The Art Cafe in Colchester

So many times I have visited this place and so many times I will visit 😋 best food and best friendly service 🥰 Full English breakfast with bubble and squeak 😋 Selling some art and there is a little shop in it to buy some locally made products, it is a must to visit place 🥳

As a cake and coffee addict, I can say unreservedly that the quality here is 10/10. Had a flat white, fresh leaf tea and a generous chunk of victoria sponge cake. All was absolutely delicious. The home made cakes in the stand all looked wonderful and I wished I had more room to eat them all! It took a minute to get served but after that service was great. Highly recommended!

Amazing service and food. We went with a large group, including 2 dogs and the cafe staff made us feel very welcome. The food came really quickly and was piping hot. An very enjoyable experience

Staff coped well with very busy breakfast time. We enjoyed sitting outside with iced lattes. Had a good atmosphere. Would definitely come back for breakfast.

Popped in for a light lunch, although it was mid afternoon, and thoroughly enjoyed the Mersea Rarebit .. as I adore crab! I had a chai latte to drink. Thank you Art Café.

Beautiful place, lovely art, food and service. If we return to the island, we will definitely be back here. I want to buy the chutney!

Lovely place for coffee and really yummy cakes. Very friendly and helpful staff for whom nothing was too much trouble. As it was our first visit to Mersea Island, they were willing & able to answer any questions we had. Great place would certainly recommend, and will visit again next year.

Been many times at this place and will visit many times , superb full English breakfast, well behaved dogs are welcome , well behaved humans too , friendly staff and amazing freshly made food , breakfast is a must try dish , 5 stars from me

Best cafe on the island without a doubt! The food was amazing. We had a full breakfast that I couldn’t fault, everything was cooked to perfection. Staff were so friendly and accommodating. Dogs also made very welcome with dog biscuits on arrival. Will be returning very soon:)

Spent a day in the area and one of the take aways for us was how friendly everyone seemed. Well all the bad vibes it seems were here in this cafe in our waitress. We watched her angrily interact with a number of tables, It’s your main task when you wait tables take an afternoon off if you are having a bad day, Cakes and setting wee nice though.

Avoid the chowder. It contained very little fish with uncooked potato. Manager says that’s how they cook their potatoes! Did knock £3 off the price of £15.00 after having to ask several times. Normally brilliant food and service.

Perfect place for tea after walking round the island. We shared the courgette and lime cake, unbeatable and I really wanted the recipe. Proper leaf tea in big pots. Bliss. And a lovely welcome too. Thank you.

Lovely lunch with our family and dog Elmo. Such friendly staff and yummy, reasonably priced food. My husband had the soup which was delicious and I’m a big fan of their cheese straws. Would recommend

Had by far the best Chai latte at the cafe this morning with my daughter & yummy chocolate cake, they were so helpful and warmed it up and even added some cream, love this little island cafe, it’s so unique and always such a pleasure to visit definitely recommend as so near the beach for a lovely stroll

Lovely food and hot chocolate that is simply to die for. Excellent service from very friendly staff. Highly recommend, any time of day.

Lovely coffee and cake, especially the the gluten free courgette and lime cake and the victoria sponge that my Husband was still talking about two days later.

Nice cafe near the centre of West Mersea. Free parking for two hours at Library nearby. We have always been greeted by friendly staff.

Lovely surroundings but a bit pricey and all the more galling when, having seen a yummy deep-filled Victoria sponge, I was served with a mean slice left over from the last cake and then someone on the next table got a huge slice from the fresh cake!

Wonderful freshly prepared food and great service. Always consistently good. Our friendship group meet here most mornings for breakfast when we visit. A truly lovely cafe! Thank you team!

Brilliant breakfast I often meet friends here for breakfast we love it, first class service and always a great atmosphere. They cater for gluten free and the food is always fresh plus cooked to order. If you’re like me and have intolerance to certain foods it’s never any trouble for them to change the menu to suit you, without being made to feel uncomfortable. Your made to feel so welcome. Absolutely delicious ! Plus a wonderful view from the restaurant

Stoped here for coffee and a toasted tea cake. Very popular but luckily we just got a table for two. Lovely ambience.

