Lucy's on a Plate

Mr Smith (3 July 2008)

We having been dining at Lucy's for a few years now and the food and service had always been excellent. So we were looking forward to eating there after pre-booking a table. Things had changed a little since our last visit, gone is the food shop, now replaced with a black table and leather chairs as a waiting area but its the food that counts I thought. I ordered the fish cakes to start and my partner ordered the king prawns, we both ordered the lamb as our main. I noticed on the menu that the prices of both the starters and mains have shot up, particularly the mains, all are in the high teens - the lamb was at £19. My partner’s king prawns arrived in a coconut sauce, which was disappointing with four king prawns in a rather bad sauce. I suspect this had been zapped in a microwave rather than freshly cooked. Ten minutes later my fish cakes had still not arrived, I managed to get the waitress’s attention who apologized and brought my starter - three small fishcakes with salad and chutney, again not very good by the look and taste, re-heated in a microwave.

The main course of lamb was served cut on a bed of vegetables with a creamy sauce and bizarrely what looked like a large chunk of potato, which looked and tasted like a jacked potato with the skin removed. A quick look and taste of the lamb showed that it had not been cooked properly, lukewarm and bloody in the middle; my partner's was the same. I caught the attention of the waitress and indicated that the lamb was not cooked properly and that I would not be paying for it, I asked for the bill and advised that I would only be paying for the starters, which were very poor, and the drinks. The waitress apologized and came back with our bill, we also had an apology from what I can only guess to be the manager for the evening. We asked why the food prices had increased so much, she said that generally food costs had increased, my partner summarized that maybe its to pay for the relocation of the shop? A quick calculation indicated that if we had paid for the entire meal and ordered sweets, the bill would be close to £80.The same meal at Lucy’s about a year ago was £55-£60. So we have a £20 - £25 increase over 12 months!

Georgie (2 April 2008)

We wondered for a while what the place was like as we had heard good about it and decided to try it. I think they did not like the fact that we did not have a booking and left us near the entrance. Eventually we were shown to a cramped table and handed menus.

My mother and I ordered brie and bacon ciabattas and my husband ordered soup. The ciabattas were burnt and the soup was cold. We did not enjoy our meal, and it was very difficult to attract the attention of the waiters. We paid £30 for this. Next time we're in Ambleside we won't be going there.

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