Livebait

Nice atmosphere, great seafood selection and desserts were unbelievably fantastic. Wait-​staff was very accommodating, friendly and efficient. Our fresh, hot food arrived only 5 minutes after we placed our order. We expected to make an hour to an hour and a half evening of our dining experience based on the service at other London restaurants we had received, but Livebait exceeded all expectations and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Try the sticky toffee pudding. You can’t go wrong with this dish. Unbelievable! :)

This jawn is expensive!
I was on a research project to find the best fish and chips in London. I had their haddock and it was not bad, but not superb. It cost £14.50, hence it is a one timer.
I would recommend going somewhere else if you crave for fish and chips.
Not going back.
The End.

I didn’t expect it to be that good. Wow.
Searching for somewhere near my office that accepted the Taste Card, Livebait popped up. It had a few good reviews from other Unilocalers and I’ve wanted to try it for some time — I cycle past it most days and it’s always busy, mainly due to the pre and post-​theatre crowd for the Young and Old Vics on the same street. So there’s your first warning — if you want to eat before 8pm, you’ll probably need to book in advance.
As a lover of fish and seafood, I didn’t know where to start. Everything on the menu sounded good. Argh! We decided to share a few starters and nibbles — the anchovy butter served with bread is fantastic. And the whitebait with tzatziki an inspired combination. Just so frickin’ fresh. Seared King Scollops were outstanding, served with dried basil and balsamic. I had an irremovable grin on my face after the first course.
Main course. More grinning. I can certainly vouch for the roast cod fillet on bubble and squeak. Also tried some of the tuna streak with wasabi mashed potatoes. Very good. Everything we had here was fresh, flavoursome and presented beautifully. A couple next to us were tackling a huge seafood platter — I’m definitely having it next time!
Now, the 5 stars is for the food and the great service. The location and the décor are a bit nondescript — kind of ‘wipe dry’. But if you like good seafood, this is worth a visit. ESPECIALLY if you have a tastecard — we saved £34 off our bill. In fact, getting a tastecard is probably worth it just to come to Livebait once a month.
Head here once the theatre crowd have gone and enjoy the attention of the excellent staff.

We enjoyed our meal. Excellent food without stuffy surroundings.

The Original and actually quite good. Glad I came.
Lovely Oysters
and the octopus + squid were great as well.
Come and enjoy!

So the mother was down in London on the weekend and we were off to the theatre. After a busy day shopping I reckon we deserved some good quality food. An excited idea popped into my head, The Old Vic is on The Cut in Waterloo, home to the famous Anchor & Hope. It’s always transpired through our own misgivings that we fail to time the sittings right. We were to be denied again, not wanting to rush a meal at the Anchor & Hope we decided to book a table at Livebait.
I quickly scrambled around reading slightly indifferent reviews of Livebait but time and patience were wearing thin, so we took the plunge.
We all love fish and on entering the restaurant hopes were lifted by the stylish décor. We were shown to our seats and advised that our waiter would be assigned and over shortly. We arrived at 5 to give ourselves plenty of time. 4pm could have been a better idea; to say the service was slow would be an understatement. We sat for a long while before being offered a drink. I could feel myself staring longingly across the road at the Anchor & Hope. But I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. In good company it wasn’t a big issue.
When our waiter finally arrived he was pleasant and knowledgeable on the specials and menu. We decided on a bottle of La Campagne Viognier, Vin de pays d’Oc, France ²⁰⁰⁸⁄₉. This wine got a big thumbs up all round.
The starters were a mixed collection from very bad to ok, disappointing were Crab cakes with dill mayonnaise, felt like hey had come out of the school canteen. The Soup, which was lobster bisque, was lacking in substance, more like a fish stock than a soup.
The highlight was the seared King scallops and the whitebait were on par.
The mains were an improvement; Livebait’s famous fish pie was tasty and just like a good fish pie should be, stacked with creamy mash and fish.
Roast fillet of cod with crushed new potatoes and a lobster sauce, had a nice piece of fish although the skin had been cremated and the lobster sauce was well, um, lobster soup Lobster stock I should say.
Pan-​fried smoked haddock fillet and poached free-​range egg served with parsley mash and a wholegrain mustard sauce was on the whole enjoyable. Unfortunately the presentation could have been much improved and the poached egg was a disaster.
It couldn’t get worse so the deserts cheered everyone up.
Dark chocolate fondant with vanilla dairy ice cream, Tangy lemon tart with passion fruit sorbet was lovely.
A chocolate bomb served with an espresso shot. The waiter pouring the espresso added a little theatre. Although on tasting I wish he’d left it on the side.
If you a love fish done well, I’d steer well clear. Rather expensive too.
Total meal cost for 5 with wine — £195
Overall ³⁄₁₀

