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Paul Deevy is cooking the food of his life right now, and ... is squeezing out culinary sparks that are setting new standards of authenticity and enjoyment for country house cooking. But it's not just the fabulous food that makes Richmond so special. The demure simplicity of the house and the genuine and understated hospitality of Paul and Claire Deevy make this one of the great Irish addresses.

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Set well back, in large grounds graced by mature trees, Paul and Clare Deevy's fine 18th century country house is very much a family affair, offering a delightful combination of warm hospitality, and a high standard of comfort.

Approaching through well-tended grounds, a good impression is made from the outset, a feeling confirmed by the welcoming hall, which has a wood-burning stove and well-proportioned, elegantly furnished reception rooms opening off it. Upstairs there are ten individually decorated en-suite bedrooms, which vary in size and appointments but are comfortably furnished in country house style.

The restaurant is the most important single element at Richmond House, and non-residents regularly make up a high proportion of guests. Warm and friendly service begins at the front door, after which menus are presented over aperitifs, in front of the drawing room fire or in a conservatory overlooking his garden.

Herbs, fruit and vegetables are grown on the premises for use in the kitchen and Paul is an ardent supporter of local produce. The cooking style is traditional country house with some global influences, presented in well-balanced 4-course dinner menus offering a choice of about six on each course (always with imaginative vegetarian choices).

Start, perhaps, with half a dozen Rossmore oysters, warm organic asparagus wrapped in smoked salmon with hollandaise or Helvick prawns with basmati rice and garlic butter. Main courses might include a baked Mediterranean vegetable pie as well as local meats (eg steak with red wine and thyme essence), poultry (roast duckling on a plum and Cointreau essence) and seafood (fillets of John Dory with a herb butter sauce). Classic desserts include a tasting plate and a wide range of local cheeses which usually includes Knockalara sheep's cheese and Knockanore Smoked (which won an Irish Food Writer Guild Award).

Ample private parking.

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Paul Deevy has made dramatic advancements as a chef in the last couple of years, and his cookery now is confident, persuasive and unarguably delicious.

In fact, the growth in confidence evident evident of the entire team in Richmond House now allows Deevy to show that he is not merely a cook with good technique, but that he is a cook with an entire culinary philosophy which he is able to express in his work.

He talks tenderly about the terrific local lamb, and how it is pastured on fields that have never seen a plough, and he then has the nous to cook the meat as simply as possible, just with rosemary reduction and some garden mint jelly, though he can annotate the dish with a stew of red peppers. Local fillet steak has a classic Bearnaise and a nifty salsa verde, and show implicit judgment.

With wild Blackwater salmon he shows the lessons of recent years, with fabulous Thai spicing creating a knockout dish, whilst his springroll with smoked duck breast and harissa is a triumph. He also cleverly cooks rabbit with black pudding with a red wine and thyme jus, keeping the meat moist and flavoursome.

His cooking now has maturity and power and it is hugely enjoyable, just the right food for the serene and ageless style of Richmond House itself. Clare Deevy works front of house with skill to match her husband's kitchen and here is a couple blessing their house with their own delightful style.