Finbar's of West Bay — Restaurant in Thanet

Really lovely restaurant, food was absolutely perfect. There's not many places around here I've been that will serve a steak cooked blue, and it's a really good indicator of how good a place is in terms of hygiene, freshness, and skill if they do. The steak was gorgeous (bavette is my favourite cut) portions were just right. Poached pear was really elegantly spiced - not heavy handed with it as many places tend towards - and refreshing. Overall the seasoning for every dish we had showed a great degree of skill and care; nothing was bland, nothing was unbalanced or over-salted, and honestly I didn't expect it to be so good for the price. It's about middling on cost, I'd say, but the quality is absolutely top.

The service staff were all absolutely lovely too, very patient when we took our time figuring out what we want (we forgot to ask for a corner or side table and find being surrounded a little overwhelming so took a bit to settle ourselves - such is life when you're ND).

Menu is clear and uncluttered, and vegetarian options and gluten free options are clearly marked, tho I didn't focus on what they were once I saw they had my favourite cut of steak.

We took a short flight of stairs from the grass at the top and then a ramp to get in, but I think there is a long long ramp led route along the bay we might have been able to take - all I can definitely say is that the place is AMBULANT disabled accessible, with space in the toilet to prop your stick, though it didn't have an explicitly accessible toilet (not that I saw). The wooden ramp in front of the door was a bit slippy under my stick in the rain, which I think may just be my needing to replace the rubbery bit at the bottom - it's been happening everywhere lately.

The view over the bay is gorgeous too.

Honestly a gem, definitely...

The surrounding vista is amazing, with incredible views along the coast and out to sea. Due to this, it's very popular at weekends so booking is advised. We dined there on a Saturday lunchtime in mid July and was our first visit. Upon arrival we had to wait a while as the two members of "front line' staff were already extremely busy dealing with diners already in situ. However we were then greeted by a 'happy and friendly' member of staff who showed us to our table and provided us with the menu. Our initial thoughts? We were very impressed, both with the table settings and our surroundings. Two of us chose the Battered fish & chips, which was enjoyed by both. From memory I think it was approximately £18 each. Myself and one other ordered the seafood platter at a cost of just shy of £30 each. At that price, we were really looking forward to something special! Each platter came with 3/4 small portions of fish, 2 shell-on King Prawns and 2 Scallops. Neither of us particularly enjoyed it. Sadly everything was overcooked. The scallops had virtually disappeared and no longer even resembled Scallops. The prawns were tough and the fish was dry and just didn't taste nice. As we were disappointed, we decided to leave and go for dessert elsewhere. However, trying to get the poor waitresses' attention was another feat in itself! As by the time we were ready the queue was going up the stairs. We eventually managed to obtain the bill, which for the four of us was approximately £140.00...... Not a particularly cheap Saturday lunch, but it was my birthday! I genuinely believe, as I have heard of some good experiences from others, that they were simply understaffed and rushed off their feet. Sadly for this reviewer, on this occasion, it was to...

The view is fantastic and sitting outside on the terrace on a nice evening is stunning. Next time though I would watch the sunset on the beach and then go somewhere else for dinner.

First, the positive. Our server was fantastic - very friendly, professional and helpful. She was attentive throughout the meal and very quickly corrected a small mistake on our bill at the end.

There are a few more negatives unfortunately.

I had the burger and it was incredibly greasy. It was OK initially but left a nasty taste in my mouth and feeling in my stomach all evening and night, I could even still taste it this morning. The bun was also cold - not room temperature cold, refrigerated cold - which made me feel it had just been taken straight from the fridge or defrosted and put on my plate. To contrast this, my partner did say the pan fried cod was quite nice. The desserts were very nice too, perhaps a bit too sweet towards the end but not extreme.

As I said above, service from our waitress individually was excellent but the restaurant overall was very slow. This was despite having what appeared to be one staff member to every 2-4 customers - behind the bar inside was absolutely packed. A good proportion of these staff looked like they were aged 12-16 as well. To illustrate the pace of service, my partner and I each had one drink, one main and one dessert - we were there for 2 hours and 15 mins. As a specific example, when we requested the dessert menu it took about 15 mins for it to come and then a further 15-20 mins for someone to come back for our order. I've been to places that are much worse but this is definitely on...