In Royal Mews shopping center is a Starbucks, not the best place to get tea and coffee in the UK…read morebut its here and they accept my Starbucks US gold card.

Great as usual! There are two starbucks on the high street so if one is busy you can always use the…read moreother one. The staff in both are usually quick and efficient.

Right on the Quay this cafe is popular with locals and bikers alike…read more Fresh homecooked food at reasonable prices which can be eaten inside or out depending on the weather. An outside kiosk sells delicious homemade icecream as well as the usual whippy ice cream. The queues speak for themselves.

From first impressions you might be put off by the decoration of this cafe/tea room. It looks very…read moresmall from the outside but is much more spacious inside. Once you have tasted the food you will forget the surroundings. One of the best fry ups I have had, the portion sizes are very very generous. Lovely afternoon tea as well. Staff friendly but it can very busy on a sunny day and especialy busy with all the bikers (generally middle aged men) at the weekend.

Its nice to find a restaurant/teashop within a garden centre that is inviting. Perrywood has just…read morethat. Friendly, smiling (unusual these days) staff that seem happy in their work. A good selection of main meals and snacks. Afternoon tea is something to pop in for. Lovely selection of sandwiches, scones, cakes etc etc. Also, a big thing, its extremely clean. Its worth coming off the main road to look out for this centre.

I had a wonderful tea and cake stop here while shopping in Colchester. The building makes for a…read morevery serene experience and the tea and cake was extremely good. There was also food served there for lunch but I didn't have any as I was pressed for time, however there is a new larger kitchen being made at the time of writing which is going to be opened in early 2015. So I'll no doubt return then. Strongly reccomend if you are looking for a little peace and quiet.

This wonderful cafe gets five stars from me for their delicious cheese and gooseberry scones -…read moresimply perfect!! The staff are lovely, the building is amazing (and kept clean and tidy inside). Coffee is good, lots of juice and hot chocolate options for my children. Good price for a good morning coffee. Have come here 3 times when visiting my family in Colchester (I fly 5300 miles from California just for those scones!!)

Small cafe in the town centre that serves a selection of paninis baguettes, etc. Very reasonable…read morepriced with good service - convenient for a quick lunch while shopping or on your lunch break at work. There isn't much seating inside so it's best to buy to take away and I would imagine it would get very busy at lunchtimes.

A lovely place. Good food, coffee and lovely staff!read more

We came because of the old Qype reviews, but clearly, a lot has changed…read more Lacklustre. Sorry to say, because it looked like it had so much potential from the outside. 3 of us sat down to have afternoon tea. My sister was visiting us, so I brought her here based on the old reviews. Sad to say, I should've done more research. Tea was a disaster. The tea was mediocre, scones weren't very good at all, and the tea sandwiches were disappointing. The place felt very dark and dusty, and the decor was very tired looking. The servers looked very tired and nervous as well. I feel that with a bit more effort, the experience would change for the better, as the location is good. Overall, a poor experience, so I won't be returning.

Absolutely adored this quaint wee tea room...makes you feel like you're in a scene from the…read morepast...nice and cosy, fabulous, attentive staff & very tasty cream teas.. definitely worth a visit when visiting Colchester. Kind regards from a very happy Scottish visitor

I visit Coast regularly for work resaons, and drink tea. Mainly because I find the coffee here to…read morebe very bitter, talking to coffee afficienados they tell me this is due to the filter not being regularly changed. It is not a case of one coffee and that is that, this has been a case of 4 or 5 visits and the same occurs. But the tea is grand, I can make it as strong as I like, and boy do I like it strong. The positioning of this Costa is part of the Royals Shopping centre complex although they occupy an external facing corner unit onto the High Street where Alexandra Road crosses. Wide windows allows for tranquil 'people watching', and external seating too allows space for smokers. The seating changes rapidly as people don't linger, no matter how busy the place seems I have always found a reasonably positioned seat. A long queue at the counter can add 15 minutes to getting your beverage and sitting down, so be warned. The furniture is as expected always too comfortable. A mixed message I know from this review, and I am sure there are absolute converts of Costas but I guess as always it comes down to the local offer and how it is delivered. For me it is tea only, until I hear the filters are being changed regularly.

It seems these days that the local town centre is nothing but high-end ladies clothes stores, and…read morecoffee shops, with every 3rd shop selling you Java.as if anyone is THAT thirsty. It's because of this, that this Costa Coffee, along with all others is just another coffee shop, and does nothing to set itself apart from the 300 other coffee shops in Southend. Whilst I have nothing against the coffee house itself, having been in there a few times, it is very pricy, and originally was inside the Abbey National bank, (what's the connection between money and coffee, despite needing some Java to keep you awake in an Abbey)? The staff are always polite, and I'm a sucker for the smell of hot coffee, so I like to go in just to breathe in the atmosphere and get a rush from it. Aside from coffee, Costa Coffee also does other hot and cold drinks, as well as a selection of snack foods.

How many teenage wannabe hipsters can you fit in the closed-off upstairs dining area of a teeny…read morevillage tea house? Three? Five? Ten? How about fifteen. No joke. We just wanted a bite to eat in the late afternoon, so we headed into this cute-looking tea house because the menu and signage outside was inviting. Not a single person under the age of 20 occupied this building excepting ourselves. I ordered tea and toast with preserves. I got my tea after about seven minutes But did my toast and preserves come? No. After the husband's tuna sandwich (on toasted bread) came and I waited another five minutes, I flagged down the braces-wearing youngin' to ask about the toast. I never saw him again. The teenage 'manager' brought me the toast about seven minutes later without preserves. I asked about the preserves and she got snippy with me, telling me she didn't take my order initially and didn't know what I wanted. How about some preserves to go with my 'toast and preserves'? Did I mention the place was bereft of actual customers? While I finished my toast and listened to the asinine conversation between three girls in the back room ('no, like, I'm turning eighteen in two months! Two months! Really! How old do you think I look? Two months! Innit.'), the parade of teenage hipsters began down the stairs. one. two. three. four. five. six. seven. eight. nine. ten. eleven.... The 'manager' began closing rituals, bringing in outside signage to store on the dining room floor, while we sat waiting for a bill so we could just pay our money and leave. After several minutes, I was up out of my seat and on my way to the back room with a tenner when she met me half way with our ticket. Here's my tenner, kthx bye. Pass.

I would personally highly recommend this tea room/cafe. There is a full range of food and beverages…read moreavailable. Depending on what you fancy, you could have anything from a full English Breakfast to a toasted tea cake. I must say the food is especially lovely so I would suggest taking the time to enjoy their lunch time menu. I must say that during the summer months this little venture becomes extremely popular and if often very busy. To avoid disappointment, try and get a table before the rush hour lunch hits and enjoy.