Coffee Republic in Colchester

Tub and Cone were booked for a leavers party. Food was fantastic, great variety and reasonably priced. Made a lovely treat for the leavers. Thank you

Excellent pub with fine selection of real ale. We received a warm welcome and were served quickly and professionally with our drinks. On a whim we decided to have lunch which was superb: I enjoyed the home made mince and onion pie in suet pastry with beautifully cooked vegetables, and my husband enjoyed the Vegetable and Quorn curry. The pub had a good crowd of regulars which made for a happy and community atmosphere. The pub is old style- just as we like it; spotlessly clean and traditional in all regards. Highly recommend this pub and look forward to visiting again when next in Bures.

Spa day for Mothers' day. Lucky that the beauty therapists were so good because it saved the day. Pool area looked very good but the aromatherapy room had nothing of aromatherapy about it and the pool itself was icy. The relazing pool was also too cold to sit in but the jacuzzi was warm: unfortunately the bubbles were absolutely violent and because so much chlorine had been used in the water, it was spat in your eyes and we had to get out, eyes streaming. So we went to get our afternoon tea: what a disappointment! When we got to the café area we were left waiting for quite some time with no one to seat us. The room was in a mess: tables covered with detritus. They only managed to clear up by getting a beauty therapist to come and clear the tables! We settled in for tea.5 minutes later we had eaten it! We each had the equivalent of 2 slices of bread cut into 4 little sandwiches. Only 2 fillings: cheese and tomato and egg mayonnaise. Usually if you go out for afternoon tea you have double this amount and are then offered more. At Ballentynes you had a couple of mouthfuls and when we asked for more were told we would have to pay for them! The one scone each was actually very nice but the cake selection was dismal, with a small piece of chocolate cake that we had to cut to share ourselves and another that looked so amateurish that neither of us wished to sample it. Absolutely nothing special about this "special Mothers' Day" event. As is often the case in hospitality the management is trying to increase the profit margin by cutting back on the quality of the offer once payment has been taken and cutting back on staff so that staff, who were, I should add, all very pleasant, are rushing around and unable to provide the expected level of service.The place is definitely not meeting it's potential. We will not be visiting again.

We have given it three tries, first, food was OK, short staffed, bad service, 2nd similar but food again was ok, tried again last night, 8pm booking, only us and a table of 4, another couple were then seated, table of 4 had finished. We ordered starters and mains, starters arrived, yes ok, having finished those they were cleared, we awaited our mains, we could see 4 main meals on the counter where the two chefs were as only us and the other couple, they had to be ours, after watching for ten minutes and still sitting there under the heat lamps, I spoke with the manager, he went to them but apparently not fully prepared, awaiting chips ? After about a further 10 minutes they were served to us, no cutlery so we had to take from the next table, the food was dry, mixed grill was awful eggs were now rubbery all meat was dry, salad was warm, the other meal was equally as bad, warm salad and small tomatoes, chicken dried out, sauce congealed. Neither edible, so mostly left. No we didn’t have to pay, but how can Two chefs not prepare 2 meals to come out fresh and hot, it’s wasn’t as if it was busy, total joke, maybe time to replace with a new restaurant team. I feel all there have become complacent. To be that empty on a Saturday evening, something is wrong.

I eat here regularly but usually order it to go — they’re a little on the pricey side but well worth it. This the best Chinese restaurant for vegetarians and vegans, they offer almost all main-menu options with a veggie alternative and they’re not just replacing things with basic veg like other places. Vegan “chicken style” balls are delicious and always crispy, love the chow mein and portions are always enough to share.