The Tea Rose Cafe in Colchester

A independent hidden gem in the middle of Colchester city centre, this beautiful little cafe serves up some great food and drinks. They have both indoor and outdoor seating and staff are very friendly and helpful. Food includes a range of yummy omelettes (sadly forgot to take a photo), sandwiches, jacket potatoes and various breakfasts. Definitely recommend a visit to this place!

Fantastic breakfast highly recommend

I visit with my Dad regularly, we usually come for breakfast. The food is great, and fairly priced, I usually have an omelette - the best in Colchester! Service is alway quick, and super friendly.

Great place, lovely food and the court yard is lovely in warm weather. Always go here for our food when in Colchester shopping. Children meals from £4.50 and the dearest under £10.00 for a meal, drinks would be extra its the best place to go. Just had a lovely breakfast at the cafe again this morning.

We had very nice coffee and scones here. It seems to also do very nice all day breakfast which deservez a fevisit to try.

Superb food…full English breakfast was amazing. Served by a lovely lady. Will definitely be going back.

Visiting Colchester for the first time , we had a lovely lunch for 4 in the tea rose cafe, huge bonus being very dog friendly accommodating us all. The waitress was brilliant very busy but took the time to ask if everything alright which is always good.

Lovely host. Good food, enough to fill your hungry belly, for just £7, including a hot drink. I like the place and I'll definitely come back here.

If it’s anything I hate it’s places that say they open a certain time and then they don’t. No signs of life whatsoever by 9:10 am, so I ook my business elsewhere.

Good food sensible prices Polite and helpful staff with no background music very nice

A nice small cafe with friendly staff, cheap and cheerful food.

Very friendly little café with a good selection of food choices and hot drinks

This is a good place if you are looking for a quick lunch that has a little bit of everything on the menu. The food was nice and came out quickly, and the portion sizes were good. The staff are friendly and welcoming. It’s a bit cramped inside, so I’d suggest families eating in the courtyard area. This is a quiet space with lots of room.

Nice food & friendly service, thank you

We stopped here at 13:00 for lunch . We all opted for all day breakfast . They were busy. Understaffed leading to long waits even to place the order . Food was a let down for cost paid . Cheap sauces, sausage was only just cooked in my opinion , a few potatoe slices (few) bacon was fine . Egg just about ok . So, add all together i wasn't impressed. Needs more staff at peak times at very least, the lady working was struggling to cope . I over heard various customers say the same .

Very tasty scone with jam and clotted cream, staff very pleasant and helpful

Nice and friendly service, good food at good prices

Beautiful, elegant tea room with gorgeous antique decor. Wheelchair accessible and absolutely lovely menu.

Good food and prices and friendly, approachable staff. Has a small courtyard, which is nice for a sunny weather.

Lovely food quickly served, good prices , nice freindly staff , definitely go again

Top notch food and service. Good value too.

Lovely food and very friendly staff. Good value. Will definitely go there again

Friendly staff. Food was delicious & it was a good price.

Me and my sister visited today, i had the light breakfast and she had the ploughman's, both meals were nice and also were filling despite being smaller. The lady who owns the cafe is friendly and accomodating. Value for money. Would recommend 👍

Came here for lunch with my sister, we sat in the lovely courtyard at the back. Really good food, I had a bacon, brie and cranberry sauce panini with a good helping of fresh salad, my sister had perfectly poached eggs on toast. Very friendly and attentive service. Very reasonable prices. We'll definitely be back!

Enjoyed a leisurely lunch outside in their courtyard. Service was friendly and the food cooked nicely and plenty of it. There is plenty of choice and it is a good price for a very pleasant lunch.

Very good service and polite staff

After entering and wearing our masks and being told to use the nhs app we sat down and ordered 2 coffees. 2 minutes later I was shocked by a couple who came in with a dog, which proceeded to meander around the tables. Disgusting! dogs should not be allowed into food establishments it's unhygienic. And we are expected to use masks and hand sanitisers. I was grateful I did not order food. Needless to say I will not be going back, or recommend to others.

