The Cricketers in Colchester

The two mains we had were like child size meals, my side salad contained lettuce and a slither of tomato. Whats gone wrong? it was always great food in the past.

Excellent lunch today. Booked for 9 people and everyone said how good the food and service was. Would definitely recommend. Staff were very patient with us!

Popular countryside pub location. Ordered the steak and chips minus tomato. Service was good and food okay, although could have been more generous with the servings for the price.

Really good lunch Skate for my wife and liver and bacon for me excellent!!!

Brilliant service, fabulous food and all at a good price.

Lovely friendly atmosphere and good food. The Open Mic night is great!!

Great service from friendly staff, lovely food and drink. Really lovely place.

Wonderful place for food, they do small meals and normal size, lovey atmosphere,kind staff and excellent food, you won't regret eating there,always best to book a table, as it gets busy

A party of 23 of us had lunch at the Cricketers recently, it was excellent, both the food and the service were great... super pub and very pleasant staff, would highly recommend

Good food, good service. Unfortunately not everything on the menu was available That includes main, side dish and sweet! If dining in a Smokey atmosphere is your thing then this will not disappoint. I found that it was too much, our clothes stank of smoke when we got home. Much more needs to be done to venting your wood burner correctly.

Have a fantastic Sunday roast beef 😋 😀 would highly recommend this lovely pub great atmosphere great service and really nice staff 😀 👍

Solo breakfast trip, and very happy to report I enjoyed it very much. Good selection of breakfast items, with meat and veggie options. Tea included with my traditional breakfast. Love the bacon, not overdone. Pub was nice and quiet before the lunchtime busier periods. Staff were very polite and helpful. Will be going again.

We went for a relaxing mid week supper. Lovely 'pub grub'. The food and service were excellent and we thought it was great value for money. I came a few weeks ago with friends on a weekend lunch time and again, great food, great value for money and great service. Thank you.

We went for dinner here and I have to say that when we first arrived I was a little put off when I saw the plaque outside stating it was part of a chain, but we decided to give it a go anyway. When we entered the bar was very busy, it is clearly a popular pub, we were given a table with a sofa and chairs, very comfortable. WE sat and relaxed and the serving team were really nice very friendly and attentive, we ordered drinks and looked at the menu. The menu is not too large but still had a good selection. We ordered and then chatted, our expectations were not high given I don’t tend to like cains, but when the food came it was very nice, the fish and chips that my partner had was tasty and well cooked, only downside was that it could have been drained a little longer, same with the onion rings as they were a little greasy. But they tasted lovely. I ordered the skate wing and it was very large, not at all what I expected, well cooked and tasty, I really enjoyed it. We shared a dessert as were both toom full to have one each and enjoyed it. On reflection I should not have judged it for being a chain bar as the team were great, the food lovely, the decor is nice and they are dog friendly, what more can you ask for! We would definitely return

We had 2 lovely mains couldn't fault them my partners starter susposed to be Brie Wedges. 3 tiny pieces and a small pile of yesterday's salad the server ask was the starter alright I replied salad was older than me

The Cricketers has always had a great reputation and we have enjoyed eating there from time to time. We went for dinner on Saturday evening and expected the usual standards however it appears that the management has changed hands. The young lad serving us was very nice and handed us the menus after we were seated, he said he would be back to take our orders. Within 30 seconds somebody wondered round the corner and asked if we were ready to order! We hadn’t even opened the menu. The food was average at best, overcooked starter, the vegetable lasagne was obviously left under the heat lamp for too long and the Chocolate Brownie turned to dust when you cut into it. To be fair the cod loin was very nice but that is about as far as I would go. After the main course things went down hill, nobody came to clear plates and we couldn’t find anyone for a drink. I resorted to going to the bar and asking for desert menus and ordering drinks (twice). The only person that seemed embarrassed (and cared) was the chap behind the bar, who was very apologetic. Roll on to “shall we have another drink or just go?” and the decision was not that easy. How do you leave a restaurant if you can’t get the bill? Back to the bar to ask for the bill, I waited whilst one of the bar staff served another customer. Just as they were finished, the chap served somebody else who wandered up to the bar. Turns out, this was the Manager, the penny drops! Asked the nice bar chap for the bill and he said he would bring it over. Back at the table, ten minutes later the so called manager turns up holding a bill and card machine. He asked if we were paying together, I said yes. He then stood there and looked at us, I suggested he might want to share the big secret in his hand……….the bill and how much i owed. He said, well someone just told me to come over to get the bill paid! I raised my concerns about the service and he said, they don’t give me enough training, I am struggling. No apology. So sad that this place has gone down hill, suffice to say we won’t be returning.

