The Three Wise Monkeys on Colchester High Street has come on leaps and bounds since it opened about three years ago.

The premises have extended upwards and sideways, giving them a huge amount of space, and the bar has expanded. There is plenty of entertainment on offer, and 2017 saw them improve the range of cask and keg beer they have on offer (truth be told for the first couple of years there was room for improvement), have their very first beer festival, and hold a series of food and beer matching evenings.

I pop in for a quick lunch now and then, as it’s handy for meeting the wife when she is off on her short lunch break from work just over the road, as the food they serve is a) great and b) quickly served. I had a cheeky lunchtime half at their beer festival (not of my own Watsons Brewery ‘Black Otter’, which was one of the beers) recently, and also went to one of their food and beer matching evenings. And they’ve even gone and set up their own 200l brewery in the basement and have their own beers on tap (tried their coffee and chocolate stout, and was impressed!).

So props to the owners, and new guy Zach and the other team members, who are taking it up a notch at the TWM.