Aqua-vitus Reviews

We visited Chester in August 2009 and found the Aqua-Vitus by chance. What a wonderful experience it was. The atmosphere and ambience was superb, the food was even better. We will be returning to Chester for New Year and we will definitely be eating there again.

Aqua-Vitus, the name above the door itself is Aqua Vit, is rather secretively nestled-in between its neighbours on Watergate Street. No acquaintance of mine has been aware of its presence: that such a lovely restaurant should be so obscure is baffling. The décor is lovely - wooden flooring and white tablecloths, and scotch bottles reflecting the candle glow. Apparently the food served here is French cuisine with a Swedish twist. How accurate this premise is, I have no idea. I thought the Swedish just ate meatballs. One is given a choice of two menus. To eat a la carte will cost you a minimum of twenty pounds for two courses. This sounds fairly steep until you've tried the food. The first time I ate here I opted for a rabbit rilette with orange salsa, purely because I wanted to say I'd eaten rabbit. My partner opted for half a lobster, which it literally was - not being experienced in fine cuisine, we had not known what to expect. I had to help her extract the meat. Rilette turned out to be a pancake-type thing. In case you're wondering, rabbit tastes not unlike chicken. My main was grilled sea bream on a bed of risotto, topped with scallops and sauce vierge. The fish was cooked to perfection, pure and simple. The skin was delightfully crisp, the flesh flaky and delicious. The risotto was similarly well-made. My partner had the seafood linguine, which contained lovely prawns, scallops and mussels. After our quality coffee afterwards, we knew we'd be back. The first thing to strike one when the meals arrive, which doesn't take long at all, is how immaculately presented they are. It really is a shame to have to deconstruct the chef's efforts. The night of writing this, I had duck rilette as a starter. The three little pastry things are propped against one another in a wigwam shape, with diagonally-sliced cucumbers protruding from the bottom as if to form an occult shape. Shredded spring onion adorns the top. They're like little sculptures.

Unlike many places, however, the actual taste of the food doesn't fall short of the standards of presentation. The flavours are matched superbly, the meat cooked carefully, the vegetables flavoursome and crunchy, but not too much so. Tonight, on my third visit, I had my first, tiny, disappointment. My pheasant was a little dry, perhaps a fraction overdone. The provencal potatoes it came with were, however, wonderful. The after work menu is incredible value. My duck rilette and pheasant were both off it, and matched the quality of the a la carte. That this place can offer such beautiful food at £8.95 for two courses is fantastic. It seems only the house wine is available by the glass, and while the white is dry and subtle, the red is a little acidic. The coffee we have afterwards is lovely though, and well-priced. I cannot recommend Aqua Vit highly enough. In a city full to the brim of character -less chains, it's a real breath of fresh air, and you'd have to travel some way to beat it on either food or value. The menu is intriguing - pheasant, steaks, salmon pudding - tonight I saw bouillabaisse on the specials board, made with local-market fish. Do visit, it's a special place.

We stumbled on to this restaurant last year and enjoyed the food from the lunch time menu so much that we pilgrimed there again with high expectations. Although these expectations were not entirely dashed they were bruised slightly. Lamb with a slightly pink, its fine with me but all the way through seems extreme. The vegetables would have been suitable as ammunition, but I won't shoot the chef. The crab starter was fantastic; the beef beautiful and the sweet, small but delicious. I shall return to this attractive and relaxing venue again.

I've eaten at Aquavit several times in the last year and I have not had one bad experience there. The food is great, the service fantastic and the price is very good. Definitely visit Aquavit if you're in Chester and fancy somewhere a little different.

I am glad to say that this establishment has now been in the same hands for some years. It had a period of unrest! But for some time now it has been run by a couple - she is on the floor and he is in the kitchen. The menu changes (not often enough - an issue I’ve had with them!) but it delivers consistently, though it can have its off moments, if so, complain and your hosts will I am sure instantly put things to right! Lunch is good here. We used to love Sunday lunches here! But no longer linen napkins! Oh well - things are never the same!

A beautiful restaurant in a lovely location. My lobster bisque was rather good and I was looking forward to the next course. Unfortunately, this was awful. My main course was duck with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The potatoes were dry and powdery. The vegetables were rock hard and the duck was chewy. For the price I expected much more and if I had been the host I would certainly have sent it back.

You're bound to get a good meal, pleasant service and interesting surroundings. The week-day lunch is especially good value for money. Don't be put off by the Swedish tag.

My husband and I visited this restaurant just prior to Easter weekend 2005. The restaurant was extremely busy. Very friendly staff and food with excellent meal offers. Would recommend it to anyone. The service was a trifle slow but we put it down to the fact that Chester is always popular and it was a busy time of year. There wasn't a spare seat in the restaurant at any one time. We had a very leisurely lunch which suited me as it was my birthday treat and I made the most of it!!

I always try to eat at this restaurant when I visit Chester; it is the best restaurant that we have found in the city and always has surprising interpretations of what seem very fresh ingredients.

Without question, Aquavit is the best place for lunch within the walled city. More often than not the food is exceptional in both presentation and taste and on every single visit the service has been polite and efficient - a rarity in Chester. In my humble opinion, Aquavit offers unparalleled value for money for lunch-time diners.