The Restaurant @ Claricehouse - Colchester in Colchester

Spa day for Mothers' day. Lucky that the beauty therapists were so good because it saved the day. Pool area looked very good but the aromatherapy room had nothing of aromatherapy about it and the pool itself was icy. The relazing pool was also too cold to sit in but the jacuzzi was warm: unfortunately the bubbles were absolutely violent and because so much chlorine had been used in the water, it was spat in your eyes and we had to get out, eyes streaming. So we went to get our afternoon tea: what a disappointment! When we got to the café area we were left waiting for quite some time with no one to seat us. The room was in a mess: tables covered with detritus. They only managed to clear up by getting a beauty therapist to come and clear the tables! We settled in for tea.5 minutes later we had eaten it! We each had the equivalent of 2 slices of bread cut into 4 little sandwiches. Only 2 fillings: cheese and tomato and egg mayonnaise. Usually if you go out for afternoon tea you have double this amount and are then offered more. At Ballentynes you had a couple of mouthfuls and when we asked for more were told we would have to pay for them! The one scone each was actually very nice but the cake selection was dismal, with a small piece of chocolate cake that we had to cut to share ourselves and another that looked so amateurish that neither of us wished to sample it. Absolutely nothing special about this "special Mothers' Day" event. As is often the case in hospitality the management is trying to increase the profit margin by cutting back on the quality of the offer once payment has been taken and cutting back on staff so that staff, who were, I should add, all very pleasant, are rushing around and unable to provide the expected level of service.The place is definitely not meeting it's potential. We will not be visiting again.

I have been a member at the health club for 5 years,and have used the resteraunt lots.However the experience today will not bode well for any future visits,I asked for a black coffee ,and when I was told the price. I said it was dearer than when it was clarice house resteraunt ,the waiter replied in an aggressive manner,"No it is the same !" I duly paid he retorted again in a unfriendly manner "where are you sitting" I replied where and he said it will be brought to you.

Lovely food, Great atmosphere fantastic views and excellent service!! All staff very friendly and approachable through out the evening it was extremely busy and everything ran smoothly.

Beautiful views of the lawns, perfect place. Food presented nicely and staff polite. Nothings was too much trouble

Yesterday 30th April we were here as part of a mixed family and close friends group to celebrate our daughter in-laws birthday, the table was booked for 3.30pm sadly on arrival the tea room was nothing less than chaos as a baby shower group were booked in at the same time, neither tables were set so we were left to amuse ourselves while we waited. Eventually the table was set, odd cups and saucers for some reason with latte spoons, milk served in gravy boats with cold tea and coffee. As stated the booking was for 3.30pm we were a little disappointed when the stale sandwiches arrived at 4.30pm, two of the ladies in the group are pregnant so sandwiches which had clearly be left to one side and uncovered containing chicken and salmon were not the best thing to be serving up as finger sandwiches for an afternoon tea! Special trays were set up for the men, (shame because I love stale sandwiches) these were also poor, mini cheese burgers were cold with the melted cheese congealed on the 'burger' and lettuce leaf, the bun as stale as the sandwiches,this was accompanied by a small slice of french bread which had two small pieces of crumbed fish secured to it by a cocktail stick and congealed partly melted margarine, both were stone cold. In all this was less than poor, we were offered a 10% members discount which I found to be an insult to both the organiser and the girl who's birthday surprise was spoiled. I did not pay and now understand that those that did are to receive a full refund although they should not have been expected to pay in the first place.

bog standard fare that is part of a set meal lunch included in spa day .I had fish and chips from a harassed looking water who did his best to keep up poor chap. don't go out of your way if you are not using the gym here.

Light and airy restaurant overlooking the grounds, we had two course lunch with about 4starter choices and mains and dessert courses. The food was delicious, but was left to find condiments from another table.

Had a really tasty chicken and tarragon jacket potato with salad, absolutely gorgeous and very fair price to.

A very average experience of afternoon tea here on Boxing Day. On the plus side - the cakes and scones were lovely, and the idea of letting children decorate their own cupcakes was a nice touch. On the down side : why the waitress felt the need to ask us what we wanted to drink before we even sat down baffles me, the bread for the sandwiches was standard sliced loaf, and not very imaginative fillings.

