Swan Inn in Colchester

Just popped in there for a light bite to eat

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

Arrived early and were greeted and asked if we could wait a few minutes while our table was cleared and prepared for us. Once done we were seated and informed of all that was available.

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.

Great experience Food amazing will be coming again

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

Brilliant service from staff super friendly and quick

The place could do with a much needed makeover.

Staff members was amazing, the service was fantastic, the food was hot and delicious, the girl behind the bar kaley was really polite and had a amazing smile. I would definitely recommend it. The manager called Terry was a top bloke and made sure me and my family had a great dinner.

Absolutely amazing place to go to, accomodating to everyone and also has a play place for children. Food was phenomenal and A MUST TO COME HERE. Amazing service

Was the worst visit I’ve ever had as was over booked toilets were blocked and made the pub smell staff rude shoved some of our party stating we can’t sit there dragged tables across pub to try to accommodate our party Never again Would have given it zero stars but couldn’t

Text: Been to Freeport’s,driving past hungry horse look welcoming so we popped in,4 of us ,asked for table was told 45 minutes ,didn’t have a problem with that as we had not booked.However the pub wasn’t particularly busy ,and 45 minutes we waited. All in all the food was hot ,ok and service lovely by waitress,our only comment two of us had Ruddles beef and ale pie,between us we got 4 piece of beef ,should be called Ruddles gravy pie ,apart from this was all OK

Me and my grandparents love coming to The Swan Inn every other Monday for lunch. Me and Nan always go for The Gravy One, best burger about. Grandad has a veggie option and always pleased. Waitress & waiters always welcoming and helpful.

Very friendly pub lovely people especially Mackenzie lovely girl goes out of her way to help you

Mackenzie was very attentive to our needs regarding food and is polite and very approachable

Great staff great food...brilliant

Truly a great experience. Leisha is a womderful server and a true delight. Love it here and come almost every week. A great place and cannot recommend enough.

Come every week and really enjoy it. Leisha is lovely and a great server.

i am disgusted by this i have been waiting two hours ! for a steak small mac n cheese and chips all the ladies are standing around not helping the only good one was lewis and leisha were the only polite one who listened and helped all rest are standing the food was cold took ages not good at all really don’t recommend lewis and leisha deserve a raise! mac and cheese is all over the place aswell not good chef

Waited so long for food and when arrived lots were over cooked and not editable was compensated with free drinks and bags of crisps. Free pudding too . Will not be returning to have food .

Had a meal yesterday evening. Had to wait 1 and a half hours for meal to arrive. Poor presentation, looked as though the meal was thrown on the plate.Food cold, steak pie was so hot it burnt my mouth, mash and peas cold. My friend had a steak no tomatoes. they forgot the onion rings, when they came out there was only two. We didn’t Waite to have a desert. The place was run down,the seat I sat on had a big slash on the seat.Truly a nightmare.We spent £30 between us.The one star was for the waitress, poor girl was rushed off her feet.

Absolutely disgusted and disappointed experience due to inconsistent policy regarding admitting children to the premisses. I visited this restautant with my 9-year-old boy to watch a premier league football at 2pm on 29th Sep 2024 and almost immediately kicked out by an extremely unfriendly member of staff. She said children are not allowed in the bar area, even though I clearly remember there were children in the bar area, wearing football shirt on 17th Aug 2024 with their parents, even a baby on a buggy. I also checked the government webpage if there is such law/rule but counld not find any but this statement, 'there is no law that would cover alleged “discrimination” against children'. I appreciate some pubs do not allow children under 18 in a certain time, mainly in the evening without their parents, but there should not be any discrimination to 9yo boy with a parent at 2pm. This is absolutely unacceptable and surely I will never visit 'The Swan Inn' any more and probably other Hungry Horse pubs will remind me this terrible experience when I plan a dinner out with friends/family in the future. I would still love to hear about 1. exactly what rules were applied to me today and 2. the main difference I experienced today in the pub and other people with children/baby allowed to the bar area on 17th Aug 2024.

Dirty. Very slow service. Arrived today for a lunch time meal and was told a 30 min delay puzzled as to why as it wasn't busy. After an hour we cancelled, refunded and left. They do however provide free samples or food which is spattered all over the menus from the previous diners so at least you know what the food looks like after it's sat there festering for weeks.

Amazing pub great staff 10/10 highly recommend

Leisha, Lewis and Mackenzie make this place. They’re friendly, professional, accommodating and always have a smile on their face. It’s always a pleasure to see them.

