The Lion - Aylesbury Vale

We had afternoon tea, the cakes were plates of cakes all very nice, but not really what you expect for an afternoon tea. The service was nice and friendly a table arrived with small children and the noise level increased significantly. However, a beautiful place and service.

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.

Had a 3-course Sunday lunch, the food was great, came out quickly and tasted good. The restaurant was very quiet but it meant our waiter was very attentive, my only issue was the drinks were not cold, although we did have a jug of iced water on the table to compensate. Would definitely go again

I had arranged 2 days for ex colleagues who are/were involved in High class accommodation and fine food and wine. The 2 days were full of Colchester history and experiences with the Red Lion chosen as perfect for an evening meal in a lovely historical building. Sadly this was the worst place I could have chosen there is ironic humour to take foodie people to dinner and give them a diabolical meal!! It wasn't funny at the time but our group did see the funny side and it caused much hilarity during the rest of the week end. Is that the sort of reputation Colchester wants? The guests are from different part of the country and have business associates in the service industry but I doubt if they will organise anything in a brook hotel. We weren't in the Parliament Restaurant but in the Tudor room which was a very nice venue The Manager was informed of our disappointment and adjusted the bill as a goodwill gesture

Awful experience! You have to order all 3 courses at the beginning as the chef goes home at 20.20pm and will not wait for you to finish. My husbands pork was overcooked and my salmon was covered in sauce which I had to scrape off, didn't feel like we could say anything as it was made very clear to us that the chef was waiting for us to finish our dinner so he could go home. Due to building works there is limited alcohol with no wine menu so we ended up with a warm beer, why is it not in the fridge? And a glass of red wine which they charged £8.50 a glass for, this is more expensive than London!!! No wine menu was provided and we were told that was the only wine they had, mmmm.... The waitress is also front of house so chaos can be expected in the morning! Head Office need to employ another member of staff to get any kind of customer service on this restaurant. Definately would not return, no atmosphere at all.