The Barn Brasserie Review

IT IS A VERY NICE PLACE. GOOD FOOD.AND NICE PEUPLE SERVING YOU. IT.S CLEEN THERE ALSO THE TOILET.

Disappointed . Had to wait half an hour for afternoon tea . When it came , sandwiches had very little fillings , the scones were dry and so were the brownies . Expected more .

Booked the Barn for my son's engagement event, 21 family members from both sides, on arrival we felt unwelcome and in the way, no greeting, left in the bar area with restricted seating, thought they would have offered to take us to our booked room, finely taken to our room across a cold patio, shown into the cold venue, after sitting down asked for drink/wine lists, after asking 3 times one appeared between 21 of us, while waiting some had order some beer's which arrived in bottles and no glasses.
Meals had been pre ordered in advance to help, after a long wait for the wine and starters, starters started to arrive before wine had been ordered.
The soup ordered turned up cool to cold, bought across cold courtyard, complained to the young waiter's, not returned as people after waiting an hour were by then hungry, radiators in room seemed off as cold, not helped by waiters leaving the door open. soon came a water iced refresher, an hour later and after complaining numerous times the main course's started to appear, again not hot, some came as different to described, by now clock watching as some had taxi's ordered, finely a manager appeared, to see what was happening, continued to complain to him, but seemed to full on deaf ears.
One of the waiters asked what the event was and who, this was followed by dessert, after all but 2 had there desserts 2 plates came out with congratulations wrote across them and given to the last people, my sons girl friends dad and brother, total co*k up, like the evening, suddenly the bill was there waiting to be paid, I took it and asked for the owner/manager, I went to the bar area to discuss the evening, after about 15 minutes he appeared, no real apologises, just how busy the bar had been, we agreed between us that I would pay until the evening had been discussed with the owner's, left my contact detail's and went

I would not recommended this place for a meal, especially if you are thinking of a wedding venue, think again, on our experience they could not organise a p*ss up in a brewery, be Warned.

Just popped in as they were closing for the night and still got a lovely meal... staff were excellent and the food was beautiful

Good quality food, well presented and reasonable prices. Surroundings fantastic. Recommended.

Beautiful setting. Attentive service. Delicious perfectly cooked food and luxurious feel

So fantastic foods and very kind services.. Beautiful place. I will go there again in one day . Hope so other peoples will go there as well. Thanks

Food and decor fantastic service top dollar nice to see fresh linen on the tables and linen napkins first class all round will be back

First class restaurant. Excellent customer service and exceptional food. Lots of parking. Great decor. Overall a fantastic dining experience and one of the best restaurants in Colchester. Highly recommended to locals and visitors. Superb!

Staff were friendly however the service wasn't that great we had to ask for glasses to he removed from the table. We waited a long long time for our meals. The menus where also misleading with the funniest one being the "Pigs in Blankets" note the plural. Well we asked for them on a seperate plate what was brought out was One Pig in blanket. Not two or three. One. So we had one pig in blanket on its lonesome on a plate. Rather hilarious. Overall the food was nice. Could have been better but wasn't bad. Recommended for a good environment! Usually we couldn't felt this establishment we come here frequently. However besides last year's boxing day ketchup fiasco nothing could have been said to fault the barn!

Was here last week for a wedding which was very well organized and a lovely day. The restaurant was open to other dinners so it was impossible to hear the speeches which was a shame.

Excellent food, great location and lovely service. An absolute must visit.

Great place service and quality of food is excellent

Very nice afternoon tea with friends.Friendly helpful staff

Amazing! Been here for dinners, breakfasts & weddings & everytime it just gets better & better! Can t reccomend enough xxxx

Great food, superb atmosphere, reasonable prices and excellent, professional staff. We bring visiting friends and family here regularly and they invariably love it. Right now, we're having breakfast at The Barn. It's such a wonderful way/place to start a Saturday or Sunday.

Great service today and felt very safe eating out. Thank you

Fantastic food, great staff. Beautiful building, really recommend.

Thank you for a faultless lunch! The herb crust on the salmon was so good that I asked for the recipe! The cheescake & coffee were perfect, as was the service!

Very pleasant restaurant in old modernised barn, good food, good service and reasonably price, will definitely return

Lovely place and GREAT for getting Romantic stars... lobster and steak yum yum

Great location, good food but they need more staff to get the food out. Still worth a visit.

Great ambience and food. Not too pricey and ideal for a celebration. Toilets very clean on my visit. Pleasant staff. Parking adequate. Size and decor always impresses newcomers.

