Swan Inn in Colchester

Lots of flies around the tables in the back section of the pub near the doors, could probably do with investing in one of those mounted zappers.

Great food and really friendly staff

Staff are brilliant ani has really turned the kitchen around wonderful food and great bar man every sunday morning

Great food, great staff, will east again

What can I say really. Food came out in good time, it was piping hot and very filling and of nice quality. The team were very attentive and polite at all times. Place was fairly busy but no one missed a beat from what me and my wife could see. Will highly recommend to friends in the area. Spoke with a gentleman on the way out who looked like he was the manager. Had a laugh and a joke. Was make to feel very welcome will definitely be returning.

Kenzie was amazing fantastic service always helpful and smiling

Poor wait time, food was god awful! Had sizzling plates and the hot plates were probably used to defrost the peppers and onions. Needed more staff on. And they were apoplectic for the long wait time. Got there at 6:30 order food at 7 waiting till passed 8 getting our food. Roast chicken must of been roasted last week it was that dry.

Kenzie was amazing so friendly and smiling

Very friendly pub lovely people especially Lewis leisha always there to help they are always accommodating and go above and beyond to meet our needs especially when we bring our grandson who has autism we love spending our weekends here and sometimes in the week

Welcomed nicely by Jordan. Great service, great food

Food was delicious ,service was great and fast with a great atmosphere.

Jordan and the rest of bar staff are very polite and make the pub a friendly place to drink

Called in at the off chance from Braintree to Colchester Staff were very polite and helpful Food was excellent come out hot and cooked Excellent value for money Been to a few hungry horse chains and this one beats them all Would recommend

Visited for dinner and drinks with friends on a Sunday evening. George was very attentive, friendly and helpful! The food was lovely, hot and fresh. The waiting staff were also very friendly. Thank you! Will definitely be back.

Breakfast with the Easter bunny was amazing. Very friendly and great service. The staff members Leisha & Lewis were amazing friendly and gave us a good morning.

We visited this lovely pub in the morning and had such a wonderful experience! The atmosphere is warm and charming—yes, the building is quite old, but that only adds to its cozy, traditional vibe. The food was absolutely delicious, with generous portions and something for everyone in the family. What really impressed us was the great value—it’s not often you find such tasty meals at such reasonable prices, especially for a family. The pub is family friendly with crayons and some paper, changing facilities and outdoor playground, which kept them happily entertained while we relaxed. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming, making us feel right at home from the moment we walked in. If you’re looking for a relaxed, family-friendly pub with great food, a lovely setting, and excellent service, this is the place to go. We’ll definitely be back! Highly recommend!

Good food good service good prices plenty of food choices.

Cheap but good food! Worth the money

Had Mother’s Day dinner but ended up having food poisoning me and my daughter did explain to manger later rang doctor food poisoning can happen any time after 30 minutes after food upset stomach 3 days ill will not return to this pub staff tho lovely

The food is amazing, so much more variety than before.

Me and my family taken my mother in law here for mother's day had the best time ever the staff are amazing and so friendly and make you feel so welcome I recommend anyone to visit here and the food is amazing and a very good service.

Went for a work meal. We had the two for £12 pub classic weekday meals. I picked chicken New Yorker. When it arrived, it was not the largest portion, but for £6 could not complain! It tasted great and was cooked well. My colleague went with the mac and cheese, which gave me food envy! Much more generous potion and will definitely pick this next time! Staff were really welcoming, and food arrived promptly.

I know it was on mother's day that we went and busy, very disappointed with the food, all microwave ping food apart from the meat. Nothing nice about it at all😒👎

Food was as good as any other Hungry Horse. Hot, and was presented swiftly after ordering. Service was great. Restaurant could do with a bit of a spruce-up. Looks tired. Looks like it can get very busy (it did while we were there.) Royally banged my head on the low beams in the ceiling, and I'm not that tall..

Very clean and tidy, the food was good quality pub grub which you can't complain about. We had the burger deal and that was great value. We'll definitely be back

Kenzie is always smiling lovely staff always chatty and friendly come every morning so happy to see all the staff happy throughout the whole day.

