The best restaurants serving British food in Colchester East of England

Lovely food, lovely staff and way more affordable than anywhere else💞 thankyou!

Popped in after a visit to the dentists, hoping to grab some breakfast, but I was too late as it was 12pm. However, the lovely staff member did me a strong black coffee (very tasty, strong without being too bitter), offered me some toast and tried to cater to my gluten free diet, and later on returned with a packet of GF crisps as they had finished breakfast time. Very thoughtful service, and the sofas at the front of the shop are extremely comfortable, I did not want to leave.

Sadly I have to leave a negative review. I had been here before and it had been good so I recommended it for our friends pre-Christmas get together. We booked ages ago, paid £10 deposit each and pre-booked our menu choices several weeks ago too. The starters took over 45 minutes to arrive, the mains took a while after that, leaving those who did not have starters without food for well over an hour. People who seemed to walk in and order next to us had their starters and mains well before we did. The food was ok, but the vegetables were just luke warm. The veggie choice had two brussel sprouts with it as well as a very small portion of what looked like shredded cabbage but tasted of fennel and a few tiny dots of beetroot. One friend had a starter of mackerel pate on what she described as an untoasted crumpet. They didn't have "the right cream" for an Irish coffee. It was quite embarrassing as we had recommended it. All in all not good this time round.

Had a very delicious traditional Christmas lunch with a friend. The staff are always very friendly and even accommodated my strange request for 'no gravy'! It lovely place to eat.

They gave me Ligma. Which made me go erm what the sigma.

Christmas lunch . Fantastic atmosphere ,felt truly welcome from Steph & Lynsey . All the staff worked so hard and couldn’t fault it . Christmas Lunch can always be challenging but at the Thatchers they got it right . Looking forward to supporting The Thatchers for 2025 a real traditional Pub . Thanks again for a great day .

Had lunch here and then came back for the evening BBQ summer event. The lunch and BBQ were very well done. The service at both were good. Having lunch by the river was nice.

Been allowed to have the absolute experience for over 33 years now at this fantastic cafe It’s been about 2 years since I last visited and it was everything I expected and have expected I’ve the years I just wish I lived closer 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻

If you are an Aunt Bessie fan, then this is spot on! The food was edible but I am certain that everything came straight from the freezer and none (or very little) was home made/cooked.

Superb restaurant, great food unpretentious professional service and a relaxed setting. Tasting menu is a delight, no menu until you finish but great description given verbally per course.

I have visited The Three Horseshoes three times. The first time my daughter and I just had starters which were delicious and beautifully presented. The second time was for a Sunday roast which was hugely disappointing, I did email to point out the issues but I was told Sunday roast is very much a personal thing - I agree but I don’t agree that poorly cooked vegetables are a personal thing - however I gave it another try. The final visit and without question my last was a birthday celebration. The starters were nice almost all of us had the tasty heritage tomato dish. The mains were awful. Pasta just boring and amateurish. The steak covered in an unpleasant sweet jus. The chicken was really well cooked but the butternut squash was unpleasant and the nasturtium pesto even worse. Overpriced for what you get.

Wednesday evening party night at Rubinos was an excellent night out. A 3-course menu (3 choices for each course) and only £40. Fantastic food and really friendly professional service. The singer was really good without over powering the conversation and Jake the Magician is superb and did his amazing magic at your table between courses. We will definitely book to go again.

Managed to snag an outside table with a view of the castle. The chai latte had real depth of flavour and the cappuccino was good. My felafel salad was very good and the felafel were moist instead of dry like in most places. My partners chicken and bacon sandwich was generously filled and all at a very reasonable price. We’d deff go back here when next in Colchester.

Another first class takeaway from the team at Nindy’s. It was a big order for a family party, but it was to the usual high standard, and prepared very efficiently. The cod is always of an excellent quality. Thankyou!