The Raven in Ipswich

Honestly, pre booked Christmas meal, arrived at 6:30, first Starter arrived 90 mins later, I've watched Bolton Wanderers v Preston on a 0-0 draw more exciting than the night we experienced. Didn't decide to order a starter as the options on Pornhub look more appealing. Mains consisted of 5 sprouts, 1 carrot and 1 parsnip. Potatoes were as raw and I'm sure the Irish would be ashamed after the great potato Famine. Imagine pre-ordering dessert and then being told they have none left. I was more disappointed than the time my ex told me no to a 3some.

The fact we pre-ordered and waited over 90 mins for starters was a shambles! I would have personally preferred to watch Plymouth v Derby. 4 Prawns in a prawn cocktail along with toast! Toast! This isn’t a Pâté. The mains were as bland was an Asda smart price frozen microwave meal! 1 flaccid carrot left me disappointed as my ex was after a night on the Whiskey. Potatoes were more raw than the content I see on OnlyFans. 3 hours after arrival bear in mind we pre-order the dessert wasn’t the sweet treat I desired. The custard was more flappy than a used local escort

Food was lovely and piping hot, service brilliant, we had the festive menu

Great pub. Great place to visit socially. Great service. Excellent

Mediocre food, my steak was dry and unapertising! Service was good and efficient. Ambience if the venue was rather flat

first class service food and staff

Completed a work meal in perfect time, free sides and quick service. Christy was an amazing waitress - thank you all so much!

Food very hot and delicious we will definitely be returning thank you

Very nice calm atmosphere. Guinness was excellent 👌

Friendly staff and busy even mid week. Nice atmosphere.

Nice surroundings staff friendly but for was cold and not all that

Tables were sticky and filthy , we tried 3 different ones before we chose the “ best “ out of a bad bunch . Glasses wernt clean . Food wasn’t great . Definitely won’t return . My jumper kept sticking to the table so I got my sons wet wipes out and cleaned it ( see photo )

Went on remembrance Sunday morning and we stopped for 2 minutes silence

Delicious spicy chicken pizza and a few pink gins on the side. Great evening

Came for a family meal on Sunday and was not dissapointed.Food was lovely and hot,prompt service and desserts to die for..Well done .Will be back.

Food was OK. Very noisy as they had a kids party with a disco.

Excellent place to visit and eat. The service is great and the food is excellent.

Went in today to meet my partner for a working lunch with our little boy, ordered at 12:45, thinking 15/20 minutes to do 2 pizzas, 2 dough balls and a kids meal… 1 hour 40 later, my partner had to take his pizza in a to go box back to work with him which he was late back off an hour lunch even though he only works around the corner, when the dough balls came out they were tiny (we’ve eaten here a few times and know what to expect) and the portions were rationed to 4 small dough balls not the usual 6 good sized ones, the chips tasted like they had been slung back in the fryer from the day before, and the chef must have called me a Karen as my child got 3 chicken dippers, should have gone to maccies over the road 👋🏻

Also they do Long Island ice teas which are my favourite!

Welcoming, well run and super friendly staff! Loved partying here with you! 🤩

My actual experience with the Raven staff was very good. But my children sent me a gift card for a meal at my local pub restaurant, Which I usually eat at . They advertise gift cards and sell them on their website , but when it came time to pay with my voucher I was told that they don’t accept them. I tried to voice my concerns to them saying they are advertising the vouchers in the end I just paid my bill in cash. As I knew it was not the staffs fault they are only doing what they were told . After I got home I contacted Marstons pub’s customer service and explained what happened to my self. They explained that the Raven was in the wrong and should have excepted my gift card. They even sent me another gift card to apologise for what happened. So now I’m curious to go back and try to use my vouchers.

I would 100% recommend The Raven! We had a brilliant afternoon/evening. The children thoroughly enjoyed their Halloween Disco event, with a great DJ, music, games, bubbles, foam and goodie bags - great value. The service was great and very friendly when ordering both drinks and food. The food was really yummy, the Nachos being a particular favourite, we'll definitely be returning for more of those! Great value too, perfect for families. All in all we had a lovely afternoon/evening, there was a fun, friendly atmosphere and we will definitely be returning soon for some more yummy food & great events! 👍🏼

Had mixed grill , steak literally inedible and I can chew through anything !! Said they would bring another out but 20 minutes later I’m bored and want to leave . They give it to me in a takeaway container but was still pants . Message to the raven chef - your steaks should be no more than an inch and a half at maximum and cut against the grain of the meat . If I can get this right at home you should be able to as a professional. Used to come all here all the time but something has changed

If you want a beer and are close to the raven. Best place for 1

We had my partners 40th at The Raven, it was amazing, staff as always were very helpful and amazing, would highly recommend The Raven for everything, thank you Graham, Christie and all staff. Best pub in Ipswich by far

This pub offers a warm atmosphere on arrival. Overall staff was friendly and helpful. Unfortunately for us - two families - ordered at the same time - one received food (in fair enough time) and finished and one did not. When wanting to understand what happened -we offered two stories, 1. Food wasn't started and 2 foo was ready to come out. I could not understand how the food was ready within a minute! Such a shame as it looks like a nice place. Refund was issued albeit with attitude.

