The Dining Room at Poets House - Ely

We had gone to Poets House to book Christmas lunch for a party of 10 friends. We often drop in for coffee and a slice of carrot cake. But on that day, as it was quite near to my Birthday, my husband decided we would stay for lunch. We decide on the 3 course lunch which was excellent. A good selection, cooked to perfection and nicely presented. Very friendly and efficient staff too. Highly recommended !! We now very much looking forward to our Christmas lunch..

I believe that our experience deserves a six-star rating. The service, from the Maître d'hôtel to the excellent waiter, was outstanding. The food was served promptly and cooked beautifully. My steak was cooked perfectly and the bass was amazing. The atmosphere was ideal for a romantic evening. Although we couldn't park at the restaurant, we found parking spaces across the street near the cathedral, so it wasn't an issue.

“The Peckham Spring” The heading will become apparent later in this review. On the 22nd September, we had a table booked for 4, it was both couples weeding anniversary’s. We arrived 20mins early to have a drink in the bar. This was the point when we should of left. Ordering 4 drinks from exceptional young an inexperienced staff was a challenge. The drinks took ages to be made (at this point there was only 2 other guests in there). 3 cocktails and a beer, all of the cocktails were spilt by the waitress on serving and were not made correctly. At the table, We ordered wine and still water (bottled). This is where the heading for this review arrives from. This restaurant, (I use that terminology loosely), severs “tap water” in mineral water bottles and chargers £5.00 for it. (Del Boy must be running this joint)! We have been fortunate to have traveled far and wide in this country and abroad and never come across this deceitful act which is inessential fraud and theft. You may ask why do we “assume “ this?, well firstly Ely water has a distinct taste and secondly the bottle was open prior to arriving at the table and they had filled it right to the top! Shame on you Poets House. So on to the food, 4 starters, all below average. 4 mains, that all being sirloin steaks. My “plate of food” was probably the absolute worst dish I have ever had presented in front of me. A side salad straight out of a bag, un washed or dressed, a cold mushroom which wasn’t seasoned or warm, a steak which hadn’t been seared or cooked correctly to medium rare and was completely un edible and wouldn’t cut with a steak knife. This was accompanied with a bucket of chips which was dripping in oil. The only positive part to this review is that the waiter who served us is the only asset this establishment has. I voiced all of this to the said gentleman on the evening, and what was disheartening was that he total agreed with everything we mentioned. The owners, the management and the (cook) (as they don’t have a chef), need to be educated by their waiter if they have any chance of this establishment improving. In conclusion to this review, I strongly advise anyone looking for a decent plate of food to avoid booking the Poets House,Ely.

I think Tripadvisor should allow you one 6* review to give out per year. Our meal here last night deserves more than 5*. We were met be a friendly Maitre D, and decided to have some drinks in the bar first as we were early. We ordered cocktails from an extensive menu. I 'm not a cocktail guy, but seeing a 'Hemmingway ' made from absinth and champagne, I was too curious not to try it. It was an event watching the mixer make it, and of course was incredible. We were led through to the dining room as we finished our drinks. We were there to celebrate an anniversary, and found a beautiful anniversary card from the management on the table. An incredible touch. The waiter was perfect, friendly and chatty, but not intrusive. Extremely smart and polite. The food. The food! I think I can honestly say it was the nicest meal I 've ever eaten. I had the ribeye, medium rare and it was PERFECT. I also had the stilton sauce which was divine. My partner had the chicken and it was also, perfect. We had one of the cheaper wines, and a dessert both absolutely lovely. I 've been coming here since it opened, but can safely say it is at the absolute top of its game. We were made to feel like royalty. It 's 'posh ' and fairly formal, but not stuffy. There isn 't a single thing which could have made it better.

I took my mum for afternoon tea here at 1pm in the afternoon. Afternoon tea was okay, but the service really let it down. We were served when we first arrived, and then left to our own devices entirely. I had to go out of the restaurant to the hotel reception to ask for more water and a box at the end of the meal to take the remaining cakes away. We then went through to the bar for a drink, and the experience was ruined by a couple members of staff moaning and speaking poorly of other customers who were still having afternoon tea in the restaurant. We promptly moved outside after that, this hotel/ restaurant is in a lovely setting but as the title of the review suggests, it is let down by the customer service.