We had passed this venue a few times as it is only 10 minutes from us. Upon turning up we found ourselves in a mediocre, cafeteria style large dining room. No decor to mention, pretty barren. The other seating option was in the bar which smelt so strongly of chlorine that it would have been off-putting to eat there. We sat down to lunch surrounded by people in bath robes. This might be off-putting to some. The menu looked good so we ordered a salad and two jacket potatoes. My steak and blue cheese salad wasn't edible. I couldn't discern any dressing and my husband ate none of his jacket potato at all. My father quite liked his but still left quite a bit of his. The fries we ordered didn't materialise. I have to say that it was some of the worst food I've had and isn't in the same league as Milsoms or any of the gastro pubs in the area. It wasn't much better than a community centre and had a similar ambiance. The bill came to almost £60 for 3 of us for lunch which, considering we had jacket potatoes and salad, was steep. We had soft drinks and tap water. We then got charged for an item we ordered but didn't receive. On a last note, the loos were out of order so had to use those upstairs near the treatment rooms, which is a walk for an 84 year old man. I also used them and they were appalling. I have used much cleaner loos in a service station. Disgraceful loos. All over, the paint and doors are scuffed and dirty and the wall paper is peeling off. Maybe the spa is good, god knows, I wouldn't risk it, the place needs a really good clean. Having said all that, the staff seem sweet and I bet they have a hard time of it so I'm not feeling bad about leaving such a truthful review. It's one thing if places are mediocre, but mediocre and expensive is an outrage. It also say, 'Premier wedding venue.' Good grief. I got married last year and visited most of the venues in the area and this isn't one of them.

Called in for a meal, most uninspiring, our choice of menu was not available although that's still what we got charged for, we didn't notice until we got home. I ended up with a burger in a dry stale tasting roll. Come on mr Bannantyne, you must do better than this.

Wonderful dining for a spa facility.The service was friendly and they bent over backwards to oblige.Nice food ,good menu reasonable price,in lovely surroundings.

I am a member of Clarice house and have been for the past year. I have always enjoyed all the spa facilities and the restaurant. My friend and I meet regularly for lunch. We both went today and boy did we have a surprise a new updated menu. No Jacket Potatoes and No panini on the menu!!! I opted for my usual fortunately it had been saved from being deleted from the menu and I have to say it was as good as always Steak and blue Cheese salad delicious, however my guest had a Caesar Salad £2.50 more expensive than mine and it was not worth the money the presentation didn't help to pieces of chicken lumped onto a bowl of lettuce leaves and a few croutons a sorry state. My guest complained and Tara who was extremely pleasant and helpful immediately refunded the cost of the meal (which was good) and saved the day. However, the menu is not as inviting as it was especially for light snacks and we may have to find somewhere else to go for lunch after our spa which is disappointing and rather a shame.

As a surprise my partner booked a birthday afternoon tea for both of us and our 3 year old daughter. On arrival the staff were very friendly and I asked to sit outside which they were more then happy to do. We had our 5 month old baby and didn't wanna be inside on such a nice day. I will say they were very accommodating in terms of changing sandwiches to a bit more of child friendly version. Only downfall is I feel to pay full price for a kids afternoon was a bit much she ate two sandwiches and a tiny piece of cake! However I would gladly pay the price over and over for the afternoon tea we had. Sandwiches were just lovely. The scone was filling and the desserts were beautifully presented. All in all we had a lovely time here.

the food here is prefect, the presentation is always spot on, the staff very courteous (except the cross Scottish lady who always appears grumpy). But given the high quality of food I'd be grumpy at giving it to other people too.

Quality of produce freshness and unusual combinations led to a lovely meal. However not a place we would go to if not part of spa package

Tried to book Afternoon Tea at Wivenhoe House but it was fully booked so ended up booking Clarice House instead! Really pleased that I did as it was absolutely delicious.....and a lot cheaper! The staff were really lovely and attentive and I would definitely recommend it for a Mother's Day or birthday treat.

