Colchester
Cafe 21

Cafe 21

21 Trinity Street, CO1 1JN, Colchester, United Kingdom

Cafés • Vegan • Coffee • British


"We booked a baby shower at the start of the year for July. With the understanding that we would have the back room and the patio doors open for guests to be able to go out into the garden also with an afternoon tea spread type buffet. Which sounded lovely and we went ahead with the booking. We had spoke several times throughout the year also regarding adding more guests and how the day might go etc. (not once being told this wasn’t to be exclusively used by us However the day before the baby shower I received a phone call asking if I wanted the back room setup or the patio area. I explained as originally planned if we could do the buffet food inside incase of the weather, then guests can come in and eat and go outside etc. I was told I had to pick either the back room or patio. Which was never discussed for months prior. After explaining that’s not what we were told from the beginning we were then informed they would still have to seat guests in the garden. That the back room holds 20 people. To which I said we have 25? (Surely we would’ve been told ages ago that the back room doesn’t even fit our amount of guests? That they would try to open the side gate to stop strangers walking through etc. We also told them we’d be arriving 30 minutes before guests to set up decorations too. Which they said they’d aim for customers to leave by. Slightly frustrated by the miscommunication we still went into it with an open mind and hopeful they wouldn’t be too busy as it was towards the end of their closing time. When we arrived to set up decorations the back room was filled with customers still and the garden was pretty full. We ended up setting up with customers still in the room, and luckily got the room ready with minutes to spare. Thankfully the guests still managed to get some seating in the garden. We did have a lot of customers walking through the baby shower to use the toilet and leave etc. the staff also was walking through with peoples food and drink. Which was tough when you’ve got a large group mingling in a small room and having to move out the way a lot. Once it quietened down we all ended up having a lovely time and the food was all okay. People got fed and were happy. It was just all a big faff and not so pleasant. Miscommunications from management were to fault here mainly. My Mother in Law asked on arrival regarding the whole situation and was told if we had of wanted the garden booked privately too, we had to pay extra for that. (Which if told in the start or anytime prior we would’ve paid for! If we were told everything they told us the day before in the beginning we wouldn’t have booked a baby shower here. Because who likes to have strangers wandering around at a personal event you thought would be private. Sadly most of us got really bad stressful vibes from the team that catered for us. After thanking my guests the next day for coming I received quite a few negatives regarding the teams attitude and people found them to be rude. There was however one girl who was being ultra nice! Almost like she was compensating for the rest of the team. To her I say thank you lol! She was lovely!! It was just a bad vibe and I felt like I put the venue out by having my baby shower here. We didn’t feel welcomed and you could feel animosity radiating off the manager . Me and my wife came here regularly for breakfast and have never had a bad thing to say. But can’t say we will be coming back after a stressful baby shower"

The Cricketers

The Cricketers

Spring Lane, Colchester, United Kingdom

Pub • Steak • Vegan • British


"updated and added stars came twice in the few weeks here, once for a quick drink in the beautiful beer garden and yesterday again to lunch. both of them were as one would expect as a facility as they were. the caffe latte was perfect as the lunch we had. I chose the chicken club sandwich that I can not only recommend very much, but also fill me up. it was very beautifully presented and tasted fantastic. the staff was polite and professional, although it was very busy, we didn't have to wait too long. well done again we have eaten at the cricketers often in the last few years and never had a bad meal or experience. that changed today to midday. we have a table easy to book with the phone and the online form to cover track and trace has been easily completed. we were warmly welcomed by employees in face masks, but the garden entrance hand sanitizer was empty, so not a big anti-covid start. we chose our table and sat down to watch over the menu. their lunch menu has shrunk quite a lot and if they are a bigger meal then their choices are very limited. you can find the menu online on your website. 4 of us chose 4 different items. chilli chicken wrap, which was very well presented and was sure tasted as beautiful. I chose the sausage sandwich, which was just a lot more dry like a sausage sandwich and a wobble sandwich. the fries were also very dry and crisp. the prawn sandwich was well presented, but had very little taste. the frits from the same batch were luke warm and crisp. if I were to delete a guess, I would surpass the pommes under a heat lamp or a counter switch before I would serve as my sandwich. the gammonsteak was delicious, but the chips that came with it tasted of fish! I had a side of tweebel rings and they were very fat. now I'm not going to stand 'never eat here again' because I want. I just know what to do. I complain in the rule when a meal is under the standard and since 1984 was in the gas industry, I know a good meal from a bad and the reasons why. but as I was sitting with the ones, my opinion was mute. I would recommend this place for a good meal especially on a beautiful sunny afternoon sitting in the spacious beer garden. the whole staff was polite, covided conscious when they see how they clean up the tables and sanitate them. give it go, but check the menu before booking if your taste is not your choice."

