The Swan Inn in Colchester

Been here a few times for a relaxing drink, today we decided to go for a family breakfast. Something to note is my wife has allergies towards nuts and praprika, which is not always listed. I have to say going out for food can be challenging at tines, but out waitress Karen at the Swan was a absolute gem, Karen went above and beyond to ensure my wife was comfortable with what she was ordering and gonna be served. The whole experience was really well managed thanks to Karen. We really had a lovelly time and the food was great. Such a cosy place to eat. Swan owners need to look at their staff and really appreciate what hey do day in and out. Especially the ones that gonabove and beyond like Karen. Thanks again

Too large a menu choice. Smaller and better quality would be a good idea.

As a top 10% global Google Reviewer with almost 7.5 million views on my reviews, I know great from bad, poor from excellent. Today, we had lunch as a 4, and I was far from blown away as I'd be led to believe. Taking into account they were fairly busy, you would have expected a short wait on items. However, my mother in law waited 20 minutes for her afters to arrive despite asking twice. I personally had the cod and chips, which at £20 you would expect a good-sized and well presented meal. The fish was not only quite skinny but had zero taste. It had a very watery and grey texture, too. The other 3 were adequately happy with their choices, but once again, they were not amazed. The bar and inside areas are very well presented, and the staff are equally as enthusiastic, too. I'd heard so many positive comments about this pub for a long time, so I had my anticipated taste buds well fired up but was dashed. Would I eat here again, maybe. Could I honestly recommend anyone to come and have a meal here, probably not. If this was a school report, it would read 'could do better if more effort was applied '

Lovely old building. Food was nice. Potatoes were cold, sweet potato fries were raw

Excellent service, delicious food and what a view

Fabulous breakfast, warm welcome, great decor, awesome food!

Took my elderly Mum for a birthday meal every drink served was flat Mum ordered a medium rump steak it was served with blood oozing from it and stone cold as was the burger meal I ordered another table had complained about their meal whilst we were there and just to add fuel to the fire on another table some people had brought dogs into the restaurant and were allowing the dogs to eat off of their plates will never set foot in the place again

Lovely pub, nice food and pretty restaurant 😋

Great choice of food, very pleasant atmosphere & brilliant service 👍 Good value, too. Our first visit today but will definitely return.

A beautiful building. Very interesting menu. Potatoes and sweet potato was cold

Dippy drippy burger was amazing with the cheese sauce, it was more of a rue than melted american cheese as you'd think, very nice. Waited about 15 minutes for drinks and then a further 30 minutes for food which would have been fine if they hadn't left out one of our meals that was another 20 minute wait. The calamari tasted bad, some were mushy some were rubbery all were greasy.

Lovely food, friendly staff, not a bad price all in all, really nicely decorated inside aswell.

Tried the Swan Inn for breakfast; there was a rather long wait for drinks and food. Once the food arrived, we were very disappointed - everything was drenched in grease, poor quality meat, dried out tomato and mushroom (was like cardboard trying to cut it). Possibly the worst full English I’ve ever had unfortunately! We then waited over 10 minutes for plates to be cleared and for the bill but had to pay at the bar as we had to leave.

Booked for a Good Friday family breakfast 16 of us! Staff were very pleasant continually checking that we were happy with everything. Food was brought out quickly and was excellent quality. Thoroughly recommend the venue which is set in a very picturesque setting and didn't disappoint.

Table booked weeks ahead, not ready when arrived. Spoke to member of staff who was very curt and rude. Not encouraging, food was good but won’t return

Went here today for first time with my family . Ordered food from table by qr code. Drinks come followed by food later .no knifes and fork was given waiting. To be told we have to go get our own ..food was nice .a.but I think that the staff need more training on where table are we was ask about 5 times if other food was our saying different table every time .and splitting there watching the staff walking around and around trying to fined tables was funny over all it was ok and food was standard

Visited on a Sunday afternoon. Rust turkey dinner delicious and plentiful

Nice pub, great setting and has park and board walk at the back. You can sit by the river and watch trout swim past whilst you sink a pint.

Good was absolutely incredible, service was fantastic and staff were lovely and approached. Definitely a place to experience.

