Shelley's in Ipswich

I attended a Mexican themed night last night which was the 2nd event taking place since the change in covid rules to allow dining inside. High standard of safety practice in place the waiting staff were attentive and clearly explain the T&T process in place. The quality of food was outstanding. This place is a hidden gem with food and service you would expect to pay double for in other restaurants.

Now re decorated and renamed as Chefs Whites and looking very smart too.We were served by Shania who was very efficient attentive and polite.The three course meal was superb and a credit to the College and all The Chefs who did such a good job especially as they are still learning.Well done all.....

We attended an evening meal at Shelley's. We were greeted by Izzy who looked after us the whole way through. The food was amazing, prepared and served beautifully and without waiting too long between courses. The restaurant has a lovely relaxed feel and we had a very enjoyable night. Thank you Shelley's!

Attended this evening with friends. The service, food and atmosphere were all excellent at a fabulous price per head too. We have visited several times for different events and have never been disappointed. Well done to you all.

Very good meal food was all very tasty , good service good food @ a good price , will book again , recommend 100%

Attended as a couple for the Hospitality Students Mock Exam.The food was fantastic superbly cooked and the students did really well, we were served by Lewis who was friendly confident and attentive but not overly so.Very pleased that we went and without doubt we will return.

I would like to thank all the front & back of house staff for the service and food received for our party of 34 people today on behalf of Waldringfield & District Bowls Club. We will be pleased to recommend & return later on in the year with similar numbers

As a training restaurant this is in the superb category. The venue is nicely placed in the college, clean and modern. The staff were very friendly and with just the right level of inter-activity with the diners. The food was excellent, especially the Panna Cotta, and well presented on the plate. The trainers and instructors in the college deserve praise for turning out such good chefs and front of house staff. All in all an excellent restaurant and a hidden gem in Ipswich. Much as I would like to keep it to myself I do feel you should try it out and help support the young people training there.

Excellent Christmas lunch. We have enjoyed going to Shelly's over a number of years, but the consensus seemed to be that this was their best production yet! Good varied choices on the menu all cooked to a high standard and service with a smile. All 12 of us found something a little bit special to enjoy for our shared Christmas time. The class of 18/19 deserve to go far, well done all involved.

A great selection of food was on offer today as usual. The students were friendly, the food was good quality and cooked to perfection. Can't wait for the Christmas menu.

Quick stop for lunch had food cooked by the trainees and what can I possibly say...trainees?!? Really?! These guys are amazing cooks! And are a credit to Ipswich! Well done shelley’s! Look forward to coming here again!!!

As a first time visitor I was slightly dubious in terms of what to expect from a restaurant attached to the catering wing of the College and I genuinely couldn't have been more wrong. The food was pretty good considering it was prepared by trainee chefs and the front of house guys although clearly nervous really do provide great service. Real value for money and you can't help but feel good about supporting these young individuals who are working hard to realise their dreams. I'll definitely be back to sample the menu again and would urge anyone to give this place a go...there are certainly plenty of 'professional' eateries that could learn a thing or two from these students and how they conduct themselves...good work guys!

Attended as a group of 4, excellent choice on the menu and all cooked fresh.

Came to Shelley's this evening for some dinner with three friends, and had a lovely evening. The students (and staff) and welcoming, charming and pulled out all the stops to ensure we received good service.

You have to remember that the staff are trainees. The food is first-class, and the service too! Well worth a visit. Definite value for money.

Just back from our work's Christmas meal at Shelley's. We had an excellent meal with good service. The food was really well presented and of restaurant standard. The place was full so they did well to ensure everyone got what they had ordered at the same time. At just under £13, we couldn't have asked for more and are already thinking about returning for next year's Christmas lunch.

Visited this training restaurant for the Xmas menu. Fantastic value for money, £13 for a three course menu, and about £12 for a decent bottle of Merlot. Great food and perfect service. Well done to all the trainees , just remember it’s a training college venue and sometimes it doesn’t always go to plan. But this year it must be our fifth annual Xmas visit and it was a great occasion with polite helpful staff. Well done to all , happy Xmas.

