you can always pick up a deal here on something however alot of the time it is quite expensive but…read morethen really what do you expect for a conveniance store. the staff are chatty and friendly. they understand children. you can top up on yopur phone and pre pay gas and electric meters here too ande do the lottery

Well stalked and tidy grocery. (AIE)…read more This is the fancier of the options in the area for food shopping. Wonderful variety and helpful staff. When I asked about sauerkraut, the employee walked me to one and offered to show me other variety in a separate aisle. Same with the meat counter. They did not have any center cut chops behind the counter, so he came out and walked me to good choices in the aisles. Cafe is has a higher standard. Open choice pastries, china and real silver were to eat with. Multiple options for milks and variations on their drinks. Will frequent this store when I'm on that side of town. Sign up for rewards program can be done on your phone and the card saved as a picture. (American in England)

Waitrose food is generally good, but also generally horrifically overpriced. The Duchy and Organic…read morestuff seems to have taken over the store, and the fresh food and Deli sections are getting smaller and smaller, in an already small store. My favourite quote about Waitrose, that I read in an online discussion recently: Does that actually exist?! "Geranium and cherry cupcake" is precisely the sort of thing one would say Waitrose sell if you wanted to take the p*ss out of them... They do indeed sell a "Geranium and cherry cupcake", and it is apparently very good! I'm not so convinced about their recently introduced "Cashmere Quilted Bathroom Tissue, enriched with extracts of Cashmere" however...

We regularly buy our 'Sunday roast' meat from 5 Winds. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and…read moreenthusiastic. The range of butchery is great and the quality second to none locally. They also sell a good range of cheese, sauces, breads and some frozen items. Can be busy at times but worth the wait - very very popular at Christmas!

One of the best butchers around - worth making the effort to visit. Great quality meat and…read morewonderful smoked products from the smoke house. Cheeses, breads and small deli product available - very busy on Saturdays

Not your typical butchers, they supply companys rather then joe the public. out of the way not…read morereally worth making the trip for. good choice, ok produce, prefer terrys butchers in town.

Good range of locally produced breads and cakes, popular shop with friendly staffread more

handy store helpful staffread more

This lovely sweet shop was near our hotel and had quite a variety of treats. I was especially fond…read moreof the starfish gummies that were sold in bulk. If you're visiting Colchester I recommend you visit this shop.

So you know that hackneyed saying, 'Like a kid in a candy store'?…read more Whoever said it first was probably talking about Mr Simms Olde Sweet Shoppe. Yeah, it's a franchise. No, I haven't ever seen another one other than this one in Colchester. And, really, Colchester is the perfect place for a 'Ye Olde' candy shop, so I'm going to pretend that it's the one-and-only. Situated on a very quaint and medieval-looking lane, Mr Simms jumps out at kids and adults alike, with its dark brown wooden façade and recreated 'olde worlde' windows that allow passers-by to peer in and gawk at the floor-to-ceiling rows upon rows of delicious, sugary delights, with classic and newfangled sweets equally represented. Whether you pick out individually packaged fudge from the self-service shelves or ask for a staff member to measure you out half a kilo of gummy bears and three snakes from the candy hoard behind the counter, you'll leave this place with enough child-like, sugar-induced euphoria to get you through to next week. Or, at least through to the end of your sugar rush.

This small takeaway pizza outlet is handily placed with some off road parking (but not much). There…read moreare normally some special offers to be had on pizzas, although we never buy side orders as this rockets the price up very easily! Friendly staff and nice food :)