The Athenaeum in St Edmundsbury

Went for our annual work Christmas Dinner. Given a welcome drink of prosecco or elderflower, as the non-alcoholic option on arrival. The elderflower was scarcely present, unfortunately there was little difference between it and lukewarm water. Seemed to take an age to be taken through to the dinning hall, despite apparently needing to be at the venue for 6.30. There was no option to open a bar tab - at the bar which had no coke, no lime cordial, no white tequila, only one white wine - so it was complete chaos trying to organise buying the drinks! Eventually taken through to a very nicely laid out dinning hall and seated. Those who wanted another drink before our meal had to go back upstairs, after finding me to come and pay for it. Very inconvenient. The meal started to come out after 8pm - everyone was really hungry. The starter choice was a fig tart, or prawn cocktail. The prawn cocktail was absolutely miniscule - 3 prawns in a little sauce on a little lettuce leaf, it's a good job there was a small bread roll at each place setting! A good 30 minutes after rhe starter had been cleared the main came out - turkey (which was cooked nicely) 3 tiny new potatoes (no roast potatoes) a couple of sprouts, carrots and parsnips, with gravy. A very very disappointing 'turkey roast' without roast potatoes or stuffing. Dessert was either Christmas pudding or raspberry and lemon trifle, which consisted of 3 squares of soggy jellied sponge, some green dots and a spot of custard covered with a squirt of cream. In no way did it resemble a trifle. Even getting a tea or coffee was not possible until the station was 'opened' thought there was no indication whatsoever that it was closed until 9.30! When a member of staff was asked we were told that the doors are closed and nobody should be out there trying to get hot drinks until it was announced as open. All in all a very disappointing meal served by mainly surly servers. The evening lacked any kind of Christmas feel about it from start to finish. Won't be going back or recommending

Had a lovely evening with my widows group. Danced the night away to the wonderful sounds of kev the DJ. Beautiful building and very friendly staff. Very festive atmosphere. Second year on the trott. Hanks again kev for making us feel special happy Christmas to you all 🎄⛄🎁

Be a nice gesture if craft stallholders were offered a free cup of tea/coffee

Had a very enjoyable visit for a Christmas Fair. Some stalls were quite difficult to access due to the layout in more restrictive areas. Lovely building, plenty of parking in the area and a good spread of blue badge spaces.

We hired it for my husband's Celebration of Life. Full of history but little bit shabby. Staff were great, very helpful & obliging. Toilets nice & clean.

Staff were absolutely awful to me on lead up to my wedding day. Completely uncalled for rudeness on the phone about a mistake their end about a double booking on their system which I couldn't have been more polite and understanding about, they defensively denied it existed and eventually upon realising it was their fault not apologising and laughing about it after a shockingly rude display that I was completely taken aback by and I regret not biting back. Then they made a last minute change to reduce guests one day before the wedding with no apology or empathy, I had to uninvite my brother! Then on the day of the wedding moments before being wed, they said he could come in as I was now allowed a photographer (which I was not before). I completely understand the government's rules changed frequently which was out of their hands. It was just the rudeness for me, I'm always polite and understanding to people working in the public sector as I do work in that sector too, but they made me feel so unwelcome and I regret getting married there, they tarnished our wedding day.

AVOID AVOID Avoid at all costs. Dreadful party, dreadful food and very young inexperienced staff. Food came at all different times and the soup was just dreadful and not even edible. Turkey was cold and the lack of potatoes and vegetables was laughable. For £60 I expected much much more. We even pre ordered and paid for Prosecco but it wasn’t on the table, we were told it hadn’t been ordered and it would have to be refunded which would be first thing on the following Monday, Yet here we are nearly 6 weeks later and still no refund for it….. I am appalled by the offer of a voucher to spend with you as compensation when we were told it would be monetary refund. We won’t accept this and will continue to fight this until we get all or some of our money back.

The evening cost £60, expectations were high however, the meal was a disaster! The starters came out at different times, there was a 20 min wait for the cold tasteless soup. The mains were also cold with really mean portions and the desserts were dry and hard. The pre ordered drinks didn't all arrive and the promised refund has still not been credited two weeks later. The Prosecco @ £33 a bottle was almost undrinkable and drinks generally overpriced from a small bar with a long wait. Our group were all very disappointed and will not return. Apparently it was also awful Christmas '22

I attended my works Xmas meal here on Thursday and the food was extremely disappointing. For £60 a head I definitely expected a lot more. The turkey was so dry and tough, the meal was cold, the carrots rock hard, and the dessert was inedible, it was a roulade which was rock solid and tasteless. The drinks were also overpriced, thankfully the dj was pretty decent and my colleagues are amazing company.