I came in and waited 1-2 hours, and to my surprise was bestowed an absolute distasteful nightmare and disaster, joke of a jerk chicken, to that end, DONT eat the jerk chicken in Swan Inn, Stanway.

Kenzie who served us was was so lovely and polite had nothing but big smiles and happy to help highly recommend the swan

Wow value for money and super great staff, fish chips mushy peas bread £6 how do they do it ! and not a small portion a normal size everyday portion and desert fish bowl size sharing £6 will be going back for sure 👍

Reasonably priced good beer and fantastic views with very friendly staff

Me and my freinds went to the swan for a couple of drinks, leisha and Lewis were our servers and they were absolutely wonderful couldn’t recommend it enough🫶

Been to this restaurant a few times and it is extremely friendly and welcoming. The staff are very good, especially McKenzie who can’t do enough for you. Sometimes you get the odd poor meal, but on average, it’s very good value.

Went for a meal with some work friends. The service was appauling, the food was absolutely disgusting after waiting an hour and a half for it. Shocking the food was allowed to leave the kitchen they way it did. Very very disappointed.

I think the chef needs to clean his griddle. Bacon cover black burnt remnants of what ever he'd been cooking before. Toast burnt & cold

Arrived at around 13.20pm found a table in the garden area as had a dog with us we managed to order food around. 1340pm southern fried chicken wrap and a fish finger baguette with chips there was about 13 chips just chucked on a plate and the food was just chucked together no effort put into it just a plate of mess maybe need to get a chef that can cut a baguette and make a wrap properly it came out just before 3pm they had one person on the bar and one waitress it’s the school holidays and this was not acceptable I was told when I ordered there would be a half hour wait but ended up being close to an hour and a half we were already dubious about returning to this restaurant after a bad experience the first time but definitely will not be returning anytime in the future save your money and go somewhere else

The food was nice and very reasonably priced. Took a little while for the food to arrive, but it was worth the wait. A large garden area out the back which is nice but the benches and tables need a little tlc.

Lewis was really friendly and helpful, made our experience extra special as it was my birthday. Food was lovely, highly recommend!

Makenzie and Kayleigh were amazing Perfect service

Our second visit in a few days. Both nights we waited more than an hour for meals. We were told that four staff had not turned up. Tonight we waited the same lengthy time. Food ok but nothing special when you think what we paid. Both visits were for birthdays, we asked for plates for the cake .. there were 11 of us and they brought us 5 plates on both visits. The napkin and knife and fork holder were empty and the bottom of the plastic container was very dirty. To be honest the knives and forks could have been cleaner too. There is certainly a big lack in staff. Based on my last 2 visits, it will be a long while before I go back.

This is an update to a review I left 8 months ago as I have need to change it following our most recent experience. The lock on the men's toilets is STILL broken (see pic) 10 months after I first reported it. The reply to my original review said they were gonna fix it. Obviously it's not high on their priorities. We come here semi often and food is normally very good. Sadly this time we must have been unfortunate to have a lesser experienced cheff. List of problems below... - Steak on full monty asked for medium but came well done and very gristly. - Sausages on mixed grill were like playdough. - Chicken on full monty and mini mixed grill over cooked and very dry. - Vegan burger very bland and flavourless. - Fries on burger were cold and had no taste .

Lovely family pub, fantastic staff very friendly

Roast dinner was not nice all was over cooked and and the meat was disappointing

Waited 1hr 20mins for food and when questioned, they stated that we weren’t even close to it being brought out!!

Is always good value for money

I came in with the wife on Thursday. The meal was not very good for both of us. The wife had fish chips and peas. There was all that good in the way it was cooked. The peas were like they're had been warm up about 3 or 4 times, and the chips were awful. They were not that cook. All that well. She left most of it on the plate. My meal was much the same. I had breaded wholetail scampi with mushy peas. I will not be coming back in the near future.

Was blown blown away by the polite and helpful service by the young helpful staff Mckenzie cannot thank her enough

First time visit and was everything we needed! From the food to the drinks and to the great conversation here and there with the team. Atmosphere was light and friendly. Lauren was fantastic, and really made the night. Definitely be back again.

Great venue for sport viewing Good choice of beers with excellent service

great service, quick and friendly staff

Getting ready for the England game and very happy to be here. Mackenzie has been looking after us and should get a promotion!

