Brasserie at The Wivenhoe House in Colchester

We came for a pre booked afternoon tea for my mum’s birthday. We were sat for 50 minutes before the food came out, with no apology or explanation for the delay - you could understand if it were a cooked meal that was ordered on arrival but an afternoon tea that had been prebooked so they knew what we would be eating to have that much delay seemed unreasonable. The food was reasonable, though disappointing that the one (slightly dry) scone each was plain and not fruit as described on the menu. We had to ask for more tea as were not offered any more. The food would have been ok if it were accompanied by great service but by the time it arrived we were all a bit fed up and ready to leave.

Varied menu, reasonably priced with excellent service and attentive staff. Great location for walk to work off the lunch!

Had a great time at afternoon tea. Prosecco nice touch. Sandwiches pre made so a little crusty. Scones lovely. Cakes not so nice banana bread contained nuts so couldn’t eat it, don’t like profiteroles or macaroons. Meringue was nice.

We have just celebrated my parents 65 th Wedding Anniversary in one of the function rooms next to the Brassarie! From start to finish they looked after us, nothing was too much trouble the room was set up beautifully and we had afternoon tea which was very substantial and nicely presented! It had easy access with ramps and toilets for people with mobility issues. We spent the afternoon on the lawns outside with the children. Can’t thank the staff enough for the kind service.

One of the most enjoyable meals I have ever had and I am not easy to impress. I attended with my daughter for afternoon tea. The food was exceptional, the service too was incredible, ultra professional and friendly. Could not praise more highly. Created a wonderful memory with my daughter, thank you.

Came here yesterday evening for my post graduation dinner. Superb hospitality, really friendly attentive staff and the food was wonderful! A lovely evening to finish off a great day.

A very warm welcome was received upon entering the restaurant. The staff were very engaging and the service was outstanding and the food was excellent. Could not fault it. A very calm and relaxing environment. Will definitely be returning again soon x

Well what a pleasant surprise and delight. Very relaxed atmosphere for family gatherings. A variety of people were in the room , large groups , semi private areas available . Younger families , older celebrations, tables of friends , pretty much every age group. We had the afternoon tea . Not West End quality , I suspect not West End price ( this was a gift from my daughter ) . Acoustic guitar with wide variety of songs added perfectly to the atmosphere. No pressure to leave the table , which was nice and appreciated. Very much worth a look.

New Year’s Eve was amazing, we opted for dinner and dj @ £95 per person food was good, drink at midnight, hats , streamers and great music all night amazing value such fun and lovely people all dancing and mixing in together,,, well done WH

Very disappointed meal was average. Four of us had different meals and none of them were worth what they are charging. Service is good

We had a very enjoyable Sunday lunch. Great atmosphere with a talented singer. Food was delicious. We had veggie nut roast and my sister and her husband had the beef roast and a veggie pasta dish. They had crepes suzette for desert cooked at the table which was fun. Recommend.

We have been visiting this restaurant, on a frequent basis, since July of 2023. The food is always delicious, reasonably priced, and you are given good portion sizes. The staff at the restaurant are exceptionally friendly, and will go above and beyond to cater for their customers. Some of the staff members are actually students at the University of Essex, and are working in the restaurant, to seek merits towards gaining their hospitality degrees. I truly admire the young people, whom are choosing to give up their spare time, in order to obtain hands on experience, so to further learn about the profession they are wishing to pursue. A special shout-out to Monika. Monika is a student of the University, and nothing was too much trouble for her. She was approachable & helpful. She never stopped smiling. Also, a shout-out for Rahul. Rahul was the allocated waiter, on our most recent visit, and he was a very polite young man. We will be returning to the Brasserie again, in the not too distant future. We are hoping to sample the restaurant’s Afternoon Tea service, at some point. This is always a popular choice with other customers, and so we are excited to give this a try, for ourselves. Thank you again for another wonderful experience!

If I could give more than 5 stars then I would. We came here to celebrate my mums 80th birthday. We asked for a quiet table and when we arrived, we found we were seated in the boardroom which was so cosy. The table had been decorated for us as they were aware it was a special birthday. We were waited on by Lionel who went above and beyond to make my mums day even more special. He was brilliant. The food was amazing. I cannot praise this place enough. Definitely the perfect place to celebrate a special occasion.