Booked online prior to arriving. The pub was not very busy. We were left waiting to be seated for quite a while. We were led to a table which was slightly tacky. Atmosphere reminded me of a 1990s pub. After looking at the menu, we realised we needed to download an app to order. Food arrived within a reasonable time and the server was polite and efficient. The food was okay, steak pie was tasty. Used the loos which were unpleasant. Not my favourite place to eat out. Probably better on a match night when people are less likely to notice their surroundings.

We went here for grandaughters 18th. Had a lovely meal and everyone enjoyed themselves. Staff were very attentive. Food was lovely & really hot. Man taking orders behind bar was really great. Thanks for a great evening.

Nice cheap pub weather spoons style. Not great but pretty decent food for the money. Average value. Probably good for watching sports or taking kids.

Came here for lunch with a friend and it was lovely. We went on a Tuesday and both had the deal of the day which was the mix it up sizzlers, I had half a roast chicken and she had the southern fried goujons. The food was really nice and very good value. Staff were really helpful and friendly, atmosphere was great, a really nice pub to go to for lunch or dinner. We are going to be making this our regular for our lunches out

Really great service food nice staff were excellent thank you for goid experiance

Fantastic meal, lovely atmosphere, service was great.

Jordan was brilliant. He made our stay at the swan pleasant. Would definitely come again

Although independent and now holding Trip Adviser Authority and Superstar status I would review as follows. We were fortunate to be able to book a table go almost immediately last Friday evening. The pub has a large car park including disabled parking to the rear. I think I seem to attract this (it happened to me in a Marston's Pub before) but its a Greene King pub and I ordered a pint of IPA the brewery's largest selling beer and the moment pulling the pint commenced it went and I couldn't believe it but they did not have another barrel, not good for a pub early on a Friday evening, still the bottle of Abbot that I had was very nice. We decided want we wanted to eat and I ordered at the bar, food arrived promptly after about fifteen minutes and was hot and of good quality. Service Staff were very polite and cheerful. Thank You for making our visit very enjoyable.

Great meal with the family, staff were super friendly with the kids. Great value for money. Will defo be back

Cannot go wrong here, nothing is too much for Tel and the crew!

You get what you pay for. it's cheap. The place is very overdue, a lick of paint

Exactly what you expect :). I had the "The Smokin' Jack Burger" which was perfect. Whatever that sauce is made of, I love it! We spoke to three staff members across the evening, all friendly and welcoming. The person who served us (Leisha) was very patient with us - my Mum is partially deaf and was struggling to hear over the football fans, so we were a little slow. Came to review here though as whilst there, I somehow misplaced a lip balm. Looked everywhere, no show - it really was a mystery. Two staff members had a look and were kind. Later on, as we left the pub and were walking to our car, staff member Leisha ran out to say she'd found it. I had folded it up inside one of their menus! Mystery solved. Still laughing that I did that, how did I manage that? I was touched that she cared and came running after us. I appreciated it, thank you.

Sunday 2nd March 2025 Had to wait 50 minutes for our meal. We have been several times and have had to wait so long for the meal to arrive. They did mention the wait when i ordered but when its later than they said it is not good. I have up till now had very good service but this has gone on for too long. If they cannot manage with the ammount of customers coming in then they should stop taking orders.

First time eating here. Nice atmosphere, and very friendly service. There are some things that could do with improvement. I ordered a rump steak, with chips. Thier was suppose to be a bed of onions and peppers, however when it was brought out I was disappointed to find thier were very little of the onions and peppers. Chips were cold but upon raising this issues chips were quickly replaced. Steak was a little over done but still nice. The wife's meal looked awesome, the Lamb kofta. Lots of it and fresh salad with crispy sweet potatoes fries. The youngest had a children's meal with sausages, chips and beans. Decent sized portion, which was a pleasant surprise. Eldest had the gravy burger, adults meal. Decent size, chips weren't very hot but he was happy to eat them. Desserts, were good, once again Decent portion. Me and the wife shared the doughnut with ice cream and strawberries which was lovely. Eldest had millionairs cheesecake. Tasted really good. Youngest had a smaller version. The atmosphere of the pub was a healthy balance of lively, but relaxing. We had a table by the doors that led out to the outdoor space. It was handy that the pub has a play area. Kids enjoyed this, and we found it a real win as the food did take some time to arrive. Kids were able to burn off some energy. Very good. The toilets, I have to say need an overhaul. If anything it does let the place down, and could do with some immediate attention. The pub itself tho, had lovely charm. A little dated, but totally acceptable. All staff were very friendly and professional. Overall I we had a pleasant evening. And we would return, lots of choice on the menu. This place could be amazing, with a little investment in some areas. The outside of the pub could also do with a spruce up, as first impressions let the place down a little. But as I say, the service and food along with ambience was good. The chef/team should review the amount pepeprs/onions with the steak dish. As they were pretty much non existent. Its an affordable place for families, going out for a meal as a family these days can be an expensive treat. Great to see lots of offers on the menu. So will be back.

