The Art Cafe

Lovely, small café — am visiting from California and my Mum recommended this place. Coffee is perfect — staff happy to make me a specific latte not on the menu. My daughter enjoyed the hot chocolate with marshmallows and cream. Very pleasant staff, delicious croissant and scones. Also had gluten free options. Clean, tidy tables. Five stars in my opinion!

Quaint place, two floors. Service was bad, meal was terrible.

We arrived at an odd time (2pm) so that may have had something to do with the service, but overall it was okay.
We sat upstairs which was picturesque but the service staff didn’t come up very often and we ended up waiting a pretty long time to order. I’m vegetarian and they were out of bubble & squeak as well as tomatoes, which made my veggie fry up composed of just mushrooms and beans. They added some caramel used onion marmalade on the side which was quite good I admit. We also ended up waiting quite a while (~30 mins) for the food to arrive after ordering.
However, for the setting and the fact that the staff was very nice (they did seem a tad overwhelmed), it wasn’t a bad experience. I’d recommend it to others but I’ll mention some of the potential downsides.

Went there for breakfast:
— cozy little restaurant (on two floors) with tiny tables and a terraced seating area
— very friendly staff
— breakfast menu until 11 am, lunch until 3 pm, until 5 pm afternoon menue with cream teas and homemade cakes
— breakfast offers a wide range of dishes from a hearty Fry-​Up with Crispy Homemade Bubble and Squeak, Drop Scones with Crispy Bacon & Maple Syrup to simply Lovely Porridge or Croissants with Tiptree Jam
— we tried the yoghurt with crumble and fruit purée, the cinnamon toast (yummy yummy) and a fish dish with eggs; was all tasting great
Conclusion: Great atmosphere, nice people!

Treated ourselves to breakfast, everything homemade, i had full english with crispy bacon and the best bubble and squeak i have ever had, Mrs A had poached egg on toasted muffin, runny yolk cooked to perfection. The brown sauce was from Tiptree jam in a little pot. lovely experience.

What a find. Came to Colchester on a day trip and needed breakfast. Lots of things you would expect, like a good fry up, with veggies also well catered for. There is also «breakfast puddings» section of the menu with drop scones and cinnamon toast. Incredible value too. Service was warm and friendly. It is a small, but cosy dining space. Accepts cards.