Staff efficient and attentive. Food always good.Worth a visit for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Peaceful atmosphere in the evening .Very nice surroundings

Going by the website and online menu Clarice House seemed to be an upmarket restaurant. I was aware they had a Spa but thought the restaurant would be well away from spa clientele, wrong! We dressed up accordingly as you would for a high class establishment but were amazed to be directed through a room full of towelling robed people and a strong smell of chlorine into a " cafe" where towelling people were eating. We started to feel very uncomfortable as we were the only clothed persons there but breathed a sigh of relief when we were shown to the "restaurant proper". Our nightmare wasn't over as all of the tables were taken by towelling people and the smell of chlorine was still there. We left immediately. BE WARNED!! Thank you Mr Bannatiyne for ruining our day and wasting our time.

Having always had good food and service here, I took my partner today for lunch. So disappointing service,food and response when we complained about the bacon on our jacket potato and panini. The waitress said she had mentioned it to the chef,but gave no apology or response herself. When my partner finished eating her plate was cleared away before I had finished mine. As a rule this is not an acceptable service in a resteraunt,I was taught this many years ago when I waitressed as a student!A very unfortunate experience am not sure of my next visit ,which was going to be a thank you lunch for someone.

We had a fabulous Christmas lunch ,3 course meal ,of which all of it was exceptional ! Price, quality , quantity superb. Again all superb will definitely have it again next year and reccommend it .

Had a wonderful evening - 'twilight package' as a birthday treat. Restaurant was amazing - staff welcoming and friendly and food delicious.

I had my wedding reception at Clarice House in September 2015 and it was brilliant. The food was fantastic and there was lots of it.Unforunately our DJ did not show, and the staff managed to find the number for a regular DJ they use and arranged for them to attend at extremely short notice and I couldn't praise them enough.

Had a super meal at lunchtime here a few weeks ago. The food really is very good. The staff could do with being a little more friendly at times, but due to it being a health spa, they are extremely busy at lunch, so may be worth going in the evening next time.

We arrived here to have a meal I appreciate that it was busy but we asked if there was any spaces in one of there. Rooms here but one of the youth men we spoke to just didn't really care or go out of his way to look for us just said not sure ,So we can out of here and would not go back no ,, need better mangement. Sorry ,

We booked for 7pm but the restaurant was very quiet at this time, so lacked atmosphere. I would imagine the daytime is busier with spa guests. The staff were very friendly and efficient - the food was just a little disappointing though, not quite up to the standard at the bury St Edmunds Clarice house.

Really enjoy coming here and eating as part of the "Day spa package" food is delicious and although there's not a vast menu, it fills the spot nicely!.

We were here on a spa day so had a choice of starter and main course. We both went for the goat curd salad ;a very tasty and pretty dish of three Melba toast triangles to spread the curd onto and various heirloom tomatoes with a balsamic and oil glaze with tiny dots of olive tapanade. As a veggie I chose the risotto dish with wild garlic, mozzerella and mushrooms. I am always worried with risotto as I am quite often disappointed but this was the best one ever, so tasty and green! My daughter had the sea bream(?) on a bed of crushed potatoes and spinach with a lobster sauce and pieces of crab. It was enormous and so tasty. I had a caramel carrot cake with peanuts and a white chocolate ice cream which was good and daughter had petit fours , which looked and tasted delicious . The young staff were friendly and asked for help from Ben( who explained the desserts) when necessary . I have had a bit of a hit and miss with veggie options before here (the raw and pickled veg for example- don't ask) but today it was top notch. Thank you.

What a delight, every one of the courses were beautifully presented and absolutely divine to taste. Would highly recommend it.

Absolute shambles. Staff unable to take food to the right tables even though the resturant was not busy. No Peroni for me but someone else clearly had some ! Tap water warm and full of scale. Soup of the day was corn on the cob. It tasted very strange/ smoky. Main course ok nothing special.