First time visiting and heard this place was top notch. Slightly disappointed with the food. We had breakfast and the bacon & eggs were overcooked, the baked beans were lukewarm, although delivered on a warm plate, food got cold quick. Another place where “breakfast” doesn’t include a drink, that was extra. The service and ambience can’t be faulted though. £65 for 4 was a little on the high side for the overall experience.

We went for a Mother’s Day meal and we had the most wonderful time. There was plenty of parking and we were shown to our table promptly. There were lots of drinks options even for alcohol free. Karen was our server and she was so friendly and accommodating, e specially with my 10 month old! She really helped make the day just that extra touch more special. Our food was all served quickly and was absolutely delicious (and there are lots of gluten free options too - bonus points!) We will definitely be coming again to this beautiful restaurant. Special thanks to Karen for being lovely :)

First time visit, loved the food, service was relaxed and just right and overall, was very impressed Have booked a table for a return visit

Hadn't been here for some while so thought we'd try their fixed price menu, available before 6pm. We booked for 5.30, so as to have plenty of time to make sure we could take advantage of this offer. However, it was 6.15 before we were asked for our choices, at which point we had to make it clear we'd booked for 5.30 and wanted the fixed price menu. Thankfully, they did let us avail ourselves, so that was fine. It wasn't too busy when we arrived but soon filled up fairly quickly. Good choices on their menu and the fixed price had what we wanted, so went down that route. 3 course fixed price was good value, together with a glass of cider (although they didn't have our favourite, Aspalls)

Was just passing so went in for an unbooked lunch. Had a gluten free Skate and Egg Benedict. They were both excellent, very tasty and of good size. Staff were helpful and efficient. They were friendly enough but didn’t see much smiling. Was a busy lunchtime however.

******** Update 19,03,2025 ********* Came back as wanted to try again, really pleased we did as today at lunchtime service and food was back up to what I expected. Booked a table for 6 next Thursday as we have dinner it friends who we think will enjoy the food. Updated to 5 stars, see you all next week. 2nd visit here, this time was not as good as first visit as the food was cold, mash potato had a skin on it as if it had sat under some kind of heat for a long time. Will return again in the hope it was a one off as the 1st visit was really good.

Great evening at the Swan as always: A great Sunday roast, perfect service, and a beautiful setting!

Only stopped a while for quick pint but lovely place, food looked good and prices reasonable. Next time we visit Chapel we will stop for a bite.

Thoroughly enjoyed everything about our visit. The picture of the ribs was just as good in eating, onion rings a close second. Staff (Miles and Karen) very friendly. Definitely worth coming back again to. Thank you. Gail and Kathy.

The most lovely place by the river in chappell, Karen was wonderful and they managed to fit us in last minute for breakfast, very accommodating, staff were helpful and friendly and the food was delicious. Thank you 🌸

Fabulous place ...absolutely love it here ..the setting by the brook overlooking the viaduct with a lovely walk ..food was lovely as were the coffees ..staff friendly and helpful the decor and atmosphere fantastic ..we came this time for brekky but I have also been for lunch and sunday roast 10 out of 10

What a beautiful setting for a lazy Sunday afternoon. We sat outside underneath the imposing Victorian Viaduct that has 32 arches and is over 300m long. There's also a great park for the kids and a lovely little walk that takes in all the scenery. Thanks to all the staff working on Sunday afternoon, they were all lovely.

Best ribs in Chappel. Large portion of very tender meat that fell off the bone. Served with a tasty salad and chips. Go early so that you can park. Excellent walk afterwards around the Millennium Green accessed at the back of the pub with great views of the viaduct for the trainspotters. Would go back again for the ribs but it would be great to sit outdoors in the summer when it is warmer.

Beautiful food. Excellent service. Friendly atmosphere. Welcoming venue.

We came on Sunday for Lunch where the Beef was stringy and food was lukewarm! Fish pie was on the contrary hot and delicious ! Our service waitress Karen was outstanding a d very attentive!

