An office conversation about the best place to eat in Sittingbourne had my colleagues and I scratching our heads.

Apart from a few pubs and Indians, where is somewhere that you can get a little dressed up for and have a cheeky drink with a nice meal? That's when I discovered the Sentado Lounge...

Arriving at Bourne Place, the town's multi-million leisure quarter, I was quite taken back by the classy exterior of the cafe bar and restaurant.

It had a rustic vibe and was a quirky modern feeling restaurant, something I feel Sittingbourne lacks.

My parents, my brother and I were all looking forward to a rare meal out. We'd never been to the Sentado Lounge and were looking forward to trying something new.

When we arrived a friendly waitress straight away asked if any of us had any allergies and then told us to pick a table of our choosing and order either at the bar or through an app.

Although the restaurant was very nicely decorated and the staff were nice enough, I did feel a little put out that we had to pay through an app.

I know this has become common practice after the pandemic, but I felt like the ordering method takes away from the 'special' meal out and makes it seem like you're at a Wetherspoon.

We weren't sure if the restaurant was Mexican themed, however with churros, a Mexican Superbowl and chili on the menu I was certain it had some South American influence.

The lounge was fairly busy for a Monday night, and shortly after we'd taken our seats a table of 16 arrived.

I was happy to see it was popular, but I was slightly put off when a different waitress began telling the customers that they were understaffed with only three waiters working.

We only arrived 10 minutes earlier but had no such warning.

When ordering our meals I discovered the Sentado Lounge has a special Cheeky Monday offer where you can claim a free glass of wine or pudding with any main or burger order.

Excited by the thought of a freebie my family and I ordered from the set list associated with the deal.

I went with the Wan Chai Fried Rice Bowl with Miso Chicken.

It came with spring onions and greens, edamame beans, pickled slaw, roasted kale, miso grilled chicken, a fried egg and chilli flakes.

As the designated driver I opted for a refreshing virgin mango flavoured cocktail.

My mum and brother both ordered the Steak Frites, an 8oz 28-day aged rump steak with garlic butter, wild rocket and a parmesan salad with fries.

Finally, my dad chose the Pulled Brisket Chilli,a slow-cooked beef brisket, black beans and mature cheddar served with spicy rice, spring onion, red chilli, yoghurt and a side of chips.

When ordering on the app we saw no option for the Monday deal, so we ordered, which cost just shy of £70, and waited for a waitress to return so we could ask.

Our order went through at 7.24pm and our drinks didn't arrive until 7.38pm, it was a bit of a wait considering it was for some fruit juice, a beer and two cokes.

However considering they were clearly understaffed, which was confirmed when a man dressed as a chef brought the drinks over, it wasn't the end of the world.

But when the polite gentleman placed our drinks onto the table he managed to knock over the free standing, lit candle.

This caused hot melted candle wax to cover the table and my drink.

He apologised and quickly departed, no attempt was made to clear up the mess. The wax hardened quickly so it wasn't disastrous but not a great start to the meal.

Moments after our food arrived, it looked and smelt gorgeous.

While we had the waitresses attention we asked her about the Monday deal and how we could claim it.

Without offering much help she said we simply should have added the items included in the deal to our order on the app and the price would have been removed automatically.

We weren't told this on arrival and had no idea this is how it worked so we sadly missed out.

The waitress didn't hang around to answer any other queries we had about the offer.

To the main event.

I was very impressed by my chicken and rice combination, it was wonderful and the mango drink was a very refreshing way to wash it down.

The mix of ingredients tasted beautiful.

My dad said his chilli was nice and flavourful with a bit of spice and that he'd definitely have it again.

The steak was a hit with my mum and brother.

He said the butter was the best bit of the meal, but the salad was the highlight for my mum.

However, they both did say that the steep price of £17.95 for the rump cut of a steak did dampen the experience a touch.

For dessert the four of us opted to share a portion of churros with chocolate and salted caramel sauce.

Again, some piped batter with a sugary dip costing more than £6 was a bit costly in my opinion.

However, when they arrived just five minuets later mine, and my brother's, sweet tooth were very satisfied.

Overall I didn't have the worst experience but I'm not sure if I would return if I was given the choice to go somewhere else.

The food was lovely but the lack of staff did impact the service, especially as they had a party of 16 to wait on.

I was slightly put off by the app payment, it meant we were unable to ask a waiter for help and guidance when ordering.

It also felt that it made a pricey meal out seem cheaper.

You'd expect to have to do that a chain pub such as Wetherspoon, but with it you get a much cheaper meal.

Out of five:

Food: The food was wonderfully presented and very tasty, however I felt that it was priced a bit to highly. ****

Drink: The mango virgin cocktail was very yummy, but like most 'fancy' drinks it was mostly ice. ****

Decor: The lounge has a quirky mix of decor that I found enjoyable to look at while waiting for my order to arrive. However, perhaps candles on the edge of tables isn't a smart choice. ***

Staff: The staff were friendly enough but they didn't go above and beyond to make our experience enjoyable, that being said they were very stressed. ****

Price: £70 for four meals and fours drinks (minus the dessert) is a bit on the expensive side but this was driven up by two steak meals.***