1st class service for my Mum’s 80th birthday. Staff were attentive, food delicious, the attention to detail was spot on. We had such a lovely evening thanks to the personal attention of the staff in the Brasserie. Surpassed all of my expectations! Thank you all!

Recently had lunch - enjoyed it very much. Food was very good with very friendly and attentive service, especially a young female server Gosia (?). My two, slightly, negative comments are: 1. the soup was served in a jug which we then had to transfer to the bowl, the soup had a skin on it and was luke warm by the time it reached the bowl; 2. my Sea Bass came with the head still attached which did not bother me but did slightly upset my two companions - when ordering it would have been helpful to point out that the fish's head would be served up. Apart from that, very good.

Venue chosen because of location and the menu options. Lovely place to eat. Seated straight away, made very welcome by staff . On the whole it was ok , food was at best just average , can’t say it really lived up to expectations. Quite bland food from a very limited menu and you would think it would be difficult to get a pesto chicken pizza wrong - but it was swimming in Pesto, soaking wet in the middle and very thin. One party was restricted to just the burger and despite asking for no dressing on the side salad and no additions on the burger, this either wasn’t communicated or ignored by kitchen staff . An alternative salad was brought without any hesitation and apologies given . It’s not a massive error just takes the shine off going out to enjoy simple food with family and spending £120+ . Staff were great, pleasant but the food choice and quality is very mediocre.

Absolutely amazing staff, and food, good to have live music, if just a little to loud, but this is of course subjective. Great value, and ambience, I will return with my family. So good for Wivenhoe to have such a venue. Thank you, please maintain your excellent standards.

Great idea BBQ with live music outside but thank goodness there was room inside as it was raining and to miserable to sit outside. English weather very unpredictable. Very busy so it took a while before our drinks arrived and we felt we were in the way.

We live locally and have had several meals at The Brasserie. As usual, the food was delicious with exceptional service from our waitress Gosia Jagicllo. We look forward to our next visit.

I wonder if the problem with The Brasserie is the quality of ingredients. Many of the poor reviews criticise the quality of the food. My experience at lunch today was a very poor beef burger. All the accompaniments were good, especially good chips, but the burger itself was hard, dry and tasteless. I didn’t complain because I was someone’s guest. However, the service and ambience are excellent. As I live locally I have dined there many times and am used to it sometimes being really good and sometimes less so. I will try again in due course and hope I struck lucky next time.

Just had afternoon tea 5* the Tea the Service the staff and management all 5* requests were acknowledged all with a smile .. I booked this as a surprise birthday present and it was perfect ... Thank you ...

If you like great food and great staff then this is the place to go.

Poor Management / terrible Service. Will not be recommending this place to anyone. Management need training then support and train their team to how to provide good service to all guests.

Everyone was lovely, the venue a delight with knowledgeable waiters who gave us an interesting background to the history of Wivenhoe house (and the beautiful cork trees!) Our starters were delicious, and the mains wonderful, with a small exception, the bass was a little overcooked. Luckily, my brother was fairly replete with the garlic bread starter which was yummy (We all had a taste... delicious). But a lovely touch giving my younger brother a birthday treat. We will be back, it was a great evening and we left very full and happy. Thank you all x

Had afternoon tea very disappointed sandwich s tasteless fillings 4 hard scones cakes awfull £ 44 for 2. The whole afternoon. Tea Experiance needs to be updated be Very disappointed expected better from a big weddding type venue Never again.

For a group of retired ladies who regularly used the Wivenhoe Brasserie - The fish from the fish and chips was so thin it was mostly eating just batter and quite dry, the Caesar salad was drenched in dressing and not very tasty, the quiche was good. Shame the set menu has been discontinued. Overall the food was not good enough to tempt us to return

The Brasserie is a pleasant café/restaurant that can feel a bit more formal than I'd like but I'm a more casual diner. I've been for lunch a number of times and I'd welcome the staff to be a bit more at ease, whereas I feel that they feel they need to be formal with us, though they are always courteous. The food is solid but possibly not quite matching the more formal settings. It has a bit of a diner/casual café vibe to some options--I enjoy the club sandwich but I'd prefer it to be 33% smaller and thus a bit cheaper. All that said, it is a reliable place to go for a lunch, if you want to be sure of a good meal and ensure a pleasant ambience albeit a little stuffy.