A regular haunt of ours because we live round the corner about a two minute walk. Lovely food and lovely people

Top cafe on Essex with best possible English breakfast , always looking forward to have a breakfast at this incredible place

Located opposite the church and cemetary. Lovely interior, nice feel. Staff friendly and efficiënt. Outside seating available, parking close by. Had the scrambled eggs and salmon on granary bread, cooked to perfection.

Had a late lunch here last week- gluten-free catered for - friendly staff- I only had cheese on G.F. toast side of a rich luscious coleslaw and a dressed salad - it made my day - Can’t wait to go back for cake - thank you Art Cafe -

After reading the reviews on here and finally visiting I cannot see what all the moaning was about. We had a fabulous veggie breakfast, really tasty served with bubble and squeak.Everyone was friendly even though it was extremely busy.

We popped in here for a light lunch. The soup of the day was delicious and accompanied with good quality bread and butter. Pot of loose leaf tea was really nice. Service was very good; very welcoming and friendly. The cafe has a nice feel to it and the surroundings are very pleasant to sit in.

Lovely cafe, staff friendly and attentive. Proper tea with a strainer and a lovely breakfast sandwich (bacon, egg and sausage) Sad to negative comments below. If you don’t like road noise, door draughts or expensive food why go there?

On a walk round the town, just stopped for a coffee nice cafe shame right on street-a lot of car fumes. Other than that ok.

Had lunch here with a friend yesterday which we both enjoyed very much. The only downside was we were sitting inside by the main door which was left open the whole time & although it was a sunny day we actually found it quite cold...

Day tripper on a bright sunny, but chilly, day. Treat of a find. Hot cheese and onion pasty with salad, flat white perfect comfort lunch. Takeaway cake, from a great selection, for later on the beach!!! Beautiful artwork, cards, pottery and treats. View of the...

Stopped for a sausage sandwich and Cappacunoo which cost £10.45. Won't be stopping there again.! Used to be value for money but not now.

We enjoyed the excellent sausage granary sandwiches. Also very happy to find milk alternatives offered.

Pleasant interior and nice location. Ordered 2 sandwiches which at £7.50 each cannot be justified. My kids had a sausage roll each which was small for the £3.50 per sausage roll. The thing that ruined it, was that one of the sausage rolls had a...

Welcoming and friendly staff, with a varied breakfast menu. Popular with locals - worth reserving a table. Bacon & Egg Ciabatta highly recommended!

Popped in for coffee , all very friendly, staff lovely …lots of choice of cakes etc… good range of coffees to choose from

Service was terrible, spent £15 on just 3 breakfast sandwiches only for the contest of two of them to be Burnt so badly that it wasn’t edible, following this, they left me hugging the toilet a few hours after eating what was left of them....

Been here lots of times and always good but after today I won’t go back. Breakfast served was cold - I mentioned that my food was cold to the waitress who called for the cook to come over. She said she could understand that the...

So called the "Artcafe " because it is an art how they can take 7 pound off you for a pork pie ,bit of coleslaw,two slices of tomato and some green leaves, Same applies to sandwiches very overpriced for not very special grub , Surprised...

Stayed in Mersea for a few days ..had a lovely breakfast here twice ..a good choice pipping hot friendly staff ..what more could you ask for

Airy and arty interior which combines shop/deli and busy cafe, plus popular pavement tables, made for a positive start as we sat down for a bit of brunch-style refreshment. Coffee was of a good standard and mushrooms on sourdough earned a big thumbs up, but...

Disappointed with the eggs benidict sauce had split and should never have been served poached eggs were under cooked and slimey won't be going back service was extremely slow

Eaten here many times and it is consistently good. Coffee is delicious and my exact dietary requirements and always met. Good customer service and great variety on menu.

I visited with friends for breakfast. We were seated for around 20 minutes with no sign of service so we had to get up to ask someone to take our order. Our food and drinks were nice, although we had to ask for condiments. No-one...

