The Waterfront in Ipswich

Culinary geniuses! I had the roast beef today, popped down to the waterfront by myself and they fit me in. I asked 'as rare as you go' - sure enough the beef was an enticing pink, tender to taste :P The components of the dish were truly brilliant, ratios spot on and love to see some cavolo nero, cooked to perfection (soft but textures remaining). I opted for some cauliflower cheese too, well worth doing as no need for dessert after (although the cheese board sounded divine if I did have room). What gave the meal sustained satisfaction was everything came out PIPING HOT on WARM PLATES (nothing worst than a stone cold roast), my meal was still warm down to the last mouthful! It paired well with a large glass of Merlot from Chile, whilst absorbing the views of Regatta Quay. If I had gone along with family/friends I could've stayed on to hear some MJ Soul who was performing today - alas, I had to make the supermarket. I was served by Yara. Lovely lady who was proficient in her role, swift and attentive :) The first ever time I came here was when I was 16 and had my first melt-in-your-mouth sirloin. I braved the blue back then. It came out on a very hot plate and the cut was so delicate and the juices ran down the blade of the knife with every slice, I'm pretty sure I even ate the strip of fat because it melted down in my mouth despite it being blue.. I am now approaching 25, and I still think about this steak from time to time.. I would highly recommend The waterfront Bistro in Ipswich to locals and visitors alike, with it being a 10-15 minute walk from the train station, you simply have to stop by! Sorry for the meandering review - you may be able to tell, I love my food. A personal catchphrase of mine goes: 'Cooking is a metaphor of creativity and control' and your chefs aced it :D

A quient place with Seaview and a wonderful food and service. I would like a more variation on the desert menu please but the starter and main course were delicious. Thank you

Great food and excellent service

No words other than, totally fantastic all round ! Will be back.

Beautiful meal as photographed... Very cosy upstairs dining.. superb Steak and Haddock meals we had..

Food was good, the squid was especially nice and so was the sea bass. The crème brûlée was mediocre. Overall it’s was a good experience

Just went for lunch and the food was amazing! Loved it

The perfect place for lunch or dinner you will not be disappointed. The staff were amazing especially Lizzie could not recommend enough and made the perfect French 75 cocktail.

Best restaurant on the harbour. Lovely welcome and great food selection.

Waited to long for lunch then for got about us for desert shall b returning

Lovely space to come and have lunch (I believe they do dinner too). I'm in the area for business and wish I'd gone in for food when I first arrived instead of the day before I am leaving . I had a Caesar salad from the a la carte menu and it was delicious. The lady serving was really friendly- just what I needed after a tough day at work. The view of the marina is also relaxing too.

Eaten here several times its excellent.

Great service and food really good.

What a great place, no confusion on the waterfront restaurant to eat at. Bar lady was super helpful with 3 travelers tired from traveling. Food was delicious especially the pork belly bites and cauliflower wings.. mmm just thinking about it now.

We sat outside on a warmish day, out of the wind, at a table with a lovely view of the Marina. I had a trout and crayfish salad and my partner had a goats cheese and beetroot salad. Both dishes were very good and we had a very enjoyable lunchtime.

Great food lovely staff sooner location

Really loved coming here the food was great, the brownie and ice cream 10/10. Fantastic service and lovely ambiance.

Wanted to see the Waterfront and what better to observe the marina on a sunny day. My wife and I sat outside. We had the Cromer crab sandwiches. Thick granary bread, crisps and salad. Enjoyed with diet cokes. The world passes by as you eat. Great location, service and food

Great food, great beer, good for all people but leave the little ones at home

Really nice restaurant. The food is fantastic, and the portions are massive 👌🏾 💯 value for money...

Went along today for some lunch never heard of the place. I can’t rate this place enough the service was brilliant our waiter who said he was Scottish was brilliant the food was fantastic. Thank you so much. We will definitely return.

I came here with 3 of my friends and we had such a lovely evening from start to finish. We were sat at our table ( over looking the harbour may I add!) by a friendly member of staff who was helpful and friendly throughout the whole meal despite how busy they were! Our food was delicious and full of flavour. We did indeed share a dessert ( banoffee cheesecake) because it sounded too nice to miss and we wasn’t disappointed in slightest! The decor was nice, comfortable and clean We will definitely be returning!

Highly overrated, good decor but that’s it. Expensive and bland food. Won’t be going back, had to wait ages and no staff seemed interested.

