Livebait

We enjoyed fantastically efficient and entertaining service from Daniel our waiter last month. He created a friendly and warm atmosphere and brought us tasty food to the table. He explained why the smoked prawns were a touch too salty for my palate but otherwise everything else tasted divine. Thanks Livebait for a memorably positive experience.
Comment on this reader review

Discerning Diner
Thursday, December 14, 2006

i have visited this restaurant twice now with conflicting experiences at both occasions! the first time could not have been more lovely. I took my boyfriend out for his birthday. Being a chef and loving all things that swim i though that livbait was the perfect choice, and it was! I didn't think the menu was over priced as i appreciated the quality and it was a special occasion. My fella went straight in for the kill with the cold platter of shell-on shrimp, tiger prawns, crab claws, muscles, snails, etc an it was fabulous. It arrived beautifully presented on a mountain of crushed ice. i was a feast. success! he then orderd the 1/2 lobster that i remember being £19.something which was excellent! we had such a good time and the meal was perfect.

following the ravings of our new-found fave place to eat, my parents visited and both my sisters and their other halves also for special occasions and again on new years eve. needless to say you can't get better advertising than word of mouth!

however the second time we visited, it was a different story! still salivating over his beautiful lobster from the last visit, my boyfriend could'nt possibly bare to order anything else. big mistake!!

when it arrived, instead of the moist, juicy fresh meat, it was literally rock hard, dry, over cooked and deffinitely not resh. we were devistated. but that was not the only problem! the waiter, fully knowing that he had just served us an unsatisfactory meal, proceeded to stay away from the table and hide! my boyfriend being a chef rarely recieves a meal to his satisfaction but never complains but this was the worst i have ever witnesses and i used to be a waitress!! so my boyfriend decided to give it a go, while he waited for his chips...and waited and waited! he wasn't coming back was he? i don't blame him, but that meant we had to get the manager because we were being ignored! it just looked so bad on so many levels. the manager obviously took the lobster off the bill although a fair amount had been eaten, and gave us cheese and biscuits and a vintage port each on the house!

but i do have to say my meal of whole seabass, that was filited at my table, was delightful. i think it is such a shame that this restaurant cannot offer consistent quality or service! very disappointing!

i suppose at the time we were given the warning signs, because we joked about him applying for a job there after we saw a black board advertising for chefs. now we know why!
Comment on this reader review

Chloe Hughes
Thursday, August 03, 2006

Met up with an old friend at Live Bait. There was lots to catch up, but kept getting distracted by the quality of the food served. Freshness and flavour are obviously not considered of value - even lime slices requested for the mineral water were dry. Tiger prawns were obviously frozen, and prepared by someone who would be better employed flipping burgers. Prawns were dry on the outside, and completely disintegrated to a pulp on the inside. Salmon isnt usually a component in a thai fish curry - it arrived in a thick white sauce without a hint of lemon grass or thai basil or any flavour whatsoever. The sauteed vegetables (mainly carrots and onions) would have been a mushy disgrace at any school dinner and the rocket and parmesan salad was shamelessly cheese free. The double espresso was weak and luke warm. Service was patchy - kept having to repeat simple requests. Got the urge several times during the meal to take the next flight to somewhere people knew how to handle seafood and valued freshness. As is so often the case in British restaurants, I really wouldnt have known where to start to complain!!
Comment on this reader review

Rubinah Chowdhary
Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Myself and my girlfriend sat down for a meal at livebait after looking at the menu outside. the menu is very expensive and made the restaurant sound quite classy .

