Red House

Cunningly disguised as a riverside pub, it’s not until you enter that you see the full extent of the restaurant area at the back. It’s constructed on two levels going down the hillside towards the river, enclosed in an enormous glass conservatory structure. The views across the river towards the town are spectacular at sunset, although being a glass box I imagine it gets pretty warm in summertime. Car parking spaces are limited out front, but there is plenty of room on-​street a short distance away. It’s not exactly on the beaten track here so I imagine that most people will arrive by car or taxi; although there is a jetty outside so you could even arrive by boat for ultimate coolness rating.
The restaurant bit is actually called Et Alia, and although it was Easter weekend and very busy on my visit, the staff were friendly and attentive when we arrived, and we were soon sipping a glass of prosecco at the bar while poring over the extensive menu until our table was ready.
I was completely bowled over by my starter of avocado and smoked trout with spinach, all rolled up into a tennis-​ball sized parcel with smoked salmon, and a drizzle of Marie-​rose dressing to finish. It looked and tasted wonderful.
My main course of lemon sole parcels actually looked smaller than the starter, but was equally tasty and with a couple of side accoutrements was more than adequate to fill the belly.
Great service throughout, fantastic location and yummy food. It’s not cheap, but it’s well worth splashing out for a special evening here.

«An unrivalled location on the banks of the River Dee is obviously a major selling point of the Red House; however the food, service and atmosphere are equal to the excellent views.
I understand that you can take a boat trip from the Red House to Chester Racecourse during race meetings.»
Anonymous, Chester
Rating: ⁴⁄₅
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«expensive, poor service, poor food»
Jo Finley, Chester
Rating: ¹⁄₅
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«fantastic food with excellent service. A gem in Chester. Try the lunch with a glass of bubbly. Ladies that lunch will love this and great place to celebrate»
Deborah, North Wales
Rating: ⁵⁄₅
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«Over priced and under staffed. We had to wait far too long and no apology was made. Service was very poor.»
Sarah, Wales
Rating: ¹⁄₅
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«Went for a special night with friends. Lovely atmosphere, a guitarist played background music. Food when it eventually came was none discript and totally overpriced. You need to take out a morgage for food and drinks in this place.»
Anonymous, North Wales
Rating: ²⁄₅
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«beautiful location with excellent food, loved the 1^st class menu with the glass of bubbly included»
Amelia La’Flamme, Chester
Rating: ⁵⁄₅
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«EXCELLENT…»
Daisy, Shrewsbury
Rating: ⁵⁄₅
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«August 2010, booked as a special surprise for visitors to Chester, afternoon tea at The Red House only to be told on arrival that the entire venue was booked out to a private party. Very embarrsing exchange between „person in charge“ and myself over the fact that I had booked in advance, left my name and telephone number and yet nobody had contacted me to say they were not able to honour the booking. I am still waiting for an apology or just a phone call. Had a bad experience with poor service previously but decided to give them another go — never again!»
Jane, Chester
Rating: ⁰⁄₅
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Chester Express Average Rating: ³⁄₅

This place will be closed soon if the owners don’t open their eyes and see what’s happening. Bad marketing leaves this place empty when it should be full. Manager… what manager? Goes and hides when challenged. Waiting staff were intelligent and responsible, and did their best in difficult circumstances. Toilets? Not enough. Small, smelly, overused and dirty; right next to the kitchen too. Food was excellent, although some main course dishes were big, and some quite small, starter size, and left many of my party still hungry. I detected a hint of ‘mutiny on the bounty’ from the kitchen staff, and that notion was backed up by one of the waiters. Out of this world location, and huge investment in refurb makes this somewhere very special… but there’s something missing.

I have to say that I agree with most of the comments good and bad that have already been posted, and it seems that its down to when you visit whether you have a good experience or not.
We have only been once but was not overwhelmed at our visit. The location was great, sunny day to make the most of the outdoor setting but the service was so poor that for the first time in ages I didnt leave a tip, the portions were ‘economically small’ although tasty and we felt a little bit ripped off at the experience.
If you sit downstairs there is only 1 toilet for the ladies which invariably means a queue; my partners food had been sitting on the table for 5 mins by the time she got back.
I might visit again on a hot day to have an afternoon tea but will not be visiting again for a meal.

