Alba - St Ives

Wow, a place that seemed nice at a glance but turned out to be far from that. read more Wow, a place that seemed nice at a glance but turned out to be far from that.

The only thing stopping me from giving me this place a 4 star is that we got stuck with a grouchy waitress. read more The only thing stopping me from giving me this place a 4 star is that we got stuck with a grouchy waitress.

We've never been disappointed here, on the occasions when we could get in at allIt's in the GFG, and you can taste why. read more We've never been disappointed here, on the occasions when we could get in at allIt's in the GFG, and you can taste why.

Me and my girlfriend came here for a birthday dinner. The food was absolutely excellent although the service was a little slow to begin with . Although this was... read more Me and my girlfriend came here for a birthday dinner. The food was absolutely excellent although the service was a little slow to begin with . Although this was soon forgotten about once our food arrived . Absolutely fantastic.

This was my third visit to Alba, as I had enjoyed the food very much on previous occasions. It is expensive but I thought it was worth it for a special occasion... read more This was my third visit to Alba, as I had enjoyed the food very much on previous occasions. It is expensive but I thought it was worth it for a special occasion. However I will not be visiting again after this visit. First of all, one of the reasonably priced wines on the menu (Picpoul which I love) was not available. No suggestions were made for a different wine but the one we chose was ok. The 'amuse bouche ' was a tiny portion of uninspiring soup. My chicken dish was floating in a bland, watery souplike sauce with undercooked boiled potatoes and leeks. My friends had fish which was ok; nothing special. Nobody asked us whether everything was ok until we had finished. I said that my sauce was watery and bland. The waitress immediately rushed off with my plate to talk to the chef. She returned with the unsurprising news that there was nothing wrong with it. It was supposed to be like that . The bill was £96 for 3 mains, one starter and a bottle of wine. The dessert menu was unappetising and like everything else, grossly overpriced. It is a shame as Alba used to be really great. Now it is pretentious and overpriced for what it is.