Just had a fantastic meal here. Service was excellent from Kay. Very friendly atmosphere and would definitely be coming back

Lovely service from our waitress Kay, smiley and very welcoming personality! Very very good food too would 10/10 recommend

Well where do I start. We had a table booked for Saturday 15th February for 16 members of our family - (9 adults and 7 kids) and this had been booked for at least 3-4 weeks prior. We arrived at 6pm and the restaurant was half busy I’d say, the bar was more busy due to the football being on. The first thing we didn’t like is that we weren’t all sitting on the same table, they’d split us up with 10 of us on one table and 6 people put in a both not even in talking direction. (Not good when you can’t talk to the person who was celebrating their 40th birthday!) Ordered food about 6:45 and they’d said it would be a 30 minute wait which we thought was fine because there was 16 meals. However by 7:50 there were still no sign of these meals being delivered to our table, so one of the party went up to the bar to ask and they’d replied “sorry, your order caught us off guard due to the size and put everything out of sync in the kitchen”. I’m sorry but you’ve known for a good few weeks that we were coming, not very good service! Nether the less the food start to come out, or so we thought! 2 dishes came and then there was another 15 minute wait for the next batch of dishes and then we had all received our meals 30 mins past the first one, which had people finishing eating before others had even started! Terrible from start to finish, food shocking, cleanliness terrible and all round customer service appalling. Won’t be returning. Even after this, they still forgot dipping sauce for mixed grill and a naan bread for the curry. They their observations were: - Jacket potato for main was about as big as a new potato, overfilled with salad on the plate. - Chips just about warm - Peppers and onions on the skillet were non existent Would have been more happy with a McDonald’s from up the road.

Food is usually pretty good, service can be slow at times as there never seems to be many staff working. One particular waitress is very good with our daughter who has special needs and can tend to grab things but this waitress knows to avoid her and put things on the table out of reach. Apologies as I can’t remember the waitress’s name. The pub itself is in need of a refurb, carpets are a tad threadbare in places and it needs a fresh lick of paint.

Valentine's Day surprise The wife had booked here for our night out. The parking was ample and had lots of spaces. The staff were happy and helpful and showed us to our reserved table. We ordered our food after a long look over the menu. As there were some amazing sounding meals. When the food came out it was freshly cooked and hot. The starters were fantastic and flavoursome The mains came out and again were piping hot and very well cooked. Lots of flavours. The pudding was outstanding and definitely enough for the two of us to share. All in all a great relaxing and romantic evening had. Definitely will be back soon

Been coming here for years! Great place! Love catching up with the friendly staff!! Kenzie is the best! 😁

Kenzie was amazing always smiling George was very friendly and helpful Leisha always smiles and chats

Amazing place! Good staff, good food! Love it here

friendly staff as always! food was nice and hot even when busy.

Lovely meal food was very good.

Kenzie is always smiling and friendly

Kenzie is always so friendly and smiling

Kenzie has outstanding service and great attitude

Kenzie suggested a bottle of wine and it was amazing so friendly and kind.