Had a lovely meal with a friend last night it's fantastic great pub would highly recommend it food was great 👍 👌 😋

Great menu with an excellent chef. Go there all the time

I couldn't decide what to choose from the relatively extent menu, but I finally settled for 'Beef in a Red Wine and Cranberry sauce '. Oh boy, I was blown away with it! It was, I think, the best meal I have ever had. So much so, I already know what I'll be ordering next time that I eat here. Yep, that'll be Beef in a Red Wine and Cranberry Sauce. Every time!!! Superb chef!

Excellent food and atmosphere. Very friendly staff

Lunch ok but could have been served with a smile! Lager served in a dirty glass when returned told it was marks from the dishwasher, but replaced Ice cream served in a chipped glass, not acceptable More care needed in cleaning glasses and not serving food in chipped receptacles.

Always a nice atmosphere and were very nice to let us bring the dog through to the Beer garden. Had a lovely family catch at this pub as it's only a short walk from us.

Always one of our favourites when we're home from New Zealand. I had the braised beef which was 5* quality and husband had the liver and bacon which he said was lovely. Back soon.

As usual, it's a place for food & drink 🍸 😋

Great place for good, wholesome pub grub.

Attended the pub for a 70th birthday lunch with around 40 others on Sunday 4th Feb. The young lads gave a great service taking drinks during the party. Unfortunately one of the young girls that served our party was quite abrupt on a couple of occasions which I was quite taken aback by. The food come out in stages which is understandable given the party size, but when one of the young girls was asked if they could provide us with condiments we were told “I’ll bring them when I’m ready, I’m busy serving food”. I was appalled to be honest as not only had we been spoken to in such a poor manner, but we waited nearly 15 minutes more before she actually bothered to bring us some which meant half of the table that were having a roast dinner had already finished eating before we could even start. The children’s food that was provided was awful, a thin dry burger served in a bun with a few fries on the side without any form of garnish, salad, peas or beans whatsoever. As for the children’s pizza, again this appeared to be not much more than a pitta bread which cheese a tomato puree on. The roast dinners appeared to have 2 potatoes, some receiving all vegetables whilst others were missing some. The meat was tasty, but the rest of the dinner was completely substandard. The fish and chip meal was also very disappointing, frozen chips served with a piece of cod on top which was dripping in fat (yes I am aware that it was a fried piece of cod in batter). The pub has a lot of potential, but when serving a poor standard of food, I sadly wouldn’t arrange another party here nor would I recommend it for service either. My comparison would be against the Donkey & Buskins in Layer where the service is outstanding and all their food is home cooked to a very high standard. Their cod is served in a light beer batter, whilst offering triple cooked homemade chips and a portion of crushed minted peas to accompany it, sadly yours felt extremely short of this being very greasy and also frozen cheap chips. Overall a very disappointing first visit to a local pub. Sorry for the lengthy negative review, but sadly I feel the owners need to be aware of what the service and food is being provided compared to your competitors in the area. Hopefully some good will come out the review and the service and food standards will improve.

Best lamb roast I've had since 2020.

One of our favourite eating places but you are best booking. Lovely setting over looking a green. The food is excellent so is the service. We had steak and ale pie and fish and chips. Menu to suit all tastes and good beer and lager. I shall attach a picture

Took my mum for a meal and honestly I’ve never been so impressed the food we had was amazing and beef just fell apart. We had Braised beef with cranberry and red wine with horseradish mashed potato, honey glazed carrots & parsnips and a side of duck Bon Bon’s it was amazing 100% recommend will definitely be back there again soon

What a lovely atmosphere, a warm friendly restaurant. Service was great food fantastic. Definitely recommend..looking forward to going back soon.

Beautiful pub, lovely food, excellent service, thank you.

