The Old Crown in Colchester

Visiting nearby with our dogs. Staff and locals friendly. Beer very good so we booked following day for lunch. Back again before we go back home.

A proper country pub, but with excellent food and service. Small but perfectly kept range of ales. Dog friendly.

Absolutely fantastic Sunday lunch! A traditional pub, but lovely ambiance with the layout and decor, along with the welcoming, friendly service. The roast was perfection, with tender meat, crispy roast potatoes, and flavourful veggies. A perfect spot for a relaxing, indulgent Sunday meal. Can’t wait to return!

Fabulous, everything about the Crown is good, food is superb, staff excellent, a good night.

It was my first visit to The Old Crown and I cannot wait to go back again. It is such a Lovely Restaurant where you are made to feel so welcome by the friendly and very efficient Staff. The Food is absolutely delightful and I was spoilt for choice. I could not fault the place in any way. I can thoroughly recommend this wonderful establishment. Thank you for such a lovely evening - Just Perfect!

We had a excellent meal tonight as always but we found the waitress a little over bearing.

Absolutely love this place. The food is fantastic, can't fault it!

We have always loved eating at the Old Crown Pub but today’s visit was the best ever! The food was top notch and the service was excellent ~ the staff were so genuinely interested and friendly, whilst being totally professional at the same time… a rare balance. We shared the Ploughman's tapas starter which was so good and more than enough for two. I then had the chicken skewers and my husband had the fish pie. Every element of each meal was delicious, perfectly cooked and beautifully presented. Prices were very reasonable too. We will be back … soon

Great gastro pub, very good choice of freshly prepared food and great service.

Brilliant local pub serving top quality food and great ales. All the staff were friendly and professional. Highly recommend.

Nice out of the way pub, perfect for summer evening late sunshine drinks out the front. Was fully booked so can't comment on food

Brilliant little pub, loads of food choices, nice outdoor seating, great friendly service!

A bit of an odd start, we were shown to a table in a bay window but it was so "snug" I couldn't fit between seat and table (true I'm a bit plump but not a serious porker!). That got sorted with good humour and were offered a more capacious table. That's the only reason I'm giving 4 stars for service and if I could give 4.5 I would. Apart from that we had a really good evening. Good food and drink, good service (attentive but not intrusive) and good atmosphere. We'll be back.

Sunday lunch with group of friends, we choose to have starter and main from the set menu.service was top rate, the variety of food we had all served at same time ,very enjoyable time and although very busy no rush for the table to be vacated. Would highly recommend just take special care on the country lanes for access.

Excellent food and a good selection of beers.

Lovely Friday evening meal, delicious food and great service 😀

Lovely gem in the Essex countryside, good food and excellent atmosphere!

An excellent ancient pub serving a range of quality meals and able to deal with all types of food allergy. Highly recommended. Great meal and staff.

Wonderful lunch. Such a great atmosphere and staff very friendly

Great food, lovely staff, perfect location. Quiet, serene and delicious food

Fantastic hidden gem. Great food and atmosphere.

Excellent menu.Complements to the chef on hot food.Good friendly service in a lovely English pub.

Pleasant pub, nice service, delicious food

Had a lovely meal here along with my partner and his parents. We all had different main courses and each one was presented beautifully and all were delicious. The customer service was excellent, waiting staff were so nice and friendly, an overall 10 out of 10 from us. It was our first visit here and we will definitely return and highly recommend.

Fabulous pub. Dog friendly and incredible food.

Excellent, old pub with lovely staff and delicious food. The steak was especially tasty.

Good old pub 'well run would highly recommend 'good pint and top grub

Great atmosphere, friendly service and fantastic food highly recommended

This is a lovely traditional pub, with a good range of ales and beers that taste like they have been kept well as well as good wine options. The real reason to visit however is that the food here is far above the standard you would expect from a traditional pub.

Great food, lovely staff. Ask for a cushion, seats are hard!!!

Dropped by for a quick Saturday lunch. This was my second visit, the first being a midweek business lunch. As soon as we walked in we were greeted warmly by two young waiting staff. A very desirable menu, not too busy but enough on offer to choose from. We both chose from the light bite lunch. Not sure I would describe it as light, in fact it both choices were very filling. Fish pie and roasted root vegetables and chicken goujons, salad and sauté new potato's. We finished by sharing a lovely cheese board. Two coffees and a lovely pint of Crouch Vale. Great service, lovely food in a charming setting. We will be back again soon.

Beautiful dining room.i had a light lunch excellent value very enjoyable meal.

Even though we had not booked a table and they were very busy on Easter Monday the staff could not have been more helpful and friendly and fitted us in with only a short 30 minute wait. The food was excellent and well worth the short wait. This place lives up to it's reputation with friendly, helpful staff and excellent food. We will be visiting again at the next chance we get.

The food here is always amazing and this trip did not dissapoint. it’s also nice pup to pop in for a pint in the way home and always friendly!

Lovely little pub.. Great food and great service..

Lovely meal , pleasant pub. Def worth another visit.

Food delicious, service excellent. A little pricey but lovely place.

The Old Crown at Messing is our favorite restaurant/pub. The food is always excellent. and the prices are reasonable.

First class meal, plenty of menu choices. Friendly, polite service.

I visited recently to enjoy a Christmas meal with my work colleagues. We were a party of 15 and had booked a table. The three course menu we had was absolutely delicious, and I loved my prawn-filled salmon parcel for a starter. The staff were very friendly and attentive. It was a great experience and a lovely place to enjoy a nice plate of food!