Had a great lunch here with my family today toasted sandwiches and salad massive portions and great service will be back and nice friendly waitress

Great little place for lunch or scone and coffee! Applying to social distancing very well! Table was a bit dirty but enjoyed the meal regardless!

I will never go back here again The price was shocking and I asked for a sausage sandwich with one scrambled egg on the side for my 5yo son and it come with 2 hash browns salad and coleslaw which I did not asked for but I got charged for it! They need to accommodate to what the customer actually wants and not what they want extra money for! The food wasn’t that great and I come away disappointed! Will not be returning especially for their prices!

My husband and I went here for lunch yesterday on a day out. At first we were not sure if it was properly open as nobody there. Then a pleasant young girl came downstairs and said they were. She was on her own and up and down the stairs working.The lunch was great - I had the cheese and pickle toastie with chips and salad and coleslaw, and my husband had cheese and beans toastie with chips/salad/coleslaw. The food was so tasty, and the girl was so helpful and nice.It was a great value meal and was filling and we will be returning the next time we visit.

Top breakfast 🍳really nicely cooked and presented. The loose leaf tea was also a great accompaniment. The service this morning from Jane was also top class.

I wouldn't go there again. Ordered cheese jacket potatoe. So small asked for another one to make it up. Discusting charging over £6.00. I couldn't recommend this place when there are so many other eating places to choose from in Colchester.

What a lovely breakfast, staff friendly, food delicious and at a good price what more could anyone want from a restaurant.

Découverte par hasard après un échec 10 mn plus tôt dans un autre salon de thé qui ne servait plus de brunch à 14.00! Heureuse découverte pour l’ensemble de la famille Très bon rapport qualité prix Super service attentif

Fabulous breakfast, lovely friendly staff, best cup of tea with real tea not teabags. Excellent price for what you get.

Lovely friendly little tearoom. ( Not really little, seating in the room above and in the nice weather in the Courtyard.

Food was absolutely lovely lovely atmosphere friendly waitress 5* all the way can't wait for next trip back to colchester

Not been here for a while, popped in for breakfast one Monday morning and was not disappointed. Great food, reasonably priced and great service 10/10.

Excellent best in Colchester staff lovely

Prompt service, food is all day breakfasts, jacket potatoes or a good selection of sandwiches served with salad and crisps or chips. Food is in generous amounts for a very reasonable price, the chips were excellent and the salad was fresh. Downstairs has a small dining area but there are more tables and clean toilets upstairs. Cafe is situated near the centre of Colchester’s shopping area. I will definitely be going again.

Very good cafe, small menu but excellent food and great service

Small downstairs but much larger upstairs excellent service and food .very good value for money

Lovely and polite waitresses honestly couldn’t fault this little cafe. The food was delicious and very very enjoyable. I came with one of my friends and I had a jacket potato and she had a Brie and cranberry toastie and we both very much enjoyed it. We sat in the upstairs seating area and it was very comfortable and spacious.

Just been in for lunch as have never been disappointed before however will not be going back. A customer near to us asked if the blind on the window could be pulled down. The waitress went into the kitchen to ask and the reply we heard was "customers always find something to complain about." I had a very quiet word with the waitress to just mention to those in the kitchen that they can be heard by customers. We then heard a male in the kitchen say "You can't tell me what to do tell her to shut up." At which point I decided to leave before our food arrived. I did say to the waitress that I was discussed and a male then came out and denied that any of it was said however it was not myself that heard it.

Lovely relaxed outdoor seating area..between us we had a full breakfast..toasties cheese and onion..and panini with brie etc..all with a small salad and chips...was the best cup of tea.

Very friendly service and the breakfast is very well made. Been here a few times and it is ideally located at the centre of shopping area.

Had a lovely bacon, brie & cranberry Panini and my husband had a cooked breakfast. He said it was really tasty, fresh and hot. My Panini was also lovely and came with a small side salad, coleslaw and chunky chips. Lovely cup of tea to go with it!

Had all day breakfast. Reasonable price. Great service

i really love this place .. when my mum visits this is her favorite place to have lunch staff are very friendly and give good service . they take pride in service and presention and it not expensive

Not impressed with still paying full price when you choose not to have chips and salad with your omelette. They say the chips and salad are free, but I'm sure if I'd have asked for just chips and salad on their own I would had to have paid!!

