The Coast Inn — Restaurant in Colchester

We went for a family birthday meal, booked and pre ordered for 3pm (for a party of 10) .

arrived early for a drink in the bar went in at 3pm and were told we had to wait 15 minutes for our table (despite there being several available tables that could accommodate our party set and ready). we waited 15 minutes, to hear nothing. we went back inside and asked about our table, to be told “they will check on it” one of the staff then shouted at our party because we had a dog. Despite advertising as “dog friendly” across the venue. we were then informed we could not be seated in the restaurant with a dog. Resulting in two members of our party being split up, which completely ruined the birthday meal. As two members of our party then had to wait for a table in the bar area, sitting alone. we were then seated in the restaurant at 3:30pm. 30 MINUTES LATE. we then waited ten minutes for a member of staff to come and take our drinks order. after waiting, we then went up to the bar and asked to order our drinks. To then be told someone would come to our table. Which they did after another 5 minutes. despite all this no apology was given and we then waited another 30 minutes for the food we had preordered to come out. (We got our food at 4pm despite pre booking for 3pm) However one of our party then waited another 10 minutes for his food to come out, despite the rest of the table having their food. the food was mediocre at best. For example, we ordered the Cajun chicken burger that was literally a chicken breast in a dry roll (no sauce or salad). A veggie burger that was a soggy patty. And a curry that was comparable to chopped tomatoes out of a can on top on rice. No one came to do a service check during our main course or after finishing. Plates were then cleared away. Then after waiting another 15 minutes, we then had to go and ask for the bill ourselves. After receiving the bill of £233 we were told “one Diet Coke had been removed for all the confusion”. However because we had to go to the bar to order our drinks (due to slow service at the table), this was the only drink on the bill. A member of our party went to the till to query the bill, listing off all the above reasons and politely asking if more could be done to compensate the service received. The waitress then phoned the manger who was offsite to discuss this. She then returned to the table informing us that “nothing else could be done”. We were then left another 10 minutes at our table waiting to pay, at which point we got up and went to the bar to pay. The bartender then told us to be seated at our table and someone would come over. In which we replied that we’d be waiting ages and wanted to pay and leave.

UTTERLY AWFUL SERVICE MEDIOCRE FOOD NO REGARD FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Will never be returning and would warn anyone considering a meal here to avoid...

Firstly, I’d like to give 5-Stars to our waitress, Rhiana who was super friendly, and helpful. If it were not for her, the review would have fewer stars and I’d have made a complaint in the day.

Sadly, the food wasn’t very good.

Starters - some were not as described on the menu. It was a case of getting what they had available, rather than what was advertised/ordered. This was not explained in advance. Two of the starters were not cooked correctly, and very, very bland.

Example - the creamy garlic mushrooms had zero garlic. The bread they were served on wasn’t toasted, and as a result was very soggy and quite unpleasant if I’m honest. For the price (£18 for two) I’d expect much more. Normally, I’d have sent it back, but I didn’t want to cause a scene as it was someone’s birthday and our waitress was doing her very best.

Mains - fish and chips. It was a premium price for a bog-standard meal you’d get in any garden centre cafe type setting. The batter was very greasy, the fish I think was frozen as it was very wet. The chips were out of the bag and into the fryer. The peas were as hard as bullets. The tartare sauce was nice.

Another, somewhat frustrating element is that you have to collect your own cutlery. A minor niggle maybe, but somewhat annoying when you have your hands full of drinks, and/or have to keep walking from one end of the place to other each time food arrives at the table. Especially awkward when very busy.

The location is nice, and they clearly play off this seaside setting to make the customer think it’s ‘fresh’ and locally sourced. All of which, I very much doubt.

Michelin Star prices for cheap, badly cooked produce, sadly. £75 for two glasses of water, 2 mains and starters and a children’s meal.

Would we go again? No. There’s far better to be had a fraction...

Having previously ( a day ahead), made a reservation for breakfast at this restaurant, we arrived exactly on time (9.30am), and were met with what can only be said was a very frosty reception- We - and all 5 of us felt the same, we were clearly not welcome. Given our experience it was perhaps not a surprise that we were the only customers present. The lady who seemed to be in charge - I’m sorry to say it, aggressively thrust menus in my hands, told us to sit where we wanted and to pick up cutlery and any condiments we might want - she most certainly wasn’t going to do any of that for us! She also made it clear that when we knew what we wanted to order we had to come to the counter (which wasn’t manned for most of the time we were there), to place our orders and pay for them in advance of delivery. In the end, we understood why we were the only people there and, despite our having reserved the table more than 24 hours previously, it took more than 45 mins for the food (nothing at all complicated), to arrive. Such a difference from our experience the next day at the nearby Victory where we had a lovely warm welcome from an even more lovely lady who could not do enough for us. The tables were set with cutlery, orders were taken at our table, this despite there were other customers who were there before we were, I would also add that the much was much better, more varied and included freshly cooked food including pancakes, which arrived in half the time it did at the Coast.

Guess where we will (NOT) be having our next breakfast in...