My wife and I booked at Sinatras on Chapel Bar in Nottingham for a "Pre-Theatre" meal. We arrived slightly ahead of the 6 pm booking, expecting to order promptly and eat to exit before 7 pm. This would allow a leisurely stroll to the Theatre Royal.

A single course was on order by 6 o'clock. At just gone 6.30 I had to ask the head waiter what was happening in the kitchen. The meal had not arrived. Thank goodness we did not order a starter, there was not time to even think about a sweet.

My wife's meal was fine, even if the pasta wasn't al dente. My chicken with a potatoes cake was awful. When the waitress enquired about our satisfaction we could do no other than say "OK". There was no time to wait for replacements. The chicken lacked any form of seasoning. The potato cake was nothing more than mashed potato with a little undercooked bacon added.

On paying the bill we pointed to the shortcomings. The waitress was rude. The manager acknowledge the poor performance but failed to do anything about it. This was not a cheap meal. The value was dire.

We were not surprised that the place was almost empty, even as we left at 7 o'clock.

Just a few days prior we had eaten at the local college of education food course with much better results in both service and cuisine. Then we ate at a chain steak bar, where it took 3 attempts to get a rare steak. The manager decided not to render a bill for food or wine. Off we will go on holiday to some of the best food in the world in Sark. No wonder England has a poor reputation worldwide for its restaurants.