The Place to Eat in Ipswich

Excellent food and coffee as always, great place to eat and relax,staff are very very efficient.

It is something of a surprise to me there are coffee shops in stores like this (I don't drive so generally don't have access to them). This one is actually a gem. Its design and placement in the store is well thought out. On a busy day it can handle approximately 25 tables worth of visitors and I've seen it done. I'm addicted to the five star cheese scones so haven't explored the rest of the menu but I'm sure its up to scratch. Seats over looking the car park doesn't particularly sound enticing but somehow here it works. The waitresses here are perfect, I consider them to be the SAS of waitressing, if you want to see how its done come here. My congratulations to who ever is responsible for recruiting. Be in no doubt its a treat to come here!

We arrived at about 1140 am and found a table quickly and noted that most folk were there for coffee etc. Noted that lunch was served from 12 noon but quickly approached by a waitress willing to take our order. In response to my asking if we could also order lunch early she confirmed we could and advised it would be served as soon as ready. Our drinks order of water was quickly served and we received our meals just before 12 noon. We both enjoyed our different meals, one special, and impressed with all aspects of our visit.

My husband and I ordered a vegan cheese and tomato toastie at a cost of £9.50 each!!! The toastie was cut diagonally and there was a slight scattering of cheese along the cut of the bread so it looked like a cheese and tomato toastie, but when we opened the toastie there was virtually no cheese inside, just a thin line at the cut! So we were charged £9.50 each for a tomato toastie which was served with 5 crisps! Our tea was delivered to us ages before our food and we had drank it by the time the toasties arrived. We would have preferred our complete order at the same time to enjoy together! The cheese was very much absent. Staff were rushing, service was slow, tables not cleared while people were queuing for tables. We complained but no reduction on our bill which was £24.50!!! for 2 cups of tea and 2 toasties. No tip given.....we will not be going there again!

Lovely place for coffee and a cake or a lunch bite. Not rushed, service always goo, clean and presentable always been able to get a table

Always nice for a coffee and snack. Good parking, very pleasant environment, polite and efficient staff, good coffee, and a nice selection of meals, snacks and cakes.

Great Breakfast today and lovely pot of tea

Popped in for a light snack and drinks as we have been many times before. Ordered Sausage bap, Bacon Bap, cheese scone and hot drinks. The scone was lovely, the sausage bap was Ok but the bacon bap was awful. The bacon was reheated and very very tough and inedible. The bap itself was toasted not buttered and also very hard. Complained and was told they will tell the chef. Very disappointed.

Lovely staff, great facilities, good portions of tasty food. What more to be said?? You can sit & gaze down on all the lovely furniture 😉

I had a jacket potato here at Lunch they were busy but that’s no excuse my potato was cooked in the microwave and was rock hard at the bottom tiny bit of cheese hardly no salad for over a tenner not happy jacket potatoes need to be cooked in an oven this was absolutely awful won’t be going back here

Today we went to glasswells for afternoon tea which was excellent although we went late in the afternoon we were not rushed as it was closing in half a hour we were told not to rush Rachel and her lovely colleague made us feel very welcome well done ladies

Lovely restaurant area that looks modern. Friendly staff and good menu options

i will give you an honest review . I liked it , I went for a simple snack and a cuppa on the 21/11/23 Friendly staff , Clean . I saw food being taken to tables , I wish i had the time to eat a meal there . All good . when i come to ipswich again i will visit again . As for the keyboard warriors , If i had taken their reviews i would not have come . Make your own mind up and go visit them .

Just called in for a coffee. Great service and friendly and helpful staff 👍

Been visiting every week for the last few years. Absolutely wonderful service. Food alway very good. Lovely ambience. Plenty of parking. Staff always able to accommodate slight amendments to order. Well recommended.

The price seems to be going up every time we go. 2 sandwiches, and not the prawn sandwich as £10 !! Tea and a coffee and that was £21. A few crisps, minuscule side salad which was past its sell by date. Haven’t the management noticed that there customers aren’t there. When we went it used to be so busy and would have to wait for a table, but not now. It seems they put the prices up, customer numbers drop so they compensate by increasing the prices again. We used to really enjoy going there but have now decided such poor value for money. The positive was the great team who make you welcome. But enough is enough.

