There had previously been a run-of-the-mill, old-style Indian restaurant on the main street of the colourful coastal town of Dalkey, Co Dublin, but in 2002, when Asheesh Dewan took over the premises while expanding his then new Jaipur restaurant group, he created a lighter, brighter, flock-wallpaper-free vibe that changed our idea of what an Indian restaurant should be. Twenty-four years later, it's been a regular haunt of the many distinguished denizens of, and superstar visitors to Dalkey, including the late writers Maeve Binchy and Hugh Leonard.

Apart from food, Dewan always had an interest in art, using his restaurants in a gallery-like fashion, and serving the modern, less-dense kind of cuisine that came on trend in London in 2001 when Atul Kochhar became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star. Kochhar was also subsequently involved in 2008 in the opening of Dewan's fabulous Ananda restaurant in Dundrum Town Centre.

You never know who you might see at Jaipur and unfortunately, short of hanging over his shoulder, I couldn't quite see what Chris O'Dowd was chowing down on, nor indeed what Bono had on his plate on another occasion, though apparently keema naan is a fave. The curmudgeonly Leonard's was Delhi butter chicken - still on the menu and dedicated to him. More recently, Matt Damon, who lived locally for a few months, was partial to a good Jaipur takeaway, which made me wonder, had Brad Pitt graced its doorstep during his recent Dalkey sojourn?

Keralan-born Sanish Joseph is head chef here. Dewan describes him as "the rock of Jaipur for over two decades”. I can see why, for he's always calm and smiling, and always delivers on excellence.

Starters (€12-€17.50) included tandoor smoked barbary duck breast, with a confit cigarillo, paired with basil oil and a cherry and red wine sauce. Seekh lamb kebab was there too, as well as aloo tikka potato cake with spice chickpeas. We shared three dishes, including perfectly pan-seared scallops (€17) with a subtle Jerusalem artichoke puree, topped with artichoke crisps and shrimp pickle, while our equally exceptional tandoori Jhinga (€17.50), chargrilled jumbo prawns, were with cumin seeds, salted lime gooseberry confiture, and avocado Koshimbiri. Our third small plate, Mizo pork fry (€13.50), proved a golden pyramid of crispy fried spiced pork loin pieces paired with a smoked sweet chilli and pepper dressing.

A wide selection of mains (€18.50-€31) included excellent vegetarian options from saag paneer to the Shakahari thaali - a selection of dishes traditionally served on a silver platter. The timeless marinated 24-hour slow-cooked lamb shank is highly popular here, as is Joseph's Malabar-style grilled local halibut with baby shrimp in a coconut sauce. We plumped for a Keralan seafood curry (€27.50) with abundant monkfish, tiger prawns and mussels, simmered in toasted turmeric, palm jaggery and coconut; and Dai's prawn biryani (€26), traditionally presented, which is not always the case, sealed with a fine pastry top, just waiting to be broken through, revealing its moist perfumed basmati rice infused with mint, onions, saffron and rosewater, and prawns, with raita and a masala pouring sauce on the side. Bhindi (okra, €8) is always a favourite for me in Indian restaurants. Here, it was Rajasthani-style with onions and dried mango, while a carb overload of irresistible Bombay aloo (€7) was sweet sour with tomato, chilli and lemon.

Resisting further carb indulgence by way of Gulab Jamun, the legendary Indian saffron dumplings, we shared a summery presentation of another Indian stalwart - reduced milk and eggless mango kulfi ice cream (€9) with mixed berries. With two glasses of Uruguayan Garzon Albarino Reserva 2025 (€11 each), water (€4.95) and excellent service from manager Nitesh Pandey, our bill came to €167.70. The team were suitably discreet on the topic of Brad!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Jaipur 21 Castle Street, Dalkey, Co Dublin.A96 F9D3 Tel: (01) 285-0552   www.dalkey.jaipur.ie & www.lucindasullivan.com ​