My friend treated me to a birthday spa day and then meal in the restaurant.Admittedly we got a bit tipsy on the prosecco but the food was lovely.The staff were very busy and flying around the restaurant but the atmosphere was really nice. I vaguely remember ordering a salmon dish. There was however plenty of prosecco.Ladies that lunch....I shall be returning.

Ok but could do better ! Boring predictable menu. No atmosphere in the restuarant , Ipswich claricehouse is a lot better. Nice setting, but the staff don't seem interested. Really needs to do a lot better !

Clarice House restaurant was a few years ago, exceptional, until the chef left for Wivenhoe House. We had not been for a long time as the food did not reflect the surroundings and unfortunately nothing has changed. We should have guessed when walking in that the place near enough empty at 8pm on a Friday night. The menu does have a good read about it, I was especially looking forward to trying the ribs as a starter but for some reason the al a Carte menu you need vouchers.(according to the waiter). So I decided on the fennel marinated Salmon as a starter. I would never complain about salmon being sliced like the sole's of your shoe but on this occasion a less clumsy hand would have been welcome. The marinade appeared to add nothing in flavour and you would have never guessed it was fennel as the garnish was a couple cucumber shavings (again poorly executed with part of the skin left on or off depending on the slice). There were dots of a very nice looking green paste.. but I had to ask what it was as it tasted of absolutely nothing.. Apparently avocado.. dont think the chef actually tasted it ever! It needed a little bit of heat like wasabi... For main course my wife went for the beef burger in brioche bun with french fries, she said it was really good, and looked well cooked with a pink centre. I decided to go with the fillet steak with 3 times fried chips... oh dear. So the steak was as I ordered but honestly for £21 it was disgustingly small. It had seen a quick flash in a pan so was left with little colour on it. The chips were called 3 times cooked. I would call them brown bombers .. I was expected golden very crispy.. they were dark brown with a soft texture i.e oil to hot or sitting in the oil for too long when it was not hot enough. It was also served with wilted spinach (funnily enough the best thing on the plate) and a whole grilled / fried tomato. Why a tomato come on this is just lazy lazy cooking.. in fact the tomato was so hard I said to the waiter I would have preferred my chips cooked twice and my tomato cooked 3 times... The waiting staff were pleasant although I am unsure whether trained extensively. The waiter served the white wine by picking up my glass pouring wine into it and put it down on the table.. would have preferred to have tasted it first but also not have my glass handled around the bowl by the waiter... Finally on the receipt it said 'if you have an negative feedback please contact us' do they already know something?On this I will be contacting them.. they did not charge me full price for the meal but I will not be going back. The chef can clearly cook but I think is so bored with no one in the place it reflects in the dishes. We will not be going back as I cannot see it being 3rd time lucky.

A friend and I went to a spa day at Clarice house last October, whilst the Spa part of the day was without a flaw, we were rather disappointed by our lunch experience. Both of us are dairy free due to allergies and they had no options for us that did not include a different variety of cheese and or milk/cream. Whilst the food was enjoyable we had to have very bland food that was a simple version of what was on the menu taking away the dairy sections led us to eat food that was basically tasteless. On our comment cards to them we suggested that they added alternatives without dairy and gluten for those who are unable t eat these.

Good service, lovely food, good portion size and value. The spa stuff need to take a few tips from the restaurant staff !!!

I visited this restaurant for an evening meal at 7pm on a Wednesday night. Unfortunately the evening started badly as I drove 3 times round the car park trying to find a parking space as they are currently in the middle of building a car park extension! I then gave up and parked on the grass next to the driveway leading up to the car park as there was nowhere else to go without risk of getting stuck in the mud! Not a great start to the evening when you're all dressed up and then have to walk to the entrance in your high heels, dodging cars still looking for spaces.We were seated in the lounge area which was quite disappointing as there were people walking past the table in their dressing gowns! There appeared to be only 2 other tables with people seated at so I guess they only use the restaurant when it's busier.I found the waiting staff to be really friendly. Myself and my friend both had the turkey with roast potatoes and vegetables. Personally I would have liked a few more vegetables as the plate looked a bit empty but the turkey was very nice. For dessert I had the Chocolate Brownie and Ferrero Rocher ice cream which was absolutely lovely although there was not a lot of ice cream compared to the size of the brownie but that would be my only negative.The meal with a soft drink came to around £17 which I thought was reasonable.If you are booked here for a Christmas meal then I would suggest booking a taxi as it is unlikely you will be able to park in the car park unless you are lucky! I would definitely eat here again but not until after the car park extension has been completed.

