave a good, slightly bitter, contrast to the sweet peaches and stuffing, and everything was presented beautifully.

Dad's sirloin was similarly excellent £ and a very generous helping indeed. It came with tasty gravy £ just the right amount. He said the cauliflower was lovely, too.

The dessert menu was, as expected, traditional with such offerings as sticky toffee pudding and pavlova.

I chose the chocolate brownie with ice cream while dad went for the Cromore special honeycomb sundae. With honeycomb ice cream and fresh cream, it was pronounced delicious.

My chocolate brownie was warm and melt-in-the-mouth, and the ice cream was especially yummy — I think it must have been made with an extra measure of cream.

And the sign, I believe, of a good restaurant? We were asked if we wanted to have our tea with our desserts. This is exactly what we love — a cup of hot tea is perfect with your sweet, yet it is so rare to be given the option. This time, however, it was just perfect.

The sign of a really good restaurant? We were each given a chocolate with our tea. Oh, the disappointment I've often felt when that cup and saucer is set down on the table ... bare.

This time, however, my heart leapt £ despite just having had a chocolate brownie, this was a top class finishing touch and rounded off a perfect meal during which the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff stood out miles.

As dad said way back on his second bite of sirloin: "We'll be back."