St Clements Restaurant, St Leonards on Sea

Having eaten in quite a few Michelin starred restaurants over the years, both in France and here in the UK, I had heard good things about St Clements in St Leonards. The reviews gave high praise and I understood it had been recommended in the Michelin guide and other good food books.

We was very disappointed. The menu was fairly diverse but my starter of mozerella salad was simply dull, the dressing plain. My husband's fishcakes were good and both our mains of seabass and dover sole were well cooked. But they were both pan fried with straight forward dressings of herbs/ parsley butter which is very easy to repliciate yourself. Our wine was average considering we chose a mid-priced Chablis at £26.00

My husband's seabass came with a small portion of overcooked rice and a quite revolting 'thai salad' which consisted of half cooked carrots and bean spouts. This side dish did not compliment the delicate seabass at all and was slightly warm which made it more unappealing. My Dover sole with capers was very pleasant but the white potato puree was bland and reminded me of the puree I would feed my babies when weaning!

We were not shown the daily specials when we first sat down nor was it made clear that vegetables were separate and came as a side dish at an extra cost of £2.50 per person.

My pudding of apple tart and creme freche was lovely. The coffee was also rich and full flavoured. But the atmosphere of the place was non existant- more like a cafe really. We thought the decor impersonal and when the restaurant was busy, the noise level was far too high. Hardly romantic.

They appeared rather short staffed, the waitresses were stressed and rushed off their feet. As we were the earlier sitting, by 9.00pm, they were laying out the tables getting ready for a large party of people. We felt rushed and that they just wanted us out. They did not say goodbye, thank you or even acknowledge us, considering we had just spent £100.

The toilets were clean but functional.

My in-laws live in the area and a number of their friends have visited St Clements. They all say the same thing, that the food, particularly the fish, is good but overpriced and the service poor. Therefore, I would not recommend St Clements and would not eat there again.

Had my husband's company not been paying for the meal, I would have been livid at how we were ripped off. A lump of average quality Mozerella, sitting on top of bagged salad and a few herbs is NOT worthy of a mention in a Michelin guide.

If you want a similar style of cuisine, home cooked and eat in a great atmosphere, try Restaurant 27 in Hastings Old Town. Far superior and better value for money.

St Clements Restaurant is a clean well run comfortable restaurant for people who are interested in and like eating well cooked food. In my opinion it is not trying to be trendy and is possibly not for those who feel that it is more important to be seen at a certain restaurant as opposed to the quality of the meal. Good antique shops close by and within 100 metres of the sea so you can make a day of it if you want. The mid week lunch is fantastic value for money. Three courses for about £15 per head! A three course dinner on a Saturday night with plenty to drink if you want it, will cost you between about £35 to £45 per head.