The service was great and the beer was very good, friendly atmosphere and Kayleigh deserves a bonus. Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lovely atmosphere and very friendly staff

Came in with my family staff was very friendly Lauren behind the bar treated us nicely

Me and my wife Gwen, recently stumbled upon the Swan Inn while at the local farmers market looking for honey and art supplies for our pottery class. We were greeted and asked to take a seat, we ordered our food at the bar (not a lot of vegan options, however they did have vegan chips). There were a few unhappy customers waiting for a while for their food. We did wait 45 minutes for our food, which was 2 ‘veggie lasagnes’. Our server Lauren was very polite, we knew the delayed food service wasn’t her fault but they didn’t stop her from apologising. When our food arrived it was okay, nothing special, okay for “pub grub”. If we were to go again I would avoid the busy times as it took a while on a Wednesday at 2pm, one could only imagine the carnage at the weekend.

Leisha, Lewis make this place. Their service is second to none. They’re always going above and beyond for customers. They’re polite and always on the go, I never see them just standing around. They make it worth coming to!

Lovely family friendly pub with very friends and polite staff where nothing is too much of an issue. Lauren and Lewis were the staff on today and cant fault them. Would recommend to anyone.

Went for a christmas meal - very very disappointed 😞

George is brilliant. 5 stars. Love it here.

Been going here for years but the last few times have been bad so won’t be returning. Food was overcooked and tasteless. Staff are friendly and polite and atmosphere is ok. Place needs some tlc it’s dirty and dated . Such a shame as we used to enjoy it here but faves it a few chances and last result was family having bad belly so not going back .

The waitress/bar staff was very friendly; atmosphere cosy and food was delicious. My daughter doesn’t usually eat desserts but was tempted by the trifle baked alaska and throughly enjoyed it too. I would have liked a slightly larger portion of mash potatoes with my steak and ale pie and slightly more onion rings with the steaks and burgers. 2 onion rings is not really much at all. Even 3 would have been a lot better.

Not the nicest of meals I have to say , went tonight for our daughters birthday not at all impressed with the food , the toilets had urine all over the seats and toilet paper all over the floor , kids running around to do wanted they do , won't be coming back.

The waitress/bar staff was very friendly; atmosphere cosy and food was delicious. My daughter doesn’t usually eat desserts but was tempted by the trifle baked alaska and throughly enjoyed it too. I would have liked a slightly larger portion of mash potatoes with my steak and ale pie and slightly more onion rings with the steaks and burgers. 2 onion rings is not really much at all. Even 3 would have been a lot better.

Christmas meal was a bit withered left under or on the bain Marie.Starter, and pudding was wonderful.

First of all I can't fault the staff that served us at all. But the food for our Christmas meal was very disappointing. For starters I had the Very berry brie bites these were hard and cold with very little flavour. For mains the Traditional Christmas dinner the turkey was 3 maybe 4 pieces of what looked like processed meat I couldn't tell as they were all stuck together over cooked and dry, the stuffing was solid and inedible, the vegetables were overcooked and the potatoes were powdery and probably the worst roast potatoes i have had. The pigs in blankets were very good and the best part of the mains. For desert I had Chocoholic’s Irish cream torte which was very nice. But by this time I was so disappointed with the food i didnt really care any more. All in all this was a very disappointing meal especially as I have eaten here before and had some very good food.

Scampi snd chipd is very good, old comfortable pub

Just had the best time at The Swann Inn! The atmosphere was warm, the drinks were spot on, and the food hit the mark. A big shoutout to Jordan, the manager, who went above and beyond to make sure everything was perfect. His friendly demeanor and attention to detail truly made our visit special. Highly recommend for a great pub experience!

What a lovely friendly place 😄 10/10

Really friendly staff, excellent service from Jordan. Portion sizes are good. They fitted us in without a reservation. Would come back again.

Jordan, Good drinks, great service from Jordan

Just popped in there for a light bite to eat

Very good Gk IPA and Cricket Coverage. Can get busy at times, best to book a table. Has a good pool table and the meals are inexpensive.

Amazing food defo compliments to the chef good presentation food beautiful and hot Great atmosphere would definitely recommend Great service polite bar staff absolutely amazing evening thank you

Always perfect hot food value for money even when struggling with short staff issues our go to for everything now gets busy so be warned.

