The Dining Room at Poets House

Beautiful place. Clean and comfortable. Service was excellent. The food was made in good time and well presented. Only downside side is there is only one vegetarian option. A nut roast for a main would have made my day. The only vegetarian starter and main both had mushrooms and they take me ill. But being they were my only choice, that what I had. My partners a meat eater and his food looked great and he really enjoyed it. Will definitely go back, but it might only be for drinks and cake until more vegetarian options are available.

I always look forward to my visit to Poet's House dining room. The room is lovely. The background music is just the right level. The food and service are always good.

Celebrating special occasion together for an evening meal. Ambiance, decor, drinks, food, service all amazing.

probably the best quality Sunday lunch I have ever had. Absolutely beautiful tasting food from start to finish

This was a special occasion and did not disappoint. Will be returning.

Superb food, service, menu and a great evening had by all. Thank you! We will be back soon.

Felt to made very welcomed the staff were very friendly made to feel at home. The food was outstanding enjoyed all 3 courses would definitely recommend and will definitely visit again.
Thank you for a lovely evening.

Good quality food well presnted in relaxed environment.

Really disappointing! I rarely complain about a meal as I don't like to be negative when it is a treat to have a meal out but this one was such a bad experience from start to finish. The staff didn't even bother to look up when we walked in the door, forgot to deliver drinks - twice!, went off to find out if there were specials and never came back, messed up our order (beef instead of beetroot burger!) We had to ask twice for the bill and they didn't even remove the food which they had promised to remove as we hadn't ordered it. Even the senior manager wasn't apologetic. The menu itself is really boring and uninspiring and the food (other than a really nice bread board) was really bland and tasteless. I personally don't like the decor (such a cold dark grey) but it may be some people's taste. For the price, you would expect something pleasant but it wasn't like that at all. I had heard bad reports from others who had been but wanted to give it a try as it is so close to my house, but I regret it now. Such a shame!

A pleasant dining room, tables well spaced and lighting just right. Service was friendly and mostly efficient though we had quite a wait when we asked for the bill. The food was ok but the scallop on my partners meal was undercooked and the 'turtle beans' I had with the cauliflower steak were very uninteresting and rather too many of them.

Food was a bit average, we expected better for the price. Service exceedingly slow.

Service and food were good, but we felt the menu was limited and unimaginative, it was also over priced.

Unfortunately our dining experience was not as good as previous visits. The menu seems to be edging more towards "pub grub" rather than the fine dining style I believe the restaurant is aiming for. Additionally, on previous visits a sommelier was available to suggest wine pairings for each course (as a wine novice we found this a very nice option), however we were told on this visit that this would not be possible.

Late booking (15:30 for a 18:30) table for 3, including an older child. Arrived early to have a drink in the bar before sitting in the restaurant. Poet's House Fizz for the adults, soft drink for the child. The Cocktail Menu is quite extensive and worth a look at even if not eating in the restaurant. As always the service was excellent, even with a supervised/trainee waiter in the restaurant. Wine selection was limited but good quality, we selected an Appasimento which for the price in the restaurant is better than expected. Food was delivered quickly but not rushed and was excellent.

One of the best restaurants in the local area with a bar / cocktail menu to match.

Great decor and ambience, polite and efficient staff from meet and greet into dining room, great timings between all courses. Starters and main courses well presented and tasty, both our desserts where a let down, wild honey Panna cotta with little honey flavour and Vanilla cheesecake, no vanilla flavour evident.
Thank you for helping Us celebrate our engagement 💍

We come here on special occasions, as the quality is so good - but obviously you have to pay for it :-) Lovely background jazz, great decor, and very nice cocktails and cuisine. The attention to detail in the starters and dessert (colours, design, flavour balance, textures, choice of ingredients) was particularly impressive.

We had a wonderful evening celebrating our son’s GCSE results.
The dining room was quiet, beautifully decorated, extremely clean and with the separate areas, it feels private without being closed away. Suitable for romantic evenings or large parties. The waiter was friendly and professional and ecwryrhing about the evening made us feel very comfortable and looked after.

We had a reservation at 19.30, we were asked to wait in the bar before being shown our table. We then ordered some drinks, which took 10 minutes to arrive. We were eventually shown to our table at 19.50 - the restaurant was not busy so don't know why it took so long. We ordered the food we wanted, and when the starters arrived 3 were brought together and was told that the last would be out shortly. The 3 people who got their starters finished theirs before the other one arrived, that's how long it took. We also ordered bread and olives which also arrived after the three starters - not before as one would expect. The main courses did arrive, I ordered duck breast which actually was two small pieces of duck breast (which I did ask for well done due to pregnancy, but was so far past well done it was tough). The steak which my husband ordered was also tough and quite fatty. Our water glasses were not filled once, empty glasses and bottles were not removed from the table, we were not asked once during the meal if we wanted more drinks or if things were ok. The starter which arrived late was taken off the bill but we were charged for 4 medium glasses of wine when we actually ordered 2 medium and 2 small glasses. Overall I think the service was terrible, especially considering it was a very quiet Sunday evening. The look of this restaurant is lovely, there was very little atmosphere with either no or low music, so much so that the air conditioning could be heard above everything else. I was hugely disappointed as I had heard such great things. I also think the menu has gone down hill, when I looked at this restaurant last year the menu was quite eccentric, but now it isn't much more than a pub menu but at restaurant prices.