Food served luke warm, asparagus was raw, sent back, came back raw again, overall poor lunch, staff very good except for the manager/owner who is a very rude individual, refused to serve coffee as too busy, couldn’t care less. Sad that one individual could put you off a place so much.

Group of friends went for a catch up. Asked to leave after being told to be more quiet and after a well know local figure entered.

A group went out for an overdue catch up over the Easter weekend (all in our 40s/50s so not teenagers) We were enjoying ourselves but were consistently ask to be quite (? We’re in a pub effectively). Realised this was due to a well know figure being at the venue…. We actually got asked to leave!

Perfect spot and lovely views accompanied by some very Nice food. Highly recommend. Ask for dining upstairs which offers lovely views over the harbour. All 4 of us enjoyed our fish & chips and chicken and chorizo. Very good selection of wines as well.

Perfect spot and lovely views accompanied by some very Nice food. Highly recommend. Ask for dining upstairs which offers lovely views over the harbour. All 4 of us enjoyed our fish & chips and chicken and chorizo. Very good selection of wines as well.

I had lovely Sunday dinner with my mother. We were served by a lovely young lady called Beth who explained the menu and answered any questions that we had. The food was excellent and reasonable priced. Overall it was a wonderful experience and I look forward to go again. Excellent food and service!

Fantastic Mother's Day lunch at the Waterfront. Perfect food in a Perfect location served by perfect staff. Highly recommended.

Went for a Mothers Day celebratory meal .The set menu had plenty of choice and the food was excellent .Ambiance and service was good as always . Really enjoyed the lunch today

Eaten here several times and never disappointed. Food is excellent,, service is very, very good (Ella is brilliant) and I actually saw someone turn to the bar and say “Same again, when you’re ready” and they didn’t even ask what it was. Proper service, excellent food and service. Incredible pork crackling by the way

Very good Sunday roast dinner, followed by music, very good atmosphere

We had a works Christmas lunch booked last week. In the run up, the staff were dismissive, rude and uncommunicative. Upon arrival it was clear the staff did not know their drinks menu, or seem to care. Service was ok during dinner but the food was awful. Pre packaged crisp breads (not crostini) served with the terrine starter. Anaemic pigs in blankets, frozen roast potatoes, rock hard carrots, generic stuffing and instant gravy on the Turkey dinner. My treacle, pear and walnut tart was frozen in the middle when served (although quickly whisked away and reheated when mentioned) and no walnuts at all. I would really expect better quality food, especially when serving a pared down menu. There are local competitors charging two thirds of the price, using fresh ingredients, serving delicious meals.

Superb location over looking the Marina. It was my first visit to the Bistro and it was mid week so probably not the best time for judging the atmosphere. The Food and Service were good and I would certainly go back again.

I visited here with a client on a Friday lunchtime and we had a lovely experience. We chose from the 2-course for £26 menu which was great value. The food was excellent and well-presented. The restaurant has a lovely ambience and I would recommend it for a lunch for either business or pleasure.

Had dinner here before going on to see a concert at the Corn Exchange. What a fantastic bistro. Food was excellent - 2 Sea Bass and a Steak were all terrific. Lovely decor and ambience and the staff were excellent, providing for a really enjoyable meal.

Had lunch then stayed for the fabulous “Soul Sunday”. The singing was beautiful and the lively atmosphere was great fun. Staff and standard of service were excellent. Had a great chat with Greg, one of the owners, who clearly took great pride in the Waterfront and was a pleasure to meet. I would highly recommend a visit and will go back whenever I get the chance.

Great place - lovely atmosphere especially for couples. Good value set menu, great that you can have this on a Saturday eve! Will be back. Had such a great time thank you so much!

Very dissatisfied with how a quiet complaint to Greg the owner about my meal which I wasn’t happy with was met rudely and handled aggressively with excuses and complete disregard of my opinion and experience. Greg seems to have an answer for everything and really doesn’t care about how a customer feels in his restaurant. This has caused the loss of a regular customer plus friendship group moving forwards. Very unprofessional and badly handled indeed. Although, acknowledging his wife for the understanding and listening to feedback. I also noticed that this isn’t the first time this type of thing has happened in the restaurant as July 23” a very similar review has been left which again, Greg had an answer for.

Sophisticated food, great service, good value. You very rarely get all three together these days. We were particularly impressed by the freshness and quality of the ingredients from scallops to the stem broccoli. We eat out in London and Aldeburgh. This was the best we've had for a very long time.

Great place. Beef carpaccio was one of the best dishes of my life.

