Livebait (Covent Garden)

I am intended to get the vouchers to try new restaurants and see how the food/service is.

Well I was so disappointed, I would never pay that much money (full price) for what I have got.

Scallops - was ok, but lemon sole was just... nothing really, flat fish with black peper on it, butter sauce on the side and some small ball of tomato salad. And it is for £22.50! Come on... I do better at home than this.

But the worst thing was - Manager's service, so full of himself and if you come with the voucher, you are not important as a customer. We had complimentary drink with the voucher but none of us could drink, so we asked to change to soft drinks (worth max £3) and he said NO! 'If you don't want to drink alcohol, its up to you!'. So rude, he doesn't know what customer service is!

Will never come back.

Not worth it - no food, no service...
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Loreta
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Tuesday, December 06, 2011

What a disappointment! We went to Livebait on a Sunday night, and although it was half empty we still had to wait a long time for all our courses, and were told this was because there were only two people in the kitchen!

My smoked salmon starter was nothing special - considering it was nearly £10 I would at least have expected the bread not to be stale. And the fish and chips main was pretty underwhelming, not that far removed from what I can get at my local chippy, but more than twice the price. I was really looking forward to some good seafood at Livebait, I thought with the prices it would be a quality place, but on a table of 10 of us there was really no one who raved about any of their food. There are Michelin starred restaurants not too far away with cheaper dishes...
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3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 3
Monday, October 10, 2011

We opted for the £10 two course deal.

We had the crispy squid to start, which was pretty good despite the small portion. The batter was light and crispy and the squid was tender. It was nice to serve it with soy and lime, rather than the usual aioli/tartare.

Our fish and chips were huge but a little disappointing. The batter was too thick and the chips weren't cooked enough. The little pot of mushy peas was nice though.

We finished on a win with the creme brulee. It was creamy, with a thin crunch on the top. It was delightful.

All in all the starter and dessert were perfect for the price, but the main was a bit too greasy and stodgy.
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Fiona
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Thursday, August 11, 2011

A disappointing visit... The food was ok but more importantly, the cleanliness of the restaurant was poor with tiles surrounding the table dirty. The decor was also tired and definitely in need of a refurb!
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Chris - West London
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, June 01, 2011

After reading online reviews of livebait I was a little concerned about the booking we had made, but as it had been recommended by two seperate people we decided to still go ahead.

I'm really glad we did .Service was great, seafood was lovely and fresh. We opted for the seafood platter £75.00 for the two, a lot of money but money well spent.( lobster was fantastic with never ending supply of prawns). The dessert was 1st class.

If you love your seafood and are looking for a special night, Livebait Covent Garden might just be the place for you.
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Dean and Rebecca
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, April 17, 2011

Really very disappointed!

Had it not been for needing to offload Tesco vouchers I would not have stayed here.

Service mediocre, food even less so.

Sent back haddock fillet as poached egg on top was uncooked. Did replace and offered to put my husbands plate under lamp to keep warm. Second attempt at egg, much better. Husbands cod with lobster sauce, at best, bland. £2.75 for small bowl of mushy peas. Nice but a tad over the top. Restaurant more than half empty and could have done without all the people queuing for Lion King staring in through the windows. Could they not be tinted?

Dessert was appalling! I have never seen such bad desserts and at such high prices. My chocolate fondant was straight from a packet and microwaved. Dry and rubbery and tasted very synthetic. My husbands sticky toffee pudding the same. Each dessert cost around £6. Clearly bought for less than £1, maybe even 50p.

We had really looked forward to this trip and will certainly not be recommending Livebait to anyone. Don't know how they are still in business and to be honest how they are getting away with it.
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Thursday, March 31, 2011

Sunday 27th March booked a table for 6pm. Shown to a table with random glasses and a couple of side plates on it - not set - although other tables were. Ignored until I practically had to pounce on a waiter to request drinks. Brought bread in a basket but no plates or knives. Waitress explained staff were under pressure! Although no obvious reason why.

Cheap white baguette and butter (sitting on top of melted anchovie butter by mistake apparently - not very appetising). No brown bread in a fish restaurant! 3 dishes on the menu not available.

Starters - Scallops bland, calamari pale and uninviting, salmon would have been nicer with a little greenery or brown bread. No black pepper offered.

Mains : My 11 year old daughter had fish and chips which she described as "disappointing". Sea Bass - ok but on a strange upside down plate ! Risotto - OK.

Desert : Creme Brulee very cold and top hard like toffee, Lemon drizzle cake dry (left edge because so hard). Coffee requested with desert arrived 10 mins after - luke warm.

Toilets : Long trek down smelly corridor - filthy (think poor public loos).

Had we not of been using Tesco vouchers we would certainly have left before the first course. In fact we nearly did anyway. Overall the service was slow and curt and the food dissapointing .The restaurant decor looked worn out and in some places positively in need of a good clean. Would definately not visit again.
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2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Monday, March 28, 2011

Went to Livebait Covent Garden last weekend - very disappointing. Used to love it here but haven't been for a while - service and food were very poor (especially as the price seems to have gone up a lot). Very disappointing
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1 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, March 01, 2011

They have a cover charge per person for just sitting down which is a bit random. Food was average but it may have been what we had ordered.
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MK - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Thursday, October 07, 2010

Visited the Waterloo outlet a week or so ago with my daughter and her friend. The food was OK but nothing outstanding and certainly did not justify the price tag. Had I not been in possession of a 30% discount voucher there would certainly have been a "discussion" with management. The £13.50 fish and chips is a real rip off. The staff must be on commission over how much bread they can sell - they just never stopped pushing it. My other criticism would be the decor - the restaurant has obviously been designed by someone with a fetish for public lavatories. If, like us, you have a fairly loud birthday party seated nearby, the sound just reverberates off the wall and makes your own somewhat more muted conversation, barely audible. To be fair, the experience was not awful but could equally have been a lot better with just a little more thought to pricing policy and decor. A shame because the idea is excellent.
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Mike Crane
5 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, August 11, 2010