Dog friendly, however water could be provided for dogs. Lovely cheese and onion toasties with chips and salad garnish. Real tea, not teabags full of flavour. Relaxed atmosphere in outdoor seating area

My mum and I went to the tea rose cafe today. We sat out in the courtyard and I had my dog with me. Immediately we were offered drinks including water for my dog. My mum had a jacket potato and I had a toasty. Both were beautifully presented. My mum had a wonderful salad garnish. My toasty came with chips which were yummy! Lovely location, excellent service - delicious food!

I got the seafood platter. I was really excited about it as you don't really get to eat much seafood in Colchester. I was definitely disapointed in the concept of the meal as it was presented. It contained the following: a half of smoked makarel dug under some chips, a few fried scampy, some coleslaw, some sort of pasta withsome fish and mayo and fresh prawn cocktail smothered in mayo right next to the hot chips and some tuna and mayo and some green leaves. It looked as if somebody has looked in the fridge, put all left overs on a plate and then almost covered them with chips. There was some sort of a crispy pencake triangle on the side which went well with the tuna. In order to improve, in my opinion they should: - either do hot food - scampi and chips Or the platter with the cold stuff with some amazing crusty bread and some garlic butter or garlic mayo Use a different plate, so that the hot chips don't touch the mayonnaise filled salads - I only ate what was away from the hot chips abd took the makarel home as I can't see myself staying in a restaurant eating macarel on its own. Maybe do something with the macarel, some paste or something. The quality was not bad, it was a lot of food, too, it just needs some tweaks. :)

Had a lunch here with husband and mother in law, sat outside in the area behind the cafe as it was a nice sunny day. The area is fully accessible for the mother in laws wheel chair and the service form the young ladies was quick and the food arrived quite soon after ordering. Here's where we had a difference of views both husband and mother in law said how wonderful the food was, I felt it was nice but not as wonderful as they said but it was still nice to seat outside in an area that didn't have loads of people or traffic going by as you were eating.

Our usual coffee shop was closed so we wandered around and decided to try here. The service was quick and good. We had a pot of tea each, " proper " ( loose leaf ) tea with a good two cups in each pot, very reasonably priced. My friend had some chips and said they were hot and well cooked, I had a toasted tea cake which was very nice. The whole bill came to a few pence over £7, good value.

Great service and food would defiantly come again.

Lovely, pleasant little tea shop. Excellent cappuccino! I ordered the all day breakfast which was cooked lovely and very tasty. One waitress working, just as well as it was a bank holiday and a few tables she was waiting. As she went upstairs to collect food orders, other customers came in to be seated but gave up and went elsewhere.

Visited with my partner and mum, we've visited a few other times as they food is good, big portions and good value for money.

A lovely and welcoming lunch after a wet morning. The service was friendly and quick, the food was hot and tasty. The only downside was the hard seating.

Popped in here for lunch during a New years Eve shopping session with my wife. I had an Egg Mayonnaise sandwich and my wife a chicken and Mayonnaise. The sandwiches were fresh and made with very thick sliced bread and the fillings were good. The guy on the table next to us had an all day breakfast which also looked really nice and large so might try that next time. The service was friendly and quick an overall it is a nice cafe. Would recommend for anyone in Colchester looking for lunch.

Came here once recently on a Saturday with a friend and it was nice so thought I'd treat the boyfriend to a midweek lunch treat. Such a bad idea. From the moment we entered the waitress had a stinking attitude. She was completely unapproachable and when we ordered just 2 glasses of tap water to drink, she looked shocked and offended. We weren't given very long to look at the menu which we had to aquire ourselves and we're rushed into ordering within 2 minutes of sitting down. The food arrived suspiciously quickly. My jacket potato was soggy and greasy, the filling was just dumped on the other side of the plate and the salad was limp and brown. My partner's cooked breakfast consisted of runny, watery scrambled eggs, a limp, overcooked and soggy mushroom and an undercooked sausage. We got up and left immediately. A few paces out of the door and the waitress came tearing out after us, shouting and being incredibly rude. Suggesting that we pay for our food. I wouldn't have fed that to my dog. Perhaps a training session for the waitress to learn some customer service/people skills would be of benefit; in addition to a discussion about appropriate clothing and footwear for work.

