Fantastic dishes in a beautiful setting
Dine
Dining at Poets House
The dining room is perfect for a simple catch up with friends and family or a special occasion! Should you be looking for something a little lighter, why not pop into the Sonnet Lounge for a sandwich or lite bite. Our Bookings must be made either online or directly with the hotel with any dietary requirements.
Sample Set Lunch Menu Sample Lounge & Garden Menu Sample A La Carte Menu Book Now
Dining for All Occasions
Our Dining Room, Writing Room, Courtyard Garden and Sonnet Lounge restaurant are the perfect places to catch up with friends or colleagues. We are open daily for dining with food being served Monday - Thursday from 9 am - 8.30pm, Friday and Saturday 9 am - 8.45 pm, and Sunday 9 am - 8.00 pm.
Whether it's our breakfast menu, weekday lunch, or dinner, The Poet's House stunning decor, wonderful dishes, and first-class service guarantee an unforgettable dining experience.



Breakfast
Kickstart your day with a delicious breakfast at Poets House.
Our breakfast menu offers a wide range of tasty options, including cooked and continental breakfasts, porridge, fresh fruit, and cereal, accompanied by our great coffee and a selection of fruit juices.
Sample Breakfast Menu
Sunday Dining
Served From 12 til 3pm
Whether it's a family occasion or a simple Sunday treat, join us for Sunday Lunch served in our beautiful dining areas.
Sample Sunday Menu
Drinks in the Sonnet Bar
The Sonnet Bar & Lounge at Poets House is the perfect destination whatever time of day you choose to pop in. A relaxing space where you can sink into the sofas while catching up with friends. An array of choices are available, from good coffee with homemade cake to a light lunch with a cheeky cocktail.
Sample Bar Drinks Menu

The Sonnet Bar
& Lounge Menu
The Sonnet Bar is the most perfect place to relax and unwind, and we are delighted to offer you our Brunch menu from 10 am - 12 noon. Our light bar menu is available from 12 pm until 6 pm from Monday-Saturday. Why not try one of our cheeky cocktails? Maybe a classic Negroni or a beautifully hand-crafted house special such as our Smokey Sour, all made with passion from our skilled, friendly bar team!
Afternoon Tea
Experience a little of England's heritage with a delicious afternoon tea from £32 per person
Enjoy a selection of finger sandwiches, cakes, and warm scones with clotted cream and jam, all lovingly prepared and served in beautiful historic surroundings.
For a little extra indulgence why not add a glass of chilled bubbly? Our Afternoon Tea menu is subject to change.
Please note that afternoon tea must be pre-booked 24 hours in advance and full pre-payment is required on booking.
Call us on 01353 887777

Our Food Gallery









We held our wedding at The Poets House. We booked it a year in advance and worked with the Events Manager to create our very special day. The hotel delivered - and more. It was amazing. The facilities, including the bedrooms, are top class and the staff are incredibly helpful. Indeed, one guest commented that the staff kept smiling throughout and that makes all the difference. When we entered the Writing Room for the wedding breakfast, it had been dressed to perfection and would have done justice to any elite hotel in the world. The food was superb - everyone loved it. But above all, the ambience of this gem of a hotel made it perfect for us. We can not recommend it highly enough.
Iain & Sally
Wonderful service from Poets House from start to finish! We had a fabulous time - the team, food, rooms and venue were brilliant
Laura & Lain
We had our wedding at poets house it was such an amazing day nothing was to much for them. Thank you to all the staff at Poets House you all helped make our special day so special
Kate & Phil
My husband and I got married and had our reception at Poets House in Ely. The team were extremely attentive and organised, right from when we first looked around to the day after our wedding. We had exclusive use for our wedding, which came with all 21 rooms. We all had a fantastic time and guest were extremely impressed with the rooms and the quality of the food on the day. Breakfast the day after was included for those guests that stayed, and was excellent!
Nicola & Ross
A truly welcoming atmosphere in this historic city. We had a small family gathering to surprise our loved one on their birthday and all stayed overnight. I was anxious that the recipient of the surprise was not alerted to it, and the hotel reception staff were part of keeping that secret. Everything about this hotel was great. The staff are friendly and efficient in all areas of the hotel. The decor is tasteful and helps create a calm and comfortable environment. The bar is a great place for pre and post dinner drinks with a great selection. Everybody in our party enjoyed dinner and breakfast next morning, and all were impressed with the comfort and facilities provided in the rooms.
Tracey
We really enjoyed our overnight stay at The Poets House which has a great location close to the historical centre of Ely. We enjoyed a light lunch in the bar on arrival (which was very good) then enjoyed exploring Ely on foot during our stay (which included the Cathedral, shops, large riverside antiques centre and riverside walk). Our room (14) has beautiful views of the Cathedral and the room was comfortably appointed. Dinner and breakfast were both excellent. Staff were friendly and attentive. I booked parking close by but turns out the hotel does have a small offsite secure car park with complimentary parking which we’ll probably use next time. Highly recommended
GailW
We held our wedding reception and party at the lovely Poet's House. The food was fantastic, as were the bar staff, and we had a perfect day. We hired the rooms out as part of a wedding package and everyone was blown away by how beautiful the rooms were, and very excited about using the copper baths! Thank you very much.
Rachel & Dan
Birthday night away. Found the hotel in secret escapes and had the best of time. The room had a stand alone copper bath…….wow, not only did it look amazing, but enjoying a soak in it was sooooo relaxing.. The hotel is fantastic, the staff were amazing, the dinner and breakfast were superb, the bed and facilities in the room top notch and the overall experience was excellent. Would love to come back in the summer when Ely could be explored in warmer weather.
Hotel Guest
Ely’s most relaxed and consistently good venue for drinks and fine dining, but it’s the service that makes it stand out - you always feel comfortable and valued as a customer and nothing is too much trouble. The team is outstanding, thx.
Diner
Have now been here twice, first time in the bar and then in the dining room. Both times were perfect with attentive and friendly staff and all menus served in both locations. Would definitely recommend and looking forward to returning in the summer to experience the garden area which looks really inviting.
Mark
Wonderful service - the staff simply cannot do enough for you - very friendly and attentive, without being intrusive. The food was delicious and in generous portions. Highly rated!
Gill
A memorable experience on a memorable day My daughter and her new husband were married in the morning and we treated ourselves to a night at Poets House to celebrate. The staff went out of their way to make this a truly memorable and beautiful experience for us. The location, facilities and staff were exceptional. We want to thank them dearly.
Christopher
Lovely hotel and location, right opposite the cathedral and for a lovely stroll into the 'city' centre. Rooms were lovely, lady at reception very friendly as were the various cleaners we bumped into and our room was lovely and big with a huge copper bath in the bathroom.
We had dinner in the restaurant which was lovely, apart from some guest who decided it was ok to have a loud mobile phone conversation for about 20 minutes in a small hotel restaurant, but that's not the hotel's fault at all!
We had a light lunch also there, which again was lovely, although the chap who looked like he was maybe running the restaurant (with a moustache) comes across somewhat aloof, promised to bring us menus outside and never did, so I had to chase him up after we'd waited about 20 minutes, and even then took an age to come back and take our order. He needs to learn to smile a bit more and chill out!
Steve (Part 1)
The lady, who I'm guessing runs the hotel also, is lovely however, couldn't do more for you. The car park arrangement is fine, considering you can't park your car on-site and they have a designated secure area in the public car-park about 5 mins walk away so you drive into the hotel, drop your bags off and then leave your car elsewhere afterwards, which seemed to work just fine.
So all in all, a really nice place to stay in a really lovely place so highly recommend.