The Princess Charlotte — Restaurant in Colchester

A very disappointing meal unfortunately. Ordered a roast and chose the Guest roast of the day which was Pork Belly. When ordering I asked what veg was included and was told cabbage, carrots and peas . Asked for it to come without peas and ordered an additional cauliflower cheese. Was told that it's mixed veg but it can be in a separate bowl .

Two meals duly ordered food arrived in a reasonable amount of time

Sadly my roast was cold even the gravy in a separate jug wasn't warm so even that didn't help.

My friends meal was served on a hot skillet with chips so no issues .

My meal was duly taken back and I was told they would do another one for me

Ten minutes later the plate came back with an additional item a Yorkshire pudding which my friend had told me that I should have had on the first attempt. This plate also had a huge serving of peas on the plate and a small amount of finely chopped cabbage and two small slices of carrot. I pointed out these were separate previously, so the plate was duly taken away again I didn't even try to see how warm it was. The meal came back a third time with the same meat from the original plate as there were bite marks in the meat. I asked for some gravy which came out once again not hot and biting into the meat it wasn't hot again. Tired of sending the food back a third time I ate the cool meat as I was hungry . The meat was tasty unfortunately just not hot with a poor selection of veg which is a shame as this is the cheapest ingredient . By this point my friend had long finished his meal and this was embarrassing as I was being treated to a birthday meal out.

Nobody seemed very bothered about it and on one of the occasional when the food was returned to me they were just going to leave it Infront of me and not take away to sort.

Dessert was nice (ice cream sundae which you'd hope you can't do wrong)

Overall a nice environment but a disappointing meal where I have eaten there before and...

Very disappointed with service at Princess Charlotte Stanway Colchester today. Went there with friends today 2nd June 2018 at 5.30pm. We did not have table booked so they said to us that they are full (even though there were empty tables) and offered us to eat outside. The tables outside were bolted to the floor and it was 7 of us which was difficult as we could not move the tables together. On the other side of the pub there were 2 bigger tables with benches & there were families with kids eating there. They told to us that they will be leaving in 20 minutes so we can take their table after they will finish, which were absolutely fine with us. We went indoors & got few drinks, we were there for 1h in total. There were 8 empty tables near the bar with salt & pepper shakers on each table! We’ve been told that they don’t serve food in that area & called it ‘’drinks only area’’, which does not explain why it was salt & pepper shakers on the tables..?! We waited for the family with kids who finished their meal outside & after they left we took their table just to be told we are not allowed to order any food as it was ‘’Smoking area for drinks only’’, but the family with 2 kids was there eating before us & they have been served with no problem! Restaurant manager was very rude, and refused to serve us. Maybe she was racist because few of us spoke foreign language? This is very sad if that’s the case. We had 5 adults & 2 kids there and this is very poor service. We took the photos of the table with food plates & salt & pepper shakers as the prove that people before us has been served there. Restaurant manager did not have any logical explanation of why the previous family with kids has been served. Then in the end she left with the words: ‘’I’m not going to serve you’’. People like that should never work as a managers as it’s very bad & damaging reputation to the company. We have no intentions of going...

We recently visited The Princess Charlotte for dinner while catching up with friends and family, and what truly made the evening stand out was the incredible service we received from our waiter, Kris.

From the moment we sat down, Kris was a total star. He was warm, welcoming, and genuinely attentive—something that’s become surprisingly rare these days. He seemed to anticipate our needs before we even had to ask, always one step ahead and making everything feel smooth and effortless.

What impressed us most was his natural ability to balance professionalism with friendliness. He made sure we were comfortable, checked in at just the right moments, and managed everything with such calm and grace. Drinks arrived quickly, our food came out perfectly timed, and he made sure nothing was ever missed or delayed. We felt completely looked after throughout the entire evening.

It’s rare to come across someone who clearly takes pride in what they do and genuinely cares about the guests’ experience. Kris turned what would’ve been a lovely dinner into something truly memorable. I even felt compelled to compliment him directly on the night—he absolutely deserves recognition.

The food and drinks were great—fresh, tasty, and well-presented—and the menu had a fantastic range of options. But honestly, it was Kris who made the night special. Because of him, we’ll definitely be returning—and recommending The Princess...