Miller & Carter Colchester — Restaurant in Colchester

The only thing that I can say that was good is that the small steak I had was nice and our waitress was pleasant. but I personally wouldn't go back, as was the opinion of the person I went with. we both agreed that the food wasn't as good as many other meals that we have had. I personally was taken aback by the insisted addition to my meal., which when it arrived was badly presented. All it was a cabbage that had been cut into four, one of which was put into a bowl in its entirety, no effort had been made to break it up and it had a smear of crumbled blue cheese and mildly tasting blue cheese source which manly tasted of salad cream. With the steak was a block of very greasy onion, which I didn't eat and surprisingly there were no roast potatoes to go with the steak, I ended up with mashed potato. The one thing that really put me out was that before I could book I had to agree to your very clearly laid out dress code. It was my birthday and I wouldn't normally put a suit on with all the other stuff that goes with a suit. When we got into the restaurant there were hardly anybody else dressed formally, In fact one customer looked like he'd just come off a building site. Baseball cap and all. I could easily have gone for the meal as I would normally dress and nothing would have been said and I'd have been much more comfortable in a T shirt, jeans and cheap trainers. Frankly I wouldn't go back again.

Since writing this. I've had a response from one of the management. In this response, there are the usual platitudes. Apologies, ect. I, not we, I have been offered a return visit so that I would have the supposed real experience they profess to give. Not that I was wanting a refund particularly. But no offer of one was made. The offer that was made seemed to come down to that I go back and try again at my own expense. Well, seeing as the entire experience was a literal waist of money and time and I have no intention of buying another small, substandard meal, where I have to dress up for the honor. Unfortunately, the offer gets...

I took my 5 year old son who has autism and adhd to Stanway Miller and Carter. My son has sensory issues and is quite fussy with food. We were served by Colin. I felt the menu for kids was extremely limited and the only thing my son liked on the menu was garlic bread and carrots with hummus from the starter menu. I asked Colin if it would be possible for them to do him some pasta with grated cheese on the side instead of the mac and cheese. Colin quickly replied with an agitated expression that Mac cheese is already made up and they can’t do that. I responded that every other restaurant I have ever been too accommodated my request. He then went to the kitchen and asked and came back with the same response. So we just ordered the hummus carrots and garlic bread. The way Colin treated me immediately made me feel very uncomfortable and i just wanted to leave at that point. The hummus and carrots arrived. My son said “mummy these carrots are really soft and bendy not like normal carrots” I looked at them and couldn’t believe they had served my son old, dry, bendy out of date carrots … they were disgusting. I asked Colin for them to be replaced and he returned saying that all the carrots they had in the kitchen were like that. I was so disgusted, miller and Carter is not a cheap restaurant; what are they playing at??? There was no alternative but to ask for some ice cream for him, which they advised would be free. I ordered a burger and chips. My chips were dark brown, over crispy and fatty where they have been cooked in old oil. I left all my chips and ate half my burger… I was so upset. I paid the bill £27 for the disgusting food and left as quickly as I could. We will...

Disappointing Experience at Miller & Carter Colchester

I’ve dined at several Miller & Carter restaurants before and always had a great experience, which is why I chose to make a reservation for a group of six at the Colchester branch. Unfortunately, this visit fell short of expectations.

Despite arriving on time, our table wasn’t ready we waited 10 minutes to be seated, followed by another 10minute wait before anyone came to take our order. The restaurant was understandably busy, but the lack of acknowledgment made the delay more noticeable.

Our waitress appeared visibly unhappy and unfortunately not very approachable. When I requested a steak sauce, specifically mushroom, I was told quite bluntly that it wasn’t on the menu despite having ordered it at other Miller & Carter locations. The overall attitude made my guests feel uncomfortable asking for anything else. At no point during the meal did anyone check in to see if we were okay or needed anything further, which is a basic standard of service, especially in a steakhouse known for its hospitality.

While the food itself was fine, the customer service left a lot to be desired. The table we were seated at was still wet and not properly cleaned again, likely due to how busy it was, but it points to a lack of readiness and attention to detail.

I understand that high footfall can be demanding, but that’s exactly why staff training and morale are so important. Friendly, attentive service should remain a top priority, regardless of how busy the venue is. I really hope this location takes steps to improve the customer experience, as Miller & Carter is generally known for high standards this visit sadly didn’t...