Arlingtons — Restaurant in Ipswich

My husband Giles and I had an early evening dinner at Arlingtons to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary…. I’d been years ago so was very excited to come again now that it has reopened under new management. Zoe, the manager, greeted us at the door with a smile and as there was a lively bunch of ladies in the main restaurant, she kindly offered us a more intimate table upstairs in the gallery - which was absolutely perfect. All the staff were super friendly and attentive, their timings impeccable for they just seemed to know when we were ready to order, still eating, needed something extra, or just simply relaxing.

The menu has lots of variety…. I ordered the cod loin (this could’ve won a masterchef competition, it was cooked to perfection) and Giles had the vegan ‘steak’ - portobello mushroom with a caramelised onion centre. Even though he is a meat eater, he declared it one of the best steaks he’s ever had and would happily demolish another one very soon.

The Australian Shiraz was delicious too….. unfortunately we were too full for puddings but I’d happily go back just for a pud on an afternoon shopping outing! They all sounded delicious.

We also had the benefit of being serenaded by a super talented singer and pianist - Andi Hoppy - while we dined and this really was a wonderful way to celebrate 8 years of being married.

It’s a beautiful venue, clean, bright and airy, with some pretty touches such as seats smothered in flowers, magnificent skylights, and lots of tiny sparkling lights high up level with...

Came here for Afternoon Tea yesterday as part of a Baby Shower, must have been about 30 of us if not more. Paid 21pp which I felt was a huge amount for what we recieved. They hadn't provided enough stands for the amount of people or they certainly hadn't been spread out enough, so there was 6 of us down one end sharing a stand which served 4?! Fruit scones only, no plain which was a shame. Sandwiches very bog standard. A hair was found in one of the cakes, all cakes were the same no mixture again which was a shame. Atleast 5 members of staff working who all huddled in the bar, not once did they ask if we were OK, wanted any more tea or even offer extra drinks (I.e coffee or prosecco). I went and asked for more tea and scones as not enough and this wasn't met, I asked again for more tea which was eventually brought over but no extra scones brought over. A friend had the gluten free option which was served on a small plate not even a stand!! Included a Mr Kipling cake and a few sandwiches... no scone. One of the sandwiches for gluten free was avocado and chopped carrot?! No care or thought had been put into this at all. I came away hungry after have 2 sandwiches and a scone which I felt was awful when spending £21 ... and 2 small cups of tea. Staff clearly didn't really want to be there and you could tell they were fed up of us asking for things like extra tea. I...

7/12/22 Here for Christmas Lunch with some ladies from Church. Very nicely decorated for Christmas, lovely tree, table decorations and mantle dressing. Meal included prosecco on arrival, good selection of meals to choose from. I had beef with all the trimmings yummy! Everyone said their choices were too! And coffee to follow. Thank you again Zoe and her wonderful team.

11/9/22 Back again for lunch with sister-in-law. We both had the Haddock and chips. Absolutely wonderful! Large portion of battered fish, very tasty. And the chips were "proper" chunky chips!! Also had vanilla cheesecake with fresh fruit topping. So delicious. Waitress was so nice too! Highly recommended.

1/9/22 Went here for pre-theatre brunch. Had 'fricassee of mushrooms in garlic sauce, on sourdough toast' Sorry no photo, it looked so delicious that I couldn't wait. And it didn't disappoint. Staff very nice. Going again next week for lunch. Will send...