The Green Room in Colchester

Very disappointed, went to the Green Room years ago and it was lovely but it seems to have deteriorated a lot. On a positive note the waiting staff were pretty friendly. Here come my justified moans: We ordered sea bass which had bones. The sourdough bread had been toasted to the point where it was like cutting through a rock. I love undercooked vegetables for health reasons but these were soooo hard, I could barely cut into the French beans. We ordered 1 glass of vermentino and 1 glass of Sauvignon blanc, not only did I clearly say the words but I also pointed to each one on the menu and then the waiter (actually I think he may have been the owner, a dark haired man with a Spanish accent ) repeated back to me 1 vermentino and 1 Sauvignon blanc, he then came to our table with 2 glasses of red! He had no idea and when we explained that we had requested white wine and for a second time clearly pointed it out on the menu he walked away and came back with 2 glasses of white, not even confident about which was which. To add insult to injury, when we got the bill the incorrect wines had not been removed from the bill (they cost marginally more than what we had ordered - a mistake in the restaurant’s favour). We went there to celebrate Mother’s Day and it was a disappointing experience, we shall not be returning!

Such a fantastic restaurant and lovely staff x food was the best id eaten in there for a very long time

Delicious food in lovely restaurant. Will definitely be back.

The belly pork and black pudding was not what I was expecting. Not great Ox cheeks were delicious

We have visited the Green Room a few times over the last few months and the food and service have been excellent. You can have a pre /post dinner drink at the bar too which is great. Would highly recommend to anyone. Definitely the best place to eat in Colchester at the moment.

An amazing dinner and dinning experience…. The mock-tail I had was lovely the food was perfect !!! Looking forward to our next visit xxx

2 of us went for a birthday celebration, although very quiet, the food and service was fantastic

We had the beef wellington, to share between 2. It was amazing, perfectly cooked and really flavoursome. We had lemon cheesecake for dessert, that was delicious too. We had a bottle of Primitivo Puglia, our favourite red wine at the Green Room. Atmosphere was lovely and relaxing and service was excellent.

Great dining experience and julie a great host, best in colchester

Lovely food and atmosphere, the waitresses were really helpful and attentive. The only thing letting it down was no steak for one person on valentine’s day, it had to be a two person portion which is inconvenient since my partner is vegetarian. But overall great and would eat here again.

Really lovely restaurant, great food, well designed, very comfortable

We booked the restaurant as we were staying in the North Hill Hotel. 3 course dinner each with cocktails. Lovely food. Highly recommended. Breakfast was spot on. The full English did not disappoint.

I have visited the Green Room a number of times and always found the food good. Unfortunately this time I found the menu was very limited, we had to wait quite awhile for our lunch to arrive, considering we were the only two in the restaurant at the time. The chips were overcooked and my burger was quite dry in texture.

A nice Sunday lunch, we haven't been here for a while but were glad to see same standards in place .

We enjoyed a fabulous meal in this friendly restaurant, which has a lovely ambiance. The quality of every dish was delightful. The menu is well balanced with great choices, also complemented by tempting specials dishes. The Scallops starter and Dover Sole main course were particularly impressive and full of flavour. Thoroughly recommended.

Fabulous food, great service & lovely looking place. Highly recommend.

The food was fine and the welcome great. The presence of a big birthday party (not mine) made service a bit slow, but understandable. My real problem was that, unbeknown to me, my friends had made, as a birthday gift, a contribution towards our lunch. A note had been attached to our booking but not acted upon. My friends were unhappy about this, but have since got, or will get, a credit note.

We went for Sunday lunch which was excellent. Have never had a bad meal there and the manageress and her team are always very good.

New chef new menu faultless experience.Special thanks Julie made our Sunday. In my opinion back on top as a great place to eat and drink.

10 of us had a booking for Friday night. Seemed to be very quiet until we got there . Friendly welcome and warm inside. Service was friendly but slow, by 9 .30 no one has come for dessert orders so we had to ask for the Bill in order to get the bus home at 9.50. Drinks were fine but main dishes were a bit boring . Not a massive menu and £28 for Langostine Fettuccine seemed expensive for what it was . The rest of the party had Duck which was rated as good . Pie , average and chips were supposed to be chunky but they looked like the end of the service chips . Veg was scant , Mussels were just that . Chicken again a bit boring . Steak was rough to eat without the aid of a steak knife . This menu needs a bit of creativity and interest . The restaurant and staff are fine and we had a good evening because we enjoy being out together but non of us were left with a wow factor sadly.