We booked for lunch using Test Card just 10 minutes before turning up. Service was very good if not a little too attentive.
Prices are good for the area and the quality of food.

very nice place. but can't cook veg not a clue got raw Brussels. changed 3 times could not sort it out need to be aware ... test them before serving . serving staff very good. family dinner bit of a let down

Everything was fantastic, food, wine and service. Couldn't ask for a nicer time

I use to work here for a while! Great staff and lovely food!

I went for dinner with my other half on Sat 9th March and we had a fantastic time. The restaurant and the layout is very interesting and the ambiance is great.
The food was superb. We had the set menu and the mackerel pate and risotto was to die for.

We are already thinking of returning and trying the delights of the a la carte menu

We were looked after very well and the food was fantastic

Went to a soul night here with Iriej, superb night, would go again.

Amazing lunch, loved the thyme and lemon chicken. Excellent menu choice. Vegan curry delicious too.

have been here previously and was amazing, this time not so good the menu choice is too basic and like a pub unfortunately, there is so much potential for good food here. The dessert i had was lovely the trio which was the best course of the whole meal, service is rather bad no attempt to ask how food was throughout. This is why i have rated it average because i was not wowed or impressed had alot better meals in the past. after this experience it would question myself to go again.

Lovely food, great service, relaxing atmosphere very pleased with visit. A great place to go.

Fantastic place for food and the staff are very friendly

Lovely setting for a wedding. The food is not remarkable.

Food 5 out of 10. Needs a better dance area. Felt tables were too close. Will not be in a rush to go back.

Lovely birthday meal. Good choice of gluten free mains. Wonderful attentive service. Wonderful food. Lovely atmosphere. Highly recommend

This place is outstanding. Based in an old barn with exposed oak beams and an upmarket ambience. Literally one of my favorites for a special occasion. The food is beautifully presented and exquisite tasting. I think that this establishment could and should charge more, you get really big bang for your buck in my mind as a package. Staff are polite and helpful and all work together to make your experience wonderful and leave you feeling satisfied and fully looked after.

Always make us welcome no matter how many of you... taste food and lovely Malbec...

Absolutely nothing bad to say. A beautiful barn in a beautiful surroundings... lovely ambience....staff attentive polite and respectful and food was spot on. I can't wait to visit again.

I m quite surprised with the amount of good reviews, I must have gone on a bad day. The food was cold and some of my food come out after we had all finished eating. When I asked for the food to be taken off the bill that had come out late, it was done but the waitress laughed. The food Probably would have been nice, had it not been cold. I d recommend anyone going not to go in a busy period. I m more disappointed that I told them when I paid and emailed them to say as well that no one acknowledged it. I always think you get what you pay for but on this occasion I think you can get a lot better service and pay less somewhere else.

Lovely setting. Great food. Reasonably priced. Great service.

Good food friendly staff a pleasure to eat here many thanks

Excellent food, pleasant staff. Visit all the time superb.

Lovely place, great food, but you need to change your menu.

Same as it's always been great food great service and a very pleasant atmosphere just one point I wish they still played the piano in the background

Came for my mum's birthday! Fab meal.... really attentive staff and great atmosphere!!

Called in here on the off chance. The food was very nice anscthe service was excellent. Will definitely go again

Two stars because the food (when it eventually came) was very nice. Went for Boxing Day breakfast, asked if they could do a sausage and egg muffin for the 7 year old in our party to which we were told that the kitchen couldn t do anything not on the menu as they were really stressed and have 400 people in today! We eventually asked for them to do one of the things on the menu and take off the avocado and sauce to leave at least an egg muffin for the child. (Still charged full price for that though). We waited 30 minutes for our food once the order was taken even though there were only 3 other tables who were waiting for food as part of the breakfast service. Overall the service although initially pleasant on arrival, was rushed, a bit snooty and not remotely accommodating and the barn was cold with a constant draft coming down from the ceiling fans which were on! Surely an establishment such as this on a day like Boxing Day would be able to manage large numbers of people?! A shame as the venue as itself is lovely.

Fantastic service, loved the lemon sobet between meals to clense the pallet.

Went for a Sunday late lunch. The service was excellent and they looked after us well. It was 3pm and some vegetables were quite dry like they had been sitting about for a while.

Prices are top end but didn't quite match what was on offer. Maybe we were unlucky and because of late sitting.

Great atmosphere great food. If your out for a special occasion or just a quick bite can't recommend enough. Been a few times both for a quick bite and with family. Great service and food every time.

Had afternoon tea at the Barn. Fabulous building, amazing food & excellent service. All possible done to keep diners & staff safe. Really enjoyed & would highly recommend.