The car park was pretty flooded on arrival although we managed to find a spot where you didn't get wet feet I feel it's worth mentioning. Inside the staff were friendly enough and quickly took orders from our large group but unfortunately some items were off the menu which was disappointing. However what was more disappointing was the food! I ordered the gammon and truth be told I wouldn't have given it to my dogs. The whole meal was overcooked and dried out. I think it had sat under heat lamps for quite some time before being served. I was unable to have a starter due to being out of stock and having tasted the main there was no way I was having a dessert and I left hungry and disappointed. I didn't complain at the time as I do worry what kitchen staff may do to the food. However I certainly won't return and can't recommend the place as it had more faults than redeeming qualities.

Went there today for lunch and was disappointed. The staff are lovely, attentive and caring, so five stars for them! But had the Tuna Mayonnaise sandwich which I have had on many occasions and I like this pub, but was hard to find the Tuna at £ 8.50 a sandwich . Overall disappointing. Will go elsewhere as need value for money. No, I did not comment on the product as not the staffs fault who were serving me but the chefs who produced it. Next time I will go elsewhere!

Great food and friendly staff. Visited previously and decided to come back for my birthday meal.

Good friendly pub and restaurant and good service

Great country pub with good food and well kept beer. Monthly music open mic nights. Friendly and attractive.

Friendly service and welcoming. Excellent fish and chips and a huge portion.

Usually 5 star, alittle disappointed with food this time but still very good though

Tuesday 12th December 2023. The club Christmas meal this year at the Cricketers was very, very disappointing. The first disappointment was that the Christmas meal choice was UNAVAILABLE. So NOT a Christmas meal! We were expecting and looking forward to turkey and Christmas pud, after...

Had an excellent Christmas lunch, as part of a group. Food and service was excellent, they were very busy even on a Monday.

Food was lovely, excellent service, could not fault anything

Had a wonderful birthday dinner. Great service. Nice food and warm atmosphere. Real fire kept us warm. Thank you

Food was really good and plenty of it. Really spacious restaurant. Would definitely go back again

What a wonderful place, the staff are great and the service time is quick, from ordering to receiving your food is spot on. I've eaten there several times and the quality of the food is exceptional, really tasty and you can tell it's good quality...

5 lads out for quiet meal. Quick and efficient service. Didnt bring dog but believe dog friendly in bar area.

The service was very slow and the food was cold when we got it, this used to be a good place to go, I took my family there I was so disappointed.

5 stars says it all. Not sure if dogs are allowed in eating area. Best to check

Lovely place. Great service, great food and fairly priced. Definitely recommend.

I only went in for a drink. But it was a lovely experience. Very cosy and warm.

I attended a wake here so it's hard to judge.

Wonderful food backed up by friendly efficient staff. A joy to attend

I met some colleagues for dinner and overall it was good. We were ignored by the waitresses and had to ask to have our other taken. However the service from this point forward was good and the waitress was lovely.

Very good dining experience! Areas for improvement: -The pie crust was a little soggy, I would prefer it crusty. -We ordered a brownie, the kids brownie came out (they changed the bill to a kids brownie afterwards, no problem). -Fish, had a few bones in...

We were visiting Colchester for a few days, staying at the Holiday Inn. I had been recommended the Cricketers by a very nice lady i had met whilst swimming. She was local and recommended the Cricketers as only a short drive. It wasn't busy really...

Fabulous meal. They made us gluten free onion rings which were really lovely and nicely presented as a starter on some salad. Very friendly and welcoming staff. Busy but did not wait overly long for meal. Will definitely be back if we are in the area. Highly recommend

Thank you for arranging table 50 for the six of us last Thursday. Lunch was a delight, good menu, well presented, particularly pleased to see Hake on the menu, the staff were excellent.

We’ve visited The Cricketers a fair few times over the last year, having been impressed with our first couple of visits, but sadly the service side of things seems to be going down hill of late. On previous visits they had taken my booking and...

The pub is nice and has a nice big garden area. Reasonless selection of drinks. Had the main meals for dinner which were edible but average. They didn’t have many items on the menu so settled for the steak, which was average at best sadly.

We held our second “Moneytree Mastery Discovery Day”event here at The Cricketers and we returned because of the exceptional service, quality of food and the willingness to make our day go smoothly. I can honestly say that all at The Cricketers played their part in...