What on earth is going on with the food here… haven’t been up for a couple of months but always looked forward to the breakfast’s… but today i couldn’t of been more disappointed with it… pretty much all cold and missing items… very disappointing… definitely will not return after that experience

Meal wasn't great, not all the food turned up at the same time. 2nd time had a bad experience within 2 months

Been to the Swan a number of times for breakfasts and various meals and happy to go back again. The original pub is old but has been done up sympathetically with modern additions and still retains it's character. It was really busy and main building was full. I hadn't booked and thought we'd have to go elsewhere but they said we could use The Barn which is a small separate building but very comfortable. Food ordered and had to wait a while but entirely reasonable given the number of people there. We both ordered different pies which came. A fish pie with a thin mash crust and a chicken & bacon with chips. What surprised us was no veg with either. I have to admit none was mentioned on the menu, it just never occured to me that there wouldn't be any. Never had that before. The food was good, no problem there, it just wasn't complete and at £17 it felt a bit cheated. So 3* - probably more like 3 1/2*. Service was great, helpful and friendly. I will be happy to go back, but the review is just to say to someone, seriously, pie with no veg, does it save you that much money at that price?

Arrived to a packed establishment. Set meal is, extremely good value and the food was excellent.

We use the Swan quite a lot, as the food is nice as with the staff. Yesterday was a massive disappointment. Arrived at 13:00pm and still not had our meal at 14:30pm, apart from starters. In the end, we paid for what we had and left. The the staff were apologetic, and I understand it can be busy, but if there is a problems or there is going to be a wait, then please let us know on arrival. 1hr 30 and no sign of our mains is not good. Though it wouldn’t put us off in the future, just give us a heads up, then we have a choice of going somewhere else.

The table was wobbly and we had to ask for a serviette to be pushed under a leg to stablise it. My main course of fish tasted good but had obviously been sitting on a hotplate for a while as the surface was drying. Initially the service was good, and a member of staff obligingly turned off the music speaker which then enabled my companion and me to converse easily; but we left after waiting 20 minutes for our empty main course plates to be removed, we were being ignored, despite staff constantly passing by on their way to the kitchen. Very disappointing, so we went to another establishment for cake as a desert and coffee. Not much in the way of atmosphere, that part of the building is more like a conservatory and does not have a comfortable feel to it.

The food and service were amazing. They have also gone to great lengths to make a section of the restaurant wheelchair accessible. Although they have a car park, it was easier to park in the road to access their ramped doorway. We were met by friendly staff who showed us to our table. The food was excellent and plentyful. Would highly recommend.

They have gutted the nice pub and turned it into some modern thing. And you now need to book to eat anything, even when they are not busy. Disappointing

Lovely looking pub but food and service were awful

Excellent lunch. Atmosphere and environment great only area for improvement was sausages tasted very "bready"

Visited Sunday for brunch and the whole experience was awful. The male waiter we had was rude and obnoxious on multiple occasions, the food was poor and breakfasts were brought out with missing items. The drinks we ordered on arrival didn't show up until the food was brought out 20-30 mintues later. Then when we went to settle the bill we were told that we owed over £100 more than we had spent as they got confused. Unless you like being spoken to like rubbish and poor food I suggest you avoid this pub like the plague.

Myself & group of friends had breakfast. Place was clean, tasteful decor & plenty of parking available. Staff were attentive, food cooked as requested & excellent quality. All in all, fabulous experience.

Really slow service, had to ask to order food. We have 3 diffident waiters see to us, It felt like everyone working there was new and unsure of what to do. Starters came out cold, One waiter was very rude to another customer. Not a pleasant experience. What’s happened a year or so ago this was a lovely place. Such a shame.

Great pub to walk to. Food is good. 2 adults and 1 child

Great food and service also good selection of low alcohol beers

Always enjoy our meals at The Swan. This time everything was even better!! Our attentive server, (he who cannot be named) was excellent! Well all the staff are top notch. Food as good as ever. Well done team Swan.

Made a booking for 12 plus 1 dog for a family group with only a couple of hours notice, and were given our own private room. Service was great and the food and drinks excellent.

Had a lovely 70th birthday dinner here. Thoroughly impressed with absolutely everything at this wonderful little establishment. Servers were friendly, food was delicious, and the setting is wonderful. The 8oz Sirloin was fantastic, and especially when accompanied with some mushroom sauce. Would highly, highly recommend.

