The Purple Dog - Colchester

Delicious mulled wine, good ambience, reasonable prices, bar staff member Tom was really helpful with recommendations and the heaters in the beer garden make all the difference in these winter months.

I went here for lunch this past Sunday and had a jacket potato with tuna and salad and then apple crumble for dessert. The food was just okay, nothing to shout about. Didn't think any more of it until I got home an hour or so later and noticed I felt sick. Then I was sick four times together with other symptoms as well, I couldn't even keep water in my body and an ambulance got called for me after a few hours. I wasn't sure if it was food poisoning or not since what I ate didn't seem particularly risky but after seeing some of the other reviews on here I'm starting to think it was. So obviously won't ever be eating here again.

Went here for the first time recently on a Friday night. Music playing a variety on songs from different genres and decades which was a fun playlist to listen to. I believe you can order from their website however I only ordered from the bar on this evening. Staff were very polite, made eye contact and were very smiley. 10/10 service. Wasn’t very busy in the pub on this occasion, half tables were filled and a few people at the bar but it was a nice amount. Prices for bottles of wine could be slightly revised as the cheapest bottle is £20. Although not extortionate, Rosé White Zinf was £20 and definitely could be revised to be slightly more budget friendly. There was a mix of different ages and styles in this pub so seems to welcome everyone which seems fun. They have a DJ on the first Sat of the month and also have a beer garden, neither of which I experienced on this visit but happy to re-review when I do. Will definitely be returning as I had a great night.

Poor review due to poor management on the day. This is possible the most easy going pub in colchester, usually no agro no drama and a good atmosphere. Dog friendly shouldn't mean that dogs are allowed to sit at the table and eat of of the table. When mentioned to the manager he said he will look at the CCTV, the whole pub could see the dog sitting at the table, it even had a knitted waistcoat on. After a heated discussion and an alcohol fuelled point of view from me, and a poorly trained customer service manager the security made everything worse. Honesty points to take from this, 1. dont drink for hrs in the same place 2. Dont have an opinion about anything 3. Dont spend alot of money eating drinking buying staff drinks and expect anything in return 4. No matter how comfortable your are when drinking with friends it only takes a minute to go sour 5. The manager should have been more inclusive and not permissive, very poor attitude The Purple Dog is a place I would recommend on its food, speed of service, always plenty of happy staff, good atmosphere and good location in town. The comments above are from one particular day it's not based on my regular visits over many years.

Visited this pub before in the summer and was good in the garden. Visited in November and the BIRRA MORETTI tasted off and the barman did not believe me, disappointed that this good location, good pub would be happy to sell off beer.