The fries are value. Burgers, average taste, overpriced. But, opinion aside, the 18-quai can of Coke is unequivocal profiteering.

I went to Let's Seafood for the first time last weekend and had a very mixed experience.

The setting in Nali Patio is lovely when the weather is nice, although it seems tricky getting a table on weekend nights.

The service was ok, and the menu looked very nice. I was pretty taken aback when the waitress asked us to pay straight after we ordered however. I know this is standard in cheap noddle joints (though I find it pretty annoying even in those places), but in a joint that strains so hard to be a "classy restaurant" it's pretty funny they demand your money before they'll hand over your food.

They gave us some bread to start which was appreciated as we were very hungry, but then the waitress told us that if we wanted anything on the bread we had to go inside and serve ourselves from a "self service" counter!

When the mains came they were underwhelming. My friend's seafood platter was quite good, but my fish and chips was very ordinary. The batter was so thick and oily I felt ill before I even got half way through it. The chips were passable, if a little limp.

Given the prices they are charging at this place I really expected something better. Maybe that's why they make you pay upfront...

If the prices were cheaper they might have scrapped in at three stars, but given what we paid I'll only give them two.

Letts Seafood offer not only quality food but a great environment with the spanish style style courtyard just outside. There is plenty of room at Letts with two floors so dont worry about having to wait. The Fish and Chips will appeal to the Brits, the fish is good quality although the batter can be too thick for some tastes. The chips - or french fries - are more like the traditional chips you get back in the UK. You can order a burger which comes from their sister reatraunt along the square and many other dishes that are good quality. I have found the service to be prompt and courteous and the atmosphere relaxing.

Like Let's Burger (and all Nali Patio venues with al fresco seating), this place has a fantastic setting - especially at this time of year.

We checked it out for the first time today (have been to Let's Burger many times), but unfortunately I wasn't too impressed with the food.

Seems like we didn't order the right things.

I had the Fish and Chips. The portion was generous and the batter crispy, but I found it all to a bit too bland (even with the vinegar and lime). Maybe that's how it's supposed to be - but I've had better fish and chips before in Beijing. The overcooked fries didn't help much.

My wife had the squid and avocado salad. Again, decent portion with a generous serving of avocado, but the squid was too tough, there was too much onion, and the vinegrette dressing simply did not work as a complement to the squid (note to chef - vinegar and avocado do not mix).

We kept jealously eyeing the heaping bowl of mussels on the table next to us - they definitely looked good - and the saving grace of our meal was a shared Spanish burger from Let's Burger (I'll save that for another review).

One other slightly irksome thing was being asked to pay for the bill before we even got our food. Now I can understand this practice in crowded lunch time restaurants where it's easy for delinquent diners to slip out before paying the bill, but considering we were the only diners on the second floor terrace at the time (save for one other table), we couldn't help but wonder what's the rush?

I might give this place another shot (to try the mussels) some time, but most likely I'll just stick to Let's Burger.

What I hate more than Crappy Food is a Crappy Review… when I go to a restaurant I judge it on 3 basic elements, quality of food, service, and ambiance. No offense to Mr. No Crapper's earlier review, but if you’re criticizing a restaurant based on the way they take orders or where the bathroom is, you got issues.

First of all, the ordering process. Dude, you are checking off what you want to order on a piece of paper and handing it to the waitress. It’s not Rocket Science my friend. If anything, I find it to be rather convenient. In case you forgot, we are living in China where English is not the official language and we are in a city with a mix of foreigners with many different foreign English accents. Try taking an order from a table full of people from France, Germany, England, Australia and the US. It would not be fun. I don’t know if it was the intent of the owners but I think this way makes it clear, simple and less confusing for all parties. However, if that process is really too difficult for you, I did see the waitress take orders from a customer the conventional way..

The bathroom. I don’t know about you, but when I go to a restaurant the first thing that comes to mind is definitely not “how many times can I go pee or crap.” And I definitely don’t let how many times I have to go to the bathroom dictate how many bottles of wine I plan on having… Unless you have a bladder problem, I would say 2 people sharing 2-3 bottles of wine, going to pee once or twice is more than enough. Yes, the restroom is located outside the restaurant but for any normal, average intelligent person, it’s not hard to find. Maybe you’ve never been to the Village or any other shopping center restaurants in China but most, if not all, of their bathrooms are located outside the restaurant and you have to walk through corridors to get there..But regardless, I mean if you are planning on pounding down beers and having to take a piss every ten minutes, there are some bars across the street that might be more of your style. I believe they have bathroom inside their bars and if the urinals are full you could probably piss in the sink and it wouldnt matter...