I love this cafe and have been coming here for years every time I visit Mersea. Staff are polite and efficient. The food is excellent and freshly prepared. My daughter and I enjoyed scrambled eggs and mushrooms on toast and eggs Florentine. Both portions were generous and delicious and the coffee is great too. I even was able to stock up on some cards from local artists.

Absolutely superb :) I’m so pleased we stopped here for lunch. The food and drinks for all 6 of us were delicious. Beautifully fresh ingredients and a great range of options on the menu. A great little sun-trap sitting on the tables outdoors that are well spaced for COVID safety. A big thank you to the wonderful team who were exceptional, providing really friendly and professional service. Wishing you all the best for a successful year and hope to see you soon when I’m back cycling in the area again

Popped into the cafe today for a quick cup of tea. Unfortunately we paid upfront as we would have walked otherwise. It took 35 minutes for the tea to arrive. Apparently the girl didn't get our order from her colleague! The place was nearly empty.! Even after we reminded them, we still waited 5 minutes. Inept service. The apology was half hearted. Wont go back

Stopped here for a quick bite before our setting up camp at our camping site, they had gluten free bread on offer and a great menu including gluten free cakes, very friendly. Dog were also welcomed inside the venue too.

Art cafe great food and service. We sat outside and had a baguette with salad,homemade coleslaw and salad with a dressing. Both of the young people serving were friendly and helpful. Definitely recommend it.

A great venue with a simple, home cooked menu, allowing for quality in food being produced. I had a delicious first time experienced Mersea Rarebit with crab pate-and a cup of high quality coffee. Friendly staff and smiley service.

Stopped by mid afternoon for refreshments. Shop stocks a few local bits for foodies and cards. Sat outside in the shade which was nice

Situated opposite the church in high street that ya really non existent. We enjoyed good coffee and scrambled eggs on toast.

Super lunch for 2 - sea food platter, orange cake and ginger ice cream, with tea. Wonderful flavours and great value: £20. Highly recommend

Welcoming cheerful cafe with good selection of food and drinks. Went alone but did not feel awkward or lonely. Chatted to people on next table and enjoyed my meal.

We had lunch there today and how lovely to be greeted with a smile. The food was excellent as was the coffee. All the staff were friendly and helpful Will be back

Awful. Popped in for quick warm up drink and snack. Not warm greeting. Lady behind food prep looked hassled and was moaning. Ordered drinks which came but then we overheard cook talking about our order as if it was a nuicence. When it actually arrived I was not impressed. My request for a toasted cheese and onion chutney sandwich was served as two bits of thin toast with tasteless cheese grated which fell out of sandwich... And sides when we had asked for non.... Not a hard order surely... Not impressed and won't return.

Called in for a full breakfast on Wednesday 15 January, with a cup of tea. The staff were extremely welcoming and helpful. The pot of tea was almost immediately delivered to my table. The breakfast arrived a few minutes later (and always a good sign was) on a warmed plate. It was well cooked and really enjoyable. I'll be going back for more...

I thought this looked like a nice spot for lunch, the home made cheese straws and sausage roll were great but the fish finger sandwich had cheap fish fingers made of reconstituted minced fish rather than whole fish and the homemade tartare sauce was just mayonnaise. Nicely presented but really not up to the standard of the other food items served and not reflected in the price.

Went here for lunch as heard good things. However our visit could have been much better, the service was very slow we ordered a hot drink and a main course the drink arrived and was finished but still no lunch. When it did arrive it was ok the food was hot and the curry was better than my gratin dish but acceptable. Waited ages for the table to be cleared then had the dessert menu and we ordered two slices of cake and then another wait began after a good 15 minutes no sign of our cake so went to ask if they had forgotten us as others were getting their orders despite ordering after us. After the reminder we had two slices of cake which were good but ruined by the service.

Not sure if the place has changed hands but much nicer today than when we last came - nicer food, quick service and lovely staff. Thanks

We popped in after a trip out to the Ross Revenge, (itis about 1km along the road from the jetty)Good coffee, great home-made cakes and the Garlic Pickle Cheese on Toast .... HmmMumFriendly service - even at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon. Lots of interesting cards and pictures to look at and buy.and did I mention the Garlic Pickle Cheese on Toast.