We ordered our food and drinks at the bar. After paying I was given a pint of cider instead of a half. I was told that I hadn't specified a half. I'd paid for the pint, so I'd decided to let it go and just drink some of it, as I'm not a drinker. I ordered the rump steak - it arrived with no mushrooms, so I had to go and find someone to ask. By then I had tried the steak, and about a third of it was gristle and fat. I had asked for medium and it was raw inside. The waitress said I could upgrade to a sirloin which would be less fatty, I thought she was offering it free but I would have had to pay extra, so I went for another rump steak. It arrived completely overdone and dry, and half the size of the first one. I told my friend that they should eat because theirs was getting cold, and the mushrooms that they'd brought in a separate dish were now cold too. A decent restaurant would have offered to keep all the food warm. I asked to see the manager and he offered a refund. I said I thought the upgrade should have been free, and he agreed but did nothing about it. He started putting the spare cutlery on my plate while it was still in front of me, ready to take my plate away, and said he'd give me a refund, but I couldn't eat any more of it or I wouldn't get a refund. He said I'd already eaten half of it. I was so hungry by now that I'd eaten about half of the chips. I told him I'd had one mouthful of the steak, as it was tiny to start with! I decided to mention having to pay for a pint of cider when I only wanted a half and he laughed and said was I complaining that I'd been given too much cider? His attitude was awful. We haven't been to the Raven for a long time and had decided to try it for a change, but we won't be going back. Yes the steaks are very poor quality, and both the waitress and the manager said that they have no control over what they get sent by Marstons, and I get that. But having someone in the kitchen who knows how to cook them would help! And having a manager with a much better attitude towards the customer would be a big improvement!

Good bar food at reasonable prices. I will visit again

Didn't book so pleasantly surprised to be able to be seated in a quiet area. Placed our orders for 3people , meals and drinks at the bar . A reasonable time and the meals were brought to us, food piping hot on hot plates. The food was plentiful and very tasty.

Absolutely shocking service and the "manager" had the worst attitude I have ever encountered.

Lovely food as usual! Staff and manager all lovely and look after you. Top place!

Had a meal here last night, lovely, and generous portions

Lovely place for a supper on a weekday, fish and chips were very good as was the Hunter's Chicken. Friendly staff, clean and tidy!

Waited 10 mins for someone to serve us at the bar. Would understand if it was busy, but it wasn't. Then once we we order our food took 30 mins fir it to come out. I had steak and was meant to be med/rare and it was more rare/blue. Partner had the ultimate chicken burger and we couldn't belive it was an ultimate. Service was terrible, not going back

It's ashame that this didn't score better as the food and staff were excellent 👌. But the night was ruined by the 2 mice we saw running around the pizza oven!! I'm pretty sure that most pubs and houses have had mice at some point, but they like to keep a low profile. So to see them as brazen as this and coming out while people where around makes think that they had been there for sometime. We did mention it to the staff and they seemed genuinely shocked and management came to have a look and witnessed said event, and said they would be getting it sorted!! We might be visiting again but maybe in a few weeks when the little critters have been evicted !

We joined in with the BBQ or Braai as it’s known, my wife who is ex Rhodesian thoroughly enjoyed it the atmosphere was magic, thanks to Christy for inviting us

This is so far the best pub I've been to in Ipswich, excellent services, good food and wonderful atmosphere 🤩🤩🤩

Went for a bbq event lots of food and great atmosphere. Been since with dog for a drink lovely that is dog friendly

Love this place lovely atmosphere went to a themed barbeque great food great disco will be back

It was all fine, table, staff car parking and we enjoyed the meal.

We had a very pleasant evening catching up with friends. Atmosphere was great with Disco playing requests, brought back lovely memories from the past. Staff were very pleasant and polite and helpful bringing some off the drinks to table so not having to wait at bar. BBQ food was lovely nice to be able to try something different. All in all we had a lovely evening

Disappointed to find that the nachos is served with a liquid ' cheese ' that has no flavour at all.

Worst pub I've been to in ipswich, service was poor and food was awful. Everything was greasy and not very well cooked. McDonald's over the road would probably do better.