Definitely will not be booking here again for a Christmas party. The food was terrible, lumpy tasteless soup, undercooked pigs in blankets, rock hard sprouts, tiny slices of turkey that were more stuffing than meat, no gravy and a sour stale tasting dessert. The entertainment was a DJ playing dated and not at all party type music and the bar was unbelievably overpriced. For £60 a head we expect much much better, a band perhaps but at least some decent food at a minimum. Even the crackers on the tables were cheap tat, I'm confused as to what the ridiculous cost actually went towards. The bar staff were lovely and friendly but honestly nothing could have saved the experience at this point. Good job my colleagues are brilliant and we have amazing times in each other's company, because this venue and its Christmas parties aren't going to spark any fun at all! Save your money go smaller and cheaper, not even remotely worth the money.

Very disappointing - avoid for Christmas parties! Bland food served up in small portions and drinks are massively overpriced. The venue itself is very dated inside and nothing special. Be aware if you are booking for large groups to make sure you don't overbook, as the company will refuse to compromise on the extra money you've paid and won't offer any refund or even any free wine on the table to help with this. Also, they will ask each table to write down 4 song choices but then won't play any of them. All of this for £60 a head.

Attended a work Christmas party. Beautiful venue, excellent staff, good DJ. But, the food was very disappointing. For £60pp, the turkey roll which was 80% stuffing, 5 Brussel sprouts, a parsnip and a couple of soggy potatoes, no gravy, no cranberry sauce. The trout starter was just a bunch of leaves with a few flecks of trout, Christmas pudding was dry, and stale bread on the table. For that price and that venue, I expected a certain standard of food. It was very disappointing and not worth the money I'm afraid.

Christmas party. Nice venue but the food was disappointing and drinks were expensive. Ho ho ho.

Christmas party £60 each absolutely shocking ! Xmas dinner hardly edible . Cold pigs in blankets in fact none of it hot! Starters very small and bland . Desert dry and boring. So disappointed. No bar service for table had to go upstairs to get our own wine. Young staff lovely. Would never waste my money again

Lovely building, cold though as needed coat on.

Great events venue, beautiful big room and attentive staff, used for a graduation and the afternoon tea was fantastic. Recommended.

May 2023 Another blood donation visit. Really speedy this time. Comfortable and pleasant surroundings. Original review Visited here to donate blood. Not something that you can do every day, but only when the NHS team are there! Didn't see much of the building or facility itself.

2nd year running for works Christmas party, great atmosphere, staff polite and cheerful. Food lovely

We were so pleased to have chosen the Athenaeum to host my late mother’s Celebration of Life. Louise couldn’t have been more helpful with the arrangements. The beautiful building and location was great for guests arriving from different areas of the country. The choice of food was so much more interesting than any of the other venues we had considered. The variety, flavour and quantity certainly didn’t disappoint. A big thank you to the chef and all the staff.

Tough call, but went 4 stars as we went out to enjoy ourselves and we did. A group of friends attended the 80s themed Tropicana Nights, well disco, for want of a better word. They had a simple set up, two bars, large capacity toilets and everyone who went just went to dance and enjoy themselves. There were plenty of attendees, but in pre-pandemic times there were probably more and it quitened down once the real clubs opened I think. It also snowed that night. However, fun was had and we danced until our feet ached.

Fantastic service very organised

Came here for a blood donation, what a lovely place to do it!

Super helpful staff. Lovely venue

Just attended a Glitterball Party night and felt ripped off. The evening was dire from start to finish. The welcome drink was some sort of cheap sweet wine mixed with some horrible fruit - you would think they could serve prosecco for a Xmas event. The meal was hideous - just as well the portions were small as you wouldn’t want to eat too much of it. The bar was unfit for purpose - too small for the number of guests and unbearably slow. The DJ was poor (not sure what decade he was from) The only positives were the lovely building and the service from some of the young waiting staff. I would not recommend this venue to anyone! Spend your hard earned cash somewhere that deserves it.

