John Lewis in Suffolk Coastal

Went to go get a coffee plenty of seats available just not cleaned. Stopped people going to get any refreshments. No wonder you are loosing money John Lewis. Staff members not doing very much chatting with each other

We visited before shopping in Waitrose after a visit a few weeks when all was good! This week the Latte vwas terrible looked like coffee with milk no froth. It also didn't taste much like real coffee more like instant.

Nice staff and food generally good. It’s usually quite crowded and you need to be prepared to clear and wipe down your own table as you will wait forever for the staff to do it. I emphasise that this is not a criticism of the staff, I believe that the issue is that John Lewis whodo not provide a proper staffing level

We came here for a stop of lunch, scones had all run out, toasties were non existent and what little of the cakes that were left look horrible Not coming back

Very disappointed to see how this cafe has declined. My husband queued for 25 mins just before 1pm ( Lunchtime) and when he got to the till he was told they were not doing any food. The tables were dirty and littered with crockery. We had a coffee and went into the store downstairs to get some sandwiches-why the café had not had a trolley load sent up I do not know. Surely someone has a bit of initiative. The only toilet available was the disabled one. The light in the corridor was working but the cover was broken. The seat was ripped and stained on the bench seating. I cannot believe there is a good enough hygiene rating to trade. The staff all looked miserable and disinterested. Come on John Lewis get your act together-you are one of the worst establishments in town.

It’s an ideal stopover to grab a quick snack. But dear me, this restaurant really does let down John Lewis. The food offer in the vicinity is limited, so it’s usually busy. This leads to long queues, slow service, miserable staff, nothing left to eat, tables still left full of dirty crockery and mucky tables. The food is dreadful. Who wants a soggy ciabatta with limp salad leaves and mozzarella (just about the only thing left)? And those chairs. If you must have soft furnishings, keep it clean. The stains are disgusting and you always need to sweep them down - so they are definitely one to avoid. My husband said, ‘I said it was the last time, last time’. It really is now. Shame.

Shabby John Lewis shockingly fitted tv not even straight on the wall wires everywhere for a full servicing fitting! Doesn’t even work! £3,500 waste I’d money!! Over 30 mins on a call centre call and the operator then ‘lost’ my complaint and made me so it all again and again a and again for 40 minutes. JOHN LEWIs you are terrible

It’s not bad. Service is dyer the cakes are big fresh they are defrosted the fabrics are in dyer need of a upfresh the only saving grace is that it’s connected to a Waitrose. Would I go out my way to get a coffee here? No! If the queues was clear and I was in doing my shop I might consider it. It’s a supermarket cafe. What does one expect ?

Long wait to get served, then very slow service and wrong order arrived ended up with a green tea when I ordered a Chai Latte, the was told that they had no chi latte left. Cakes we got with drinks were very dry, tasted like they were using outdated cakes from the shop floor. For the price they charge it's very poor.

took up their offer of a free coffee and cake sent to regular JL/Waitrose customers Wish I hadn't coffee , flat white was acceptable the cakes ,my wife carrot cake was dry and in my view a not very generous portion , but hey ho it was free. I opted for the apple stollen, it was served ice cold. It was in my view a very odd cake, I had believed stollen to be a type of bread with a marzipan or fruit filling. This was a pastry case filled with apple rather like and apple pie using very thick filo pastry , the bottom was uncooked and the filling was very sour. I would have returned it but my wife hates a fuss. It does not give you a lot of confidence in the rest of their food!

My friend and I came here on friday for tea and cake.We used our John Lewis voucher which was very good value.Cakes were delicious as was tea and Latte. Service was a little bit slow but it was pretty busy on friday as we also found there were very few spaces to sit which is good sign as its obviously very popular. Overall was a friendly service and nice relaxing afternoon.

So I took my friend for coffee and cake and all I can say is NEVER AGAIN. The service was terrible and the counters were filthy and the cake was dry and my hot chocolate was stone cold. I think they need to employ more staff and learn how to tidy up and clean the counter

Excellent Service and cakes to die for. Quite a good range of choice if you are feeling peckish. Breakfast good too.

After calling in for a couple of coffees and two egg and bacon rolls at 08.00 we were very disappointed. This will now be the last visit to the restaurant. You pay for your coffee now and get a free cake that we didn't want at breakfast time despite ordering the two breakfast rolls. As for the rolls, hard like concrete, bacon dried up and not edible probably microwaved but the egg was ok so that's the end of that.

Waited 25 mins in the queue to be served, whilst one poor man was trying to serve on the till and make the children’s lunchboxes. Waited another 20 mins for the two breakfasts we ordered. The food was inedible. Stone cold dry bacon that crumbled away when touched, cold toast and a still FROZEN hash brown!!! Very stressed staff and no manager when we tried to complain. Not an enjoyable experience, will not be going back. Expected a lot more from John Lewis.