Work Christmas lunch, booking was easier with food pre-ordered and deposits sorted. Arrived and everyone friendly and polite. Food was lovely, main course could have been slightly warmer but fed this back tot he waitress. Overall a lovely meal and experience and reasonably priced. Will certainly return, thank you.

Went with friends for Christmas lunch, very impressed with staff, greeted politely and coats taken, ordered from menu, good choices, lovely starters, smoked haddock with gruyere cheese was delicious, and friends that had parsnip and apple soup were impressed! Mains were excellent, salmons en croutes, turkey, and roast pork , all eaten with pleasure, staff gave excellent service, absolutely first class!

A very professional atmosphere with polite waiting staff and amazing food. We were greeted on a Friday to the buffet lunch which included a range of piping hot dishes to choose from.

Attended as a family group of 4 adults and one child.

Fuimos a almorzar y no me puedo quejar. Alguien vino a los ascensores para saludarnos fue un alivio ya que no soy bueno con las escaleras y los ascensores necesitaba acceso especial.

Beautiful food and very well presented with lots of choices. The staff were very professional and helpful. Overall an excellent experience for me and my friends.

Fuimos a la noche italiana. Era un menú de degustación de 6 platos, y fue mas que excelente, mejor que cualquier italiano que he visitado. El personal era muy joven cortés y atento, y el lugar tenía un ambiente grande aunque agradable, siendo vestidos para una comida italiana, también el vino era de primera clase. No puedo alabar lo suficiente

I am a little biased, as I am very familiar with the wonderful food served here.But if you are in the neighbourhood it is well worth discovering.Fantastic afternoon teas and really great dinners in term time.The granary has well priced student made cakes and patisserie to take away; but you may need to sign into reception for this service,Outstanding teachers obviously work here to nurture the Suffolk talent of tomorrow Service is highly rated too

A first visit to Shelley's, with a warm welcome from the students. The open plan kitchen with large TV screen allowed us to watch our meal being prepared.A good range of wines were available at very reasonable prices.The breads & aperitif were good.The Cheese Soufflé was light & fluffy. Rump of Lamb & Duck Breast cooked to perfection. Spoilt for choice on desserts, the students recommended Deconstructed Lemon Meringue Pie and Panna Cotta, both were delicious, followed by coffee & petit fours.The portions were more than ample, with first class service & excellent value from the students. Well done all concerned, need to advertise & get the restaurant full!

Visited on afternoon of Thursday May 19th cooked and presented by year 3 students including our granddaughter Chloe All food was excellently prepared and presented and was enjoyed by all of our party Well done ladies and good luck with your exam results

What can I say but beautifully presented tea by such talented polite students, the college should be very proud, not only did the students create the menu but also ran the kitchen listening and instructing other students on how to achieve this most flavourable skilled menu showing many skills. It was also very good value for money and would recommend it to anyone who wants to have a taste of upcoming chefs of the future. WELL DONE..

Went to a cookery challenge evening. This is a beautifully presented, sparkling clean venue You can watch trainees from the TV in the restaurant. We were split into groups and shown how to cook selection of meals. It was great fun and informative as well as fun. The food was delicious, this should be used by more people as it services include lunch, afternoon tea, evening dining, organised events such as pudding evening and cookery challenge and can be hired

A lovely welcome from the young students, and a truly delicious and beautifully presented lunch. My main course fish was wonderful, and plentiful, as well as very tasty! Attention to detail by the students was first class. Thank you for a delightful lunch experience.

We have visited many schools of catering in the past and finally had the opportunity to visit Shelleys. As this is a catering school we understand that our level of expectation should be lowered and we have always tried hard to do this. The staff were a delight as expected from these schools, eager to please and certainly efficient. Unfortunately the food was not as we expected. My main was rare beef medallions which was served to me cold, my husbands main was Guinea fowl but as a chef himself, unless this was a Guinea fowl on a course of steroids, there was no way he was served Guinea fowl. It was chicken with very little sauce, which you would expect from a pot roast. My dessert of Creme brûlée was a runny mess and hubby cheese board was terrible. The cheese was old and the biscuits stale. We completely understand the concept of training however I am surprised by the lack of supervision in the kitchen. level level three students still need supervision and this was clearly not as it should be. We will try again at this point but the jury is out as to whether this is up to what a proper service should be.

