Swan Inn in Colchester

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

Kenzie is always so friendly and smiling

Kenzie is always smiling and friendly

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

Kenzie has outstanding service and great attitude

Lovely atmosphere and very friendly staff

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Jordan, Good drinks, great service from Jordan

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Great staff great food...brilliant

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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🫶

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

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.

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

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 .