Sip Tuck

Sip Tuck

67 High Street, Colchester, United Kingdom

Delis • Coffee • British • Contemporary


"I always like to try a new brunch venue, so I thought I’d try Sip and Tuck. Amazing location just opposite the entrance to Castle Park, which I think may be it’s saving grace. Friendly young serving staff. I ordered the chicken and waffles… it was described on the menu as chicken, waffles and breakfast potatoes. (A point to note if you are on a budget- the menu in the window is out of date and the ones on the table are current and more expensive! When the food arrives I was somewhat shocked by the portion size for the price I paid and I’m not a big eater! One the plate were shop bought sugar waffles (I buy these exact ones from the supermarket for my mom! two very small bits of tasteless chicken that could both of laid in the palm of my small hands, and a scattering of breakfast potatoes. There were so few I could literally count them! I know everything is so expensive now, but honestly It’s a potato so you could at least be a bit generous??? I called over the waitress to ask her if I could get some more breakfast potatoes as it was a bit ridiculous how few they were. She came back to advise :”the chef said they are more of a garnish” I politely replied that the menu didn’t state that and I was expecting a normal sized side portion . She advised the chef said I could hv more but I’d need to pay extra for them. No thanks. I paid nearly £12 for this! I was so disappointed I couldn’t even eat it. When I paid at the till, the chap asked if everything was alright… I politely told him the potato saga and how expensive I thought it was for the tiny portion. Also that the waffles are shop bought and not home made for the price. He apologised but offered nothing. I really wouldn’t recommend this place, but instead go to Tymperleys on Trinity Street, or Cafe 21 on Trinty Street or even Bills on the high street next to town hall."

Dedham Centre

Dedham Centre

1 High Street, CO7 6AB, Colchester, United Kingdom

Vegan • Coffee • British • Breakfast


"Visited today Sunday August 2020. Fully appreciate the Covid-19 implications on businesses but now that many are operating once more, we thought we would give our custom at this important time for re-emerging businesses. However, having frequented this establishment many, many times over many years, we were extremely disappointed and shocked at both the lack of customer service and the poor quality/poor value for money and meagre portions. £5.95 for a standard tuna-mayo sandwich is shocking value for money. My wife and I both had the quiche with a side-salad which was more akin to a garnish! My stilton broccoli quiche was flavourless and was a child's portion (as was my wife's). We made the mistake of ordering dessert to cheer ourselves up. My wife described her Victoria sponge as bread like heavy (the exact opposite to what a V.S. should of course be). I chose a fruit scone which was devoid of fruit. Annoyingly, the scone was heated up, rendering it claggy and plastic like and again without flavour and the tiny single butter portion barely sufficed. You win some, you lose some but we are totally perplexed that a business, whose priority should be to ensure repeat business, is serving up food that is inferior to that which it used to provide in the not so distant past, where the quiche was to die for and was accompanied by a wonderful and generous multi-ingredient salad. A warm welcome and some friendly interaction with the customer is also a prerequisite for any business, something that was sadly lacking at this establishment today. Needless to say, we will take our custom elsewhere on our continued frequent visits to Dedham, where I'm sure it will be more appreciated."