Everything was lovely the only thing was we ordered 2 mocktails and when we got the bill we noticed it said cocktails so questioned this with the manager who said we had been served the alcoholic cocktails by accident. He did take the difference off the bill but it made me ill throughout the night and today.

attended live music BBQ this weekend with two friends food choice was lovely and as always staff fantastic drink prices have gone up due to the government increase but overall lovely lunch

Went with a couple of friends and had bbq menu. Sadly it was too cold and windy to sit outside, but the food was brought to our table indoors. Food delicious, service friendly and not too rushed. All in all a lovely afternoon out.

Lovely outdoor space for a spot of lunch. Live music was great, gave it more of an atmosphere without being overly intrusive. Great venue. BBQ deal was great for a Sunday afternoon.

My wife and I had dinner there last night and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The quality of the food was excellent, bearing in mind it is a bistro. The wine selection is good and well priced. Front of house were attentive and friendly adding a nice atmosphere to the evening. We shall certainly be returning in the future.

Burger was good, apart from the plate being scorching so the salad had wilted, and quiche and salad was not so good. Salad was slimey and looked like it had come out of the snail pot, and quiche is usually made of egg, but this was more like a hot cheese & onion tart.

We were greeted warmly but it was downhill from there. Food was bland and unseasoned. Snails lacked garlic and, in two shells on my plate, actual snails. Mussels were derisory - tiny, meanly portioned swimming in sickly cream. Not once did anyone ask how our food was. Second rate hotel food I’m afraid.

I don't like that service charge is added without asking and it's very awkward to be able to say if you don't wish to pay it.

Never been before but will deffo go back. Couldn't fault it

Lovely lunch. Had the club sandwich which was plentiful and very tasty.

We have been here several times now the food is delicious the staff are really professional and looked after us

BBQ food was nice but over priced Staff delt with bad weather conditions well on outside dinning.

After some Confusion with our Booking we had a lovely experience and food was delicious. Very busy and staff worked hard

The four of us enjoyed a pre-graduation lunch. Mussels were good as a starter and we had salads and risotto as main courses. Nice atmosphere.

A very warm welcome by caring, smiling staff is always a joy, and that is what we had. The food was excellent and extremely professionally served and presented. We had a superb evening in beautiful surroundings and we celebrated our Anniversary in suitable style thanks to the high standard of The Brasserie. Thank you!

We arrived early but that was no problem. Great service and personal attention. Waiter gave good recommendations about the menu.

We were staying at the hotel in connection with a Univ of Essex event - after a long day (and travel day before) we decided the most sensible option (vs choosing another place we did not know) would be the Brasserie. The side salad was miniscule for the price £4, and the Salad Nicoise £18 was more potato and olives than anything else. The tuna filet was so salty I could not eat it - I added no salt so am fairly certain it was the type fresh (or frozen) tuna filet that is injected with salt water (like cheap chicken filet) to give the impression of being moist meat, or in this case fish. Very disappointed…the hotel itself is quite nice for the price and setting, however we’ll give the food a miss for the duration of our stay. The staff were friendly and accommodating, however they can only bring to the table what the kitchen prepares.

Went for a birthday lunch , setting is beautiful in the university. Limited vegetarian options, I had the caramelised onion tart it was very overcooked the pastry but the vegetables were lovely, husband was happy with his fish and chips. I received a place of chocolate covered strawberries which were lovely. Generally good, I'm in a wheelchair I don't understand why restaurants clump every one together? We had finished dessert and the next table four adults and four very noisy children turned up, we didn't stay for coffee that was a down side. Be aware a 10% service charge is added so it's quite pricey for lunch

The staff were all so polite, the portion sizes were far better than expected and the food tasted incredible!

Without a doubt service are good nice locations delicious food

very good soups, we had leek and potato and cold tomato. I had quiche and salad and new potatoes but couldn't finish so portions were generous.

We have often visited The Brasserie at Wivenhoe House with various sets of friends and we have always enjoyed good food but this time we were very disappointed. We were a group of six people (retired). There was no special lunch time menu which we usually have and this disappointed us. Five of us ordered fish and chips - extra crispy batter. The batter was crispy but there was very little fish, mostly batter! The attention of the servers was very good as was our seating but the food was a big disappointment this time.

Normally I would give Wiv House Brasserie 4* or 5* for most aspects of eating out. However on this occasions there seemed to be only one student on duty plus a member of staff. I had to ask at least 3 times for our food as the service was very slow and at times almost non existent! They were 2 students short ( these had failed to turn up) and there apprared to be no contingency plan. Our meal lasted 3 hours instead pf the usual 1 - 1.5 hrs.