Visit often and do value the free drink and cake vouchers so very appreciative however you do need to pluck up courage to either queue or loiter with intent around the electronics ready to pounce if queue ever goes down. Cakes and drinks always good and staff always pleasant but the frustration queuing and watching the staff struggle with the system is very hard. You just want to reorganise the whole area/ system and get behind the counter to help them. It is the worst organised system imaginable and you can only think that they want to put you off using vouchers. If they did stop vouchers, would I shop there as frequently ? Not sure, life too short to queue for hours for free coffee.

Monday afternoon queued 20 mins to be served coffee and cake in Waitrose restaurant. Tables not cleared from previous customers and the floor needed a good clean. Then onto John Lewis shop floor. Asked a question of two Partners regarding a Samsung mobile phone offer they were advertising. Waited for them to consult for 15 mins to be told the offer had expired 2 weeks ago. We escalated to a third Partner and after waiting a further 10 mins, lost the will to live and left. We will not be dashing back here. Come on John Lewis/Waitrose, get a grip and sort our your customer service.

called in here over new year when there was no hot food available and hot drinks were being served in take away cups. Had to wait 15 minutes to get served and a few people walked out whilst we waited. appalingly slow service. GIVE THIS PLACE A MISS. !

Several visits to the John Lewis cafe have resulted in the same thing happening. Ordering food and drinks is a lengthy process especially if there are a few people ahead of you. Speeding up the food serving area is a must as this currently spoils an otherwise good eating experience. Clearing of tables a bit slow but thorough. Food was all good and reasonably priced.

Well we visit this coffee shop every week but that's fine if you get there when they open.

Waited 15 mins for a coffee. Staff need help getting organised. According to regulars in queue it’s always like this!

What is happening here? The service declines each time we visit and the delays in getting a simple cup of coffee make a glacier look positively speedy. This must be a reflection on a change of management because this is not the store that we used to love. By comparison the Waitrose below is delightful with efficient service.

Have eaten here before and always hope that it will improve, but it doesn't. Oh, why don't they take a leaf out of John Lewis at Bluewater?

We have visited for a quick lunch and found a peace of bacon in the salad I have asked the manager what's this on my plate he took the plate to kitchen and came back said probably is bacon I asked why it is in my salad he had no answer. Because they use leftovers from the customers I had a reason to ask because I'm not eating pork I was really unhappy but the reason I'm sure they use old salad . Catering buying packs of salad allready washed and prepared to use so from the bag to the plate there's no other way to mix different ingredients. Shame for a big name John Lewis you service leftovers.

Ir de compras en la semana aquí cada Waitrose. El servicio es muy lento la mayoría de los camareros no le parece incluso aburrido de su trabajo. Venga John Lewis lo puedes hacer mejor! Sólo a 3 personas. En la cola de todo y tutting sighing una persona sirviendo todo y hacer café. Necesitan claramente 2 personal de guardia!

Bastante sombría comer aquí. Nos hacían cola frente al a la hora del almuerzo, y a 10 minutos de espera, y antes de que nos sabíamos que el cartel era dicen que sería más tiempo.

Breakfasts, lunch or a large cake and tea selection... All have a good selection. The staff are pleasant and friendly, food is good quality.... A good experience.

Still disappointing. Despite being open for three years now this is still a facility that fails to deliver on many levels. Unbelievably slow service, and some very dirty tables. The over riding memory of eating here is the astonishing length of time it takes to get to the service till to give your order, (20 feet from the counter is a sign that says you will have a 30 minute wait to get served, and once you get to the counter is another sign that says you will have a 30 minute wait before your food is ready, 'even soup'. Ridiculous).On a positive note, your food when you get it is excellent. No complaints at all. So, excellent food, but a counter service and food preparation time that leaves you wishing there was somewhere else to eat.

Wouldn't it be lovely to pop into this cafe for a quick coffee and a flick through a newspaper. Forget it. This is a nice looking place, but I have yet to be able to get in to this restaurant for the simple reason that the counter service is so desperately slow and inefficient. Is there no manager with any experience on board? One youthful and clearly inexperienced server is expected to do everything - take the orders, take the money, fill the orders, make cups of coffee, fetch clean cups, etc ... it is agonisingly frustrating to watch. I appreciate that many of the clients are retired, and probably have nowhere to be or anything in particular to do, but for the rest of us this bad management makes this place a no-go zone. I recommend a quick field trip across the road to the nearest Costa to study catering efficiencies in action. Oh, and it doesn't help that the small cafe bar downstairs, in the Waitrose foyer, is usually shut - complete with the infuriating sign, "Sorry we missed you". You didn't miss us, you were shut. This place has been open for a considerable time now. It should be working smoothly.

John Lewis is a fantastic place to shop but the cafe leaves much to be desired - too slow by the time one has the coffee on the tray all desire for coffee has long since vanished.We recently visited the Ipswich branch where the cafe is shared between waitrose and john lewis and it just doesn't work as too many customers not enough working staff. Plenty of staff milling round putting cups/milk out but not enough serving drinks and food. Mid way through making my coffee the person left to collect cups but there were plenty on a tray. Then the other server left to collect milk but there was a whole tray-full!!! The American lady behind me became quite vocal about service being good in America!!! Why don't the servers serve and call to the table clearers to collect milk or cups?? Or is that too sensible?? They also collect up all the cakes at about 5 and take them away! Why oh why?? If we want a cake now we go to costa ron d the corner!! sadly!