For £45 per person you would think there would be more then 2 options for each course on the menu. The welcome, non alcoholic cocktail was vile! Once you could get to it through the layer of fruit and herbs dumped on the top it tasted like medicine. The food that was served was poor. The trio of pates weren’t great and needed more crostini’s (only 3 on a plate!). The vegetarian main was awful. It was dry and the mix of flavours didn’t go well. I had 2 very small carrots and 2 very small lumps of parsnip. The potatoes were hard and again, not nice. Could have done with other green veg that wasn’t a sprout! (I had 4 very small, over cooked sprouts). The dessert was good but you could get something similar at the local supermarket. The Atheneum is such a beautiful venue but it’s being seriously let down by the food served on the party nights. I don’t think I’ll be returning.

The Fawlty Towers dining experience, brilliant show, great venue and great staff

Brilliant evening and a great laugh. We thought it was very good value for money as the food was quite good considering it was all about the experience and not particularly the food. Served by Apex staff. A decent tomato soup, chicken supreme, mash and cabbage ending with cheesecake which we, and several others, left as it wasn't particularly pleasant. A wonderful venue - grand, quite stunning and must make a wonderful wedding venue. HOWEVER - the wine was £20 a bottle and not particularly nice. The rose tasted very watery and I was told the red wasn't too good either. What with pre dinner drinks the cost of the evening rose considerably. You expect to pay a fair amount for drinks but this was ridiculous. Poor value rating based on drinks only. Otherwise good.

The Athenaeum is the most beautiful (Grade 1 listed building) venue for a wedding reception. The glorious Assembly room is just breathtaking.We attended a wedding at the weekend, here's what we through of the venue.Car parking spaces are limited out the front of the venue but there is a car park 10mins walk away.Toilets were modern & clean.Staff were friendly.Security on the door were polite & helpful.The evening buffet (hog roast) was tasty and well presented.The bar was too small & not enough staff for the size of the party. Long queues and a long wait to be served (especially when soft drinks & small change ran low)Limited selection of drink.The door between the venue & the kitchen was left open for a long time while the food was being brought out to the buffet table and all the wedding guests could see kitchen clutter inc mop & buckets! This eyesore should be cleared away.Good selection of hotels close by.

Myself and a few hundred other women were at the Atheneum last night to register and collect our t-shirts for the 11.2 mile walk through Bury to raise money for St Nicholas Hospice. While we were there a few of us were queueing to use the toilets before our long walk (for charity) when the receptionist came barging upstairs shouting at us all saying we cannot use the toilets and was forcing us all out. Absolutely disgusting behaviour, we hadn’t just nipped in whilst out on a pub crawl we were there to register. Hope you are proud of yourself!!!!!

Booked a room for a meeting, nice surroundings, clean and smart, friendly staff. Easy to book and staff keen to accommodate requests.

Delightful venue for a wedding or anniversary party.

Had lunch there very acceptable.

This magnificent building has been well preserved and is now used as the town registry office. It is in the Ancient Angel Hill, site of a fayre in olden times and is used for functions. Also has toilets

We've just had our wedding and reception at the Athenaeum, from the moment we booked we've had constant amazing service from Louise. She kept everything running smoothly and assisted us step by step with how we wanted the day to go. The room was set up beautifully, the service, food and venue itself was fantastic. Louise, Jo and the team really ensured our expectations were met and I would highly recommend this venue and the staff for any event. Thank you soooooo much for ensuring that we had the perfect wedding day. Lee and David

Having read about the Athenaeum, its history and décor, we tried to view the inside. Sadly as we were not attending a function we were not permitted past the entrance hall.This, and the exterior were impressive. We will just have to guess about the rest.

Thank you again to the Athenaeum, this time for hosting our 1920s joint 30th birthday party in April 2018! You previously hosted our Wedding in Sept 2015 :) It’s such a fab venue. A very efficient, organised and friendly events team, who always throw a good party! We had an amazing evening. Emma & Rory xx

As a wedding photographer this is a fabulous place to get married by Smith the wedding photographer Clacton on sea

Well where do I begin... attended the great gatsby themed Christmas party here last night and let’s say the whole experience was very unfestive, underwhelming and left us feeling dissatisfied.

A lovely building well worth popping in even if it's just to use the loo!

Yeah, it's great, beautiful building, and great for events... But it really really needs air conditioning! It got boiling in there!

A wonderful and elegant venue for weddings. A beautiful building in the heart of Bury St Edmunds. The registrar was very welcoming. I would recommend this venue for a romantic wedding.

we chose this venue for our wedding vows, amazingly freindly experience with Abbey gardens oposite for photographs , perfect all around , would recommend

Went to a Marriage here, was a good venue, easy to get to and local to a nice park.