Food is great and you certainly get plenty of it. Price is amazing. Students serve and cook the food, it is lovely to see them getting first hand experience. Will certainly visit again

We visited Shelley's in the evening. At present its only open in the evenings on Wednesday and Thursday (and then only in term time as its part of Suffolk New College). For an evening meal you should book.The food was excellent - including the vegetarian choices. I have only given an overall 4 star rating as the atmosphere is a little lacking as you are in a college. They have a good value wine list etc. Food is good value too (you get small canapes and petit fours coffee/ tea included with the dinner, and they were good)Best thing to do is have a look at their website - menus are shown there. Also the first Tripadvisor review for Shelleys gives a lot of relevant information. As its a college, they need everyone out by about 9.30pm, so its not a late night destination.I suggest you give it a go.

What a fun luncheon four of us had here recently. It was good to see the students concentrating so hard on getting things "just so". The value is remarkable: the food very well presented and the service quietly efficient. It makes such a pleasant change from some of the pretentious establishments in the town. As a previous reviewer has already said, it knocks spots off The Cookhouse at Suffolk Food Hall. Keep it up kids, and enjoy your course (we certainly enjoyed our three courses!). We shall return. Next time we will know our way around - it was a bit tricky the first time.

food was average and teh second time i went was very quite and service was ok... this is better than the rubbish that was at the cookhouse !

Visited yesterday and really did enjoy the food. The staff were lovely friendly and very helpful. They really wanted to please. Some seemed a little nervous as they are all training but what they lacked in experience they made up for in friendliness, politeness and a willingness to please. A choice of 4 starters, mains and deserts incl. a vegetarian option. Drinks were also reasonably priced with wine from £8.95 a bottle.I would definitely return. It's an opportunity to try nice cooked food at a fraction of the cost of an upmarket restaurant.Also they have a TV screen so you can see them work in the kitchen.Well worth a visit

My husband and I recently lunched at Shelley's with friends. It took us a while to figure out how to get in (!) - more (and larger) direction signs would be helpful. The restaurant itself is very attractive, the welcome is friendly, and the seating is comfortable. The menu doesn't offer a massive choice, but what's on offer is well thought out and varied; there's something for every taste. Also, it's fun being able to watch the meals being prepared in the kitchen, on screen in the restaurant. The food couldn't be faulted, everything was prettily presented, beautifully cooked and delicious. The whole meal was a joy, topped off by the fact that we could enjoy a bottle of perfectly good Merlot to accompany it, for under a tenner! That's another huge bonus of course, the fact that the prices are so reasonable. Well done and thank you to all the students, whatever role you were playing, be it waiting staff or creative cooks. We'll certainly be back and I would recommend Shelley's to everyone.

My friend use to to to the college so we thought we would give Shelleys a try. Its a bit of a pain if u dont go to the college u have to go through the security barrier but she knew where to go after that its on the top floor and the staff (students) are really good they took our coats and hung them up and theres a TV so u can watch them in the kitchen. our meals were so delicious and so nicely presented. Thank u for a lovely time. Soph xxx

Shelley's is a "training" restaurant within Suffolk New College, where young chefs and trainee restaurant staff learn the ropes. I've dined there on a number of occasions and never been disappointed. Look forward to a genuine "fine dining" experience where every dish is of a high standard, beautifully presented and served by cheerful and helpful young apprentices. Prices are at the lower end of the scale, yet the ambience is everything you'd expect at a very classy restaurant. It's not the easiest place to find, but there is a car park in Rope Walk, free after 6pm, and just head through the main college entrance - Shelley's is on the first floor, and well worth your time in checking it out.