First time me and my wife found this little gem today and will definitely be returning..the most welcoming staff amazing food and cozy atmosphere 🔥

Delicious meal,excellent service. Really impressed. Very good choice of starters and mains, didn't look at desserts as was full! Good choice of wine at reasonable prices. Will definitely be going back.

As an 'out-of-towner' The old Crown has been a must go to pub for good dining for more than 20 years and we've had nothing more than top notch food and service. We used the pub last night and I had the Lamb Curry. It tasted very good but unfortunately the lamb was as tough and chewy as hell. Now I did'nt complain but mentioned discretely that I found the meat tough. I'm writing this to say that a brief 'im sorry you did not enjoy your meal' would have gone such a long way from the waitress. Pub Great, Beer Great, Food pretty good over many years, Customer service as chewy as an old bit of gristle. I'll be back but we will bring our dog next time....just in case

Great venue, lovely location, good staff. Food not so good. Will go back and try again. Overall, I’d say it’s worth a visit.

Great food as always, excellent service, lovely company.

Excellent food and service too. I shall be returning..........

Another fabulous Sunday lunch. Very friendly and efficient staff, great food and a reasonable price. A local favourite.

Absolutely brillant meal for a special anniversary. Food 10 out of 10 and very nice service as well.

Enjoyed the Tandoori chicken skewer cooked to perfection. Not your normal pub grub but a more interesting menu. Staff very friendly. Would thoroughly recommend d this pub. Booking might be a good idea as there are not that many tables.

Lovely Roast beef! Good social distancing and cleanliness, good to be back.

Fantastic pub and menu...5 Stars! My family and I had a great evening, highly recommended.

Very friendly and helpful staff. Sat in garden and had an enjoyable time. Will be going back

Very homely country pub serving excellent food

Nice atmosphere, tables nicely spaced apart and not cramped. Delicious food

Popped in for quick pint. Lovely village pub.

We love this warm and friendly pub/restaurant. The menu is full of good local produce and is imaginative.

Big menu, lots of options and great desserts

Excellent food reasonable prices

The best pub meal I have ever had was eaten here. The food and service are incredible and for a real ale buff like me the ales were well kept and a good range on offer.

An example of what a good country pub should be like

Very friendly restaurant - wonderful service and gorgeous food 🙂

Quaint, quiet, good food, beautiful simple, clean interior

My wife and I were in the area for a weekend recently and went to this pub. First of all it was a little suspicious that every taxi driver we used over the weekend gave us an identical sales pitch about how good this pub is. The food was distinctly average and hugely overpriced. It is attempting to market itself as a gastro pub but the quality of food simply isn't good enough. Hugely disappointing with a less than impressive selection of beers.

Lovely place with a great menu and friendly staff.

Was there on Christmas Eve and have been a couple of timers previously. We booked for New Years Eve but two of our party of four had to cancel due to illness and as we could not get two more to join us that evening we spoke to The Old Crown to see if they cvould fill 2 or 4 covers. They were extremely helpful and had people on a cancellation lshort list. They without being asked refunded us in full (we had chosen to pay basic cost in advance to stop friends paying on the day). We were disappointed not to have gone as the food and atmosphere are top rate. We are now looking forward to our next visit in February.

Fantastic meal yet again, as good as any restaurant we have been to anywhere and lucky for us right on our doorstep. The fillet of beef starter was wonderful and both the rabbit pie and salmon main courses were good too. Even though we shouldn't we also managed peach melba roulade with raspberry coulis and summer pudding to follow. Can't wait till the next time!

We turned up on the off chance and were seated in the window. I ordered the scallops and the wife, the mussels. Both very high standard. For mains we ordered the lamb rump and duck tagine. This is seriously good food. Go here now!

What can I say wonderful food, atmosphere and comfortable. Our favourite place to eat. Staff really friendly and your not rushed.

I took my parents and 4 year old for Sunday lunch and was not disappointed. Staff were polite and attentive, although it was busy. They gave us complimentary sharing breads as the fish pie was taking a bit longer, which was a lovely touch, as my son was getting hungry and tetchy! Food was excellent, great flavour and portion size. We will definitely be going back for more...

Penny and her team have created a superb menu with an experienced team although it's a shame that Katie, as front of house, has decided on a new career path. Food is always well prepared and presented without significant delays. The only down side is that you need to book well in advance.

Enjoyed two great courses here. I must mention my main meal of lamb which was so delicious I could just go back and eat the same thing time and time again. The waitress was very good too. Very polite. Would recommend and definitely will go back.

Never disappoints; great food, staff and atmosphere. This is a fantastic local, making great food part of village life, not distracting from a friendly drinking hole too, the best of all worlds

First visit. Walked in & found Crouch Vale Brewery's 'Brewers Gold' in front of me. What a treat! Friendly staff, prompt service, reasonable prices. Chalkboard menu looked interesting, & fair value, but we'd already decided to go for a takeout. We will however give it a whirl when the occasion arises. Friendly enough bunch of locals in with their many & varied dogs (didn't go quiet when we walked in - don'tcha just hate it when that happens?!). Could easily become our 'local', as hostelries in our ville are pretty dire.

I used to visit this pub a lot many years ago, but it has recently been purchased by a local farmer and his wife, it has been refurbished in a simple Bistro style, many of the people I knew were still there and there was an incredably warm, friendly and convivial atmosphere. The day I visited, there was a Barbecue on, it was delicious ! Can't wait to go back.

Top food, well cooked and presented, the Old crown has recently undergone a change in management, been redecorated and serves a fine pint ..........worth a look