Lovely vegan burger, might be the nicest I've ever had! I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. Lovely staff

The family had our boxing day dinner at the Swan. It was just fantastic food was great and our waiter was outstanding. Trying to look after a party of 12 was not easy , but he just breezed through it.

Excellent food, really friendly service. Great atmosphere and lots of parking. 10/10 would recommend!

The food was lovely but the service unfortunately didn’t match up. We booked for 5:15pm on Boxing Day for 7 people and called in the morning to check what time they closed that day. The colleague confirmed it was normal time so that meant they closed at 11pm. When we arrived at 10 past 5, we were told our table wasn’t ready and to wait by the bar area. Our table wasn’t ready until 25 past 5. Once we were seated, we ordered our starters and mains. These came at 6pm. When our plates were taken away, we’d noticed the whole restaurant has cleared out and when offered the dessert menus, the waiter informed us they closed at 6 but the dessert chefs had to wait until the last table was gone (which made us feel guilty and rushed by the waiters). Our desserts came around half 6 and they again asked if we wanted any coffees as they were shutting the machine now which again made us feel very rushed. We quickly ate our desserts and they appeared quickly with the bill as soon as we were finished. If we had known you closed at 6 before we had been told otherwise that morning, why take a booking of 7 at 5:15, as well as not properly informing us of the closing time until after we’d eaten our main courses.

Just as we arrived there was a power cut in the whole area, the staff made things calm and there was a lovely candlelit atmosphere, just as we was about to leave and find somewhere else to go the power came back on and we was able to enjoy a lovely dinner with friends. Cocktails were also 👌🏽

Very poor unfortunately. Party of 5 of us booked anf went for breakfast on boxing day. Restaurant half empty but still sat way down at the back outside the kitchen on account of a very large party that it turned out weren't coming until lunchtime so just us in an otherwise empty back room. Waited almost an hour for the good only got mine (eggs Florentine) to turn up lukewarm and containing egg shell. Kudos to the one waiter who was somehow expected to run the whole restaurant on his own and field all the complaints. Depressing that whole affair not improved at all over the last time we are there almost two years ago.

The service was very hit and miss ,because elements of dishes did not come together, the vegetables for the roast dinners and Guinea Fowl took far too long to come out ,as those people had half eaten there meals by that time,so this was a let down for evening, but we still enjoyed it.

Food was delicious. Staff so friendly and helpful.

Gorgeous pre Christmas lunch meal out with my special other half. Billie was fantastic and very attentive. Food was excellent as usual. Would definitely recommend.

We had a great meal with friends. The Swan has a very good menu. The staff are pleasant and efficient. The food was good. Thank you.

Just had the most amazing evening at The Swan for my mum and sisters birthdays. With 14 of us, we wasn’t exactly a small table to serve but the whole evening was 5 stars. Our server, he will know who he is, ensured we had everything we needed all evening. All of our food came out correct, hot and delicious. The service was so quick, our starters came out within minutes of placing the order and our mains followed shortly after. Everyone had clean plates because the food was incredible. Our server went above and beyond for us, even ensuring that the Colin The Caterpillar cake we brought with us was presented correctly before he brought it out for a sing song. Thank you to The Swan but most importantly, thank you to our server who is an absolute credit to the restaurant!

Catch of the day is phenomenal..... Home made pizzas are always amazing.

Lovely food and lovely friendly atmosphere

Terrific venue for a family pre Christmas get together really well looked after in every way👍👍

Great atmosphere, warm welcoming pub with good food.

Was here for a birthday treat and the food was brilliant and the staff were friendly. Really enjoyed it.

Lovely pub, parking round the back (tight squeeze entrance) or in the main village car park. Food tasty and hot.... desserts delicious (shame no cheesecake but we'll go again 🤞). Pleasant staff and relaxed atmosphere. We arrived at noon, only dropped the star rating because it was cold in the snug where we ate, perhaps putting fire on earlier would have helped. Our area no dogs allowed, however I believe in the rest of the pub they are.