As a "Vege" when I go out for a meal, most of the time I am left disappointed with the lack of choice. Starters, mains and desserts all were covered excellently by some very talented chefs. It looked really good and tasted even better. The service staff were friendly and smiling, a great evening, good value. will definitely eat there again

Visited on Saturday Night with my Wife and 4 guests.The Restaurant was empty except one other couple.We ordered the first course which should have included plumbs and was served without the plumbs and was told they were out of plumbs would that be OK! My Wife said did they have peaches and was told they didn't so my Wife said they must have apples, which was then provided.Our main meal was Minted Lamb Burger, with Salad and Chips.An extremely plain bun was served with the smallest piece of minced lamb which fell apart as we tried to eat it. The salads were two wilted lettuce leaves! and the chips were a very small portion of thin cut chips. The whole meal was very bland. My Wife asked for tomato ketchup which she doesn't normally use just to add flavour. You would get better meal in a fast food outlet.We ordered scones for desert, two scones were served with a small amount of cream and one small jam. There again we had to ask for more jam.We didn't complain at the time as we had guests. But we were upset for our guests.To top it all when we used the toilets both Women and Mens there was an awful smell.We have used this restaurant before on a number of occasions and been very happy, in fact 2 years ago, we had a meal there which was one of the best we have ever had in a restaurant.So what has changed Claricehouse Colchester?Last year we stayed at the Bury Claricehouse and both accommodation and food were excellent.

Would highly recommend a visit. We had the market menu in the evening witch we both thought was really well cooked and a great price too.

After our wedding abroad in Jamaica we chose Clarice House for our reception from recommendation of a family member. We were not disappointed! Excellent service from start to finish. We can not thank the staff enough for there help on the night to make the evening go to plan. A very big thankyou to James for helping us to organise it from start to finish, a pleasure to deal with! If thinking of coming here for your wedding day or reception, go for it you will not be disappointed!Great place, great staff!!!!

Visited as part of spa day, bit disconcerting to have people in restaurant in swim suits and robes. Service haphazard and slow, but food was good when it arrived and drinks order to ages to arrive

Was taken to Clarice house for my birthday by my partner. Everything was first class from our lovely pork belly to the service. Great new find.

Food was lovely and there is a wide choice of drinks from the bar. The dinning room looks out on to the garden. all the staff were very efficient

I recently visited Clarice House for a meal as it was recommended by a friend. When we arrived we were greeted by a member of staff who showed us to our table. The menu choice was good as i am a fussy eater i did change some ingredients to suit me but this was no trouble at all to the chef.

Good food & service. A la carte menu fairly priced. A bit quiet in the restaurant other than that a nice evening.

Nice food. Good choice for coeliacs, including gluten free toast in the morning. Very ample portion sizes, nice selection on the menu

Trained chefs prepare good food for the "Bliss day brigade " but do not skimp on finesse ,some good value deals in the evening. Service can be a bit slow at lunchtime but always friendly.

