I can't comment on the food as I only ever go in Cafe Rouge for coffee with a friend, however, the ambience is always nice and the staff pleasant. There are a few minor issues with the general decor needing a bit of repair here and there but in general I like the slightly bohemian feel of the place. It's nice to be able to sit next to one of the large windows watching people go by as we put the world to rights. I also like the fact that even though there are just two of us at a table and we manage to make two coffees last a couple of hours, staff never try to rush us or make us feel that we have to order anything else. The toilets are up a steep staircase to the back of the restaurant and are clean.
Restaurant Bar and Cafe Reviews
Restaurant Bar and Cafe Reviews
Showing posts with label Colchester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colchester. Show all posts
Friday, 4 April 2014
Compuccino, Colchester, Essex (2013)...
I've been regularly using this restaurant / café for many years and have never experienced a problem with it. There’s a variety of table sizes, so whether you’re dining alone or with friends there’s usually somewhere suitable to sit. As it’s an internet café there’s obviously computers along one wall for those who wish to surf the net.
The menu is made up with sandwiches, toasties and jacket potatoes, along with daily specials such as shepherds pie, steak & kidney pie or meat & potato pie (with chips or veg) and there are hot and cold drinks on offer, including milkshakes. If something is out of stock they’ll do all they can to provide something similar, (there was no pineapple one lunchtime for my pineapple and cream cheese on my jacket spud so I was offered either pear or apple instead).
There are often several OAPs in there, and I’ve always seen the staff pay them respect and a bit more attention (especially if they are on their own). There’s quite a bit of jolly banter that goes on with the ‘regulars’ which is nice. In fact, it’s where my elderly mother insists on eating every time she comes to visit me in Colchester! There are a variety of newspapers in a rack available for customers to read if they wish to.
It’s not The Ritz by any stretch of the imagination, and they've been the victims of vandals (broken windows) on several occasions, but if you want somewhere cheap and cheerful to have a bite to eat in the town centre then you can’t go far wrong giving Compuccino a go.
The menu is made up with sandwiches, toasties and jacket potatoes, along with daily specials such as shepherds pie, steak & kidney pie or meat & potato pie (with chips or veg) and there are hot and cold drinks on offer, including milkshakes. If something is out of stock they’ll do all they can to provide something similar, (there was no pineapple one lunchtime for my pineapple and cream cheese on my jacket spud so I was offered either pear or apple instead).
There are often several OAPs in there, and I’ve always seen the staff pay them respect and a bit more attention (especially if they are on their own). There’s quite a bit of jolly banter that goes on with the ‘regulars’ which is nice. In fact, it’s where my elderly mother insists on eating every time she comes to visit me in Colchester! There are a variety of newspapers in a rack available for customers to read if they wish to.
It’s not The Ritz by any stretch of the imagination, and they've been the victims of vandals (broken windows) on several occasions, but if you want somewhere cheap and cheerful to have a bite to eat in the town centre then you can’t go far wrong giving Compuccino a go.
The Playhouse, Colchester (2012)...
I’ve been in The Playhouse on numerous occasions over the years, either for a quick coffee while I’m in town or a pre-arranged meal with friends.
There’s a wide variety of seating options (providing it’s not too crowded) and the menu is very reasonable (standard Wetherspoon fare). My main gripe would be that service, even when the place looks half empty, can be quite slow, as other reviewers have pointed out. However, the food is always cooked well and portions are quite substantial, so it’s good value. Just remember to allow plenty of time for your meal to arrive, although if time is an issue then you may wish to consider an alternative restaurant.
I really like the fact that it’s retained its theatrical theme with the dummies on the balcony at the rear of the building and the tables at the back placed in a stage setting.
Toilets are generally clean and plentiful which is a bonus.
There’s a wide variety of seating options (providing it’s not too crowded) and the menu is very reasonable (standard Wetherspoon fare). My main gripe would be that service, even when the place looks half empty, can be quite slow, as other reviewers have pointed out. However, the food is always cooked well and portions are quite substantial, so it’s good value. Just remember to allow plenty of time for your meal to arrive, although if time is an issue then you may wish to consider an alternative restaurant.
