Cafe Live

Fearless (24 September 2006)

Another excellent unhurried meal at Cafe Live - Varied menu with enough fish choices for me, and alternatives for my partner to still make choosing the most taxing part of the evening, whilst making a mental note to return soon to try the dishes (all excellent cooked, presented and served) that missed the cut (hoping they will be on next time). An affordable wine list is an additional (hic) bonus.

Mrs A Fromson (16 August 2006)

My family and I visited Cafe Live this evening. Having visited many of the restaurants Newcastle has to offer we thought we would try Cafe Live. Upon arriving at the restaurant we found the staff to be warm and welcoming and the decor pleasant.

Following an excited review of the menu we made our selection of 2 x crab and prawn won ton's, duck and noodle salad, soup and pork skewers. Upon selecting the wine came the first disappointment, we found the floor manager had poor knowledge of the wine list, i.e claimed not to have any rose by the glass on the menu until we pointed out it did.

We were served with our starters, they looked fab, 10 out of 10 for presentation. My aunt and I had ordered the won ton's. Having taken our first taste of the won ton's we looked at each other in disgust and knew we could not eat these cold, soggy, sour and un-palatable pieces of "cold ravioli"! After some typically English deliberation on should we or should we not send them back or shall we put up and shut up. I decided to complain. I (in a typically English way) apologised for complaining, I told the floor manager we could not eat them, they were awful and asked if we could have something else or could they be taken off the bill. The floor manager offered a tempura style replacement, we accepted.

The floor manager then came back and told us that Chef said we were not entitled to a replacement as there was nothing wrong with the unpalatable, sour pieces of rubber that had been placed in front of us for £6.50 or thereabouts. (each).

I would like to make clear that I have never complained in a restaurant. Never, I have been brought up in pubs which serve food, when (on the very rare occasion) a customer would complain my mother, landlady, would replace or take the item off the bill. My in-laws have owned and run their own restaurant and although the chef may have vented his spleen in the kitchen he would have swallowed his pride and made the replacement. The chef at Cafe