Went here for some lunch Ordered a hot chocolate which was delicious. It took forever to be served despite it not being busy and found the staff just stood there and stared but didn't come over. When we managed to get their attentention the two sandwiches we ordered, coronation chicken and a tuna and cheese melt took ages to be done, and not worth the wait. The coronation chicken was good but the tuna melt wasn't melted at all. The cheese was still in its original form and barely any tuna which was a shame. I do recommend the coffees! And the dinner menu did look very tempting!

The quality of the food does not match the price. A very original recipe for falafel, so original that it's not falafel. The sauce for the falafel was sour (stale), they served it with a hair. After a comment, they didn't bring another sauce, they just took the hair out. Holy simplicity. Unfortunately, I won't come here a second time, and I wouldn't recommend it to others.

Ordered caramel square £3.50, so small ridicules, not far off a mini bite, a bacon sandwich, so under cooked never even attempted to eat it, waitress said "we cook it like this for the old people", again ridiculous, and was actually un-eatable, let alone again very small, and cafeteria's of coffee, that did not even fill a very small cup twice. Very very very disappointing.

Very friendly staff, food was a little bit pricey but very nice, the cheesecake was delicious,can honestly say probably one of the best I've tasted.

I have always enjoyed Glaswells cafe but today's visit was chaotic- understaffed, items off the menu before midday, worst cappuccino I have ever had, unprofessional staff, unclear signage as to whether it was waitress or self service, long wait for order to be taken. I am unlikely to return.

Been twice in the last week! For coffee and light lunch. Both excellent. Clean , efficient and good food. Very friendly and helpful staff. May have to queue at lunchtime for 5-10 mins but we’ll worth it. No bookings.

Always a lovely lunch here. The menu is varied and there’s something to suit everyone. The staff are friendly, welcoming and very professional. Today we had the Greek salad and the bacon and Brie quiche. Both were very enjoyable. Followed by the cheesecake which was delicious. We would give the staff and the restaurant 10/10 and Natasha the manager runs an excellent establishment. Well done to everyone and we look forward to returning very soon.

The staff are very friendly, professional and make us feel every visit that we are valued custoners. The food is excellent with different specials everyday

I went into day for my first time , I was greeted by a very nice lady , she gave me a menu and said sit were you like all tables free have been cleaned , she came and took my order had a nice toastie cheese/ham and a pot of tea , after I had strawberry tart , everything was lovely , I will deffo go again 😍

Seems to be under new management. Same prices, same great service, but terrible quality. £5.80 for a bacon roll was always on the pricey side, but was offset by the amazing quality and side salad. Now you will just be served a dry roll on a small plate, no salad. Best to avoid now; you'll get better value elsewhere now. Very sad.

Went with my partner as we are moving in together, the furniture was amazing and we will definitely be back to buy one, the staff could not be faulted all so friendly and nice, we thought let’s try the café upstairs and what can I say it was terrible I had the salmon muffin and what a let down that was, salmon mushy and flavourless, eggs that have been over cooked with no care and the muffin soggy from the water coming out of the eggs, my partner had a Jacket potato with chilli beef that looked like it had been thrown onto the plate and was just a pile of slop, it was Lukewarm and dirty all around the plate, what can I say we had so much fun looking at the furniture and picking things and then this, the cafe was just a let it down for us. I’v been a chef for a number of years now and i have to question if the chef you’ve hired is even trained at your establishment. the menu had a good selection but so poor on the execution, salmon tasted like it was about to go off the chilli tasted like it came from a tin, I felt uneasy complaining because the staff that was serving us were all so polite and friendly, I would recommend sorting your staff out in the kitchen side of things, we will be back and hopefully it improves on quality and execution.

