I'm not sure how many of you have ever had to face the question 'Where is a good place to take my mother on her 80th birthday' but, if you ever have that happen, and you live in the area of Harwich, I think you could do a lot worse than the Tower.
My initial reservations were that this was actually a former school (both my sisters attended) and that it is right next door to the local Customs & Excise offices so could be frequented by the rabble that works there (I speak from experience as my late father worked for them and I have several froends and acquaintences that still do). However, it seems my woriies were unfounded.
The twelve of us arrived in plenty of time and were greeted by some very pleasant and smiley staff who directed us to the bar / lounge area for us to have a pre-dinner drink and peruse the menu. The menu was pleasant if not startling but, with the party ranging in age from 26 to 83, it was exactly what was needed.
The staff were friendly and very helpful - probably more so as there was only one other table occupied throughout our lunchtime stay - and nothing was too much trouble for them.
The food was very nice and arrived piping hot and was consumed with much relish by all.
At the end of the meal, we divided up the bill (except for mother who was exempt) and were very pleasantly surprised at the overall cost. I'm sure it would have been considerably more expensive had we ordered wine but, apart from a chmpagne toast, all were on the soft drinks as it was lunchtime and several of us were driving.
The decor of the whole place is very nice - if you ignore the rotten hole in one of the exit doors - and the owners have done a good job in highlighting the architecture of the building as a whole - something that the school had done its best to cover up - but my sisters were both still rather unsettled by memories of nearly 40 years previous!
I might have to go here one evening to see if the atmosphere is as pleasant with a set of evening covers but, if you are passing, I would try it out. read more