I really like the fact that it’s retained its theatrical theme with the dummies on the balcony at the rear of the building and the tables at the back placed in a stage setting.
Toilets are generally clean and plentiful which is a bonus.
The Crown, Ardleigh, Colchester (2012)...
A group of us had booked our works post-Christmas meal at The Ardleigh Crown, mainly due to the location and free parking. Those of us who had arrived early were able to enjoy a pre-dinner relaxing drink around a lovely open fireplace while we waited for everyone else to arrive. The place looked very festive, which definitely put us into the Christmas mood, and we liked the fact that this large restaurant seemed to have lots of little partially-enclosed areas for privacy as well as what appeared to be the main dining room. When we were eventually shown to our table we liked the fact we had been put into a small enclosed area, relatively close to the bar and toilets.
We had booked pre-booked the meals several weeks earlier, and several of us struggled to remember what we had chosen to eat. I had apparently ordered ‘scrumpy pears’ as my starter. Although not quite how I had pictured it, the dish of dark-coloured slivers of pears on a bed of water cress, walnuts and stilton looked lovely. I had never eaten stilton before, so found the very strong flavour a little too intense, along with the strange after-taste, but it was nicely presented.
My main was the veggie option of lentil pie. This actually looked as unappetising as it sounds – a thick brown wedge on the centre of a large white plate, balanced on 4 asparagus spears with a small amount of relish on top. It looked as if it desperately needed something else on the plate, possibly a few more vegetables and some potatoes. Those who ordered the full Christmas dinner, by comparison, had their plates heaving with turkey, Yorkshire puddings, a selection of vegetables and roast spuds. However, they had only been given the smallest dribble of gravy on each plate.
The waiting staff had been quite attentive and when more gravy was requested a girl immediately returned with some, but it was one small cream jug full! Clearly this was not enough for one person let alone several. More small jugs were brought to the table but there was never going to be enough to go round. Several of us were also struggling with uncooked vegetables. My asparagus was rock hard and several people struggled to cut up their carrots.
Then the desserts were brought out. There was a tiny issue with apple fritters being given to those who asked for apple pie, but this was immediately sorted out. The Christmas log looked lovely, as did the individual apple pies, but those of us who requested the Christmas pudding were bemused at how small the portion was. I have never seen such a tiny slice of Christmas pudding in my life, and it sat in a lake of custard with a sprig of mint jammed into it. It actually tasted fabulous, but there really was nowhere near enough of it.
Finally, it was onto the coffees (we had to pay extra for any drinks at the meal). Unfortunately, mine was the only one which arrived hot (being a cappuccino I expect the hot milk was the reason mine had any warmth to it). The rest were sent back to be re-heated.
All in all we enjoyed the dinner but there were too many niggles with it and I, for one, will not be returning.
We had booked pre-booked the meals several weeks earlier, and several of us struggled to remember what we had chosen to eat. I had apparently ordered ‘scrumpy pears’ as my starter. Although not quite how I had pictured it, the dish of dark-coloured slivers of pears on a bed of water cress, walnuts and stilton looked lovely. I had never eaten stilton before, so found the very strong flavour a little too intense, along with the strange after-taste, but it was nicely presented.
My main was the veggie option of lentil pie. This actually looked as unappetising as it sounds – a thick brown wedge on the centre of a large white plate, balanced on 4 asparagus spears with a small amount of relish on top. It looked as if it desperately needed something else on the plate, possibly a few more vegetables and some potatoes. Those who ordered the full Christmas dinner, by comparison, had their plates heaving with turkey, Yorkshire puddings, a selection of vegetables and roast spuds. However, they had only been given the smallest dribble of gravy on each plate.
The waiting staff had been quite attentive and when more gravy was requested a girl immediately returned with some, but it was one small cream jug full! Clearly this was not enough for one person let alone several. More small jugs were brought to the table but there was never going to be enough to go round. Several of us were also struggling with uncooked vegetables. My asparagus was rock hard and several people struggled to cut up their carrots.
