Review: The Oar House, Howth Dublin

I ate here with my partner for lunch. We ordered from the main dinner menu as I don't think there was a lunch menu available. I had heard laods of great reviews and a couple....not so great! I decided to go for the dublin bay prawns to start and Mr Food fairy went for the 'smokies'. The dublin bay prawns came with a side salad and were deep fried in a thick batter....I was expecting a tempura batter but it was a heavy batter. The prawns arrived and the batter was soggy, which is never a good thing-there were 6 prawns on the plate (keep in mind that this dish cost €13.95!!) after eating 3 prawns i decided to take the batter off as it was awful and there was a gritty texture and to my shock I discovered the prawns were not cleaned/gutted which is obviosuly where the gritty texture was coming from! I really can't understand why chefs don't gut prawns and then have the cheek to charge over €2 per prawn! The 'smokies'  which is smoked fish cooked in a ramekin dish with cream and tomatoes topped with cheese....was absolutely delicious....maybe a bit small but delicious. For mains I ordered a fish pie and he ordered the sea trout. The sea trout came with a black olive tapenade served with mash and veg and there was a huge amount of fish on his plate....which he wasn't complaining about! My fish pie was tasty but it was so hot that he had finished his main....completely finished his main before I had started mine-which was a bit frustrating as I want to eat my food when it is sitting in front of me! All in all a good enough meal, the bill came to €70-with no drinks or desserts, which is pricey and the prawns have turned me off the place so I will not return!