Absolutely shocking,this place has really gone downhill,four peoples worth of food ordered and after an hour of waiting every single order was the wrong dish,two on multiple occasions and we had to wait about 20minutes for each replacement.Starters were cold.Other people who had ordered were waiting over an hour too and it wasn’t busy at all. Feel sorry for the two waitresses as they were lovely and not the issue at all but they had to deal with the complaints and were very apologetic. The chef or whoever was cooking needs sacked.Has no idea how to run a kitchen.

Recent BBQ . All day event . Superb food. Excellent service and fantastic atmosphere

Meal I had was obviously frozen to start as when I got to the middle it felt like it had come out of a fridge

Lovely pub, very welcoming great food, helpfully friendly staff and very reasonable prices to, definitely be going back, Mandy x

Food was very disappointing 😞 ordered burger and chips, but the chips were so over cooked and hard I couldn't eat them. I don't know if the pub has changed hands,but a few years ago the menu was alot better and more of a choice.

Hardly any customers on a Saturday night. Fancied surf and turf but they had no rump steak!!! Asked if I could swap to sirloin but would've been much more expensive so I declined (not sure any meal there is worth nearly £17!!). Meals came out slightly weirdly, odd as we were only customers, how they'd cope if it was busy is a wonder! Not particularly cheap really, for the location/quality. 3 cheese balls for starter which costs over £5, prawn cocktail looked small. It was all just 'ok'. Friendly bar staff though.

Went on sunday, half menu is only for during week, limited weekend menu, had also ran out of most things not even choice of roast.

Great staff and lovely food at a good price!

Fantastic place great place and locals. The bar staff were amazing and land lord and land lady were very welcoming. Definitely worth a visit if you want a great pub, Myla loved it to my lil dog.

Nice place. Very quiet. Food very nice.

Another excellent meal service was great atmosphere lovely especially when the karaoke started been there serval time and will continue doing so well done to all

Lovely staff and very nice food top service, food and drink was very good the only thing I found was the paintwork is very tired it's quite new and it's just a little scruffy in certain parts of the pub and the metal plates , were chipped on the edges and I was always told you never give chip plates to anybody, The staff are really lovely very helpful very understanding very nice to talk to, The food and drink was delicious, just needs a spot of paint to smarten up the interior,

The pub was quiet when we arrived. We were promptly greeted by the member of staff behind the bar. She showed us to our booked table and allowed us a few minutes to look at the menu. She returned promptly to take our drinks order which was also promptly delivered to us. She asked if we were ready to make our food order, which we were. Our order was placed and food was with us in under 20 minutes. Throughout, the member of staff who greeted and served us was polite, friendly and helpful. She made sure to check on us after a few minutes of eating to ensure we were happy (which we were). Food quality was good and overall good value for money. Overall, very satisfied with the experience.

Amazing food and made sure the fussy eaters were accommodated .. nothing was to much highly recommended and price was amazing

Lovely welcome to our Family of 8 this evening, table was great, service was excellent and the food arrived in good time. They brought out the children’s food first which was brilliant, we had a really lovely evening and will definitely go back under this management team, thank you

Great atmosphere, great drinks, great people Would highly recommended

Super fun night, great drinks in a cosy, welcoming atmosphere!

Not the best atmosphere in the world but the food was very good. The staff were ran ragged as only two staff attending to several tables, which in turn delayed service times. I can’t give the staff high enough praise they were amazing.

Friendly service and dog friendly for all our dog lovers. Not sure about food as we haven't eaten here but other people seem to be enjoying it who had orderd

Very good food and prices to suet every pocket staff go beyond to assist

Nice little pub with good food and drink selection

I attended a 40th joint b.day celebration an off room decorated & tables laid in a nice arrangement for a small gathering. I found the young girls waitressing & behind the bar very friendly & smiling & the Manager came for a chat too. Our pre ordered meals were lovely i had cheese bites & dip for starter small but full of flavour, mixed grill for main which had everything on the plate it was full & each piece of meat was cooked really well. Dessert was apple/berry crumble & cream it was delicious & an ample portion. There was a small area for children screens etc , toilets nearby, one thing i was impressed by was on the bar counter a water dispenser with ice & glasses to help yourself which i did , impressive as other places iv'e visited charged for water. I won't hesitate to visit again & recommended it to anyone who wants to celebrate something for a small amount of people, no charge for the room & the manager allows you to decorate up at your leisure. I know my friend who booked was more than pleased with everything.

Very nice place for birthday dinner and lunch. Highly recommended that PUB .

Staff very friendly, I'd booked a table for 16 for a surprise birthday get together with work colleagues. Staff very friendly, food amazing, a very clean happy atmosphere. Will definitely be coming back..

The staff are always friendly and helpful. We had the roast beef dinner today , the beef was really tasty and just fell apart , it was like to slabs of steak, only thing is need more vegetables, which they are aware of , the veg we did have was cooked just right, potatoes crispy outside and we're lovely and fluffy inside . Highly recommend

Food arrived quickly. Portion size good.