We couldn't fault the menu, the Food was excellent , service was very slow . We waited over an hour for both mains and dessert. The waitress appeared rude when spoken to , when she brought out the desserts she had no idea what anything...

Never been to The Cricketers before but will definitely go again. Had reserved a table as meeting friends who were from various areas around Essex, so glad we did as it was very busy. The eating area was very bright and as it was so...

Went here as a party of 6 for Breakfast. Not sure I will need to eat again today!!! Huge breakfast had (I also got an extra portion of toast). Had the Large Full English which has everything you would expect. Difference is the ingredients are...

We had not been to The Cricketers for many years, and as it was our wedding anniversary and my Birthday we decided to book for a lunchtime meal out. We arrived early and soon the restaurant was very busy, considering it is Tuesday which is...

'Does exactly what it says on the tin!' Nice pub grub with plenty of choice, we have been to The Cricketers on many occasions and it has never disappointed. The staff are nice and the selection of beers is good. Desserts are too good to...

I have visited this pub with no issue many times in the past, but this experience was so dreadful I will not be returning. We visited with 3 children (ages 3 4 and 5) because the Cricketers was always known to us as a child...

Another fab dinner at The Cricketers. I had the Scotch Egg, Chips and Salad from the specials board…absolutely delish!

Food was amazing and cozy atmosphere, unfortunately the staff was far from amazing and cozy, barely seen to, spent ages after eating and no one around, none of them look like they wanted to be there

Really disappointed with the food quality & service in what usually is a lovely welcoming place to eat. One meal was not as described on the menu and on another meal the burger was dry / over cooked and served on a bread roll instead...

I have several food intolerances but was recommended The Cricketers as they have a selection of foods I can eat. Our waitress was Caley who was very attentive and nothing was too much trouble. She made sure that what I had ordered was 100% suitable...

Came here for my brothers birthday. Had Kalli as my waitress she gave amazing service. Really enjoyed the food and drinks would really recommend!

We were seated in a big comfy booth next to a window. The roast dinners were amazing. Quality meat, plenty of pots n veg. The bigger roast has 2 yorkies. Very popular pub. Good service. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. Defo...

Visited the pub for the first time last night. The food was nice but let down by the staff. Slow to serve and the 2 waitresses were abrupt and surly, A smile and manners cost nothing. Shame as we wouldn't return for that reason

This was our first visit to this pub would definitely go back.it was excellent service .and lovely food.

Visited for our works Christmas meal. It was very busy so the staff were rushed off their feet and we did have to wait a little before our food was served but that didn’t matter as the atmosphere was lovely; we just had a couple...

After booking weeks ago we got to the pub to be told Xmas meal needed to be pre-ordered. No one mentioned this when I phoned to book. Very disappointed this needs to be highlighted on the website. Put me off booking again.

Cannot believe that I ordered the same baguette as in February this year with the same outcome. Stale baguette! I called the waitress over and I asked for bread so I could change over the prawns. The brown bread was nice and fresh. Following on...

Once again, a fantastic meal from the guys and girls at the cricketers! the menu has many many options and there's some great specials. certainly, worth a visit especially when the wood fire is burning!

I was in the Cricketers for a birthday party yesterday and the food was good. BUT is was let down badly by the slow service, less than competent table service & poorly set out tables. Waiting staff that didn't have a clue sadly led by...

It’s a great place to meet up for a relaxed meal with friends. Food is delicious with good portion size. Service was great and food priced fairly. I can always rely on The Cricketers!

I must admit that I am a little amazed at the latest poor reviews for The Cricketers - I've been coming here roughly three to four years now on a regular basis and can only say that it is a superb pub and restaurant whether...

Myself and my husband visited earlier this year and had the best pub meal we had ever had! Exceptional food! Great service! We then returned in July with 2 friends and we were all quite disappointed with the food and service. Decided to give it...

I only put one because I couldn’t put zero. Four of us came for dinner, a girl came to take the order, each ordered in turn all meals came out except one. We waited ten minutes , a girl came over to the next table...

I booked a table for two here. Initial thoughts when we pulled up was ‘this looks great.’ The interior of the pub also looks good. However, there place was freezing cold. We both had to keep our jackets on as we could not relax. We...