Asistimos a una obra de Navidad hacer aquí la semana pasada.

We had a very good Training day here. Facility spot on , food exceptional, set up well for our arrival.

We used the Athenaeum to host a business meeting with a number of potential customers. It is a very impressive venue and Julie could not have been more helpful. It led to us having a very positive meeting.

We attended a family Golden Wedding party which was held at the Athenaeum. We had a very nice three course meal, and considering the number of people that attended the service was very good. Later in the evening there was also an excellent finger buffet.

Boda asistieron de sobrina. Ideal ubicación cómoda y bien dirigido. Comida bien preparada y servida rápidamente. El personal es muy atento. Sin duda el secretario y mesa necesita un micrófono. Difícil escuchar discursos!!!

Excelente servicio de comida en general buen ambiente estupendo, una buena experiencia que bien merece una visita para asistir a una boda y lo pasamos muy bien. La comida era excepcionalmente bueno para un evento con tantas personas disfrutamos de la comida y lo recomiendo encarecidamente para un evento

We wanted to see the old dancing haunt of the late 50's and they were kind enough to let us have a look. It is still a beautiful ballroom, with chandeliers and floor as remembered. The double staircase which used to lead to the bar...

My husband and I held both our wedding ceremony and reception at the Athenaeum and we would recommend it without a doubt to anyone.Firstly, the venue is beautiful, with rain on our wedding day, this stunning building provided endless opportunities for oir photographer to work his magic.The staff we perfect; polite, attentive, friendly and professional, ensuring every moment of our day was perfect. The food was delicious; we were apprehensive as we'd not had a tasting prior to the wedding but we could not fault it. Each and every one of our guests agreed, including the 3 professional chefs who were part of our wedding party! The venue went above and beyond expectations to help us source additional suppliers such as entertainment and chair covers, and did literally everything that they could to accommodate my severely disabled Mum. And the price? We could have paid double and still been as happy. The bar was easily comparable to every other drinking establishment in Bury; yes, there were more expensive options in terms of the wine but upon trying it, it was definitely worth it. We believe that this venue caters for all tastes and budgets in terms of bar costs. The overall wedding package, in our opinion, was an absolute bargain. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making our day perfect!