This restaurant has slowly declined. Although my meal there before Christmas was very nice the past two meals were not. Tough under done steak a few weeks ago my recent meal was not great at all. Such a shame as it has great potential.

We visited The Green Room recently as heard they had a new menu and had moved away from the small plates. Service was good as always and the new menu was great with a lot of exciting dishes included. I went for the ‘unlimited steak’ which was absolutely brilliant. Great flavour, so tender and you won’t get steak like that in many other places at the £22 price. Could definitely charge more. Burger and pie looked delicious too. Lovely evening and looking forward to returning!

Recommend this restaurant. Good well cooked food in a very comfortable environment.

Warmth of the greeting is always a pull. Food is consistently good.

My husband went out for a work do recently here, and all enjoyed their food. So much so, some have returned already for another meal :) A good atmosphere and layout. The bar is a nice addition, for a pre- / post dinner drink. Catered for my husbands OMS dietary requirements, and he was pleasantly surprised to be given an adapted menu for him to have a choice (rare - most restaurants tend to offer a single option). This was with a weeks notice to the restaurant, however it was still a very nice touch, and showed the effort that the team would go to, to accommodate and offer a great experience.

Fantastic food in a lovely environment with friendly service.

Late Christmas lunch with family who we were unable to meet on the 25th. I had the pie followed by the sherry trifle. Both of which were good and I thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone said that enjoyed their meal, particularly my 7 year old granddaughter who was very excited when I said where we were going. Thank you for a lovely meal.

We had a really lovely family lunch to celebrate our mums 91st birthday. The food was lovely and the staff were all really friendly and helpful. There were 10 of us and the table and the area we were in was perfect for a relaxed and fun meal. We were also allowed to take in our own birthday cake. Very happy and we will definitely go back.

Really delicious food and cocktails, a lovely atmosphere, friendly and helpful staff. The menu has changed since we last visited - no longer small plates (and sadly no frickles! We loved those) but still delicious and excellent.

I really enjoy visiting the Green Room, it always has a nice cosy atmosphere. We had the lunch menu, and everyone really enjoyed their sandwiches. They are served with fries and salad so great value and very filling. I recommend the prawn Marie Rose and avocado, absolutely delicious.

Food superb, good portion size. Bottle of wine put in bucket in the middle of the table, none poured into glasses! Tried to take plates when we were still eating, knife and fork on the plate wide apart indicate not finished. Cocktails very nice as was the cocktail bar. Few tweaks needed with serving staff, would return again.

Often you go out for a roast and you think, yeah thats nice but the meat is naff or the spuds I make at home are nicer or it is generally missing something. Not this place. Took my staff here for our Xmas do, 3 course slap up bonanza. Kicked it off with the arancini balls which were juicy & flavoursome, everyone else on the table ordered soup and prawn cocktails which were all polished off. The main came out, absolute beast of a turkey roast. Crispy spuds, succulent meat, pig and its blanket & some of the best cabbage my little mouth has ever been fortunate enough to consume. Good selection of veg, great portion sizes and good amount of gravy which is often an issue when going for a roast. 8 mains were served and 8 empty plates went back to the kitchen. Apple and berry crumble for dessert, stone cold classic. Creamy custard, hot fruit, scrumptious. 1 vegan on the table also who's dishes were altered to cater for her requirements, she was very pleased. Lovely atmosphere, often for Xmas meals i find restaurants cram in as many as possible which can be hectic and uncomfortable. We had space around us, servers had time for us when we needed them and overall was a relaxed evening. Great food for a fair price. Would highly recommend and will visit again.

One word wow …. The best roast turkey dinner I’ve ever had … Manager Julie and all the staff are so attentive. It’s my favourite place x

Nice atmosphere and great food.

Fantastic experience at The Green Room for annual Christmas lunch. Great service, great food and perfect ambience. Recommended!

