THE start of my trip to The Creel Inn was not as relaxing as I had hoped.

Relying on my sat nav to get to Catterline, I headed out with a pal on a dark winter evening.

The dulcet Irish tones of Shaun, my in-car navigator, did absolutely nothing to soothe the mounting fear as he said we had arrived.

Our destination, on this occasion, appeared to be the top of a cliff.

It was going to take an immense meal in a very special place to bring me back after this white-knuckle ride.

So, it was just as well we were heading for The Creel Inn.

Snuggled away in the coastal village, the homely pub offers bar meals and a cosy restaurant.

On a chilly night, our seats next to the fire were perfect and we snuggled in to peruse the packed menu.

For starters we decided to share a portion of garlic bread.

And this wasn’t the normal, run-of-the-mill appetiser.

Chunks of golden, lightly-fried bread were served with a whole baked garlic bulb.

The soft cloves could be squeezed on to the bread and were served along with a lovely, piquant salsa.

For the mains my pal and I both decided on fish – the seaside restaurant’s speciality.

I chose the grilled halibut (£16.75). A melt-in-the-mouth fillet was served with a balsamic drizzle and the most comforting bacon and leek mash – it was heavenly.

My pal opted for one of the many tempting mains – the monkfish dish of the day (£17.95).

A meaty portion of fish was served with succulent scallops and doused in a light curry sauce, all served with pilaf rice.

The delicate spice flavours offset the fish fantastically.

Suitably stuffed we planned to skip pudding – but the selection sounded too good to miss.

I opted for the delicious chocolate marble cake (£5.75) which was soft and light, and was topped with a silky-smooth ganache and served with ice-cream.

My pal went for the sticky apple and carrot pudding (£5.75), a unique take on the sticky toffee classic.

The moist pud was drowned in caramel sauce – and beat even my severely sweet-toothed friend.

With a glass of wine and a coffee to finish the whole lot came to just over £55.