Well, where do I start on somewhere that has a stunning hall yet has a 'dirty diner' like menu? Was booked into the Athenaeum for a Christmas do with 38 other colleagues. On arrival we were herded into a small room by two bouncers(?) for the champagne reception. Was given half a glass by a colleague as the woman serving the champagne had given up by that point. So my colleagues and I was there to serve ourselves. The champagne was cheap and was given half a glass each, to which we had to nurse the glass for another hour before being allowed to sit down; there was an offer to go to the bar for pre-drinks. But thought maybe more than a droughts worth of champagne would have been put on! After an hour we were let into the hall where we could eat. The hall was grand, with chandeliers and a nicely lit tree where we were to have our meal. The hall was so big and the party (39 of us and some hospital party of around 20) it was freezing in the hall. After questioning why so cold, one of the waitresses said the heating was broken....in winter. The tables had been decorated to a poor standard. The centre piece was a paper napkin with 2 pieces of paper on for requests for the DJ that was in the room, a party popper a piece and those party toys you blow into and it unravels, that's it! There was water provided and crackers for the festive year; on pulling the cracker, a plastic paperclip, moustache or hair clip would fall out. Now I'm not a Christmas person nor a cracker concierge, however I feel for the money paid (£27) that the quality of cracker would have been better. What was apparent and was felt amongst my table, was that there wasn't a table wine to enjoy. I will come onto the bar later in this review, however they were selling wine that a couple on our table picks up from a supermarket for £6, selling for £25!! So surely within the £27 we all paid the Athenaeum could have put at least a red, white and rosé per table! Again disappointment. The food was yet another disaster. The duck pâté was claggy and had no taste. The garnish was browned where it wasn't fresh, again a disaster.The main was minuscule. Now I'm all for fine dining and 'less is more.' However, the sprouts were hard, the parsnip under cooked and as per the picture I will be uploading- the 'turkey' was basically stuffing wrapped in bacon. Lack of flavour and lack of actual turkey made this again, another nail in the coffin. The dessert was either a Christmas pudding or a chocolate tart. I had the tart and it was rock hard! Many o tart went flying across the table when my colleagues and their partners tried to get a fork into it. The tart was warm inside, yet it had a distinct warmth of a microwave. The cream to compliment the dessert was not fresh.With the price as stated (£27 reduced from £35 per head) you'd have thought coffee and mints would follow, yet it did not and left me wanting more. Safe to say the larger colleagues partners with an appetite polished off the others desserts to feel some sort fullness. Oh, might I add that one colleagues wife was burnt when a waiter dripped soup down her arm; another had a good few minute conversation (or English lesson) trying to explain the pepper shaker was empty on the table. After the young man got the gist of what was being said, he scurried off to fill the pepper. Something that should have been full already!? As soon as the meal had finished, the lights were dimmed and the music played. Men and women from other tables got up to dance which provided a nice atmosphere, but only until the DJ's CD's started to skip and he had to stop all music to rectify the situation. Again another nail into this dire night. So, to finish, the bar!The Athenaeum is a grand hall and apparently has a nice bar somewhere in the building. However we was given a makeshift bar some 12x12 feet square, with 3 pumps and the rest of the alcohol in a fridge or on a table in the corner. One young lady was serving close to 70 people and it was a 5-10 minute wait for a drink. The prices I cannot comment on too much as my partner and I drank bottled cider- thinking it would be the cheaper option; £8.40 for 2 bottles seemed pretty steep though. This was easily bartered though, due to the bar staff not knowing the prices, I jokingly said it cost around £3 to be cheeky. To which the bar lady shrugged her shoulders and o got the two bottles for £6!! As previously stated, a bottle costing £6 was being sold for £25 and spirits were out the question due to the price being substantial. We had the place until 0130, but due to it being terrible- all had left before hand. Not to worry, because when people came back around 0030 to have a social drink before our transport, the Athenaeum had locked up and lights were off. So again a waste of money for the rental of the main hall. To round this up. A small wedding in a more than adequate reception area costs around £35 a head for a 4 course meal with table wine. Yet ours was reduced (I'm sure due to numbers) and still had the most terrible food I've ever had at an establishment that has stupidly made up prices with shoddy food. The staff are clueless in what was happening, with 1 woman getting burnt with soup and another colleague having to ask for pepper via hand signals. The table was pathetically decorated. The bar was extortionate and the DJ was as good as if my grandmother would attempt to use my decks. I hope this review is informative. As they're many other things that went wrong but due to not being first person, I cannot review. Avoid this place!

We didn't eat here, just stopped by to have a look at the building. Most impressively, the man on reception was incredibly friendly and opened up the ballroom for us to have a look in. All in all it's very smart and well-maintained and clearly they have the right staff.

Oh my days – what a disaster!If you are looking for something classy, something a ‘bit special’, something with a ‘touch of class’ do not waste time reading this review of the Athaneum – move onto another venue. The Athaneum is a lovely old building, in a prime spot in the heart of chic Bury St. Edmunds – but there the accolades cease. Let me explain.We had all paid £35 for a buffet and band (Soul Kitchen, who were absolutely stunning by the way) for what was to be a very special re-union – and indeed, it was a very special occasion despite the Athaneum’s attempts to scupper the evening. Their attempts at hospitality (if indeed there had been any made) were desultory – we arrived just after half seven to find that the bar was almost dry – no draught beer (particularly hard to fathom as we were a literal stone’s throw from Greene King), no white wine or bubbly. We then witnessed the barmy sight of bow tied gents and ball gowned ladies spreading far and wide in the Bury streets looking for some refreshment for the evening. The Dog and Partridge obliged us with a few bottles of prosecco and Tesco, almost a mile away was the supplier of our ale for the evening. Thirty five pounds for a ticket Athaneum and your ‘guests’ had to go out and buy their own drinks? You should be hanging your heads in shame.Still – we had got our drink and were ready to party – what else could go wrong? Ah – that would be the food then. Spicy chicken win gs and breaded brie were the highlights of the fare – after that nothing much I am afraid. As another guest said to me ‘I’ve just paid £35 for a sandwich – I’ve had better food in my lunch box’. Enough said.We had a terrific evening thanks largely to the calibre of the guests, the superb Soul Kitchen band and the two or three uniformed staff on duty for the evening who did their very best under trying circumstances. The management of the Athaneum should write to every guest (and the three staff ) apologising for such a shoddy and run down show.