Staff always happy. Food mostly home cooked and made sandwiches. Seems to be a meeting place for interesting locals

Really popular venue opposite the Church, we sat in the sun which was super!Food is freshly prepared and really tasty. The cake is made on the premises and lovely! They sell fudge, locally made and you can tell it isn’t factory produced.Lots of gift ideas as well.Staff, well they laugh with and smile at their customers. Stunning!

Came for lunch, and just got ignored. I eventually went inside and was told rudely that it is table service. Waited again, still ignored. Eventually ordered, but waited ages again for the food. Small portions, bland, very disappointing. Went in to pay, ignored again at the desk. Used to love this place, but has lost its way and they need to have courteous staff, not too much to ask.

Lovely food but staff attentiveness left a lot to be desired. So many staff but not being efficient.

We stopped here on a rainy day whilst walking around Mersea Island for a hot drink and it was well worth it! Probably the nicest Mint Hot Chocolate I’ve had in a while. Lovely paintings and photo hanging throughout the shop, lots of staff working so service is quick. Will pop in for another hot drink soon!

Have previously visited many times, used to be such a unique quirky cafe with wholesome food. It’s had an awkward makeover which makes it feel disjointed to sit in. The staff were unfriendly. No apology for getting the order wrong and one member of our party having to wait longer, we didn’t mind to much but an apology would have been polite. Hard fried eggs, and the sandwiches now come with presliced thin bread, minimal filling, tasteless iceberg lettuce and brake brothers coleslaw. Not cheap either. Would happily pay £7-£8 for a good sandwich not this!! It’s totally lost it’s charm and homemade vibe. Shame. Ok if you want more of a bland cafe - the food was freshly made but it used to be sooo much nicer - feels like a change of management - or they’ve lost the love - not sure.

we had a coffee here which was nice. very busy place that does ,what looked like, great meals. service was good and they have seating outside as well, so you watch the world go by. pleasent experiance

1st visit and it was absolutely lovely, staff were very friendly and efficient, food was cooked to perfection, and presented very well, prices were very reasonable & its a place the local residents use regularly, which is a very good sign. It really is a lovely place to visit, plenty of outside seating. We will certainly visit again.

Were reccomended this cafe as an 'Island institute' and we see why. Staff were extremely friendly, food fresh, the cakes delicious and home made. Very relaxing atmosphere

We stumbled across The Art Cafe following a drizzly Sunday stroll around Mersea Island. Despite being very busy, (this is clearly a popular Sunday spot) we were promptly greeted by a friendly young waitress who served us delicious, freshly-baked cheese scones and hot drinks, perfect for a mid-morning snack. We thought the Art Cafe had a lovely, chilled vibe and both agreed we'd like to return for breakfast next time we're in the area.

Good food, nice atmosphere and dog friendly. Different menus depending on the time of day you call in. Will be visiting again.

Visited today we were initially ignored and had to ask to be served. Food arrived by waitress who clearly didn’t want to be there. The breakfast was cold and not at all appetising. Not even asked if everything was ok.

The selection of home made cakes at the Art Cafe was as good as I've seen for years. And they tasted just as good as they looked.

Escaped on my own for a quick lunch in Mersea and headed over. Was great not to have to order Sunday dinner - just had a baguette.

nice little cafe table service very helpful staff.only tea and cake but there were a full menu from breakfast lunch dinner

we stopped here during the week and I have to say the cakes are amazing would also Rex the breakfast

We visit the Art cafe often and have never had a bad experience. The food is good quality, well thought out and good value for money. The breakfasts are our favourites and the cakes are delicious. We love the veg/vegan/freefrom options too. We also like the fact that cakes can be ordered and bought whole for special occasions. The freshly, locally sourced ingredients are great and the art for sale and decor adds to the experience. You will not be dissapointed.

Excellent cafe, great service and food. Allowed dogs which was a bonus in the bad weather we had on our holiday.