I have been a regular at Clarice House more or less since it opened. I have had a couple of Spa days, several lunches with friends and many dinners in the restaurant with my husband and family, even having my youngest son's 21st birthday dinner there. Always the food has been very good and the staff friendly and efficient.I was therefore very pleased the find the restaurant was participating in the latest "Times Eat Out" offer. When I received my Times card on Saturday I immediately rang and made a booking for Sunday evening. I mentioned the Times offer, however the young girl who took my booking was unaware of the offer and said she would ring me back if there was a problem.As we didn't hear anything we arrived at the restaurant anticipating another great meal, unfortunately, we were met by a rather surly restaurant manager who knew nothing of the offer! Fortunately, I had printed all details from the internet which he spent several minutes scrutinising before saying he would need to take a photocopy of them. He didn't even have the courtesy of returning them himself but sent them back via the waitress. He then pointedly ignored us all evening, although he managed to ask the only other diners if they were enjoying their meal!Being boring we ordered our usual - scallops followed by ribeye steak. The scallops were lovely although the presentation not quite up to usual standards. However, when the steaks were served they had forgotten the creamy madeira sauce and my husband had to spend several minutes trying to inform them of the omission (all 2 staff had disappeared). Eventually, some sauce appeared but it was not the creamy madeira. Also there was a ridiculously huge mound of rocket "dumped" on the plate which made any attempt at presentation laughable. My steak was tough, slightly overcooked and extremely fatty, all of which I mentioned to the waitress at the end of the meal and she did apologise. I must say she was very pleasant all evening.As we were leaving the duty chef made an appearance and I can only say that if I had seen the state of him before we ate I probably would not have stayed. I realise he may have had a long day in the kitchen and cooking can be a messy business but he looked really unkempt.We had planned to use the restaruant several times while the Times card was valid but I am sad to say we probably won't return to Clarice House after this experience and I think the restaurant manager needs to go on a customer service refresher course.

Pleasant lunch but a bit heavy for midday meal when spending day at a Spa. Not really when coming alone.

Arrived at 7.30 Saturday evening - shown to table immediatley, staff were attentive and helpful. Chose from the A la carte menu, starters arrived quickly. Lovely scallops. Main course followed also quickly. Slight change to menu at our choice was catered for easily. Meals were hot and beautifully presented. Cheese board was superb - good selection. A lovely meal around! Service was attentive and helpful. Have been several times now and would return.

Have visited Clarice House restaurant a couple of times for lunch - it's 'ok' (strange lay-out; indifferent service'; food average)

cold restaurant, staff not interested in seating you away from draughts, feels like you're on a conveyor belt, food not overwhelming either

dreadful menu, dreadful staff food very poor but very expensive prices

loverly surroundings, nicely laid out good food exciting menu fab desseerts!

My wife and I visit Clarice House from time to time for a chill out day, and we always enjoy a "classy" meal in the restaurant while we are there.Ok, this is a spa resort as such, but there is something special about the surroundings and the general relaxed feel of the place that makes it such a pleasure to visit.As for the food, well, my wife and I refer to this type of cuisine as 'too posh for us', and it is served in a way that makes you feel like you are in a high end restaurant.Nothing wrong with that of course because it fits with the surroundings, but I will just say that if you come here expecting a huge meal, you might be disappointed. With the above said, the food here really is of a high standard, and we cannot praise it highly enough for what it is. Great unique dishes, great flavours, and great service - it really is the perfect combo.If I'm being really fussy then I will say that it is fairly expensive to eat (and drink) here, BUT this is to be expected when visiting a spa resort. If you do go, try and combine it with a relaxing day by the pool, and maybe even a massage...it really is a great way to spend the day!

Booked a table for sunday evening for a special occasion. Arrived, was seated quite promptly.Waiter was very helpful, and looked after us extremely well. Luckily for us, it was very empty to we got he waiter's full attention. My boyfriend actually found a fruit fly in his wine whilst eating our starters, and they very kindly bought us a new glass.The starters were lovely, I had the mackeral with soda bread, and my boyfriend had the quail with a sesame and lemon herb crust.For mains, we both had the rack of lamb, which was cooked perfectly and was extremely tasty!The ambience was good, nice music, however I was put off my food at one point when a few elderly ladies wearing nothing but dressing gowns walked through the restaurant, which for an expensive restauarant I was quite shocked at. The owners should definetly think of changing that, its not something anyone wants to see when they are enjoying a romantic evening.

