The Sardine Factory Looe — Restaurant in England

Well where to start with this place, firstly we where looking forward to visiting after looking at the menu and reading the background story about the chef and great British menu. When we arrived we where given a menu and firstly the waitress did not explain what the daily fish was, when she came back to take our order she only then explained it was John Dory , we both ordered this for our main but where not told it would be served with bones on, so I ordered the potatoes and peas with mine but when the fish came only the peas came, after waiting a few minutes I asked the waitress where my potatoes where, she said one minute, 5 minutes late no return so I called another waitress who then enquired with the kitchen and they had no clue as to where they had gone, by this time my fish was cold and hardly worth eating, the waitress didn’t even offer to cook another fish with the right sides. She called the front of house manager and then she came to the table to say that we would not be charged for my food. No attempt to sort out another dish or do something just let me starve and pick at cold fish. The starter was ok at best the smoked haddock scotch egg was a case of find the haddock. Don’t think I’ve ever had such poor service in a restaurant anywhere and at prices on the menu it’s not acceptable. Was glad to get out of there. The smugglers cott on east Looe side is a proper restaurant with proper service. Perhaps the chef should concentrate on getting his house in order instead of sticking huge pictures of himself inside the restaurant. Cannot recommend avoiding anywhere more than this. Without doubt the worst ever dining experience I’ve...

The best meal out I've had in years. I visited Friday night with my wife and teenage daughter. We were soaked as it was chucking it down, but we were greeted with genuine warmth and shown a coat stand to hang up our wet items. For starters, we had the chowder, the mussels and the smoked haddock scotch egg. All were beautifully presented and packed with flavour. The chowder was rich, but not too rich, and came with a precisely shaped chunk of focaccia, lightly toasted on a griddle. The mussels were plump and perfectly cooked, and also came with focaccia. And the scotch egg was well balanced, with curried mayo and citrusy fennel. We all claimed ours was the best. For mains the girls both had fish and chips, which came as a long, straight very lightly battered fillet, laid on top of chips lined up like railway sleepers - very impactful. I fancied the fish finger tacos which is available in two sizes, choosing the bigger option game me two tacos. These were served folded on a W shaped thing to hold their shape. The soft taco outer provided a nice contrast to the crunch of the fish coating, while the avocado, pickles and sriracha mayo lifted the flavours into space. The restaurant is a big space on the first floor (there is a lift), but it doesn't feel empty or echoey. The tables are comfortably spaced. There's a shoal of fish snaking across the ceiling! There's a good buzz to the place and you can see and hear the chefs producing these incredible creations. A...

Having visited before I must redress my opinion of this restaurant.

What once was fine food set in a nice atmosphere has become, a year later, a sad shadow of it's former self: the menu is still the same - the quality has become an embarrasment.

My niece ordered mussels for a main course which was outrageously stingy - I think we counted 14 mussels for a main course - I thought they were counted by the kilo!! The very expensive steak looks like it was bought in Sainsburys. The baked camembert was a mess baked in a ceramic dish and not the traditional way in box, the accompanying bread was so oily I had to wash my hands mid way through eating. The smoked cod roe pate was a triumph.

There are lots of serving staff that are not managed or co-ordinated. We would have spent much more on drinks had they bothered to ask, indeed; we had to request service by physically standing amd attending the bar to get it or by waving for attention. Seems numbers of staff is preferable to proper training and supervision here.

This place was great, now I'm guessing the owner has taken his eye off the ball; both with the quality of food and lack of service.

I hope this place sorts itself out amd returns to its former glory so it's still here when I return later in the year.

All in all: amateurs playing at running a...