No attention to detail, standards have dropped, took a friend after previous good experiences but this time disappointing

Excellent atmosphere, delicious food and great staff providing a professional service. Very dog friendly.

Lovely restaurant. Service was excellent. Felt well cared for. Only improvement would be for a few more cheaper main choices.

Great place to dine,staff were brilliant, went the extra mile for us. We were celebrating a birthday and were well looked after. Staff even sang Happy Birthday..

Very nice venue, inside and outside. Lovely choice of wine and food. Excellent service and personnel. They surpised us. We felt very special, as guests.

Lovely location and everything excellent thank you

Not wide selection of sandwiches. Bread very thick, ate as open sandwich, using half amount of bread.

Food was absolutely amazing and so was Lionel Excellent evening all round

Very impressed with our first ever visit & we will certainly be back very soon.

We had such a.lovely day with great food and a great atmosphere

Not a wide selection of sandwiches or options of bread.

Nicely presented food and very good attentive service. We have been regular customers for years.

We had a lovely meal for our 10 year wedding anniversary the food was delicious I would definitely recommend anyone to go here

Main meal we enjoyed (Salmon) but dessert (in this case carrot cake) was a bit heavy with too many different textures in the icing and accompaniments.

The service was very good but the salmon was disappointing as it was only half a fillet! It looked like they'd run out so thought they'd share my portion with someone else!

Lovely clean restaurant. Delicious food and very friendly service. Highly recommend.

As may be seen from the star ratings, we were very disappointed with the food. For starters, my wife and I had Mussels, and were astonished to be served just nine small ones each. Making each mussel £1.10p each. My wife then had fish and chips, and was served a very small piece of cod, which was very dry within the thick batter. On previous visits we have been very happy with the food served, but this time, it was disappointing to put it mildly.

From the description on the starter thought the hot Mackrel would have been warm but was told hot meant the smoking think this is a bit miss leading Would have liked a few more mussels on the starter. As 2 were only shells. Loved the chicken and pesto pizza and the strawberry cocktail.

Thanks for being able to quickly adjust the table booking after I had mistakenly booked for wrong number of people and also making a special effort for my daughters 10th birthday, the girls loved the decorated chocolate plate!

My wife and myself went to help celebrate our 49 th wedding anniversary. Just as we had begun our main course, we were ordered to leave our table and proceed outside the building as the fire alarm had gone off. We were stuck outside for between 15-20 minutes and in no way were the restaurant team to blame for this event. However upon the return to our table, our food was cold and almost inedible. No attempt was made by any of the staff to heat our dinner up or replace our meal with a hot one. We were not offered any recompense for what had happened and I feel that at least we could have been offered a discount off my £115 bill before we left.

We have been several times before and never had reason to complain.. However, this visit, including friends who had travelled from York, didn't match previous experiences... Diners who arrived after us received their meals before us... The wait for starters was excessive... Starters... One dish missing so we all had to wait for the missing dish to arrive whilst our own dish got cold.. Mains.... One dish missing so we all had to wait again.... Generally seemed as though the kitchen was understaffed.... Food was good as usual and staff helpful, but not a great experience and we felt we had let our guests down by choosing the venue... We will be back, but the experience dampened the day...

They didn’t have the advertised veggie option only curry which is typically used as a vegetarian option so no thought gone into this. The apple crumble wasn’t very nice either

Hi had a lovely visit to your Brasserie, The food was really lovely, the service was excellent And very prompt, we have been before and it was lovely then, that’s why we come back, we will definitely come in the future 🙂

Having previously enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea here I had high hopes for my son’s birthday lunch with family. Unfortunately, we were mostly quite disappointed. The sea bass, pie, soup and pizzas were all delicious. However, the chickpea & coconut curry was dry and bland, the burgers were undercooked and just warm and the pork belly was average. The service was also average - we were not asked if we would like further drinks nor if our meals were ok - although our server was quite friendly. We love the setting of this restaurant but our experience means we won’t be returning.