Absolute Rip Off! Ordered Scallops and received 2 ..yes 2, of the smallest Scallops I have ever seen, around the size of a 50 pence piece!! Paid £15.50 for these 2 Scallops. Good thing there is a Pizza Express next door. Do yourself a favour and bypass this place and go there instead.

Ordered food and waitress not aware of what was not on menu

We had some wonderful food and the staff are the most friendly I have ever encountered. Top marks all round.

Came in for an early evening meal. The waitress offered me a choice or where to sit and couldn't have been more helpful. The food was out of this world and the service matched. The absolute best part of the whole evening was I felt safe and comfortable being there. Dining alone isn't my favorite past time. However here I felt relaxed and at ease. So much so, I came back two days later.

Love this place. The staff are all so friendly and welcoming and the food is exceptional. Would highly recommend. It’s nice to go somewhere where the staff are so friendly.

Friendly and attentive staff. Great tasting food on a varied and well put together menu, but a bit overpriced for the portion sizes. Music was slightly too loud but we didn't ask to change it and I'm sure they would have accommodated!

Booked for family birthday meal Fantastic food Great wine Great service Chilled place to eat and enjoy the evening If you have not eaten here you are missing out Would definitely go back Well done to you and your team 👍

Stopped off for a quick lunch on our way through Ipswich. The food was very tasty and arrived quickly, and the service was attentive and friendly, going out of their was to keep our two year old happy. Will definitely be back if in the area again.

One of best places to eat in Ipswich

I am still in shock at the absolutely horrific way we were spoken to by the owner and his staff at the waterfront during our visit here at the weekend. He was arrogant, rude, aggressive and quite frankly threatening when we tried to explain that the service we’d received wasn’t great during our meal. I just wish I’d read some of the reviews before I visited and never stepped foot in this restaurant. It appears there are many customers that have experienced the awful wrath of this man. We’d raised two issues with the waitresses over the evening. Firstly, we’d been provided the wrong information about our meals, despite clarifying with the waitresses before we ordered. They did replace the meals eventually but didn’t really apologise for the inconvenience or acknowledge the restaurant was at fault. We were then served the wrong bottle of wine, politely alerted the waitress who was argumentative, insisting the first bottle we’d had was the same as the second one we’d been given and we’d ‘happily’ drunk one bottle of it already - it was our word against hers but the point was they’d messed up our order and wouldn’t take responsibility. By this point we just wanted to leave. We asked for the bill and to speak to the manager just to say we hadn’t had the best experience and hadn’t received much by way of an apology from his staff for their mistakes and the unprofessional way they dealt with us. What came out of that man’s mouth was horrible, he took absolutely zero responsibility for the way they’d served us and went on to blame us saying we’d been difficult all night, he had two meals in the bin because of us, his waitress was outside crying because of us and his staff were not at fault for anything. I’d have expected some form of compensation but the only thing offered was to remove the second bottle of wine from the bill, we paid the bill because we just wanted to leave, the back and forth had gone on for nearly an hour, ruined our whole evening. The owner even threatened to call the police if we didn’t pay and sniggered that a restaurant bill over £100 was barely anything and could we not even afford to pay it! There are so many other restaurants in Ipswich which will provide excellent customer service, please do not spend your money or waste your time here - this man does not deserve it

Had a fantastic meal this evening. Superb food and as a coeliac it is fantastic going to a restaurant that will adapt every one of their dishes. The service was second to none. It was the best dining experience we've had for a long time

Went friday night as my wifes birthday meal. Nice table upstairs by window overlooking the marina. We had a couple of drinks and their summer menu, 3 courses for 30.The food was great. All served nice and hot,so my duck roll starter was not cold. Had the seafood spaghetti and finished with lemon tart with gin and tonic ice cream( was very good) . Overall, real good food, nice people with smiling happy servers. A great coffee after( cup was warm so coffee not cold) all undrr 80 quid fir a nice couple of hours as a birthday treat . The main test = would Happily go again

Very nice place, but was quite early to see if it "buzzed".

