Lucinda O’Sullivan’s restaurant review: All aboard for India at Ananda, Dundrum — ‘A superb experience all round’

I’m always insanely jealous when I meet wiry eager-beaver types who tell me they’ve trekked the banks of the Nile or scaled the lower slopes of Mount Everest solo, and how much better it was travelling alone, encountering more people without the encumbrance of a partner. I suppose I’m just a self-conscious coward, though, because I don’t enjoy going solo, not even while dining, stuck in a book between forkfuls of food, nodding at the waiter to discreetly bring the second glass of wine. I like a bit of company and repartee over the old prawn scampi and plonk. As far as I’m concerned, the social experience and atmosphere are as important as what’s on the plate.