Such a nice relaxing place! Food is exceptional! Dogs are allowed inside! In the summer is beautiful outside!

Always have a good meal good value friendly staff

Excellent food and drink and the decorations were outstanding

good value all round very busy place. only thing it was cold in the bit we satin but rest of pub looked really cosy.

Great food, attentive service, well-kept atmosphere. It doesn't get any better. Thank you for the parking space for our mobile home!

Brilliant could not find a greater place, food drink and really great service ,four of us were treated like vips, well done to management and staff ,will return with other friends.

Disappointed with my experience at The Swan. Tried their cheap roast Mondays, but more like reheated leftover Sundays. Rather than a fresh meal. It wasn't very hot and reheated roast potatoes are not the one. Staff didn’t seem interested or attentive, adding to the lackluster experience. Not worth a second visit. The christmas decorations were the best bit. A shame as it could be so good.

5/5 stars! We will definitely be back. The service was excellent, the food delicious and they had amazing and affordable specials! Can’t absolutely recommend :)

Food was lovely, staff were friendly, prices were fairly priced Deserts were lovely

Really enjoyed our roast dinner, I had the pork and it was delicious. There was five of us, all the food arrived hot and all at the same time. They were able to make adjustments for allergies etc. Decor is nice and atmosphere was brilliant. Very good price- half price roast dinner on Mondays.

Arrived to a somewhat grumpy waiter who couldn't have been less inviting. Despite being provided my wife's allergy list 4 months prior to the booking they had made no attempt to accommodate here. So much so that she didn't eat anything that night due to concerns she wasn't being taken seriously. The rest of our group agreed the food was very nice and the portions decent, but the overall service left us disappointed and as if we had caused the staff an inconvenience. Overall a shame as we had heard great things.

Amazing food, service and place with wonderful atmosphere ❤️

Best food and service we've had since moving to the area 5 years ago. We've tried a variety of places and probably won't go anywhere else now. We'll worth the drive out.

Went last Saturday for my daughter’s 18th Birthday. Had been a few times before and is always good. Such a lovely location, building and interior is fresh and welcoming. Food is excellent and service was attentive. They also let us bring a cake for her birthday, they put candles on it and then came out and sung Happy Birthday for her. Very friendly and professional team, will be back.

Booked for a family meal of 8. The waiter was brilliant, friendly and upbeat and accommodated our orders as had some changes. Drinks took a long while to come. Food came in dribs and drabs.... kids meals last which always drives me crazy. Roasts came, meat was dry... we had to ask for the vegetables as had nearly finished the roasts before they came out and others still hadn't got their meals. Such a disappointing meal after having some fabulous roasts there. We were informed that it's being run by two new managers and some unaccomodating chefs.

Food, staff and the building were all great. Carpark was a little busy. Defo saving this place as a place to return regularly - thank you all

Very cozy. Nice interior. Excellent service. Calm atmosphere. Delicious food. In a word, a good place to relax and eat deliciously)

First time here last night and will definitely be back. The food was very good and a lovely place

I'm leaving my original review for context but this was a very disappointing visit given my first experience. Having been seated our drinks order was taken quite quickly, but we then waited, watching as people were served drinks before someone came over to check whether we'd had our drinks (the table was empty) and then to check our order. Our drinks were then brought out promptly and our food order taken. Fancying a change from the usual Sunday lunch I opted for a big boy burger and my partner stayed traditional with a turkey Sunday roast. The food was quite quick to come however the beef burgers were extremely dry, the pulled pork was tasteless although granted I'd expected some sort of BBQ pulled pork given the dishes heritage and that simply wasn't the case. At least it had managed to retain some moisture. I'm unsure of the signature sauce as it was a very small amount on the bottom of the bun and the burger lacked the advertised onion rings. Unfortunately I was unable to confirm my suspicions as the menu had been taken and no one bothered to check how we were getting on anyway. This also meant I had to go to the bar to order more drinks to help wash down the burger. My partners meal was pretty similar in that the turkey was very dry but, there was plenty of gravy to help with that. A truly disappointing experience if I'm honest and probably a sign I won't return given how much was wrong. I really wanted to enjoy the meal but I just couldn't. A shame really given my original review but there was simply too much wrong on this occasion to warrant a return. The pub is in a lovely area with great views of the viaduct. It's clearly an old pub but inside is bright and airy. It was clean and well presented. The staff were friendly and you can bring dogs in the bar area. My partner and I both went for a Sunday roast, I had the megamix which is a little of everything and my partner had turkey. All the meats were cooked perfectly and the whole meal was delicious. The prices are very reasonable for what you get and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Been here before many times and all good but today left after waiting 25 min to place our order (while watching others arrive 15 min after us placing theirs) - even when the table next to us ordered, we tried to order but nothing for the next 10 min. Was good previously but lack of service means we did and will go elsewhere.

