Park Brasserie at Wivenhoe House — Restaurant in Colchester

Had a buy a gift voucher for afternoon tea. Arrived and staff at the reception were lovely. Already phoned ahead to request no salmon and plain scones x2. After we were seated, we were offered a tea/coffee and soon after our food arrived. Food was okay but despite telling them our dietary requirements one of us ended up with salmon sandwich’s and one of us had fruit scones which neither of us wanted. We then were left for over an hour without anyone checking on our table for more tea/coffee or cold drinks of any kind. The people to our left (but one table) were tended to multiple times throughout our visit, but we were left in the corner. There were no napkins on our table either, so had to take from the empty table next to us. Service was overall shocking and we felt very singled out from the restaurant diners. Overall food okay, small sandwich’s and wrong order. 1 drink offered the entire visit. Plenty of staff standing around but service was shockingly bad, won’t be...

Very disappointed with the venue. No ambience at all - could have been in a cafe in a supermarket. I had booked an afternoon tea for my friend's 80th birthday. I did not expect to be seated with people having lunch at same time. My friend had informed them ahead of time that she was dairy free, but no one seemed to have realised that. When we were served our first pot of tea, the waiter brought only cow's milk. When we queried this, he replied that the pot of tea did not contain any milk! Eventually the penny dropped and he brought almond milk. The actual contents of the afternoon tea were also very basic - no flair associated with a typical British high tea. The scones were spongy, the cakes uninspiring, and the small rectangles of sandwich were quite hard to define what was in them. Needless to say I...

This restaurant which is part of the Wivenhoe House Hotel complex is a wonderful little gem. The food choices are varied enough without there being too much to peruse, the dishes are delicious and more than plentiful. The service is attentive yet not overbearing; we were greeted as though we were old friends. Along with a peaceful atmosphere, the Park Brasserie makes for a relaxed venue and extremely pleasant...