Visited here with my mum, I've been here a few times and it's a lovely little place for lunch. Reasonable prices and big portions! Worth visiting, always pop in when in Colchester :)

My husband and I love visiting here! One of the few places to serve good loose leaf tea and great value food! Highly recommend

Me and my boyfriend popped in for lunch today and loved it. We both had toasted sandwiches with chips and coleslaw. Like I wrote on the title above- it was just what we needed! We shall be returning.

Went for breakfast... Was empty when we arrived,but didn't take long for other regulars to arrive.... not been berfore but looked inviting.. Warm welcome seated and was given menu...we ordered full English..good size glass of orange juice. Had tea and Coffee served...the food arrived very well presented. Hot and o so tasty.. You could see it cooked to order unlike some other places who pre cook... Throughly enjoyed will definitely return.... Great food great service...give it try.

Ok, so firstly looking at the reviews we thought ok obviously worth a try! What can I say apart from are these reviews actually true....

Went in to this quaint cafe yesterday and was not disappointed . The breakfast is really good and at a great price . Great coffee too. The staff are friendly and helpful . Will definitely be going back again . Set in a lovely old quaint building . Thank you tea rose cafe

Got dragged around the shops looking for early Xmas presents. Needed to stop to refill. Found Tea Rose. Lots to choose from. Had a great sandwich and great tasting coffee. Friendly staff and a menu that has plenty of options. Good portions and was very reasonable on prices. I felt so much better after this visit. Thanks Tea Rose

Me and my partner first visited last week and because it was so good went there again yesterday! Highly recommend the food, all day breakfast especially :) rare to find a cafe with lovely loose leaf tea! Lady who served us was very welcoming and friendly, will definitely be regulars from now.

This little place is tucked into a quaint old house in an area where you are spoilt for choice when it comes to lunchtime eateries - we have tried a number of others nearby. However, the Rose has some aspects to make it stand out. First the leaf tea (with strainer) - full of flavour. Secondly, Lesley's home made cake - coffee and walnut today - fab. The menu really consists of reliable tea room choices but all are nicely presented with friendly service. We liked it very much.

Stopped by here today for some lunch in the sun. I have to say it was the nicest little cafe I've ever been too. We ordered ham and cheese toasties with chips, the chips were perfectly cooked and the cheese in the toasties was amazing and stringy. We also ordered a chicken burger and chips the burger was a little small but for the price it was amazing. I also tried out the Oreo milkshake highly recommend it, it was the best! We have now decided this will be our cafe from now on. Staff are so lovely x

A lovely little place to have a quick meal,The staff were very friendly, and kind to us as we had children, I will be going back again soon.

I entered a competition and won breakfast for two at The Tea Rose Cafe. What a lovely cafe it is. The staff were friendly , food was lovely and the cafe was comfortable. Would recommend , I am pleased we won otherwise I might not have found it.

Stooped in here with 3 friends for a cup of tea/coffee and light nibbles. The place feels warm and welcoming the moment you step inside. The staff are super friendly and happy to help-and the drinks/food are delicious.

Popped in for lunch,had a table upstairs by the window.They guy that waits on the tables is a nice fellow,always polite and helpful.A lovely baguette and a cup of tea (with real tea and a strainer)A real treat.Will always make sure I pay a visit when working in Colchester.

A visit to this quaint charming café is like finding a hidden gem! Great freshly cooked food, with friendly staff and good prices :) Their ham, egg and chips is the best I’ve ever tasted. Well worth a visit, you won’t be disappointed!

This is the best place in Colchester for cuppa and to have lunch or just a little nibble so if you're looking for something to eat or drink pop in you will not be disappointed

I often eat at this charming cafe in Colchester. The food is freshly cooked to order and is excellent value. The staff are friendly and attentive; and I would happily recommend this cafe.

Great food, great value for money and great location. Perfect for a sit down and a bite to eat whilst out shopping. Highly recommended