Seasons By the Sea Bistro — Restaurant in Town of Saint Andrews

I dislike leaving negative feedback, but my overall experience with this restaurant wasn't really a good one. Which is disappointing as I had high expectations from a place that has such glowing reviews.

First thing, right off the bat was a lack of communication at the beginning. I was told rather rudely from a man that works there that they did not do reservations but he'd talk to the manager and call me back. No call came.

I messaged the page thinking they were busy, and I really wanted to eat there as I was getting married and needed a place for 20 people to go to eat. The owner called me and told me that she would reserve for me but because she'd had people not show up in the past, I'd need to pay a $200 deposit.

I found that strange, but she said my party was basically her max capacity so she'd need to shut the restaurant down for the evening. She'd do lunch and close early to accommodate. So we sent her the deposit, because we found that extremely kind. I expressed that we also had 2 very picky eaters who would need plain chicken breast and rice, and was assured that would be no problem.

We Arrive. This is where it all goes bad. The restaurant was NOT closed for us, strangers came in and out the whole time. We basically paid $200 to reserve 3 tables, only 2 were close enough to talk with each other. Luckily we didn't need the 3rd.

The picky eaters received less than stellar meals, having to pick small sides and the chicken was simply the serving of what you'd get to add chicken to a salad. They didn't have plain white rice, and so my sister didn't get to eat and spent most of the time in tears.

To top it all off, when I expressed concern to the owner, she said I must have misunderstood what she said about closing down the restaurant... but I know word for word because while on the phone, I took notes. We only agreed to pay the deposit because we were told the restaurant would close for us.

Yes, it gets worse. While we didn't notice while paying, my mother keeps all receipts. Everyone in my party was double charged for their drinks... even my husband and I were charged for 2 pop even though we had water.

This whole experience leaves a bad taste in my mouth, and I felt pretty ripped off. I did receive my deposit back, the day after the fact.

I wanted this to be a great experience but it just wasn't. I do not recommend having any kind of important...

We walked up to hostess desk. There was couple ahead of us. The guy at desk was friendly. Acknowledged us. Took couple to table. Woman pictured here in my pics in black t shirt and who works there, came outside. Completely ignored us at hostess desk but went to couple behind us - greeted them- proceeded to get them seated. They advised her we were there first. She did not acknowledge us- no greeting us-but still asked them how many. The guy in the bluish grey long sleeves shirt and cap (middle)-came back and she told him the people behind us needed table for two. He told her we were first and he ushered us in and took us back to seat us. He was very friendly and welcoming. Not her though. . I noted that woman did walk around to the tables chatting with folks at tables around us - at times , more than once to check in with them. Even table closest and directly next to us. She ignored us and never slowed down or checked in on us. She busied herself with everyone else but us. We stayed because of the host guy in long sleeve shirt and the Asian waitress who was so caring and sweet. We are a biracial couple and took offense to this woman. It seems she had no interest in us from the get go and followed through on that for the entire visit. On a positive note though, the mussels were good and the chicken legs...

They need a better chef. Average quality food - small portions and not worth the money compared to other places in St.Andrews. Service was excellent & location was beautiful, but thats also true of other restaurants in the area. STARTERS/MAINS 1lb mussels - not much taste here despite supposedly a chefs favourite. House Salad - very nice (with strawberries etc) Steak - VERY SMALL (4 or 5oz) for $34 and 3 or 4 small potatoes. It said mushrooms too, but had to ask the server if he could see any on the plate - we found 2 tiny slices of a baby mushroom mixed into the onions. Plenty of places offering 10oz steaks for under $30 elsewhere (Ate a much bigger/better steak at Gables Restaurant the night before) Was still plenty hungry after this small meal. DESSERTS - small & poor quality. Cheesecake - small square and biscuit base was soggy. Death by Chocolate - Was expecting layers of moist gateau with choc chips, ganache, frosting etc. Instead just a small 3" round slightly dry cake with some icing on. Creme brulee - Actually very tasty & well done. I would not go back here, but would try...