the table was like a rocking horse

the starters ( crabcakes) were no bigger than a pound coin ) three of them, tasteless mush, the white bait was nothing more than deep fried frozen sprats. The bar manager poured our drinks straight from bottle to glass creating a head the size of jupiter, when the main course came, (oven roasted salmon on a bed of smoked bacon with new potatoes) salmon was the size of a credit card on what looked like crunchy bacon bits, with one new potatoe cut in half, no sauce on a massive plate. needless to say i complained to the bar manager who told me " portion sizes are the same for everyone ". I explained if your going to serve food that small on a plate that big , the food has to be exceptional which it clearly wasnt, she came round anyway and charged us only for drinks. My opinion is, a completely rubbish experience,It could do with a make over theyre offering fast food at restaurant prices, There didnt seem to be any clear leader as far as staff were concerned, just another rip- off wish wash restaurant over charging on the premise that its fish is supposedly fresh.It has the potential to be a really good restaurant, but guys revise your menu , dont be so mean with your portion sizes, and for gods sake learn how to talk to customers without using the same generic dribble one gets when one calls a telesales operator. we want service not excuses !!!!
Comment on this reader review

adrian feria
Friday, May 05, 2006

Went there on 18th April.

Found experience to be of mixed quality.

Complimentary glass of champagne for booking on line was never offered.

The Niscoise salad arrived without the ingredients shown in the menu (no crayfish). No one asked us if everything was to our satisfaction despite the restaurant not being very busy.When we told the waitress she promptly brought it to the attention of the manager, who did offer us complimentary coffee, but as we did not want coffee this was of little concellation and we were not offered anything else .We also found a little irritating the 'discretionary' service charge which is added to the bill.One customer was embarassed to ask it to be removed.The card payment facility then offers a further opportunity to tip so it does seem unneccesary to put customers in this position.The food overall was excellent .The surroundings pleasent if a little noisy while staff cleared up the bar.Some of the service was good, some a little 'stand-offish'.The house wine was decent and good value for money.
Comment on this reader review

Matthew Ethell
Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Four of us dined at Livebait on April fools day and if there are four bigger fools than us,I would like to meet them.

I have spent the best part of 40 years working in the hospitality industry and all things considered this must be one of the worse meals I have ever experienced.

My wife and my sons partner ordered "Whole Whitby Crab" priced at £9.25 to start with.This consisted of an empty shell with accompanied by a piece of lemon.It was entirely lacking in brown meat(it had probably been used in the crab cakes) and therefore,presumably defied the trade descriptions act.I had a very small portion of Thai Mussels(10)which was served without any bread to soak up the sauce which was quite clever really becase there wasn't any sauce.

Despite three of us eating food with our hands,there were no finger bowls provided

Main courses were little better.Two small portions of swordfish served with Livebait chips-which consisted of a small portion of frozen chips.I ordered grilled seabass which was lukewarm and its head had broken off and someone,presumably the "chef"had attempted to put it back in place,but strangely at an angle of 90 degrees to the body! oh yes,we also orderd spinach with nutmeg which was cold,came five minutes later and hadn't seen any nutmeg. For the pleasure of eating this meal we paid £139 -My advice to everyone is avoid this place at all cost
Comment on this reader review

brian jones
Monday, April 03, 2006

We went to Livebait to celebrate a 'double birthday' for my wife and youngest daughter. Most of the family love seafood so Livebait seemed a sensible idea.

Bad decision. Food was bland, overpriced, hardly seemed fresh. Those that preferred steak swear the chef doesn't know how to cook it - the well done was pink and the medium was bleeding profusely!
Comment on this reader review

Tim
Sunday, March 26, 2006

Went to Livebait last night and have to say it was a very poor experience overall. I'd heard a lot of good things about the restaurant and I love sea food and so I was really looking forward to it - especially as it was my birthday.

I thought that the menu was uninspiring, the portions were small, the dishes were very overpriced and worst of all, the 'livebait chips' were actually frozen chips and cost £2.50. My girlfriend's tuna main course was overcooked (despite the 'warning' that it would be served pink) and at £118 for 2 courses and 2 bottles of wine I would have been better served treating myself to a weekend trout fishing holiday in Ireland, landing my own catch and washing it down with a lovely pint of guiness.
Comment on this reader review

Damian
Friday, February 10, 2006

Great Menu and very well cooked classics. Unpretentious surroundings and friendly service.
Comment on this reader review

Steve
Tuesday, February 07, 2006

excellent food. Quite pricey but a really good place to go for a special evening. The service is very good and the menu has a wide range of dishes
Comment on this reader review

Sunday, November 20, 2005