Warm, friendly and really good value for money

Been here about 6 times really good value clean and friendly staff

Very very bad experience, no ales at all. 3 very bad unable to eat mixed grills no apologies from the manager only excuses. Will not be returning after a 4 year absence.

Great food, but no ales available?

Well, what a disappointment this place was. The bar is missing staples across the ales and lagers, the staff spill hot chocolate upon arrival at the table, they don't know how to cook a steak medium rare, and if you order surf and turf then don't expect your scampi and tartar to come with it.. no, that requires an extra visit to the kitchen for the scampi..and then another visit for the sauce. And if you order halloumi fries on the side then shout at the staff because they'll simply ignore that part. Overall, the food was bland and tasteless, the service terrible, and I've seen a livelier atmosphere at a funeral. Overpriced and atrocious. Better off giving your money to the homeless or going to McDonald's, or both!

The staff are brilliant and very friendly. As for the food it is so yummy the landlord is so welcoming

Food was very clean tasting but unfortunately only just warm and very pale looking. Not attractive. The staff however could not be faulted, so helpful and polite.

The Raven is a hidden gem in the heart of the city! From its cozy ambiance to its extensive selection of craft beers and delicious pub grub, every visit is a delight. The staff are friendly and attentive, ensuring a fantastic experience every time. Definitely my go-to spot for a night out with friends!

We had a fabulous time here. The atmosphere was very warm and welcoming and the staff were really friendly and efficient. We had a small snack here and lunchtime and then returned for a birthday gathering in the evening. On both occasions, the food was fantastic and very good value for money. Keep up the great work here... We will definitely be back!

Really nice and clean very nice staff great food

The food was delicious and the service very friendly. A much needed improvement from a year ago.

We went for a meal discusted at the salad it didnt have what it said in it when we said something all they did was sprinkle the missing items on the top

Had a nice meal at the raven thanks to Sophie Ireland who was friendly and greeted us with nicely

Really disappointed with our visit this evening. The place felt dirty, toilets dirty, lampshades thick with dust above the tables and to top it off we sat waiting for our food for over an hour to then be told they’d run out of pizza dough so the pizza couldn’t be made, although they proceeded to bring out a pizza for the table next to us who also ordered and arrived after us? Not sure how that makes sense? Our 1 yr old was left sitting there for nearly 2 hours without any dinner, so we decided to leave. Poor service tonight, im afraid, which is a shame.

Very nice pub, great food at reasonable prices.

Great evening last night listening and dancing to the talented Annika Roper at The Raven.

Good food, good atmosphere, good surroundings.

Food was lovely,customer service was excellent, friendly staff,atmosphere was perfect for spending our valentines night. Been there quite a few times but this time it felt special.The food we tried was fresh and tasty..Highly recommend.

Popped in for pizza and a pint. Really good beer and food service. Warm and welcoming.

Great spot for food was delicious great atmosphere and very respectful staff josh and grahams service was exceptional lovely time out

An early evening visit here where we were welcomed on arrival, had lovely customer service and really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. We will be returning soon hopefully and our dog was treated with both water and gravy bones.

Cold pub friendly staff even people eating had their coats on. Hope the heating gets sorted or better off visiting in the summer.

Wanted the mix grill but was unable to as all the grills were out of,so had the lasagne and my wife had the veggie burger,can't complain about the food as was very nice just disappointed that couldn't have the mixed grill ,tables weren't cleared of dirty plates very quickly even though it wasn't busy,staff were very pleasant and polite though, hopefully next time we visit we will be able to have what we want on the menu as in some previous reviews they said the same thing as not everything is available on the menu,

Excellent service and great food. Staff were very helpful and nothing was to much trouble. I have been here many times and the above statement stands.for all visits. Thanks all, you do make for a pleasant visit and great service.

Food was great and Sophie the barmaid was like a breath of fresh air. Despite her miserable demeanor she provided top notch service despite eating some of my chips before serving my meal.

Lovely spot for drinks with your friends or family great staff very polite and helpful and amazing atmosphere would definitely suggest going there

Perfect hospitality, always very welcoming, very professional stuff! Food especially steak 🥩 and always up for Sabmiguel Especial

We recently had dinner here, we were a big table with young children. The staff were super friendly and the food was served quickly and was good It was a special occasion and we were well looked after all evening. We will be back thankyou!

We had a fantastic time with friends at the pub. The food was delicious, with generous portions and excellent taste. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the pizza menu items. The family area provided plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained. Highly recommended!

Food is really good; char-grilled burgers and freshly made pizzas cooked in a proper pizza oven. Regularly visit about once a week on a week day for date-night. Prices are very reasonable. Staff are friendly.

Lunch was good 👍 service was great very friendly bar staff - really enjoyed our time there - next time will try the cocktails 🍸