Booked a table for sunday evening for a special occasion. Arrived, was seated quite promptly.Waiter was very helpful, and looked after us extremely well. Luckily for us, it was very empty to we got he waiter's full attention. My boyfriend actually found a fruit fly in his wine whilst eating our starters, and they very kindly bought us a new glass.The starters were lovely, I had the mackeral with soda bread, and my boyfriend had the quail with a sesame and lemon herb crust.For mains, we both had the rack of lamb, which was cooked perfectly and was extremely tasty!The ambience was good, nice music, however I was put off my food at one point when a few elderly ladies wearing nothing but dressing gowns walked through the restaurant, which for an expensive restauarant I was quite shocked at. The owners should definetly think of changing that, its not something anyone wants to see when they are enjoying a romantic evening.

The GOOD - Well it used to be. Have been four times to the restaurant in past two years. First visit with my wife was EXCELLENT! A tour de force dining experience with complimentary amuse bouche on arrival (our bouche's were very amused). A globule of mint and vodka capsule served on a spoon by a VERY smart and attentive waitress. Can't remember what the lady ate but I chowed down on tempura soft shell crab (nom nom), pork cheek (melted in my slathering chops) and creme brulee (cracking the top was as satisfying as popping bubble wrap)! Was a happy chappy throughout the evening (and not just because of the exceptional wine list).We took some friends on the second visit and were all charged up with anticipation from our first experience. Our friends were chomping at the bit after of glowing review to them in the taxi there. Sadly, we were told the chef who cooked our first meal has now flown the nest. The new chef did ok and our meal was fair. The BAD - Our third visit was like a slap in the face with a wet kipper. I took the good lady for our first wedding anniversary meal and was hoping (as it was mid week) for a romantic, candle lit night. How wrong could I be. Firstly we were told we had to sit in the bar as the restaurant had been booked by a Life Coach for her sessions! Not amused (bouche)! So we sat in the bar area with a lovely view of the health club reception with the added eye candy of sweaty people finishing work outs walking past to the bar for post workout drinks. We were the only people eating (and there were only a couple of people drinking in the bar) so service was swift. The waitress/barmaid was friendly and attentive. So onto the food. Eeeewww, it was FOUL! I had a game of "hunt the black pudding" in my black pudding salad while my wife chewed hard on a "slow roasted pork belly" that our dog would have turned her nose up at. I told the waitress the starters were dreadful but to just crack on with the main course. We both plumped for the duck breast. It looked ok on arrival but the first bite confirmed that the duck must have been an olympic back stroke champion as there was barely any meat on the breast. What morsal there was to eat was tougher than Jean Claude Van Dam. Utterly dreadful. By this point the wine had kicked in and we weren't going to let the food ruin our special night - so we laughed at the situation and tragedies that were on the plates. We had the cheeseboard for our final course......hahhaha, biggest joke of the night! We had told the waitress that we would ordering it when she took our drink orders so they had time to take the brie out of the fridge to get it to room temperature by the end of the meal. Though she tried to convince us she did, the rock hard brie was evidence to the contrary. The rest of the board was bland and unexciting and one strange looking cheese smelt like my dogs coat after a long walk on a rainy November morning. We filled up on wine, laughed it off as our worst fine dining experience ever and left. I did send a strong letter of complaint and received a very nice reply and the offer of a free three course meal with wine for us both.....we took this up a few months later.....The UGLY - back in the bar AGAIN due to another 'seminar' in the restaurant that no one turned up to. This time we had two other couple for company around us alongside the usual sweaty post workout people sipping Lucozade. As the food was complimentary we choose the most expensive starters, mains and desserts on the menu - well come on, you would have done the same right?! Starters were dreadful. No suprise there. The main, to be fair, was a very good steak. At £20 a slab it should be though. Chips were dry though and the side salad looked fresh from a Tesco's bag. We didn't dare tempt the cheese board again so had a brownie or something that was very dry and only rehydrated by the half pint of cream it was drowned in. We didn't complain but very much enjoyed handing over a sheet of paper with voucher on it over, rather than hard earned cash.Will we be back again? Not on your pork belly (nelly). Such a shame that the chef that wooed us on our first visit left after winning lots of awards for the place. Shame Clarice House don't mention this on their website.

We reserved a table over the phone and when we got there they knew nothing about it and rushed around trying to find us a table. They made us feel like a burden. Also it was very off putting sitting with 10 sweaty women in dressing gowns. All I could smell was sweat.