Fantastic food with great service.

Cannot fault anything ...was a superb roast and yummy biscoff dessert I came with 5 girlie friends atmosphere lively but who wants to eat when silence around ..it was buzzing the staff so friendly and a beautiful setting ..I have been many times and never been disappointed

Great breakfast server was pleasant and happy

We started having breakfast recently because of the nice meals we have had lunchtime and evening. The first breakfast we had was good in every aspect, unfortunately the next two times we visited the food was luke warm. On the last occasion we asked the waitress to make sure our food was hot, she had said she made a note to the chef for our request. When the food arrived we found that the beans were stone cold, so we asked the waitress to heat them up. When working our way through the rest of the meal we also found that the mushrooms, eggs, sausage, tomatoes were all at best luke warm, also one fried egg was overcooked. We really could not be bothered to complain again as the moment had passed. At no time did any waiter come and ask how our food was. When paying the bill we complained that our food was still cold/luke warm to which she replied I will have a word with the chef. I find it hard to believe the waitress should have to tell a chef that the food was not hot enough and it needed reheating a second time. It is a shame because the food is normally very good and plentiful, but I do not see why I should have to ask the chef to give me a hot meal or has this become the norm. Sadly we will not be returning. Tuesday 24th September

We visited as a party of 8 on a Saturday evening. One of our party has a severe allergy that was catered for perfectly and sympathetically without hesitation by the lovely young waitress who took everything in her stride, she is a credit to you. Beautifully decorated in lovely surroundings. Food was superb, lamb rump cooked to perfection delicious flavours and compliments to the chefs. This place is well worth a visit we will definitely be returning.

Good food, nice choice of beers. It has had a refurbishment and rearrangement of seating areas, which seems to work well.

An amazing pub. Fantastic service and food. So much on the menu to choose from, with daily deals at great prices.

Absolutely gorgeous pub with fantastic food, however our server got our order wrong and didn’t really seem to care too much Will definitely come back here but there is room for improvement with service

Enjoyable evening with good food and cask ales

Had a really lovely meal today staff really attentive and friendly. A big thank you to Beth any tatum who look after us so well and the gentleman who bought out our food. Will be recommending to friends and family.

Lovely Sunday dinner. It was our first time dining inside today, our many previous visits we had lunch outdoors in the nice gardens. It's lovely inside, smart and well decorated while retaining the character of an old Inn. Quite a surprise to find out how pleasant it is, after always sitting at outdoor wooden benches in the past. Our Sunday roasts were delicious, the amount of meat was just right, and very tasty. My Top side of Beef was really very good. The veg was cooked to perfection with some excellent additions such as the roasted swede and parsnips. You can tell they have a decent kitchen team who enjoy preparing good quality meals. Plus there was a good selection of local ales on tap, we left full and happy after a lovely meal. Service was OK, there seems to be a mixture of really helpful staff going out of their way to keep everything running smoothly. Then there's the army of teenagers who seem to not understand that veg and sides needs to come out with mains. One of the guys spotted the errors without us noticing or saying anything and he said "I'll chase up your sides" then a few minutes later, "I'll chase up your vegetables". I sensed he was a little exasperated with the junior staff members. Have a word with them. It was encouraging to see the place so busy on a Sunday afternoon. I'm glad we parked in the village for our walk, rather than trying to squeeze into the pub carpark past about 50 arrogantly parked Range Rovers. It's a bit of a squeeze when busy, but we know a little spot up the road.