Café 21, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Disappointing. Went for pre-mothers day treat. Forgot mothers main meal order. Arrived after rest of guests had finished. Considering this was supposed to be freshly prepared it was luke warm.

Minimal apologies. Obviously this restaurant is only being kept going on the past reputation of the owner.

Food very average for the price.

This restaurant is either very good, or very average, this visit was average, both myself and my partner had fish, both were very overcooked, tastless, the accompanying potatoes for the halibut dish were also overcooked, crispy and tough. Panna Cotta dessert was overly sweet, and chocolate tart so small a child could have eaten it in one go. A very disappointing meal. Wont hurry back.

We ate at Cafe 21 on Sunday 24 August 2008 and I found it so disappointing. The ambience and food cannot be faulted but I felt the service was dreadful - they brought the wrong wine, lost our dessert order and overall it was slow. There were plenty of waiters and waitresses but there seemed to be a complete lack of direction. We had guests up from London who regularly eat at restaurants such as The Ivy and Le Caprice - we wanted to show them that Newcastle is not a culinary backwater - however I felt this was not the restaurant to make that point.

Good food is one thing but the service has to go with it.