Food was good, service was good as expected. Atmosphere; the music was too loud to allow dinner conversation.

Had another evening meal, which was, as always, very good. Staff always friendly, professional and best of all, the food is excellent. Good choices of wine also.

Best roast dinner in central colchester. Julie is the best Maître D too, so welcoming and personable, a real asset to the homely hotel. 🌺 I agree with some others reviews about their small plates menu. When they refurbished the bar area and tried out a new menu and ordering at the bar, it didn’t work well. We complained whilst we were there instead of leaving a bad review which is damaging for establishments. They listened and changed it back to table service. It’s good to talk!

The new bar layout at the Green Room is really good and the food was delicious. The service given by the one lovely lady behind the bar and at the table was excellent.

The vegan option on the Sunday lunch menu included a Yorkshire pudding. Unbelievably, it wasn't a vegan Yorkshire pudding. It was removed when served to vegans but not replaced with anything. It was galling when the staff made a comment about loving to see an empty plate. That's because we had less than everyone else.

Wow what a find we had a roast dinner there absolutely amazing so delicious best roast I’ve ever had. The staff was very welcoming, the manageress was friendly & made sure we were happy with the lunch which was fantastic best ever. Even the waitress was attentive. We will definitely go back there & will tell my colleagues what a find I have found.

Wow what a find, food was amazing atmosphere was incredible. Waitress such a lovely girl couldn’t have been better. I definitely will go again & recommend the restaurant to my colleagues. Well done.

This was my first time at the Green Room, it won’t be my last. We received an attentive and welcoming introduction, were directed to a comfortable table without the usual “close neighbours” you find in most other restaurants. We were helpfully advised on the best way to interpret the food and the drink menus. The selected fare duly arrived and was thoroughly enjoyed. A delightful evening.

The food was lovely and the service good. It was a little quiet as it was a Thursday evening but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Lovely restaurant, great staff food and value. Music was not my taste and was a bit hit and miss

Fabulous roast beef lunch. Can't wait to come back. Friendly and helpful staff.

Nicest roast dinner ive had out in a while perfectly cooked and generous portions :-)

Beautiful food and ambience. Polite, friendly and accommodating staff

A lovely restaurant and really enjoyed it. Staff were very warm and attentive and friendly. The food was great. It was in smaller portions and all very tasty. Recommend it for sure.

Midweek lunch, so not many there, therefore, lacking in atmosphere. Food was disappointing, not dressed up at all. Small plate of skewered prawns (small prawns) and only slightly warm, garlic mayonnaise (couldn't taste garlic at all), half a grilled lime which was hotter than the prawns. A side dish of truffle parmesan fries - although I could see some shavings, I could not taste anything but the fries. Deconstructed blackberry cheesecake - nice.

My friend and I came to celebrate my birthday. Julie and the team were amazing. Food was yummy, service was fantastic! We love the atmosphere and it is our favourite place to go in Colchester. Love it!

The Green Room was one of our favourite restaurants in Colchester but when it changed the 'vibe' from traditional to a bit cocktailly, we were put off. However, friends had said it was as good, so we decided to give it a go. We love the small plate approach and the food was very good indeed. The staff were lovely, the wine prices not too daft, and the whole experience will ensure we will return.

Absolutely amazing. Delicious food, great atmosphere, attentive friendly staff and great value. Will be returning regularly!

Lovely set up and well ran by the manager / owner. You can see that there’s a lot of passion there.

The Green Room was an ideal venue for an extremely pleasant mid-week lunch. The food was excellent and the service just right. The restaurant is spacious and light, with a quiet, calm, relaxed atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Best roast dinner Iv had in a long time! Staff were lovely too

Went for Sunday lunch only. Roast pork was stone-cold, as if from the fridge and not properly reheated. Roast beef was better. Yorkshire pudding was soft and not crisp, but other veg and gravy were acceptable. Shan't be returning there anytime soon. Certainly not for Sunday Roast. Very disappointed.

Having never visited Colchester before we weren’t sure where we should eat. We dropped very lucky finding this place as the whole evening was faultless. From the friendly staff to the delicious food from a brilliant menu. I was very pleasantly surprised when we got the bill too - stunning value for such a fantastic meal!