Staff as always lovely with good service. Need to amend the menu descriptions though as salad garnish now only consists of a few rocket leaves and the portion size are declining. Expensive for what is was. Disappointing

Had 2 bacon rolls , the biggest and best I’ve ever had , bacon falling over the sides. Natasha served us and was very charming. Excellent rolls excellent service. Thank you Derek

Ordered bacon and Brie panini with side salad. Had to send back as could not even find the Brie. Waitress was rather rude and said ‘are you saying you want more Brie’. I explained that I just wanted what was described in the menu. And as for the side salad - half a cherry tomato, the tiniest chunks of red pepper, one tiny red onion ring and about 3 tiny lettuce leaves. First and last visit.

My husband and I called in there for lunch. Having not been there for a few years, we thought we would give it a try - what a mistake! We waited for 15 minutes before someone came to take our order, then waited another 25 minutes for our order to be made up. We had to call a waitress over to ask what had happened to our order, which she then chased up - so over 30 minutes to make up two sandwiches. By this time, our drinks, which we had intended to drink along with our lunch, were finished. As for the 'side salad' to go with the sandwich, what a joke. We had half a cherry tomato, one ring of onion, two small cubes of pepper and four leaves - and that is supposed to be a salad? Overpriced for what was served and service was dreadful. We certainly won't be back and advise anyone else to not bother either.

Went here for a quick drink and bite to eat whilst my husband had a tyre changed on his car over the road. We ordered a strawberry milkshake, which was quite small and ok in taste/flavour, a hot chocolate and apple juice.. for food we...

We have been regulars at this restaurant and always enjoyed our experience. However, the last few times we have been disappointed with service and cold food which had to be sent back. We gave them another try today and that although quiet our food was...

We thoroughly enjoyed our brunch at Glasswells. The service was excellent, and intelligent, the food delicious, and the ambience pleasant. Good coffee! Have already planned to go back.

This is exactly the impeccable standards you never see nowadays .............the standards of food and easy going atmosphere that greets you is rarely achieved outside of a five star establishment , very professional , typical old school Suffolk and the quality of food that's been...

A very nice restaurant, I will return again.

We enjoyed a lovely cup of tea and scone with jam and cream whilst chatting and catching up with a friend.

We had a lovely lunch for a large family party. Food was great and the service couldn’t be faulted . I would happily go back

Popped in here this morning and although it was very busy, I was approached by one of the waitresses very quickly. I ordered a Cappachino and warm Cheese Scone. Both arrived promptly and both were delicious, the latter very tasty with plenty of cheese. I...

Although a regular for coffee and scones,took members of my family for Xmas lunch,which was served in the Boardroom.The meal consisting of 3courses plus coffee for £20 was beyond expectations and have decided we will do it all again next year.The staff were as always...

We had the afternoon tea today. It was good and very reasonably priced at £10.50 per person. The food came out very quickly. The tea included a sandwich of your choice from the menu, four pieces of cake and a plain scone with clotted cream...

My wife and I always enjoy our visit to this excellent store with it’s excellent range of quality products and a Restaurant on the first floor to match, which for us is an added bonus. Friendly efficient staff. And a decent range of food at...

My mother, 16 month old and I chose to have lunch here as we have done on a few occasions. We entered the cafe and took a seat on a table set out for 4, I tucked my buggy out of the way, I placed...

I had lunch at glasswells today and after paying was chased out of the cafe to say that I had been credited the money rather than debited. Followed the employee back inside the cafe where 3 members of staff were trying to work out what...

I just love eating at this delightful well managed restaurant because it maintains such a high standard of cleanliness, food presentation and service. My partner Fiona and I often pop into Glasswells particularly after working out at a nearby gym. In fact, we look upon...

Great food and excellent service, even did 1/2 baked potato for my elderly mother meaning she didn’t feel overwhelmed by the quantity in front of her.

We were given a voucher for 2 for Afternoon Tea as a Christmas present and visited today. The restaurant was spotlessly clean, tables cleared promptly and when the waitress arrived and I showed the voucher she immediately advised us what was available. The sandwiches were...