We stopped here for food today. Staff were friendly and really good pub food. Even had dessert. Really nice. One of the best pub lunches we've had in quite a while. Nice relaxed atmosphere.

We are not local so may not be able to visit again, but we would. Our meal was the Special which was pan fried Skate. This was cooked, presented well and was enjoyable. A few capers may have helped but a good meal. Service was...

Food was delicious, fresh and a great variety on the menu. The service was excellent very well timed. Will be returning soon.

A big thank you for putting on a delicious afternoon tea after our mother's funeral. Plenty to eat and I know Mum would have enjoyed it.

Ordered poached salmon salad - when it arrived it was clear it had been plated up in advance and was straight out the fridge and the nineteen 70’s. Thick white plate, lettuce which was wet, three tiny limp celery strands, radishes chopped roughly, enormous chunks...

No problems with our main courses, apart from lots of gristle in the venison .No-one came at any point to ask if everything was OK. After we'd finished eating we waited for someone to bring the dessert menu. We waited while waiters walked past and...

Superb food (hot & cold, and lots of it !), lovely room, and excellent service (nothing too much trouble) , all at a very good price. Staff were very attentive and catered well for those with dietary restrictions. Would highly recommend the Cricketers for this...

Average price I had ploughman’s my partner had pie and ok big not worth the money really staff all standing around the bar I had to reorder our drinks at the bar our whole lunch came to 37 pound had better in other places

We had a family get together last evening. There were eight of us. We were welcomed by Shanon who served us through the evening. The service was excellent and cheerful. As usual the food was really good. We had a variety of dishes from the...

Called in on the off chance on Friday without booking, despite being quite busy the manager found us a table & we had an excellent meal, my partner had steak & I had liver and bacon, there was so much I couldn't managed it all,...

After reading great reviews about this restaurant we were looking forward to having Sunday lunch there. After being seated almost immediately and our order taken quickly it was almost 1 hour after ordering that we had food to eat. Cold ham was served on a...

Spent a lovely couple of hours sitting in the garden at The Cricketers. Food menu gives just the right amount of choice. Hubby had beef lasagne which he said was really good. Came with side salad and garlic bread (it’s the future 🤣) so he...

My son decided to take me here for a birthday breakfast treat ,I have been here before but ages ago ,We found a table and the waiter came over and took are drinks order ,After a while he came back and took are breakfast order...

Went here recently for dinner with a friend. First impressions, seemed clean and the staff were friendly. Looked at the menu, and felt disappointed with the lack of choice for a vegetarian after 5pm. (One choice on the main menu, and one on the specials board) I settled on the vegan curry even though it didn’t sound too appetising for me, but have to admit it was absolutely lovely. For desert I had the sticky toffee pudding, and oh my goodness, I have to say it was the best sticky toffee pudding I have ever tasted! I shall definitely be back for more of that!All in all a good experience. My only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is simply the lack of choice at that time for me as a veggie, but hands up, what I did eat was divine.

we went to the cricketers for the first venture out after lock down and as they advertise Covid regulations in place. we were greeted warmly and shown straight to our seats, our server was polite and the food wasn't bad,we had already been drinking from our glasses when we realised both the glasses were dirty, even worse there was red lipstick on my friends glass that wasn't hers !!now surely the biggest thing is cleanliness at this worrying time yet the glasses weren't even cleaned properly. our server did apologise and change it but its a bit like bolting the door when the horse has already gone ! now it left us very worried. i messaged the pub on their web sight but had no reply this is why i have resorted to trip advisor. there was also kids running around jumping all over the seats being ignored by the parents on another table, so in all a bit disappointing.

This is a great place to lunch but get there early if you want a table as it does tend to get busy. The food is amazing and the value for money is brilliant! These guys are also doing takeaway deliveries during lockdown. Perfect!

We visited the Cricketers as a group of 4 on Monday 12th April 2021 , the first day of lockdown easing . The marquee in the garden is really lovely , side panels off as per guidelines, good effective heaters on and beautiful garlands and lighting to make it look just wonderful ... even comfy sofas in the corner for a lovely relaxing chinwag . The food was great as it always is and staff so friendly and helpful . It felt so very good to be back and huge thanks to Matt ,the landlord and his team . Highly recommend this pub if you want to feel safe and at the same time need to return to some sense of ‘normality ‘.