Dined here last night. Relaxed dining experience. Tables nice and large with a decent amount of space between them. Delicious food and extremely well priced. Attentive but unobtrusive staff. Will definitely return.

Absolutely brilliant meal at the Green room. There were 13 of us and food was delicious and all came out hot. Julie and her team worked hard to make our lunch just perfect. Thank you so much .

Second time visiting. Lovely atmosphere, great food and service. Very friendly, will definitely be coming back again.

Never been before and heard good things, didn’t leave disappointed. Enjoyed a warm welcome and dined in a great atmosphere, love the decor and feel of the place. Food was absolutely delicious and generous servings. Service was great and we will return!

I enjoyed our meal at the Green Rooms. I thought the food was good and service was excellent. It was fairly quiet as we went on a Monday night and was therefore not busy. But that suited us very well as background music was good and allowed us to enjoy the evening together.

Lovely tasty Sunday lunch, good choice of desserts. Reasonable prices. Friendly staff.

Excellent restaurant. Delicious food, friendly staff, great ambience, reasonable prices. I highly recommend it. I'll be back for sure.

No longer a bistro has a small limited menu the photos were of food when it was a proper restaurant

It’s been a few months since my wife and I ate here, I must say it gets better and better each time. They served us a huge plate of amazing food with a rich meat gravy, every thing was perfect. I had an extra slice of beef which to be fair I really didn’t need, the chicken was extra juicy and tender and the beef was just how I liked it. I also had an portion of cauliflower cheese which was simply bang on . I would seriously recommend this place for a Sunday roast. My friend said he came here during the week and had the best rump steak he has ever had, I will be trying that for myself soon. Well done green rooms . Check out my photo.

Amazing fabulous food. Everything on the menu is lush.

Excellent as always at The Green Room! We love it! Great food, drink, service and value. Thoroughly good place. X

Sunday lunch was superb! Great portions and beef cooked to liking. Staff very friendly and great service.

Beautiful roast dinner, excellent service and wonderful ambience- my favourite restaurant in Colchester city centre.

Absolutely wonderful evening celebrating my friends birthday. I think the Manager welcomed us she was so friendly and kind. The staff were so attentive, especially Jake whose first shift it was he was so friendly and helpful. First class service. We will definitely be back.

Very good food at a very reasonable price. Hidden gem in the centre. Will visit again.

The style of menu has changed, being more bistro than restaurant. Lunch was lighter than previous visits.

Had the Exquisite fish and chips. Delicious. Staff attentive but not intrusive. All round excellent experience

Staff were very helpful and friendly. Great food, Cocktails at very reasonable prices. Definitely will visit again!

Warm, welcoming, and friendly. Beautiful inside with very comfortable and spacious table seating. The menu was very accommodating with regard to gluten-free options. The food was well presented and tasted amazing. Would highly recommend it if you've never been you won't be disappointed. We will definitely be returning in the near future.

We went here last night for the first time, delicious food, great service, friendly staff, 10 out 10! Highly recommended.Shame they have changed their menu, and know longer serve proper meals.

Lovely setting, food very good and the small plates are a great idea for lunch

Lovely restaurant, very friendly staff but a little loud talking to each other. Food was delicious all fresh and meat cooked to your liking, very good portions. We will definitely go back. I would highly recommend. I just wish the sauces would come out before the food.

Best Sunday roast in Colchester

We were appreciative that they accommodated us having a drink as a large-ish group prior to eating. The waiting staff were lovely and the food was nice and quick to arrive. The one low point of the evening was the bartender being massively put out when asked to make a cocktail. She said she would make that one but wouldn't make any more as it was her worst cocktail to make (only an old fashioned - hardly anything too complicated) and that it would take 15 minutes. She did later apologise but it did make us feel a little uncomfortable after that.

This was my first visit. The building and environment is just spot on. However this is not reflected in the food which doesn’t quite hit the spot. Let me explain. Small plate dishes should either be tapas or food that is just that extra bit special. This isn’t. Much is slopped in sauces and formulaically prepared. All felt a bit lazy. Chargrilled veg, for example, was drenched in balsamic gel and some kind of sweet white stuff and the bruchetta was burnt to a crisp and still served. Everything was ‘generally fine’ but there just no ‘wow’ factor and no one in our party of four said ‘try this it’s lovely’ which surely is the small plate idea.