Great for morning coffee or afternoon tea. Served at your table so no queueing or shuffling along the counter with a tray etc. Good hot dish menu too

We have been here severall times. Always had well filled sandwches, worth the money, bread very fresh.

I have been many times for cake and coffee, my wife much more with her Dad and family, never had a bad experiences food is good staff are very nice and setting is very pleasant to sit it.

Had mushroom and bacon pate plus coffee and walnut cake ...wonderful very filling. Good service gt cup of tea

My second visit to Glasswells & both times we’re superb. The first trip we had afternoon tea which was amazing and the second time we opted for a cream tea. The extra large scone was served warm and tasted so good. The prices are reasonable too. You have to try this place you won’t be disappointed.

Had amazing cake and coffee here on macmillan morning. Lovely staff, very friendly Recommend thier cream teas

We eat here a lot. They offer light lunches (sandwiches, soup, pate, jacket potatoes etc as well as full meals including roasts on a Sunday. The food is always nicely presented and homemade. They also offer a good selection of cakes and desserts. Service is always good and the waitresses are friendly and pleasant. We love to look around the store afterwards.

Mum & I often lunch here, the staff are always really friendly, the jacket spuds or quiche dishes are gorgeous. Love this place! X

It saddens me to say that the quality of the food and drinks has taken a nose-dive since previous visits.

Excellent food & service in my experience, although I’ve never had more than a light lunch. Very tasty smoked salmon pate with granary toast today.

A great place to pop in, this visit we had the roast but on other visits have had lunch or snacks, all come with really good service and well prepared food and at very good prices as well.

I wish they would update there afternoon tea vouchers as I printed one off only to read it out of date by 2 years hmm I would have been very embarrassed had I not looked

It's great to be able to pop in here for a lite-bite in between viewing pieces of furniture. Good food and friendly waitress service whilst you people watch from the large glass window which overlooks the car park makes it a nice place to sit and enjoy a cup of tea and a toasted tea-cake: yum!

Every Saturday or Sunday when it shopping, we always pop in here for a drink and a snack . It's such a nice place to eat. It's waitress service which is nice, and all the waitresses are pleasant and polite. They're all clean & smart and nothing is too much trouble. The food is always good. The tables are cleared and cleaned very quickly. It's just a really nice place to go for a civilised but causal lunch or brunch. I recommend it to everyone!

Good honest food here with very quick service . Well worth a trip at lunch time if you fancy a good sandwich or a well baked potato . The cake is good too and hey do take away !

We don't live in Ipswich but have eaten here before and regularly eat in the Bury st Edmunds cafe. We were waiting a while before anyone came and took our order. Our drinks arrived eventually, but our food arrived in 3 bits and not all together. It was only sandwiches and a sausage roll. Staff were polite. Shame service not as good as Their other cafe

Has the feeling of an older style shop where the quality of service is as important as the quality of the goods sold

Great place for lunch, good varied choices excellent staff who really look after you. The food is always great especially the puddings as there is always a traditional pudding on the menu. The only drawback is that I came away this time having bought a three piece suite and a bed so it was an expensive lunch.

We’ve popped out to peruse a few furniture stores and stopped here for a snack, we saw the Sunday Roast...

Having moved to the area fairly recently and being in need a quite a bit of new furnishing we've spent some time in Glasswells. Plenty of fast food options nearby but that's not for us. So as we were here over lunch time thought it would be worth a try. I'd say we were pleasantly surprised. Nice food, freshly prepared with a changing choice of specials. Friendly service and very good value. Just the job to get fortified for more shopping.

We had jacket potatoes which were very good well presented. The chilli filling was not too hot, a coffeee complimented our meal.

Stopped here for coffee but did not notice that coffee is served from a big silver box and not proper espresso machine. Coffee looked and tasted weak!

Great experience . We came looking for a specific item but left more open minded by the options. We will be back once we recheck at. Home.

Had the Afternoon Tea. Which was far better than the one we had at the Shard in London. Sandwiches freshly made.delicious! Beautifully presented Lovely selection of cake. All served by happy helpful staff.

