Number 15 - Carte

The Gilt Rooms

➤ Mersea Island Mersea Island 4 Barfield Road, Colchester I-CO5 8QT, United Kingdom, CO5 8QW

Carte • Vegan • Coffee • British • Vegetarian

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"the rooms were recommended to us by a friend who held an alice afternoon tee for the 80th birthday of her father. to love mersea, we have decided to book one afternoon for ourselves. from the moment we came in, we were warmly welcomed by extremely friendly staff. we sat in the garden (we had our dog with us), which was protected, quirky and beautifully designed, not overcrowded with tables and chairs, as some can be located. our afternoon tea was beautifully presented and so crooked. Also included in the price were 2 cocktails I recommend the storm at the sea.! we had a fabulous afternoon, too foot on the beach with our dog, followed by a fabulous afternoon tea in a really wonderful facility. I can't judge it high enough. a) in the situation, with our dog, who was greeted as cordial as we b) the staff was warm and friendly c) personal attention without unnecessary to float d) quality food"

West Mersea Oyster

➤ Coast Road, CO5 8NA, Colchester, United Kingdom

Carte • Fish • Pasta • Seafood • British

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"We were really looking forward to trying the seafood platter. The presentation wasn 't exciting, felt like everything had just been plopped onto the platter with no thought. There was water and brine puddling on the platter, I overheard someone on the table next to us saying the same thing about theirs. Perhaps they were short-staffed and it was an off day because whoever prepared our platter had little experience and no love for seafood which is simple to prepare especially in a seafood restaurant. Most of the seafood had obviously just been defrosted, hence the water. I do feel that the seafood shouldn 't be advertised as being 'fresh ' when this isn 't the case, fresh should be advertised as fresh and where frozen you as a restaurant are obliged to let customers know they are paying for and eating frozen seafood. Some but not all customers know the difference straight away. Whether a customer can tell the difference is irrelevant, it isn 't good practice to not be truthful especially where food is concerned. The only reason I was reluctant to complain was because this was a treat and I didn 't want to ruin the afternoon. We will return to the island which is really lovely but unfortunately not back to this place which strangely doesn 't even offer basic traditional fish and chips, I fact no hot food at all! After wandering around, there are much nicer places to eat for next time."

The Art Cafe

➤ 2 Coast Road, CO5 8XR, Colchester, United Kingdom

Carte • Coffee • British • Breakfast • Vegetarian

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"It is best to avoid this restaurant and instead go to Coastal Coffee. After reading a review by Megan Potter mentioning rude staff, we unfortunately experienced the same treatment. Upon arrival, we noticed an empty outdoor table without a menu. When we asked inside, we received a vague explanation about seating rules. When we asked for a menu, we were met with frustration because there was already one on the table. The staff member rushed us to order before we even had a chance to look at the menu. When we asked for more time, we were met with eye rolls and a strange comment about everyone being weird that day. The staff member's attitude made our experience unpleasant. We decided to leave and found better service at Coastal Coffee. The food there was delicious and made up for our earlier disappointment. It's a shame that one bad employee can ruin the charm of a place."

Mersea Island Fish

➤ 37 High Street, Colchester, United Kingdom, CO5 8QA

Carte • Seafood • British • Fast Food • Vegetarian

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"Been there many times before and no complaints but the fish and chips we had Saturday was awful the chips were tasteless and anemic looking most went in the bin the large cod we ordered was small with soggy thin undercooked batter the only nice thing was the tartare sauce.It was a busy bank holiday the place was very busy with some customers kicking off about the length of time they have waited, the young staff were unable to cope we definitely will not be returning."

Unique Fish Kebab

➤ 10-12 Church Road, CO5 8QH, Colchester, United Kingdom

Carte • Fish • Lunch • British • Chicken

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"And they also need to learn what 20 minutes is! Went to get a take away tonight, was told 20 minutes which ended up being an hour. When my wife asked (after an hour) how much longer, she was told “IM BUSY” food had been sat waiting for 20 minutes in a box on the counter. Then she was told to “just take her food!” Needless to say when we got it home, it was cold. The guy is lucky that my wife filled me in on what was said once we were way way down the road. Had I known while we were there, he would have been picking his teeth out of the chip fryer! If you want cold food, hideous attitude to customers as a 1 hour wait, you’ll get all three here! The only plus side to this establishment is that you get to meet some really nice people who are also waiting…. Unfortunate for this shop, I don’t think they’ll be shopping here much longer!"