The Brasserie is a pleasant café/restaurant that can feel a bit more formal than I'd like but I'm a more casual diner. I've been for lunch a number of times and I'd welcome the staff to be a bit more at ease, whereas I feel that they feel they need to be formal with us, though they are always courteous. The food is solid but possibly not quite matching the more formal settings. It has a bit of a diner/casual café vibe to some options--I enjoy the club sandwich but I'd prefer it to be 33% smaller and thus a bit cheaper. All that said, it is a reliable place to go for a lunch, if you want to be sure of a good meal and ensure a pleasant ambience albeit a little stuffy.
Everyone was lovely, the venue a delight with knowledgeable waiters who gave us an interesting background to the history of Wivenhoe house (and the beautiful cork trees! Our starters were delicious, and the mains wonderful, with a small exception, the bass was a little overcooked. Luckily, my brother was fairly replete with the garlic bread starter which was yummy (We all had a taste... delicious . But a lovely touch giving my younger brother a birthday treat. We will be back, it was a great evening and we left very full and happy. Thank you all x
Everything was delightful except for one thing. We ordered two mocktails, but when we received the bill, we saw that it said cocktails instead. We brought this to the attention of the manager, who admitted that we had been served alcoholic cocktails by mistake. He did deduct the price difference from the bill, but unfortunately, it made me sick for the rest of the night and even into today.
For a group of retired ladies who regularly used the Wivenhoe Brasserie The fish from the fish and chips was so thin it was mostly eating just batter and quite dry, the Caesar salad was drenched in dressing and not very tasty, the quiche was good. Shame the set menu has been discontinued. Overall the food was not good enough to tempt us to return
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Last night, my wife and I had dinner at this restaurant and had a great time. The food was of excellent quality, especially considering it is a bistro. The wine selection was impressive and reasonably priced. The staff were attentive and friendly, creating a pleasant atmosphere for the evening. We definitely plan on returning in the future.
Absolutely amazing staff, and food, good to have live music, if just a little to loud, but this is of course subjective. Great value, and ambience, I will return with my family. So good for Wivenhoe to have such a venue. Thank you, please maintain your excellent standards.
Great idea BBQ with live music outside but thank goodness there was room inside as it was raining and to miserable to sit outside. English weather very unpredictable. Very busy so it took a while before our drinks arrived and we felt we were in the way.
I discovered my passion for the Lebanese cuisine in this great restaurant on Cowley Road.
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If you like great food and great staff then this is the place to go.
Enjoyed a few small dishes here one afternoon back in September.
Twice Baked Goat's Cheese And Thyme Souffle
35 Day Dry Aged Dedham Vale Rib Eye Steak
Cauliflower Cheese & Butterbean Crumble
Pea, Courgette & Herb Spelt Risotto
Two Scoops Of Ice Cream Or Sorbet
Sea Salt & Rosemary Baby Potatoes
Pan Seared Fillet Of Red Mullet
Beer Battered Catch Of The Day
Pan Seared Fillet Of Red Mulle
36 Hour Smoked Scottish Salmon
