Preto in Colchester

If you are a big meat lover like me then this is definitely not the place for you. There was only 1 of the so called 13 or 14 meats that was not very dry and overcooked. The chicken and the Sausages were so overcooked it was rock hard and hollow. This was on a Sunday lunchtime and we were 1 of 3 tables. That explains a lot already.

The cheapest worse cooked disgusting meat and sides we’ve ever had. To make matters worse a chicken feather was found inside batter and manager told us that was the supplier they come frozen and reheated. So no wonder it tastes so vile. The food is cold most of the time and if your lucky enough to get it hot it’s cooked awfully and or the cheapest meat you could find. Genuinely disgusting food.

Amazing experience!! Nasco & Ines really tooke care of us!(Not pet friendly restaurant) He bring out the table so we could eat with the dog and not loose the Presto experience! She's really nice and kind! Thank you guys see you soon!!

We went to Preto without making any reservations and the workers were nice enough to get us a table for two as she explained it wasn’t a peak/busy day.The restaurant has a homely vibe and ambience, I like the wooden theme used around the place.Our waiter who happened to have started the job that day was really impressive with how he attended to us. He spoke to us about the bottomless steak where we get various meat of our choice and any sides included and we opted for that.I had a non alcoholic pineapple and mint juice while my husband opted for red wine. We also tried the Brazilian cheese bread which was amazeballs.

Went with family this evening, party of seven. They had an offer on so it was busy (which we respected and understood hence two stars instead of one) but various sides we ordered did not show up or were very late, about a third of all the meats were too fatty/gristly to eat, had to have our receipt changed three times because of being charged for additional drinks we did not order and eventually us not wanting to pay the discretionary service charge as our service was poor which had to be passed by management. We wanted to personally tip our waiter who served us most of the evening because the poor boy was trying his best and was visibly upset about the events of the evening but he said all tips had to be shared with the rest of the staff. The two free bottles of Pepsi the manager gave us did not make up for what a fiesta this evening was, and we were not the only customers complaining or having issues. Should have been better prepared by management knowing today was an offer day. Front of house staff were doing everything that they could and we held no blame against them. Won't be eating here again.

What a great place to eat!!!!We went here on Saturday 6th of March with our 3 young children. We wasn’t sure they would like it as they are fussy with food but they loved it. The food was really tasty with lots of different meats carved at your table. We all really enjoyed our food and the experience.The staff are great, really friendly and helpful. We will definitely return to enjoy another great experience like we had yesterday.Well done Preto Colchester x

We came here a few years ago. The food was great and the service was amazing with upbeat friendly waiters and waitresses. We returned over the weekend to celebrate a birthday party. There were 11 on a busy Saturday night so couldn't fault them for a slow service, especially as half the group was running late due to traffic. However, once our sides arrived, half of them were missing. I chased this up with the young waitress who was serving but all she said it was on its way. 20 minutes later, I chased this up with a young waiter and he said the same. Both of these servers did not seem like they wanted to be there and felt like they didn't really care and did not want to serve us as I tried catching their attention but they continuously conveniently kept looking away. We had to ask the manager what was happening and she was extremely apologetic and made sure our sides reached us but by that point, we had all nearly finished eating. I do appreciate the service we received from the manager and hope we had received the same from the first two waiters/waitresses. If it was not for the manager, it would have been a much lower rating. Lovely food though and we left some birthday cake behind for the manager.

We went to Preto since we remembered the really good meat and food and a great ambiance. Unfortunately we were sadly let down. The meat was still amazing and the chef working the meat was lovely and very helpful, however the front of house staff did not live up to this. We were seated by a girl that clearly did not want us to be there, she gave us the wrong sides and another front of house member joined her while we were already seated. Neither of them approached us after we finished our food to ask if we wanted anything else, we weren’t asked if everything was alright either, when we needed more sides we had to ask the meat chef who went and told the front of house staff for us. We felt unwelcomed by the front of house staff and will not be returning to Preto again. Very poor experience.

Good food, ridiculous company policy. To throw away perfectly fine full plates of food - unbelievable!! We paid a lot of money for bowls of food and as it was post Covid ordered it as part of our meal. We were then told we couldn't box it up.. (we even offered to get takeaway boxes or pay for their takeaway boxes) but were told the company doesn't allow this..Food we paid for and would happily eat instead of see thrown in a bin! I have never made a habit of boxing up food, because honestly I rarely if ever need to, but it is your property and your choice. So to be told they would bin our food!!.. Left feeling hoodwinked. Overall a disappointing feeling.

Wow! What an amazing experience. After walking past Preto so many times and smelling the incredible aromas, my partner and I finally decided to dine in for Valentine’s Day. We went in with high expectations, and they were exceeded. The staff were incredible, the food was sooooo good. They have a system where you have a card that you flip to one side if you’re content with the food you have, or the other side if you want more, I was slightly concerned that this might complicate things or feel gimicky but it was actually a perfect compliment to the dining experience and made wanting more food simple and fast. I cannot recommend this restaurant any higher, we had such an incredible time.