I went here on Wednesday 15^th Dec 2010 with a friend on a spur of the moment decision.
They were fairly full, in fact I think that we were the penultimate people to be seated that hadn’t reserved and they seemed to turn away a lot of people during the course of the evening. Being a lead upo tio Christmas and it being a popular stretch then maybe no surprising but there were a number of places along the cut that were no where near as busy.
The staff were excellent.
We shared 6 oysters, moules marinere main course, line caught haddock and chips, mulled wine and mince pie all absolutely delicious, some tap water and I had a glass of Budvar.
Total bill was £52 or so.
The food, atmosphere and staff were all thoroughly good and I have no hesitation in recommending Livebait for a decent evening meal.
Thank you Livebait, no complaints
I have just reread this and it sounds like I am a plant or a member of staff writing the review but honest I am not and it was by chance that I went in
Have a look at my other reviews if you think that I am a bit soft.
Praise where praise is due.

I love my seafood and this is a brilliant wee seafood restaurant on The Cut, near the Southbank. The name alone always enticed me before I took the plunge with my boyfriend and decided to spend some money on a nice meal.
You can get all manner of seafood delights in here from Oysters for the brave and Fish and Chips for the more conservative eaters. For my main I ordered the Sea Bream, which came with a creamy, garlic and basil sauce. Wow! It was so delicious — I really recommend this one. You can also get set menus for about £20-£30 if I remember correctly which is a great options if you fancy really pigging out.
The surroundings were simple and clean, the staff efficient but not mind-​blowingly friendly. A great place to eat out, I’d definitely go back!

Excellent all round. We shared their biggest platter and it was worth the money, we also shared a bottle of Champagne that was on offer there. A great evening. The platter contained more than enough for two, the food appeared fresh and was very tastey, the service was very good, attentive staff, fast and efficient. Highly recommended

A good place for a casual seafood dinner. The fish is quite fresh. The atmosphere is quite informal and relaxed a little toward canteen style dining. For the amount we had, the bill was quite pricey, expect to pay about £30 including drinks per person. I had steamed mussels in fish soup to start and the good old fish and chips as main course It was fairly enjoyable I may consider going again is I fancy some fish for dinner.

Bit honky, but I suppose you’re going to get that with a fish restaurant. The loo’s are a 200 mile hike away, and be careful you don’t get stuck in a hoard of tweenagers as they’re shared with the Lion King Theatre. Food’s fine, but absolutely nothing for vegetarians (my friend had to eat a plate of vegetables and then the sauce on them turned out to have meat in it!).

I had heard many good things about Livebait and thought i should try it out for myself and must admit i have had mixed experiences.
The first visit was exceptional, the seafood platter for two kept us going for what seemed like hours. Staff were very helpful throughout and with their reccommendation the platter and was washed down with what i thought was a very reasonably priced good quality champagne.
Unfortunately the second visit wasnt quite so good. We seemed to be left waiting and it was hard to get the attention of staff for simple requests throughout the meal.
Luckily having already experienced how good the restaurant can be, i will definately be back to give it another chance and just hope it was one of those ‘off’ days any place can have.

Wunderbares Fisch und Seafood Restaurant.
Nicht ganz billig, aber dem Gast wird hier eine große Auswahl an exzellentem frischen Fisch geboten.
Jedem, wie er mag: Meine englischen Gesprächspartner hatten eher Dover Sole, ich selber war mit dem Yellow Fin Tuna mit Pak Choi mehr als zufrieden.
Service makellos, nicht so überaufmerksam wie manchmal sonst in London. Wir waren mittags hier, ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass es abends recht voll wird, also lieber reservieren.

Livebait is a delicious fresh fish and shellfish restaurant on the Cut in between Southwark tube and Waterloo station. They provide a normal al a carté menus, but also between 12pm and 7pm a set menu catering for the pre-​theatre crowd. This offers either 2 courses for £14.50 or 3 for £18.50, but you have to choose from a much smaller selection than the a la carte menu.
On our last visit, we shared rock oysters for a starter, and then I had a Mexican Tuna steak with guacamole and sour cream for a main. An unusual combination but one that worked very well. We also had a desert and a bottle of wine and the bill was about £60 for both of us. Not the cheapest of restaurants, but the quality of the food is very good and I would say represents good value for money.
The restaurant is cleanly decorated with tiles and modern fixtures, and has a lively atmosphere. The service was polite and friendly. Note that there is a small cover charge of £1.75 added automatically to your bill, but this does include fresh bread and smoked salmon pâté.
Highly recommended if you like sea food.