Church Street Tavern — Restaurant in Colchester

First impressions count, unfortunately they counted against them on this occasion. • the mixed toilets had a shade missing and there was already tissues on the floor at 19.30hrs • the small area where the waiting staff do their thing was an absolute visual disgrace, the 'library books' wallpaper was scuffed at hip level and it had completely worn away at knee level where the waiting staff put their foot on the wall. The worn away part was also a filthy black colour from the debris of the soles of the waiting staffs footware. • the footware of the waiting staff were appalling, I don't really expect to see staff wearing converse canvas boots & vans trainers the latter were in such a disgusting state that they wouldn't have looked out of place on a true homeless person. • the complimentary water arrived in good time but the breads arrived literally 2 minutes before our ordered starters of cheese and cold meats, both came with the same focaccia bread which was presented quite cold, thus making it a little unappealing, cheese & meats were minimal but the gherkins & silver skins were a plenty. • our chosen mains (from the limited choice, there was more for veggies) were belly pork and a duck arrangement. The pork dish was hot and quite tasty, unfortunately the duck dish was lacking in all departments the breast was a little tough, overcooked & only just warm, it wasn't really that pleasant. The rest of the dish was lost in translation and looked nothing like the menu description. Veg was an optional extra & at over £5 per item, it felt like a p**s take. •The only time anyone came to check on us was just as I was putting the last of the food in my mouth...not great timing. • social interaction between us and the staff was none existent, it felt that we were just to eat and pay. • We declined any form of desserts as with the mains the appeal of the dishes wasn't there. It's a shame that I have to write this poor review, our homework suggested that this place was better than our experience. We're not quite sure what this place wants to be, it appears to have several identities and themes, not all of which work. The added 10% service charge is also a micky take, why can't establishments leave customers to be mature enough to tip ( if they do wish) at their own rate...this is not America or any other country that hospitality staff rely on to boost their poor pay. All in all, not a pleasant experience and this is somewhere that we will probably never set foot in again. No complaints were made on the night, experience has taught me that very little comes of it and it is pointless unless one intends to eat in the establishment again....that is certainly not...

My husband and I popped in for a pre cinema meal, we were first in for the evening and were greeted by a very pleasant girl, we were shown to a table and sat appreciating the surroundings, a really lovely looking restaurant. We decided to go for the £20 two course meal. My husband enjoyed his starter, he went for the vegetarian option for main, I opted for main and desert. I went for the rump steak, when it arrived it was inedible, it had a membrane type skin running through the whole steak and I was unable to cut into it, the chips seemed like cheap bought in frozen ones. The waitress took it away and apologised, I was offered another but did not want to risk it, I asked for the muscles instead. When these arrived they had a very strong smell which didn't seem right, they were small and chewy, I only ate a few as was worried they might make me ill, the white wine sauce just tasted like over salted water, we commented about the strong smell but the waitress just smiled and walked away, we didn't say anymore as it was embarrassing. Tried a desert, it was a choice of ice cream with an espresso coffee, I asked if it was possible to have an Americano instead but she came back and said I could only have an espresso, which I thought was a bit much after a very bad meal, so opted to leave it. Would advise not to do the two course set meal as food not a good standard. Overall it was a very disappointing experience and spoilt our...

After being a resident in The Dutch Quarter of Colchester for the last decade and frequenting bars/restaurants such as CST multiple times…..on Saturday I visited Church St Tavern, only to be asked by a young member of staff if i’d ever visited there before - to which I replied ‘Yes, many times’ - (in fact their two different variations of Pear Tarte Tatin had pulled me back there multiple times in the past) - the rude waiter then said (in front of many people/customers and passers by) that myself and my girlfriend look like two people that visited there a couple of weeks a go and disappeared before settling their £150 bill. The delivery and almost accusation was DISGUSTING! Of course I complained to management and I shall NEVER visit there EVER again!!! Avoid such a rude place with such awful customer care! My advice is to visit Pavilion at the bottom of North Hill instead and to keep well away from such an unpleasant environment with such rude staff....