Trying to eat my steak and there were 10 women sitting round in dressing gowns and I saw someone's bum. I called to check there were tables and when turned up the didn't want to seat us.

Had lunch here a couple of times. A lot of the waiting staff are prefectly nice but they're not very well trained. Waited ages for a menu. Not offered a drink when it arrived. Then when I'd finished lunch I waited another ten minutes then eventually got up myself to ask for coffee at the counter. When I did I was asked to pay for it there and then, even though this was the person who'd served my table - he forgot that he had served my table and therefore a tab. Shame because the food is really good.

I attended a birthday high tea with eight girlfriends yesterday and was by and large really disappointed with the level of service throughout . On arrival we were not greeted by one single member of staff ,there were plenty about but clearly not interested,eventually I made our party known. The young lady whom I informed of our reservation was pleasant enough if somewhat casual in her response.After another lapse of time the young lady asked us if we would like to go through to the restaurant which we duly did . High tea implies a certain finesse unfortunately not in evidence from any of the waiting staff,there was a lack of confidence and knowledge on there part (very jarring).It's a real pity the management don't spend time honing the staff skills as it would surely pay dividends,we had to ask for everything ,nothing was suggested or offered and no fuss made of the birthday girl very remiss indeed.The high tea itself was underwhelming.The sandwiches were well made on good bread ,also a thumbs up for the scones however the sweets and pastries were poorly balanced selection that certainly didn't live up to thier promise.The problem with making comtempory twists to a traditional institution such as high tea can result in a hit and miss affair and this was all too evident . The miniture glasses containing various mousses / pannacottas were bland and uninspiring and a jelly that had an unidentifiable flavour of nothing (no mean feat) were completely superfluous to a high tea.In short a simplified and well exicuted selection pastries accompanied good service would turn this into an experience worthy of its venue.

We have been twice in the last couple of weeks once for the cream tea and once for an evening meal, both visits excellent the cream tea was both enjoyable and filling. The evening meal was a taste sensation high quality food put together to delight your palate.The only criticism I would have with the exploding crackling substance used in some of the dishes something akin if you are of a certain age to “Space Dust” This is no doubt subjective and more my lack of appreciation than anything else however I did wonder when the Butterscotch Angel Delight with a liberal sprinkling of space dust was to be served.We booked easily and unfortunately they were not very busy that did let the atmosphere down a bit.If you like food this restraint is a must to visit, a talking point and excellent value.

I went to Clarice House Day Spa in Colchester with my Sister-in-Law recently on a "Bliss Day" special offer and it was lovely. Having read some negative reviews on-line I can't say that I was looking forward to it as much as I should have been, but I needn't have worried as it was great. The pool was a good size, bigger than the one I usually use at my local leisure centre, the steam room, aromatherapy room, hydratherapy pool and jaccuzi were fab - didn't use the sauna as I don't really like them, but it looked very clean and spacious. Our treatments were all on time and very enjoyable, especially the mini facial. Lunch was very tasty, wouldn't have changed a thing about the day. One tip, if you have a pedicure and your appointment is quite late in the day take some flip flops with you so that you don't risk smudging when you put your shoes on to go home.All in all a great day out.

We had a wonderful meal here on Saturday 11th July 2009. Our server, Stephen, was knowledgable about the food and wine list.Meals are presented beautifully. My only negative is that I would have liked more vegetables with my main course.Price £20 for 2 courrse and £30 for 3 course

Visited the Restaurant at Clarice House which I believe may be called Juniper. Very clinical and not so sure the restaurant has any plates!! Dishes served on bizarre bits of slate that aren't quite big enough for the food, I had a steak which I asked for to be "rare" - it came well done and was so tough, I sent it back. What was worse the steak was served on a huge bread board which had looked very over-used, had lots of score marks which I personally think is fairly unhygienic. Cambridge cream (creme brulee) was ignited in front of me which again, perhaps a little dangerous - the topping became very chewy and the actual brulee was so runny more like single cream. Clarice House as a spa venue is actually fantastic but the restaurant needs to up its game.