Went for afternoon tea was very nice and good value

Stunning building and the food was very good. Staff were very accommodating and friendly. I would recommend.

Fantastic services and the food was excellent.

We recently went to on of the Tiptree jam factory for a mother's Day weekend, where the service was absolutely terrible.
The barn completely made up for the weekend as it was quick service, every staff member made everyone (especially the baby) feel welcome and my mother really enjoyed her mother day breakfast.

Thank you very much for making it such a special day.

Nice setting and good food. Service could do with improvement.

Wonderful dining experience. The food is fantastic and the atmosphere is calm and serene. Waiting staff are very attentive. Good selection of wines too

Food is great but service is a little sporadic. They completely missed offering drinks when we reached the table and we were also never offered any follow up drinks or water top up.

Lovely historic venue, great service and a delicious roast lunch.

Sunday lunch: December 2019.
The first restaurant I have been to where it was so cold I had to wear my coat throughout the meal! When we commented on this the Maitre d said they were unable to make it warmer because of fire regs - I wasn t asking him to light a bonfire, just a couple of extra electric heaters might have taken the chill off the place.
The waiting staff did their best but weren t particularly well trained.
Food just average.
Maitre d not in the least bit impressive.
Nobody around to see us out of the restaurant and say thanks etc.
Not the first time I have had to make a complaint about The Barn, but it will be the last as we most definitely will not be returning.

Beautiful building. Wonderful food. My favourite restaurant!

Lovely atmosphere very friendly staff and beautiful food xxx

Good service..attentive staff and excellent qual8ty food

Excellent food, friendly staff in an amazing building.

The restaurant layout is nice and they also do nice food

Great evening, lovely food, beautiful barn restaurant and great entertainment.

Went for a meal here today which we'd booked for. Shown to our table which was behind another table and next to the outer wall, okay not a problem although our chairs has to be in L shape and not opposite one another due to lack of space. That was okay, our drinks were served, then the woman on the squashed table next to ours continued to keep pulling at her long hair which was virtually over our table! We had to move our table even closer to the wall!

Odering our meal; my choice was not available and as there was only a choice of two vegetarian dishes ...that left one! Mushroom risotto. I've had this quite often ( too often in restaurants that can't think any further )! But we were celebrating so heyho have to eat something. Food arrived ...not looking all that appetising. ..two minutes later the waitress came up and asked if all was okay ? We hasn't started eating by then...so I didn't give an answer, but started to eat, or should I say push the food around the plate. I didn't want to 'not eat' because I knew that it would upset my partner who was tucking into his food. So I took a few small mouthfuls of this stodgy warm, tasteless mess until I could feel myself starting to heave... That was it! I had to just leave it and complained about it to the manager. He did offer to remove it from the bill and did so, but that's just not what you want when you are out celebrating! I had just a coffee!
Will we be going back....There are other places! If a Chef cannot make a tasty plate full of risotto, what kind of a chef are they?

Beautiful location and brilliant waiters, we went for Afternoon Tea for a family gathering and loved it.

Not a great evening. Sitting for 2 hrs with just a starter. Had to complain to get some service.

Very busy restaurant but service always prompt and efficient and delivered in a nice way by friendly staff. Great atmosphere without to much noise intrusion from other tables. Food of good quality and nicely cooked and presented to provide a most satisfying dining experience. To be recommended.

Booked afternoon tea as a treat for my mum for mothers day, it was an even more special occasion as I do not get to see her that often, I have visited the barn on many occasions previously having great food and exceptional service, unfortunately I was disappointed with todays service and small offering of food! I understand that this weekend may be a busy time, but that should be no excuse for poor quality, our afternoon tea was served on three plates to our table, not on cake stand like everyone else's, we had to ask several times for the food to be served in the traditional manner, eventually it was served properly, after being told they had run out of stands, we were offered champagne (only to find it extra on the bill) not complimentary, 4 small finger sandwiches, a dry "plain" scone (other people had fruit scones), a very minute frangipan(10p size), a cube of lemon cake and a cube of brownie, a pot of tea and coffee.
The manageress had a face like a slapped arse, and the management in general wasnt great!
Upon finishing and paying, no one wished us a good afternoon and we had to let ourselves out (previous visits the door was opened and we were wish a farewell upon leaving).
All in all a bit of a let down on what should have been a lovely day!

Took Mum for lunch today and it was lovely. She has recently been unwell and the staff went out of their way to accommodate us and make her comfortable.
The food was so delicious and the atmosphere was buzzy and relaxed