Cheap and cheerful, could use a refit but lovely place to go for a spot of lunch

Went here on a Saturday with the family for early dinner. The kids played on the outside play area until the food arrived. They each had a different kids meal and I went for a Saturday £7 big plate special offer. The food arrived in good time and was well presented. It was hot and tasty too. Now the only down point was the gents toilets which were filthy and smelt. There was no lock on the cubicle door either. Other than that it was a great visit. Staff were polite and friendly which always helps. Solid 4 stars.

Where do I start? Had the ultimate sharer for starters, Luke warm at best and come on chicken nuggets? You should swap them for something a little better, and what's going on with the nachos? Are they home made? Then my husband and I had the mixed grill, I don't even know where to begin with this one, let's just say never again, altho my dog was happy as took the "meat" home for him to eat, fingers crossed he survives the night! Sad to say we won't be returning

First of all the bar maid called lauren and lisha where amazing even when the local drug dealers where handing out threats … great service from both will come again.. lewis”s quadzilla burger was amazing

Since the pub has changed hands this is the first time I've been back food was exceptionally good staff very friendly the lady who served me very polite very helpful

Lovely meal with the family, great food, great atmosphere and lovely staff, will definitely be coming back and recommending to friends and family

Great service from George and Leanne will be back

10 of us in tonight. The food was cold, dry and overcooked. My sons "bolognese" was inedible and he ended up picking cold chips off my plate. Worst of all the service was atrocious. The attitude of one particular waitress was disgusting and the other just could not be bothered to help at all which left us constantly asking for cutlery, napkins, plates etc and chasing drinks at the bar. I never intend on coming here again. Your auto reply of we want the opportunity to turn this around, get in touch via email is lost on me and adds to how little you actually care about your business and customers.

went here as was recommended service was great, food was exceptionally good. Nice pub for drink and it was cosy. lovely atmosphere. will definitely go again.

Service was excellent - thank you

Food well below standard Steak very dry tough gristle. Food looked like had been kept under heat lights won't be going back . In the past we've had atheist

Foods ok here. Definitely fills the hole. Great service by the staff. Especially George, very accommodating.

Been coming here for around 4 years now, since change of management it's gone down hill, the place needs a full refurb, toilets smell and has holes in the wall, everywhere you look needs a refurb, food is hit or miss as they don't have a proper cook bar staff helping in the kitchen, smaller portions with canned peas is a No No... My family said they don't want to go here anymore so we won't untill it's had a refurb...

Good was ok, very plain and not particularly appetising. Service was good but pub needs a good refurb, definitely the toilets !!

Booked a table before a event for 4 people. Table booked for 5:15 not overly busy and we waited over a hour for food no apology no updates. Had to rush out food so wasn't late for the event won't be going back

Very busy and the staff didn't stop moving, only stopping briefly to ask how the food was , very attentive

Terry and Mackenzie were both so friendly and delivered outstanding customer service and food. Would definitely recommended!

Lovely place to eat. Plenty of space didn't feel like we sat on top of each other. The staff were friendly and helpful. The food came out quickly and was hot and very tasty. Wide selection on the menu and fairly priced.

Best hungry horse in UK. Great old pub, great food, great staff, great prices

Good pub, great good, brilliant atmosphere big thank you to Lauren, leisha and Lewis was amazing helped us with so much today

I came here for many years when it was busy and fully packed, went back there for our Sunday lunch plenty seats available, two bar ladies stood there stare at me and my family because I am deaf it’s feel like an alien have landed at The Swan Inn, it’s not nice to stared at. Ordered our foods at the bar, the foods was ok not wow or amazing factor. Ordered our desserts, the lady waitress gave us a desserts without take our main foods away it’s not professional and not acceptable, she didn’t asked us if we are ok or just take finished main foods away to make the room for the desserts so I had to move finished main foods to the bar for them to put it away, I could’ve work there instead of that lady whose don’t made any effort to cleared the table. That place seem quieter than it was few years ago. Will I go back there again?, unfortunately no unless they give it refurbishment and make foods fresh and appeal to customers, simple effective waitress won’t hurt anyone. Hungry Horse make Wetherspoon look posh and better service.

Brilliant service from staff super friendly and quick

Kenzie and george went above and beyond to make our visit great