Excellent food, good service and value for money £10 for Sunday lunch and a drink, I added cauliflower cheese and pigs in blankets for an extra £3.99, highly recommend food on a Sunday

Service is good. Always happy to help find you a table

Very friendly and quick service

Absolutely amazing!!! The service was brilliant and the food was good too! We pre booked on the day and for 2 people was given a lovely large table. Prices were fab 👌

We went as a couple, we found the owner and staff were all very friendly. The pub side of it full off regulars and pop ins all mixing together with a good atmosphere. Would easily recommend for a nice meal and drinks. 5 STARS 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Good food, nice environment and can always have a bit of banter with the staff

Brilliant place and great staff

Liam and Lauren have been fanstastic. Great atmosphere for football

Great place for great value food and drinks, always a good atmosphere.

Wonderful staff, so friendly and welcoming, we feel like one of the swan family. The atmosphere is relaxed and we absolutely love coming here. Special mention to Lewis, Lisha, Mackenzie, Ellie and Terry for always making us feel so welcome.

Good food, good atmosphere especially for the football! Would recommend

Always my go too Green King pub when I’m in Copford

Fantastic service and food. Everyone very helpful and the food was delicious. Atmosphere really inviting and comfortable x

This is a lovely pub run by Terry it’s friendly with a lovely atmosphere , food is good the BEST IN COLCHESTER …it has a good seating area for drinkers and separate area for food !!

Great place to come! Our local enjoying here! Great atmosphere Haven’t eaten here but always pretty busy! Mackenzie and Lewis are our favourite 😊

What a lovely atmosphere. Lovely beer. Lovely welcoming staff. Love to watch the football and cricket. Will be sure to return

As a family of 4 adults and 1 child we thought we would give this establishment one last chance having had disappointing visits previously. I am afraid we won't be visiting again. Ordered 3 Sunday lunches which were cold, burnt and contained mash potato clearly from a packet. Stuffing was so hard couldn't even get a knife in it. The meals clearly had been microwaved (or rather not). Definitely has gone down hill, needs a refurbishment.

Our server was constantly smiling She said her name was mckenzie and always helped us with anything we needed Great atmosphere and staff constantly helpful and friendly

We again had Makenzie as our waiter and she was so lovely! she was as friendly and helpful including making my 1 year old nephew laugh! always a lovely pub to come into!

Makenzie served us a few times when i visited she was always smiling and constantly asked if there was anything we need or she could help us with Will be back soon !!!!

2 Meals gd out of 3. One had to be sent back. Was told we could have refund on afters. Went to desk and told young man instead of putting refund back into my bank he charged me again for already paid for afters. Tried ringing them and all l get is a bot called Charlie who can't deal with my problem. Cutlery in tray was almost empty except for knives which weren't clean. Only one waitresses rushed off her feet. Whoever sent me the email saying l wasn't charged twice was proved wrong. I was and getting refund after proof.

Staff couldn’t do enough to help us. Many thx

Great Hungry Horse pub. Always busy and someone's have to wait, but great value for good quality food.

Me and the family had a nice meal at the swan today in copford. Liam and the team did a great job and the food was really nice. Will visit again soon.

Easy to complain when places get things wrong. But my partner and I had the best experience and food there today 15/6/24 Liam our waiter was superb Attentive polite and hard working The katsu chicken was out of this world Perfectly cooked steak fresh salad Piping hot So when people do well We would like to say well done to the swan and Liam 👏👏👏👏💪💪💪

Have used this pub alot in the past few years, and it has always been good. But the last couple of visits have gone downhill. Both times it has taken over 2 hours to have 2 courses.. The food before was very good, with big servings, the quality has dipped a little, and the servings are not what they used to be. The staff were helpful and great, but I can only imagine they are very short staffed. 1 visit I'd overlook these problems,, but it all happened again the next time... Might be a while before we go back again unfortunately.

About 11.30am. There for brunch/early lunch. We were walk in, several tables reserved but still quite a few free tables. Staff very friendly, George was our main server etc. Food and coffee great, generous portions. No negatives, will return and also recommend 😊

Liam was a god send. Lovely service could not fault anything food was delightful definitely coming back.

Second time here and it was amazing once again! Staff were friendly and welcoming towards me and my family. Food was spectacular and piping hot. Loved the new summer drinks menu. Will definitely be back again soon!

Always the best when I go here love it very friendly staff lovely food

Considering multiple tables had problems with their food tonight all front of house staff were very helpful and apologetic