Popped into glasswells restaurant first time today and I felt the need to comment, not just on the quality of the food. The sausage pie was delicious and so was the Jam sponge pudding, clearly home made just like my mother used to make but better!! Staff were friendly efficient and very helpful. Didn't rush us. Definitely worth coming back to Ipswich just for experience. Well done glasswells.

A very enjoyable visit for a three course meal. The staff were really pleasant, we didn't have to wait very long for each course and the restaurant was very clean and presentable. The food we ordered was nicely presented which we enjoyed.

Met family and a few friends here this afternoon for a meal, food took a while to come out, but it was very tasty and well presented, we all decided to have a coffee and a dessert as the cakes on display looked very tempting, but the waitresses were too busy chatting to each other and we were totally ignored, so we decided to go to a nearby supermarket and get a dessert and eat at home, I must say it did put a damper on the occasion, when we went to pay, the waitresses were still chatting away with each other about the weekend they had had, didn't even say thank you, or goodbye! My family member who came down from Norfolk said what a shocking service and would never return, come on glass Wells the food is next to mine but your staff are appalling.

We always enjoy our visits to the restaurant but today surpassed our expectations! Beautiful cream tea- great selection of sandwiches, scone with plenty of cream and jam and your own selection of cakes with unlimited tea and coffee! Superb value for money and great service from the staff- nothing too much trouble. We will definitely be back!

Glasswells is a very pleasant place to meet. It is easy to find, ample parking making it very convenient. It is clean and reasonably priced with a good choice of specials.

Afternoon tea with my son. Very good selection of sandwiched and cakes. A very naughty buy nice treat. Thank you

After shopping and being assisted by a wonderful sales assistant Sam, we decided to have a lite bite. We were welcome and served in a timely and friendly manner.It was nice to sit,relax and enjoy our lite bite

Great thing about eating here is I am guaranteed the meal will be first class, not been for a while but visited yesterday. Had a huge jacket potato with tuna and salad so wanted a scone but didn't have room, note to self....must go back soon. If you haven't tried it then you must, free parking, lovely atmosphere, very helpful and friendly staff, great for ladies that lunch.

Lovely place to eat do a wonderful cream tea. The scones are to die for. Staff very polite and friendly nothing too much trouble. Bonus is waitress service a very enjoyable visit

Called for coffee and cake to find a special on that seemed just the ticket for Wimbledon, they should be calling it the 'Andy special', strawberries and cream, just delicious.

First time in this restaurant and I will definitely be returning, I was welcomed by the staff on arrival and the service was very efficient. I only wanted a quick snack and a cup of tea but they also offer a very good selection off hot meals. I decided on a cake and it's was absolutely yummy. Good clean environment, friendly staff and excellent service! Well worth a visit.

As it was too hot today to take the dogs out until the evening, my wife suggested we change our routine and do the weekly shop, with lunch first at "Glasswells". It was a good decision! The cafe, on the first-floor of this upmarket furniture store, was comfortably cool and the waitress-service was excellent. The staff were polite and patient, on hand to take our order but there was no pressure to make a hasty choice from the extensive menu. After ordering, both food and drink appeared promptly and our meal was well presented on the plate. A second drink was offered at half price and there was no query over our sharing the dessert, which was delicious. The cafe is well placed within the store, having windows along its full length. They may only overlook the car-park but the glass admits plenty of light and affords an ever-changing view as customers of the retail-park come and go. An excellent lunch-time experience all round.

I take my mum for lunch here every couple of weeks, the staff are so so lovely, chatty, helpful & super quick. Coffee is great & the jacket spuds delicious! (You need to try the Coronation Chicken, it's my favourite filling & the best I've had )

We are quite selective with our coffee, we never return to a restaurant that doesn't know how to put a decent coffee together. Fortunately, Glasswells cafe/restaurant has it down to a fine art, and provides consistently good, hot coffees. They also have a tempting selection of baked goods, such as their fruit scones, which are very tasty. Sometimes the service can be a bit slow, but the results when you do get them are worth the wait.