Then the desserts were brought out. There was a tiny issue with apple fritters being given to those who asked for apple pie, but this was immediately sorted out. The Christmas log looked lovely, as did the individual apple pies, but those of us who requested the Christmas pudding were bemused at how small the portion was. I have never seen such a tiny slice of Christmas pudding in my life, and it sat in a lake of custard with a sprig of mint jammed into it. It actually tasted fabulous, but there really was nowhere near enough of it.
Finally, it was onto the coffees (we had to pay extra for any drinks at the meal). Unfortunately, mine was the only one which arrived hot (being a cappuccino I expect the hot milk was the reason mine had any warmth to it). The rest were sent back to be re-heated.
All in all we enjoyed the dinner but there were too many niggles with it and I, for one, will not be returning.
The Old Siege House, Colchester (2011)...
We’d chosen this The Old Siege House for our anniversary meal as we wanted to go somewhere local and more up-market than a general restaurant. The fact that they had customer parking at the back of the building was a bonus. It was a Tuesday evening and to begin with we were the only customers in there at 7pm, although a few more arrived a little later.
The décor was nice and everything looked clean. We were seated right by the window so we could watch the world go by, although at times I did feel a bit like a fish in a bowl.
When presented with the menus I was a little disappointed at the lack of variety, especially for vegetarians. The waitress was quite attentive, although service was a bit on the slow side considering how few customers were in there. She immediately told us that the goats cheese was off (one option less for yours truly). My partner had already decided on the steak before leaving home, so I was the one holding up proceedings. I enquired about the asparagus, only to be informed that due to an issue with the supplier that was also off! The only two remaining options, as far as I could tell, were mushrooms with lentils (I don’t like lentils) or butter-nut squash (which I’d never tried before.) As salads or jacket potatoes were not an option I had little choice but to ask for the butter-nut squash and hope that I liked it.
We’d asked for a basket of bread, which arrived with a small bowl of olive oil 10 minutes later and was tasty, and a parmesan and rocket salad to ‘pick at’ while we waited for our mains. Unfortunately, they’d over-done the balsamic vinegar on the rocket and everything tasted a little bitter.
My partner’s steak arrived and he seemed suitably impressed with it, and my butter-nut squash also arrived. Thankfully it tasted quite nice, although it was quite a large plateful of one vegetable. They’d also given me a bowl of chips and a side salad.
We skipped dessert, mainly because we were full.
The toilets are some of the cleanest I’ve ever encountered and a credit to the establishment.
The meal was ok, but quite pricey and lacked variety on the menu.
It was nice for a one-off experience but I probably wouldn’t return.
The décor was nice and everything looked clean. We were seated right by the window so we could watch the world go by, although at times I did feel a bit like a fish in a bowl.
When presented with the menus I was a little disappointed at the lack of variety, especially for vegetarians. The waitress was quite attentive, although service was a bit on the slow side considering how few customers were in there. She immediately told us that the goats cheese was off (one option less for yours truly). My partner had already decided on the steak before leaving home, so I was the one holding up proceedings. I enquired about the asparagus, only to be informed that due to an issue with the supplier that was also off! The only two remaining options, as far as I could tell, were mushrooms with lentils (I don’t like lentils) or butter-nut squash (which I’d never tried before.) As salads or jacket potatoes were not an option I had little choice but to ask for the butter-nut squash and hope that I liked it.
We’d asked for a basket of bread, which arrived with a small bowl of olive oil 10 minutes later and was tasty, and a parmesan and rocket salad to ‘pick at’ while we waited for our mains. Unfortunately, they’d over-done the balsamic vinegar on the rocket and everything tasted a little bitter.
My partner’s steak arrived and he seemed suitably impressed with it, and my butter-nut squash also arrived. Thankfully it tasted quite nice, although it was quite a large plateful of one vegetable. They’d also given me a bowl of chips and a side salad.
We skipped dessert, mainly because we were full.
The toilets are some of the cleanest I’ve ever encountered and a credit to the establishment.
The meal was ok, but quite pricey and lacked variety on the menu.
It was nice for a one-off experience but I probably wouldn’t return.
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