Visit here regularly and really enjoy coffee and breakfast/lunch. Very disappointed tho that there seems to be an increasing number of customers bringing their dogs in, even when the place is busy. I have an allergy to some dogs but their owners just think ok to sit down next to you without asking if you ok about the dog. The cafe is quite small and some tables close together and not suited to dogs sitting or lying on the floor.

We ate breakfast here at Saturday and the food was excellant.We were served promptly and the smoked slamon and poached eggs were excellant Eggs Royale We all enjoyed the breakfast we chose and would certainly visit here again soon

best stake burger in hole world, I do try them everywhere I can, and the winners are The art Cafe, food is seriously amazing, stuff is great, so friendly and helpful , fry up breakfast another tasty English food, had few times food there, I'm coming back definitely

Came here for my Nieces birthday with my extended family, staff could not do enough for us all - very good with children, service and food superb as well

Smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, fry up, drop scones with crispy bacon and maple syrup and thick natural yogurt with fruit compote and granola..... All lovely. Drinks were great too and all served with a smile. Thank you!

Great little place for good coffee & excellent cakes. Well worth a visit. Very popular with visitors & locals alike so pleased to say that they will reserve you a table. Can certainly recommend.

Après avoir dejeuner dans un cabanon à huîtres, nous avons fait une halte gourmande ( part de gâteau maison et café et cappuccino). Le lieu est très british avec des tableaux au mur illustrant Mersea. Ambiance feutrée et délicieuse. A refaire.

Popped in for coffee & cake. This place has gone downhill - the cappuccino was it coffee the quality was so poor I couldn't taste it so left half of it.

Thought I would try this conveniently located cafe for the second time even though the service had been awful on my previous visit.

Lovely staff and a very clean, smart cafe to have a lunch in the sun. Food quality is very good indeed with generously filled sandwiches and nicely presented. They make a good flat white too!

Really good breakfasts..something to suit everyone..my breakfast looked enormous..sausage was fantastic..bubble and squeak..delicious..great value and service.

Stayed a few days on the island for a girly away time so no cooking was required had brunch and was very good nice and clean friendly staff made you feel very welcome food cooked to order was very fresh and tasty rarabbit and crab mmm mouth watering

Best breakfast on the Island in my opinion. Love their bubble & squeak. Decent sausages and very well presented. Nice range of breakfast meals including healthier options. The place always looks clean with a lovely atmosphere with Art on sale. Coffee has been a bit hit or miss in the past, usually I have a flat white which on occasions has either been a bit bitter or spot on. Great location for people watching. Always found the staff to be friendly. Get that feeling it is a bit pricey but compared to the other locations for breakfast on the island I don't mind. Have been there on colder days when it opens and its been freezing inside, once it was so cold I left and went elsewhere (if going in the winter/autumn give them half hour after opening to warm the place).

Food was nice, atmosphere seems a bit different these days - some servers not really bothered about being here and just talk amongst themselves, Others more customer oriented. We liked it overall though. Great cakes!

Went for lunch with my sisters, was seated immediately and the waitress came after a few mins to take our order. The lattes ordered were OK but nothing special, the baguettes were actually batons with a bit of salad, tacos and coleslaw, the fillings were small, tasteless and lacked finesse for £6.95 each I expected better. all in all a very lacklustre lunch, will not return ever!!

Came here for a large piping hot coffee that went down very well with a huge slice of chocolate place staff were nice as well

great service, good food, use this cafe every time we are in Mersea. not found a fault yet.sitting outside watching the world go by with a nice tea, and a fresh scone,great.

Superb spot to stop for a fabulous coffee and handmade cake - fabulous! Lots of shade with parasols and very dog friendly

Quite rustic and nice place to stop and have a coffee drinks etc. The flat white was pretty spot on although could’ve been a little hotter.. We went to get sandwiches to take to the beach as they also do take away however decided as it was £7 per sandwich and we had 4 children we’d by pass it as it’s quite expensive. Would return as lovely staff and good selection of food.

Good coffee,varied menu and lovely locals.can recommend the full breakfast,scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.Abig plus is that it's dog friendly.

I normally go here for lunch, all the food is terrific. However, it is very popular and often overbooked. parking as well can be limited