After a lovely stay in town with students, I decided to treat myself to dinner at what was described to me as the best restaurant in town. My last night was in the hotel above the restaurant, so when the receptionist offered me a table at about 9:00pm, I accepted. I found nothing special about the menu but decided to have a smoked fish platter that was fine, but very nondescript. The part that made me so disconnected was the table I was given, in a small room alone next to the kitchen. While it was also a table for four, I was told that as a single diner, they couldn’t give me the free table for four in one of the other larger dining rooms. Undoubtedly I should have walked out, but I was just too tired… And for this I showered and changed???

Lovely service as always but a bit disappointed with items not available on the menu. Food was lovely

Can't understand how this place isn't packed every night. Great food, had a delicious Sunday Roast, staff are wonderful great family friendly vibe.

Simply can't understand why this lovely place isn't always full. great food and wonderful staff with a real friendly vibe.

Terrible came for Sunday lunch staff young and rude laughing loudly Starters very basic a slab of salmon in a plate and then a roast the potatoes where burnt and veg hard I had tackle with it, no sides or dressing offered just rude staff. Used to come here but never again. Burnt cauliflower and asked for mint sauce she didn’t know what that was, gave me ketchup?? Place grotty need a good clean and staff who know what they are talking about

If your taste is for home-from-home relaxation (with all the warmth and none of the challenge of family), the small but efficient Green Room team serves traditional fare and the modern, tapas-with-a-twist take on eating, to your order. And there's always the bar should your preference be for a drink before dining where you can get to know the serving staff even better.

We have frequently visited but the last two times the service and quality has been significantly lacking and today the owner was rude. I ordered my food to come without black pepper. They served it with black pepper. Their excuse was it was pre marinated. But that doesn’t make it right. The owner attended and instead of apologising for serving food I cannot eat instead said “if you don’t want it I’ll take it away”. Clearly we won’t be back and the owner might want to swot up on allergens if she doesn’t want to make customers ill

Another excellent meal at The Green Room. First time trying the roasts - excellent, easily the best roast I've had in the Colchester area. Competitive prices and good portion size. Friendly, attentive service.

Really nice roast beef dinner, great roast potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, horseradish sauce needs a bit more bite for me. Table next to us had an issue which we felt could have been handled with a little more diplomacy.

We came here as 2 couples on a previous recommendation from family members, who had been many times before.. Disappointed to find the menu had changed, to what they call small plates. We both ordered sharing platters to start, food was OK but no actual chefs skill in serving this type of food. The dirty fries with pulled pork was a let down, tough meat, and what seemed to be frozen chips, and not served hot. Service not great when cutlery just dropped on the table in a pile. Only 1 other table of diners there on the Friday night we visited. We will not return.

Food amazing, service and staff incredible, knowledgeable and accommodating.

First time trying the new small plates menu. Impressed by the choice of vegetarian dishes - many using seasonal produce. The food was very good, well seasoned and of good quality. Portion generally fine - bruschetta was slightly on the small size given the price. Very good homemade chunky chips and reasonably priced side dishes. Excellent dessert. Lovely service, third visit and would recommend and return.

Our 2nd visit to The Green Room and once again we had a very enjoyable time. Food excellent and service very friendly

Such a beautiful place to eat! Very airy and light, the food is wonderful and the service is fantastic. It’s very chill in the restaurant - our table were the noisiest (groups of girls long overdue a catch-up - cue the cackling!) but it was a really lovely dining experience. Absolutely superb! Good for dates, girls who wine & dine or to simply got out for some topnotch grub! Will deffo visit again!

Great food ample small plates portions. Vegetarian selection good as well as meat and fish. Efficient service. Good value for money

Never been here before but always wanted to go. Really lovely staff and great service. Wasn’t that busy though which I guess helped. Food was outstanding and portions just right. Will definitely return.

Really nice place friendly atmosphere and staff 👌