St Ives Inn, Neath

We had the chicken with fennel, and seabass and a bottle of wine at St Ives Inn in Neath. It was the best meal I've had for years!

I thought I'd try the St Ives Inn in Neath, as it had had a rave write up in the local free paper. I was one of only three tables for lunch on a Monday during school holidays. The other tables consisted of a group of three who virtually licked their plates clean, and a gran and grandson who didn't speak, once, to one another. He was too busy playing with his DS, and she was reading a paper. Good family time!?

Anyway, I thought I'd go the full hog, and I went for one of the more expensive dishes available (no specials available on this visit). The laminated menu promised succulent prok ribs with "sticky sauce".

Hmmm. OK, the Pinot Grigio was nice and cold, so that was a good start. Eventually, after about 20 minutes, the waiter, with his various piercings delivered a plate of ribs covered in the "sticky sauce" and an additional gravy boat of sauce. Next came the side salad, which was crisp and fresh. I appreciate that the wait was in order for the Chef to produce food to order. I got the impression that he'd stuck the ribs under the grill and nipped out for a long fag break.

I had to collect my own knife and fork from a plastic tray marked "daytime". It took a while before I found any that were clean.

The ribs had been grilled to a frazzle. What meat was left was dry and chewy. Not only that, but having destroyed the meat, the "chef" then smothered them with sauce and grilled them some more, leaving a burnt tasting bath of bronwness.

The gravy boat sauce tasted a lot better. The chips were OK, and they looked hand cut, although they were a little soggy. I have never understood the need to put peas on every pub-meal plate, particularly as the salad was so fresh and tasty.

Overall... don't believe everything you read in the free papers! One to avoid though the other table of three obviously enjoyed themselves. So don't take this review for granted either. I'll probably try again, and hopefully give a second more positive review.