Attended this venue for a Hen party meal expecting gorgeous food and plenty of drinks to keep the buzz we had been feeling from the morning celebrations. However unfortunately visiting The Waterfront, this did not happen. We arrived and had a lovely waiter, ordered our cocktails and simply waited, we persistently asked staff for our drinks to which were told they were coming yet managed to order starters, have them come, eat them before we even got a first round of cocktails! (Which was over an hour of us being there) we therefore asked for a second round of cocktails and yet again waiting for ages, ordering and eating dessert before anything even started to come out. Where we were sat we could see down to the bar and at times, the barman was tidying up and not making drinks! We cancelled the second order of drinks and decided to move on after being there for 2.5 hours having received one round of drinks. When we spoke with the manager to say how disappointed we were with the service, we were met with excuses of being understaffed and lots attitude Which further dampened the evening. He asked how much our bill was and scoffed when he commented that we had only had starters and desserts! Almost Applying that we had not spent enough to even be moaning! We explained we would have of ordered more rounds of drinks if they were served in time but service was shocking! He was very rude and spoke to us like he was not sorry we had a bad experience but that he was sorry for himself being understaffed that evening but not one person came to our table to apologise and say drinks were on the way. Although I did see him come up to shout at the waitress and point at our table for cancelling the round of drinks which we could see had not even been started! Overall Food was good but the managers reaction left us feeling angry and disappointed and certainly will not be visiting there again. For the price you pay, you expect good service and apart from the waiter, this was not at all!!

Oh my goodness, what an amazing lunch. 3 courses.. The Seafood spaghetti was absolutely amazing couldn’t rate it highly enough, such a wonderful mix of flavour’s 😍 Then the Lemon tart with the ‘gin and tonic’ ice-cream. I wasn’t a lover of ice-cream but now converted with this one- out of this world. Plus an amazing surprise-thank you 😘. Dawn & Rob xx

Very Decent food though not the cheapest venue. Upstairs offers great view over waterfront

Absolutely brilliant! Visited for the Italian 3 course meal and unlimited prosecco night. Food was sensational and we certainly had a lot of prosecco. Staff were very attentive and made sure our glasses were never empty. Can’t wait to go again

Throughly enjoyable evening meal here, great food and service.

Lovely Sunday roast dinner, reasonable drinks prices, friendly atmosphere, good service and on Sunday’s they have live music, all acts have the ground floor bar area enjoying their Sunday. Highly recommended

What a lovely place for dinner our first visit and not disappointing, the set out, and the staff and really nice and also friendly, the food was delicious the only slight downside was the actual size of the Sea Bass, it was on the small side.

Very tasty light lunch. Steak baguette and duck spring roll. Lovely

Thought I had booked bistro on the quay so was disappointed to turn up there and find I had in fact booked waterfront bistro. However venue, service and food couldn't be faulted. I thought the bottles of wine was overpriced and possibly our server could have known a bit more about what he was serving (he couldn't tell us which ice cream he was serving us) but we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I would have no hesitation in recommending.

Love the scenery. Absolutely beautiful. Very helpful and friendly service too!.

Great atmoshere,friendly staff and owner,the decor and paintings make a lovely setting..be back soon

Fabulous food and great atmosphere. Our meal was absolutely perfect and so was the service. A real Easter weekend treat. Can’t wait to come back!

First visit here, very impressed. We will be back.

We had a lovely evening here last week with food expertly cooked. This was only tempered by the inflated prices on the menu that didn't reflect those advertised on their website beforehand. The staff were attentive, especially Rachel and we enjoyed ourselves. £15 for a...

Excellent service, fabulous food, drink and music. All I can say is a massive thank you to the team at the Waterfront Team! We booked the restaurant a little last minute for my 40th birthday celebrations. You were accommodating, professional and fabulous. All of the...

Visited The Waterfront on Saturday. We booked last minute and was fitted in. The surroundings, staff, and food were absolutely incredible. We were greeted by friendly staff. The waiters and waitresses were very knowledgeable about the menu and were happy to advise and were very...

Great place to eat and lovely vibe

Ate at the Waterfront on Saturday evening. Staff and the food perfect as always.

Great food. Friendly service. I had the scallops followed by the lamb. Blown away. Best scallops starter I've had. Anywhere. Eat here, you won't be disappointed.

I had their Christmas lunch menu with a main of feather of beef and the food was delicious. The service was also excellent.

Service was excellent, food well presented, hot and delicious.

Location is amazing. A beautiful day on the Quay. The veiwfrom the windows upstairs are superb. All the yachts and the scenery . Greg the manager is fabulous . You always receive a friendly welcome and the people there including staff are lovely. You really feel at home. The wine is the best and the food excellent. Definitely recommend.

The best roast dinner we have ever tasted. Staff very polite and well mannered and friendly. Rachel was very nice. Venue was spotless. Thoroughly enjoyed the singer, Georgie B.