And the most ignorant comment of all, why do Chinese owners of western restaurants get it wrong. I am originally from Boston but have lived in Las Vegas, LA, and San Francisco, so I have had my share of experiencing Western Cuisine. Besides the staff not being westerners I don’t know how else you would make it more westernize. Also, if you haven’t noticed, Let’s Seafood is the sister restaurant of the extremely successful Let’s Burger. And the last I remember, Burgers are not a Chinese Dish.…

Ok, enough about irrelevant stuff, here’s an actual useful review. As I mentioned before I base my judgment of a restaurants on 3 criteria, the food, the service and the ambiance.

I believe Let’s Seafood officially opened about a month ago and I have already been there 3 times. The first time I went I was with a group of ten so I got to taste a good amount of the items. On a normal basis most of us would have ordered the conventional western style, where each person has their own entrée, but since we all wanted to try different dishes we decided to order family style. (It actually turned out great eating this way). So the first thing that caught my eye was the presentation, very simple and classy. Obviously everyone has different taste buds, so not everyone was in agreeance with which was their favorite. However, we all were in agreeance that all the seafood was very fresh, which is most important, especially when it comes to seafood. The dishes were also all exceptionally prepared. (Meaning not over or undercooked.) All the dishes were also extremely tasteful and the sauces that accompanied them were a great match. I personally would recommend the fried shrimp, and either one of the mussels as an appetizer. Both the sauce for the mussels was especially delicious. I literally wanted to drink them both as a soup. As for the Entrée, I loved the snapper, marlin, the seafood soup and the lobster that was served half grilled and half in a soup. As for the portions, for the price, you are definitely getting your money’s worth. Some of the portions I would say are almost a little overboard. The second time I went I brought a date and we ordered just a salad, mussel and the snapper to share. With a bottle of wine it was perfect for the both of us.…

As for the service, the first time I was there, the service was a little inefficient. I don’t know if it was because they had just opened and still working out the kinks or because we were a large group, it might have been a little overwhelming for them. However, with that said, they were always very friendly, courteous, and always available when we needed them. The second and third time I went, it was as equally pleasant and the efficiently level was much improved.

And finally the ambiance, I actually enjoy the ambience the most. The décor and the background music give it a very elegant yet enjoyable environment. Although certain aspect of the restaurant creates a sort of chic feel, we being a large group were never intimidated or worried about talking too loud or laughing. In addition to large groups I also think it’s a great place to bring a date. I would recommend sitting upstairs on the couches for dinner, where you can sit side by side, giving more opportunity to get closer. =) Overall it’s just a classy atmosphere that doesn’t give the impression that you are trying too hard to impress. I would call it elegantly comfortable.

So overall I definitely give it two thumbs up and a must try. As for you Mr. No Crapper, not to crap on your review but maybe next time you go to a restaurant try not to nitpick about irrelevant things and maybe you might just enjoy your meal.

Why o why, do Chinese owners of western style restaurants get it so wrong? Is it because they have never been to the west and thus do not know what they are doing or is it that they live in eternal hope of just opening a restaurant that is not Chinese it will magically become a western restaurant?
Answers on a piece of paper to........,

Looks promising, until you have to order your food/choose by ticking off boxes on a piece of paper, a bit like a multiple choice exam/test,with one pencil! So presumably if your in a group of more than say two people, do they give you more pencils or does one have to wait there turn to share the pencil? Why do 'Lets' make the customer do all the work?
After making/marking your choice, you must tick the box in the top right corner on the first side of the paper before you hand it in- in ticking this box means and reminds you that you are going to hand in your piece of paper with your muiltiple choice appropriately ticked and this will be checked by the wait staff that you have filled it in properly! Still with me? Sounds familiar?

All mains come with a side of rice and rosemary potatoes a bowl of fish soup/chowder. Sounds fine, but unlike western restaurants they brought mine all together the Chinese way, so soup, rice/potatoes and two Red Snapper all together, but, my friends, who ordered the Mullet, they did not. So soup for them then. Soup was good if not a bit chunky, but hot, which my Red Snapper was not by the time I had finished the soup. Fish was good but way over cooked, nicely served on nice plates etc..,Mullet which arrived as and when it should, ie, ten minutes later looked much better.

Ridiculous prices for wines, why not have a good house wine?? Restaurants must have CRAPPERS like they must have a KITCHEN WHY NOT?? Go outside,take a lift, down some stairs, up some stairs, round a corner, alomg a corridor and back down some different stairs. I gave up in the end and I think the rest of the people in the restaurant did too. What's the point of opening a restaurant without Loo's. Hence customers do not order drinks freely and the ambience is spoilt by customers not taking there time and enjoying themselves over several beers or bottles of wine.
Waitress staff attractive and friendly, but not quite sure why they are there or what they are meant to do, as you have already done your own ordering. Would I go back, yep probably, because I saw several dishes of big bowls of mussels go by, so yep probably. But remember to go to the CRAPPER first or cross your legs or go somewhere else were you can drink as much as you want and have a good time without worrying were your going to have a PEE! especially when it's cold!

Food, good prices/reasonable so probably worth another visit. Must do better!!