Compuccino in Colchester

I had mac and cheese and chips with a side salad and managed about 5 bites it really wasn't nice, I had to leave it. My partner had Chipotle chicken paninni, it wasn't awful in taste but it was so soggy! Even my hot chocoalte got left we really didn't enjoy it at all. As for service, you're given a table number but then they just shout out your order to go back up and collect it rather than bringing it to your table? Bit rude compared to other cafes we've been to

Took the wife out for valentines dinner here . Was greeted with pleasant and a very welcoming member of staff. Got seated next to the glass at the back, must be a folding door as the draft coming through one of the gaps was awful. As the night went on the coldness got even worse where we were sat. The starters come out and we had ribs, the ribs were basically uneatable how dry they were. We both had a steak , fillet and ribeye. They were both cooked very well medium rare and was very good. I did ask for 2 eggs which was missed off, but this was taken off our bill. The toilets were left in a horrible state with toilets blocked. The table we had also was very wobbly but fixed that ourselves. Overall would not be in a rush to go back or advise any friends / family to go.

Lovely staff, very polite and helpful, but wrong meal arrived, my husband had finished his by the time the correct meal arrived. The hot meal was served on a cold plate and the food was not thoroughly heated. Not an enjoyable meal or experience. We were offered 1 x complimentary drink to compensate. :(

Possibly the worst café on the planet, maybe even this galaxy, drinks that never arrived, food that took so long to arrive that I saw young boys grow into long trousers and staff that make it so obvious that they do not want to be there I’m surprised they don’t put up as sign advertising that customers will seriously inconvenience them. If you are expecting service, courtesy and food, do not go to the Sainsbury’s café at Tollgate.

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.