Absolutely the best food I have had in a LONG time! Amazing the side bread selection with balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil was fantastic especially the cracker type bread!! The pan fried macaroni is such a good idea and the meat that was on top so flavourful hats off to you guys!!! Also the sea bass was cooked perfectly and the presentation really was impressive. To top it all off we had an excellent waitress who was warm and pleasant so welcoming and accommodating. I will make this a new regular for me and my family. Outstanding 👏

Wonderful lunch at the Waterfront. The food was perfect along with the view! Restaurant staff were very friendly and welcoming. 10|10 highly recommend.

Excellent food, great service. Quite quiet, but it was a Wednesday evening.

Nice place, lovely views and and really helpful staff. Food was good but not as good as the price they were charging for it would suggest, but perhaps that's just the way things are going everywhere. Had a great night out.

Popped in to ask about Christmas menu and was told one would emailed to me! This happen about five minutes after we’d left. Great job! Walked around the waterfront and decided to drop back in for lunch. Superb service from both of the guys on...

Havent been for a while. Had our Anniversary meal what a lovely atmosphere great food choices very busy evening great to catch up with Greg again . Keep up the good work

A great venue for food and drinks. A chic bar area, contemporary decor complemented with excellent food & drinks. Great views across the River Orwell and the busy waterfront. This restaurant & bar sits beside other original buildings now repurposed to form a great vibrant...

Decent looking bar, uniformed staff, overpriced drinks but what's worse is this bar only sells one alcohol free beer, Ghost. Ridiculous all the trendies sell at least two booze free beers! Some of the better ones even have it on draft.

We had such a fabulous meal here. I struggled to choose from the menu as so many options appealed. The service was great very quick, friendly and accommodating. The vibe and decor is so lovely. The food portions were generous and absolutely delicious.(must have a great chef !) Very reasonable prices for the quality.of food Really genuinely cannot fault it. We will definitely be going back there.

Manager booked our table for 1445 28/08/2022 knowing full well but unknown to us that his kitchen closes at 1500. We arrived early 1410 and he asked us to get drinks and would let us know when table ready. This never happened. We sat waiting and we’re asked at 1455 for our menu choices. We where then told we couldn’t have starters and desserts as kitchen closing. We asked the lovely waitress to ask the manager to come to our table. He never did albeit he was only a couple of tables away from us but made the waitress tell us could do mains only. The waitress never took the booking and the manager should have had the respect to speak to us. Very disappointed as have had a few great nights there. The food is lovely but not taking the risk again to be disappointed and ignored.

Great service. Lovely food. Very friendly staff. Will be back.

Poor service /experience from grey haired manager or owner, not sure what his role is but made to feel very uncomfortable.

We visited on a warm Friday evening. Started off sitting outside with a couple of drinks, then moved upstairs for our meal, which was faultless. I had the lamb which came with a mini shepherds pie. So tasty. My wife had the duck.... I will...

Amazing food and drinks! Lovely and helpful staff. The location and the view is perfect!

A quality serving of pan fried fish, no batter so more healthy, with chunky hand cut chops and home made tartare sauce. My husband was well satisfied with large mussels in his moules mariniere. Designer loos, clean welcoming bistro. I recommend it.

Location nice. Lovely inside. Great service. Lovely drinks. Food portions were very small, left with a feeling of being cheated and still hungry after 2 courses.

Before moving out of Ipswich, this was a monthly date night for my husband and I. 4 years on and I still haven't found anything that comes close. We miss you 😔

Good experience if on the expensive side

We made a booking which honestly were quite excited about for Father’s Day meal, we arrived and were in an empty restaurant bar maybe 2 customer inside, we waited close to 10 mins before a member of staff even acknowledged us. My mother is quite...

Good food, good service, reasonable wine selection and a lovely chilled environment to eat in. Can't ask for more in this modestly priced waterfront venue.

We made a booking which honestly were quite excited about for Father’s Day meal, we arrived and were in an empty restaurant bar maybe 2 customer inside, we waited close to 10 mins before a member of staff even acknowledged us. My mother is quite disabled and they had put us on a table up stairs which she can’t manage well. We asked if it was possible to take a table on the ground floor which was met with a little bit of shuffling then offering a table with abnormally high stools, which again with a person who struggles with movement was just not ideal. We obviously couldn’t stay so I have no idea for food quality but we were met with a “there is a note part of your booking where you should have told us” which didn’t sit well with me. Just a few questions, along the lines of “how long will you be here?” or maybe moving a lower table to the higher table would have been such a better experience, I mean we were only there for lunch and was just met with terrible customer service and would not attend again. First impressions matter.

Absolutely wonderful, well worth a visit