Parliament Restaurant - Colchester

I booked a reservation for a 70th birthday celebration last year and was so impressed that I decided to book again this year. I am writing this review based on both visits to be fair to the establishment, as they experienced some issues this time. It seems they had a flood which affected their pumps, resulting in only ale from a barrel and fizzy drinks from a bottle being available. While one of us was satisfied with the ale, the other drinks were flat and warm. Despite this hiccup, the food was excellent on both occasions, with the exception of the mushrooms in the mushroom sauce which were too hard to eat. My only other critique is that the menu has not changed this year and feels somewhat limited. The service was good, although there was only one person serving who also happened to be the receptionist at the hotel. Despite booking a table for 7:00 PM on both visits, we were the only ones in the restaurant and had to wait longer for drinks as the server had to attend to hotel matters. The building itself is impressive, dating back to the 13th century with various additions over the years. Last year, the receptionist even gave us a guided tour, providing detailed information about the history of the place. While the current server was new and a bit slow, the previous experience was seamless. Overall, the restaurant may be a bit pricey but I will definitely return next year.

We recently had afternoon tea and enjoyed the assortment of cakes, although they weren't quite what we were expecting for a traditional afternoon tea. The service was friendly, however, the noise level escalated when a table with small children arrived. Overall, it was a lovely experience at a beautiful venue.

Have fun! You need to order all 3 courses at the beginning as the cook goes home at 20.20 and not wait until you're done. My husband's pork was overcooked and my salmon was covered with sauce that I had to scrape off, didn't feel like we could say something like it was made very clear to us that the cook was waiting for us to finish our dinner so he could go home. Due to the construction work there are limited alcohol without wine menu, so we with a warm beer, why is it not in the refrigerator? And a glass of red wine for which they have charged £8.50 a glass is more expensive than London!!! There was no wine menu provided, and we were told that it was the only wine they had, mmmm.... The waitress is also in front of the house so that chaos can be expected in the morning! Head Office has to use another team to get any kind of customer service in this restaurant. Definitely would not return, no atmosphere at all.

Get Saying a call one hour before booking Sunday lunch is only twice a month and not on the booked day so the booking had to cancel.

I recently enjoyed a three-course Sunday lunch at this restaurant. The food was fantastic, served promptly and delicious. The atmosphere was quiet, which allowed our waiter to be very attentive. My only complaint was that the drinks were not cold, but we were provided with a jug of iced water at our table to make up for it. I would definitely return to this restaurant.