Really enjoyable food in a very pleasant environment with good service. It overlooks the meadows section of Handbridge, Chester with spectacular views of the weather coming over from Wales. This is the go to place if I want good food. Lunch service is quick with a broad menu. The fishcakes are always good.
In the evening the place gets busy but not over-​crowded. I would certainly recommend if you’re ever in Chester.

The Red House is set in the perfect location — right by the banks of the River Dee, with great outside seating overlooking the water. This is particularly great in the summer months when the river plays host to a range of boating and rowing events — particularly at weekends.
The décor is top quality and the place has a real classy feel. The food is good, but in my view overpriced — I would probably say a similar thing about the service. The only other downside is that the Red House is considerably outside the city centre (probably a 20 — 30 minute walk) — that’s not a problem if you live fairly locally, but when the weather is bad your only option is to drive or take a taxi.
The Red House is a great ‘Summer Afternoon on a Sunday’ type of place — very relaxed and classy, but not too pretentious. Certainly worth a visit for a Sunday lunch — but do try to visit on a nice day to make the most of the glass roof and excellent view of the river.

Lovely, clean, modern looking restaurant with attention to detail on fixtures and fixings. The toilets were a lovely standard, with attention to detail, which is a refreshing change to some of the places we have eaten at! The manager who welcomes you was very friendly, and the glass room was delightful! I would recommend this eating establishment to anyone!
The only negative I would say is some of the waiters in the suits need to be a bit more friendly, as they seemed to be a bit formal for my liking. The waiters in the jeans were very easy going, approachable and helpful! Also, more of the wines should be available by the glass and not the bottle, which can be a bit pricey if you don’t want to drink much! Also, parking is very limited, so they need more parking!
A must eating place. The food is delicious to look at and eat — very fresh and tasty, and the puddings are very yummy! The whole place is a lovely looking, well presented restaurant. A lot of money and effort has been put into The Red House restaurant in Chester. I just hope prices do not become higher in the future, as this would be a shame!

Love this place, been twice now and they’ve kept up the standard both times. And you really can’t knock the location right on the water with perfect views due to the place being all glass at the back.
First time I got fillet steak, not cheap at £22 a head but absolutely outstandingly lovely and as they are doing a special offer of 2 for 1 during spring, ended up half that.
Went a second time for my birthday (party of 9) and was gorgeous, had the pork, bout £14 if I remember right and really suprised me that I loved it as much as the steak (and I love steak!)
Both times I got the ‘Epicurean of Desserts’ now I don’t even know what an Epicurean is but this dessert is fab! It’s basically 5 mini desserts in one. I think it’s made for sharing, if not you can very easily, it’s huge!
Only slight is that they forgot one of the meals, a pasta, but as soon as they where informed they got right on it and is was there in no time along with a complimentary drink.
Again the 2 for 1 deal was on and they’ve also started handing out ‘Free Meal’ cards, collect 4 and you get a free meal. And all my lovely friends gave me theirs for my birthday, so even got a couple of completely free ‘main course’ to come as well!
One happy customer :-D

Good quality food, although nothing outstanding, and quite pricey. Waiter served an obviously corked glass of wine (from an open bottle) which the manager was very embarrassed about. Service otherwise verged on the obsequious and fawning. Tables very close together offering little privacy. Very limited parking off-​road, so most people have to park on a 40mph main road, on a hill.

The Red House in Chester on the banks of the river Dee has modern décor and excellent ambience. The food is superb and the service attentive. It’s great for lunch on a sunny day, sat in the conservatory, on the top floor, with great views of the river.
It’s not cheap. We paid £50 for a light lunch for two (including a glass of lovely wine each), but I’d recommend it for a special occasion…