The staff I since found out are majority university students who do not get paid to work there Wish I knew that before as I would of taken service charge off bill and gave it in cash to my waitress

We went for lunch on a very quiet Tuesday lunchtime, Staff are excellent, very good at their jobs, unfortunately the low score is for the food, I ordered from the set menu, starter: red pepper soup, what arrived was tomato soup, which would have been fine except it was from a tin, although it was Heinz, but i have that in my store cupboard, don’t expect tin soup from a restaurant (I dare the chef on duty to deny this) my main was smoked haddock on chorizo and beans and crushed potatoes, fish two inches square, with several bones, chorizos small cubes that supermarkets sell in dairy cabinets, new potatoes, the ones you buy in chill cabinets, not microwaved long enough as they were still hard, they weren’t crushed as too hard for chef to manage. I didn’t complain on day as felt to embarrassed as I was being taken out for lunch by friends. Oh and forgot to say no beans in main meal. Would I go again. NO, would I recommend NO.

The French Guy who was in charge was superb and very accommodating. The surprise birthday dessert for my daughter Keara made our evening special. Thank you! Will definitely come back!

Great food & service staff were great will be visiting again

We had lunch for four. Beautiful situation and easy parking. The staff were all courteous and helpful. No pressure for the slower members of the party to choose their food. The meals were all well presented and delicious. Good range of meals and drinks offered - lighter sandwiches or starter and main course, and delicious desserts and coffee outside on the terrace . It was our second visit and both were equally good.

Wivenhoe house restaurant was very comfortable, service very good, nice touches for birthday guest. Food was very good value for special 3 course luncheon.

This was the first time we visited Wivenhoe House and it wont be the last. The food, the grounds and the staff were very good. See you again soon.

Exelent 3 course meal from their set menu. Staff as always very attentive.Wivenhoe house a joy to visit. A real treat ,will be back again soon.

Overall a lovely birthday meal! Perfect sized portions and so tasty!

Lovely restaurant Delicious food Lovely little extra as it was our anniversary

Lovely service and staff, food was lovely, but possibly could of been hotter... Staff very helpful and attentive. Would recommend a visit.

Fantastic Sunday lunch with excellent service throughout!! If you're looking for a sophisticated little gem within Colchester.... this is the place!!

Marvellous service, lovely staff, beautiful restaurant

Excellent service even on a very busy Easter Saturday

Attentive staff, nice layout, not a very varied menu, good good but not great. The fish and chips was average, more pub food than restaurant standard. The pizzas were decent but again, nothing amazing.

The venison was fantastic, but the lentil Shepards pie was rather bland.

A nice place to eat, Staff are helpful. Food is very good and there is a good choice

Came here for dinner with the family following my daughters graduation. The staff were so friendly and attentive, making us feel so welcome and giving her special treatment. The food was lovely. Really well presented. It is on the pricey side but everyone enjoyed their...

Everything was nice, but unfortunately one of my colleagues found some string in his Pork. We were given some drinks on the house, which helped.

Nice atmosphere, lovely surroundings, excellent food and service. Staff friendly and courteous. Highly recommend!

Dropped in for a quick lunch on the way to some friends. We both ordered the steak which was absolutely the worst steak I ever ever eaten, very odd atmosphere more of a garden centre cafe than a brasserie restaurant, will never return and advise you do the same.

Chose this venue for our sons celebration lunch following his graduation ceremony. I can honestly say every member of staff we encountered from entering the door the leaving were very welcoming and happy to make the experience a great one. Food was delicious and reasonably priced.

The ambiance is very cozy and comfortable, I like the service and the helpful staff. The chef is nice and friendly and the chef is wonderful, always checking with his customers. This is not my first experience at the Wivenhoe house hotel restaurant and if there is a chance in the future, I will absolutely visit it!

So, a dear friend of mine decided we should go to Wyvenhoe Brasserie for lunch while I visited last week. She had not been before but had heard it was very good. When we arrived we hadn't realised that it was a full on restaurant,...

Really nice meal with very friendly staff but fairly noisy as a few special events going on. Would be good if they could separate those have afternoon tea (which looked great)to those eating Sunday lunch

An overall good experience however, the roast beef was served with a burnt yorkshire pudding, the pork belly was not rendered and therefore just a lump of fat. There was a long wait between courses and the staff although attentive did not following through on reordering of drinks, dessert orders or asked us if the meal was OK. There was no salt or pepper on the table and no staff to request this from. We required further drinks but had to wait so long that we then didn't order. However there was a nice relaxed feel to the brasserie just needs a few tweaks to make it a better experience.