Lovely venue and staff. Music could have been more lively in bar. Background music needed in restaurant. Only disappointment was the lack of variety and choice on the menu. Very sparse offering although the food was very good.

Excellent food all round in surroundings which were peaceful and relaxing.

It really seems as though no one was really Operating the bar and restaurant - there were employees, but nobody seemed to have a specific thing to do, aside from our poor server, the only one we spotted in the dining room. We went to the bar for drink first, and barely managed to get that beverage in time for our table 30 minutes later, then didn't get our 2nd drink until the entree's arrived. A shame, because my cocktail was well crafted, and the wine list is decent. The starter course was quite tasty, but the entree's lacked the care that seemed to be in that first course.

We wanted it to be very good, as we are local, and need some regular spots, but it will be a while before we give it another try, I think.

We were celebrating a special birthday & the restaurant was perfect for that, lovely decoration and the setting is lovely. The staff was very attentive and did a birthday cake too. We were all happy with our food choices, maybe a few more vegan options would be welcome. The restaurant is within walking distance of the stunning Ely Cathedral. Parking was in a public parking area, close by and free on a Sunday. Highly recommend

Food was okay but nothing special. I wouldn't go back. It seems there's been a lot of effort put into the bar, which is lovely, but he food was just meh.

Despite the food being very nice, the wait to be served between ordering and receiving both drinks and food were far too slow.

Very pleasant relatively quiet Sunday lunch. Good quality food well cooked, well presented by very pleasant
waiter. Nice table with a view of the green and Cromwell's house. Background music not intrusive.

Five of us had a variety of main courses, all of which were very good indeed. The only problem we had was a deadline... we were going to a concert and it was not fast service. I think everything was cooked to order so that’s perhaps not surprising. We should probably have advised them early on!

A birthday surprise, a group of 5 ladies. We loved the ambience of the bar and restaurant area. The food was exceptional and the service outstanding and very personal. Would highly recommend a visit.

Everything was just lovely. Really made us feel welcome and catered very well for our gluten/ dairy free diet. Asked for deserts outside and they were very happy to do this for us. Friendly staff and very informed regarding the menu. The menu was great and everything cooked to perfection!

Lovely birthday dinner for two whilst staying at the Poets House Hotel. They had asked if it was a special occasion but the Happy Birthday desert was a completed surprise. Thank you for making it a evening to remember.

Poor start . . . booked for 8pm, at 8.15 we asked to be taken to table but were told they were very busy! Butter and dipping oil on table but no bread. It came with starter . . . too late. My pork cutlet was a loin chop on tinned passata. Vegetables extra £6. Dessert was mass produced.

A wonderful dining experience. Service was excellent. Food very tasty. Will definitely recommend it to my friends.

Service was pretty good, but the food was very disappointing. We paid a lot of money to dine and the quality and flavour of the food simply didn’t mach the price. Unfortunately we wouldn’t consider dining here again as there are better options in Ely and surrounding area for half the price.

For such a lovely hotel and great staff the food was not the best. We booked the restaurant expecting something great.

The food was ok but is wasn’t the wow we were expecting

The venue is lovely, but the food is just ok.
My lamb was overcooked; something you don't expect for that price.
We were also really annoyed when the bill came to find that we'd been charged £4.75 for water for the table!

Very good central local, and the external building is stunning, food was good, menu and wine list of a good standard, service was good and professional but the Resturant and bar is short staffed no fault of the waiting staff they kept it going, this place could be amazing with a few more staff, well worth a visit, we will visit again thank you to all the staff

Food was decent but let down my the generally rude staff who seems to think that a top dining establishment means that the staff should be patronizing. Service for drinks was slow and we had to ask for a steak knife.

We had a lovely meal at the Poet's House. The staff were extremely attentive and even brought us a glass of prosecco on the house as it was a special occasion - My mum was visiting me after having surgery. We really enjoyed the meal and the relaxed atmosphere in the bar and restaurant. The cocktails were very tasty! The meal was really nice and presented well, but the menu options were quite easy, considering the prices. I wouldn't really consider it a la carte. Having said this, I would recommend the Poet's House for the ambience and the level of service from the staff.

Very nice meal and lovely ambience. Service would very good. I would recommend.

Lovely main courses and outstanding desserts. Good service, good wine list, nice atmosphere.

My wife and I went to Poet’s house for our wedding anniversary, and couldn’t have had a nicer meal.

The food was excellent, the staff were great and we will be going back for sure!