Met up with friends for coffee and light lunchStaff very friendly and effecientLovely and relaxing Would highly recommend

Just right. Comfortable, relaxed. Good service and good food. Whats not to like? No wonder it is always busy even though it is inside a shop.

Went into here just for a coffee after shopping but the menu sounded good so we had the paninis. The food was excellent as was the service. It made a nice change to go into a store cafeteria and have waitress service. We will certainly go back.

I go here often, the food is really fresh, the hot drinks are good value, I usually have a latte, and give you refills at half price, the only thing I would say is the service is slow, so dnt go if you want a quick bite, as the waitress es do take there time to come to your tables.

the food is of a very high standard and the staff are very pleasant but the wait for the courses is far too long

Finally went to have a roast Sunday lunch no booking I established first it was a meat I liked it was !Excellent lunch really good two course option I think it was £10 + good orange trifle other choices available )and we bought glasses of wine (could have been chilled bit more BUT great value all around will go again ! Very quiet restaurant that day Glasswells how about advertising it more maybe inside shop ??

Love going here for afternoon tea. Good choice of sandwiches and cake and unlimited tea and coffee. Not too pricey.

Can only comment on breakfast & afternoon tea as never had lunch here. They have some delicious homemade cakes and a good choice of hot drinks. For breakfast/brunch I recommend the smoked salmon muffin or bacon bap. The lunch menu looks great. Will have to try it one day! Beer and wine are also available.

We go to Glasswells every week, if possible. They serve the best scones. Very helpful, pleasant staff. Beautiful lunches, as well. All freshly prepared in their own kitchen. Never disappointed. Can't praise them enough.

This place serves a good mix of snack options with our favourite being their bacon roll (setrved all day) which has plenty of good bacon in. Jacket potatoes, quiches, sandwiches and paninis are always available and there are daily lunch specials. The cakes are good too. Service is slick and friendly. There is also a loyalty card scheme.

I have had 3 , yes , 3 visits here this week. Once with long standing friends. Once with an ex work colleague and once with my mother. Suitable for any occasion as long as you like plenty of good food to eat and great coffee to drink ! There is free parking which is always a bonus. The cafe is upstairs with large floor to ceiling Windows so you can watch the world go by too. Very obliging staff !

Sorry but I love this place, so easy you can park outside for FREE, spend time walking about, shopping, chatting, meet up with friends and to round it off you simply have to pop in the restaurant, the staff know me by know and I get a great welcome as does everyone, recently called in and they were having a birthday weekend event, such a fun atmosphere we stayed longer than expected but worth it and yes ended up back there again today.................perfect name ' the place to eat' it sure is..................go on give it a try.

We stopped by to have some breakfast at the place to eat. We food was pleasant but coffee is below average I must say. You have to try they salmon muffins, a very generous portion and fresh too. Service could be more attentive to take orders quicker and some crockery need attention. overall pleasant experience but could be much more memorable.

Glasswells is a fantastic shop with high end products, a vast range of furniture to gifts and prices are more reasonable than you might expect. The staff here are excellent, from the 'meet and greeter' to the receptionists, specialised department staff and cafe staff, everyone is super nice and helpful. The store has a small lift for wheelchair uses and an 'up' escalator and stairs. The cafe/restaurant serves a wide range of drinks, cakes, snacks and meals. Me and my family visit several times a year, the cakes are very good, I especially like the Victoria sponge and the lemon and lime sparkling water drink is very refreshing. They have high chairs for children and you can get a loyalty card that entitles you to a free coffee after so many visits. My only recommendation would be to have a more child friendly cake for example a cupcake or muffin available. Overall well worth a visit if you want a break from shopping!

Met 5 girlfriends for afternoon tea for a catch up. Although we didn't order until 4.15 there was no problem. Fantastic value and every mouthful a pleasure. Tasty sandwiches , scones up to the usual high standard and delicious cakes. Only 1 problem....we had to take half of it home as there was so much !