The Purple Dog, Colchester

Pleasantly surprised. Expected it to be tacky but was warmly welcomed. Broadside, Doom Bar, Brewers Gold and Wherry on tap. The Wherry went as we ordered so two pints of Gold ordered which was crystal clear and spot on with flavour. Nice atmosphere except for a god shite 18 year old in the garden (shame you can�t pick your customers, hey?) but other than that it was good. I can so potential for it getting packed with kids on a weekend which would put me off, but I would go back again on a weeknight or lunchtime on a weekend.

I don�t think the prices were �steep� � beer costs money and so do pubs.

15 Feb 2012 08:09

The Ale House, Colchester

Visited last night with my wife for the first time since the pub opened. The lady behind the bar was pleasant but the beer was very disappointing. 3 Adnams on offer and 1 Red Fox. I had a Broadside which wasn't good at all and my wife had an Explorer which she hated and said has lost its grapefruit flavour. There was a lack of atmosphere in what is a quite a large pub and a tinny sounding TV playing advert radio on the wall which all in all made the place feel like a social club.

Such a missed opportunity here - we wanted to see tapped barrels on the bar with more local beers. If you�re going to call yourself �The Ale House� your product needs to be the best around�it certainly wasn�t. 5/10.

15 Feb 2012 08:02

The Playhouse, Colchester

Visited here for the first time in years after swearing to never go back in to a Spoons and was very impressed this time. Had a pint of Old Growler which was superb and my wife had a Nethergate Ruby Mild which she was very impressed with too. The service was actually OK for a change and the two pints came in at �4.65. Made me review my attitude to this pub and I will probably return. The mannequin's dotted around the seating area are a little bit freaky though!

31 May 2011 07:37