YOU can almost never have it all. Good food, very reasonable prices, lovely seating, nice view. Shame about the service.

Well to be exact, shame about the time it took to serve us. It never ceases to amaze me how any popular establishment can fail to organise its working rotas so there are enough staff on duty on - ooh, let's say - a Sunday lunchtime in August. Place that pub-bar-restaurant next to the sea, advertise that families are welcome and then run up a 45-minute meals-to-table waiting time.

And if that isn't bad enough, make sure staff are so run off their feet they can't clean tables, will mix up the orders and generally give off an air of a team who are coping through adversity - just.

And for good measure allow a large group of men - you certainly were too old to be labelled 'lads' fellas - to order round after round of vodka fruit drinks, shout loudly at each other and their mates on the seafront below, and drive away several tables of diners in the balcony area.

OK, enough knocking. Let's look at the positives. The view from the balcony at Lloyds No 1 Bar is lovely. The staff are friendly and helpful, although I did have to clear the table myself.

The menu is compact, yet full of surprise bargains. For instance, order any main meal and get a second cheaper one free. And with the most expensive item on that menu being chicken tikka masala at £6.59 that can't be bad.

Or how about a wrap, burger or paninis plus a drink - soft or alcoholic - for just £3.79?

Great value? I should say so. So where's the catch? Certainly not the portions, which were pretty substantial. The mixed grill at £5.79 was huge.

Nor could we fault the choice on the kids' menu, which at £2.49 included a drink, a substantial serving of the usual bangers or fish or turkey dinosaurs, plus an ice cream sundae.

The catch turned out to be the wait. That and the fact our order for nachos with chilli became just nachos, and it was served before the kids' meals instead of with them as we had asked (there's nothing worse than hungry youngsters who have already waited over an hour since taking their seats having to now watch as their parents wolf down their first course).

Our main course of lasagne verdi (vegetarian) and jumbo cod fish fingers were quite large, well-presented and terrific value. For mass production fare it was really quite nice.

We waited for the table to be cleared, alas, in vain. Eventually I returned to the bar to ask if the kids could have their sundaes. They would be coming. They didn't.

The noise from the group of men enjoying their umpteenth round of girlie vodka alcopops became too much and we decided to give ice cream a miss. It had taken us two hours.

Total bill? Just £24 all in, including drinks.

Fabulous value. Shame about the staffing levels.

Reservations: 023 9231 4800.