Zest Harbourside — Restaurant in England

First of all, we hadn't booked so called as an 'off-chance'. There seemed to be dome amount of oo'ing and ah'ing but we were finally given the green light. Thus kind of perplexed me in the end because throughout our visit there were plenty of empty tables. Anyway. Staff were pleasant and attentive which I appreciated.

Now, it was probably me not reading the menu but I was super hungry, I ordered meatballs as a sharing option. As my partner I'd vegetarian I knew this would be all mine. When our food arrived I had a plate of meatballs which is fine but considering these were to share (supposedly) it was a very meager portion and nothing else to accompany them. No pasta, spuds, veg or anything, it was literally just a small portion of meatballs which wouldn't have been enough for 2 people. Had the menu said you needed to order sides it would have been great, indeed the waitress could have asked but didn't. And I genuinely don't remember reading anything on the menu to suggest I needed to order sides.

Still, food arrived very promptly which was good and although I was expecting something a little different as mentioned above, it was still presented very well and I dived into my food.

And this is the most dissapointing part for me. I don't know why the chef's /cooks did this but they must have added sugar to the meatball sauce and not just a sprinkling to sweeten the tomatoes. It was so sweet, like sooooooooooo sweet, it could have been mistaken as a dessert - with meat in it. Never have I had a main course taste so sickly.

Now - thus is where I am trying to show some decorum because I was so hungry, I at most of my meal, I didn't complain and therefore I didn't give them a chance to correct anything either. So from this experience I wouldn't form my full opinion on the place just yet but I would approach my next visit with some more guarded anticipation and pay a bit more attention to things than I...

My partner & I dropped in without having booked a table, on a Saturday evening (we were visiting the area & was suggested to us by the hotel we stayed in. We didn't hold out much hope of getting a table due to not having prebooked & apparently being so popular. They were kind enough to offer us a table, if it wasn't going to be a drawn out social affair- the table was already booked by another party for a certain time - (we just wanted to eat & go after having such a long day walking so it worked out well). The table for 2 are only small - 2 plates & a couple of drinks & no room for anything else....luckily the table next us had finished so they dragged over a surplus table or else we would have been stacking plates on top of each other due to lack of space) we didn't order a main or dessert, we ordered 4 starters to share between the 2 of us.

Chicken skewers, onion bhaji, calamari bites & cheesy salsa chips (those aren't the exact name of the dishes on the menu-but that's what they pretty much were & it does give a brief food description of what each dish is) The food was hot & well presented. Overall we enjoyed the food. The price is about what you would expect to pay anywhere...approx £7.00/£8.00 per starter For 4 starters & table water, our bill was £32.00 (odd pence)

We were seated downstairs & the toilet is situated upstairs (something to consider if steps are a hindrance for you). The service was steady & the atmosphere / deco is kind of low lighting with a 'trendy moody edge' feel.

On visiting Whitehaven, we noticed a lot of the eateries are pub food oriented. Compared to other towns we visit, there aren't many 'restaurants' so if you're looking for a 'romantic feel' restaurant we didn't find one...but our visit was only a 2 day visit. Parking is available around the vicinity but it is paid parking no matter the...

We were visiting the area and found on top restaurants in the area. Overall an amazing quality meal but with a point of improvement. The only thing that really let the experience down was the portion sizes were massive. They would have been better reducing the prices and portion sizes slightly and I feel they would sell more desserts therefore still making money. We walked in having no booking and they seated us at a stool area which was fine. Nice to have the breeze from the door on a hot day and watch people coming and going from the restaurant which had a constant busy flow of customers who were mainly local which suggests how good it is. We ordered mango chicken and the onion bombs as starters to share between 3 of us. Both incredible and very tasty. The mains we had were sausage and mash, spicy meatball pasta and the harbour side wok chicken. No complaints from anyone in the party except the portion sizes were too big. The service was excellent. All staff looked happy and friendly and wanted to help you in any way they could. It was nice to see them clearly enjoying working together which meant the atmosphere was really positive and friendly place to be. Its places like this that really need to be supported to stay open in difficult times for businesses as this place is a real gem despite it not really looking like much from the outside. The interior and decor was modern and clean, and they have clearly put a lot of time and effort into the restaurant recently as service was slick and professional whilst remaining friendly and homely. Definitely give this place a try if visiting the area. Make sure your...