Going around John Lewis is a very enjoyable experience, especially if you want a really nice present. All extremely good quality, and just slightly different. The staff are incredibly helpful, and nothing is too much trouble, then afterwards go and have some light refreshment in the restaurant. The porridge for breakfast is really delicious.

Nice atmosphere comfy seats(if you get there first). Sometimes a bit of a wait. Only wish it was easier to get a Gluten Free meal. Great for coffee.

We decided to have a cup of tea mid afternoon after looking at ipads in the electrical dept and surprised that nearly all the cakes and pastries had gone. It was very busy so we headed over to the 'soft chairs' to sit down, and they were so messy I was worried about sitting down on them as they had dried up food on the fabric. There was already a loaded tray on the table and it was not removed while we were there! The loo wasn't dirty but needed attention as there was water and paper on the floor. I am so surprised as this is not what one expects from John Lewis !!!

We were in John Lewis Home and having completed our 'tour' decided to have a drink and some cake. Unfortunately, although everything is nicely laid out, there is a distinct lack of attention to detail. Not all cakes were covered and despite it not being particularly hot, there were flies dining before us - i thus decided against cake! Most decent establishments have devices to reduce flies and have covers - come on JL. One of my daughters did have a sealed cake, which was ok apparently but nothing more. As for ordering, there was one young man on his own, who could have done with some help. As it was quite busy, I would've expected one person to take the order and another to prepare, but this didn't happen. Then when getting my coffee he proceeded to hold the cup with two of his fingers in it - i had to ask him to get another cup which he seemed to take offence to - he may well have had lovely fingers but I didn't want them in my cup!! After a very slow preparation of one coffee and three teas, we found ourselves having to clear a table and clean it and the chairs (full of crumbs etc) as there weren't enough staff actually doing what they should have been doing - they were happier chatting and ensuring they went off for their breaks.All-in-all, a poor experience from an establishment that should know better. I will certainly think twice about going back. What a pity as it has the potential to be very pleasant.

It's hard to believe that the John Lewis Partnership have anything to do with this in-store cafe. We visited at 3pm on a Saturday, well past the lunch peak, around half full but even then they were struggling to cope with serving customers.Even with a short queue, the inefficiency of the service counter with an awful lot of faffing around meant that the service time for each customer was very long. Not a study in time and motion! As well as our drinks we ordered a simple hot meal - a hot wrap with chunky chips. We ordered at 2:48 and our food arrived at 3.16. 28 minutes to make a wrap doesn't say much for the skills of the kitchen - the chips were so dried out and tough skinned that they must have been sitting under a heat lamp for the whole 28 minutes and the last few were completely inedible! Pretty meagre portion (small paper cupful) as well and hardly what could be described as chunky, more like standard oven chips to me! The whole place was a tip as well, with fourteen tables ( I counted) uncleared for at least 10 minutes - see the photo.The wrap itself was pretty tasty and the coffees were ok but nothing to write home about. All in all pretty underwhelming, frustrating and not what I'd expect from JLP.

Coffee was slow and horrible. For some reason we had cinnamon sprinkled on top of a cappuccino?! couldn't complain as the queue was to big and we couldn't see any staff floating about hence why there were 4 trays stacked up of plates and cups on my table. Slow Slow Slow come on train these staff John Lewis.

Typical John Lewis on the outskirts of Ipswich. Limited menu, not as big as some store restaurantsOK for a coffee with a friend, maybe a pastry, very good.No hot counter food.

Spent some money in John Lewis today and decided to have a quick coffee before heading home. Not many people the waiting so my wife queued whilst I sat at a table. It was a good twenty minutes when she arrived with coffee and cake. I couldn't believe the size of the coffee, a miniature cup two thirds full, hardly a mouthful and costing £1.50. She took it back and asked for a larger cup topped up with water. That is what it should have been like to start with, it was excellent tasting coffee, and the Danish pastry was pretty nice too.I feel sorry for the poor woman serving on that counter having to make the drinks and work the till on her own, you need two people behind the counter. On our visit today there was some guy complaining about the service. The management need to sort this problem out. This isn't the first review commenting on this. John Lewis is a store we enjoy visiting regularly but we won't be visiting the restaurant again.

We went for a quick lunch on Sunday 26/10/14 -never again .... the shortish queue moved at a snail's pace, I thought we would never be served ! ... my soup was tasty and adequate but my daughter's overpriced portion of scampi and chips was TINY..... several staff members around but only a couple were actually effectively doing anything - disappointing.

I love john Lewis the atmosphere great. service is just as good . tables get cleared quickly so the place stays looking tidy and clean. the coffee and cake is to DIE FOR it is delicious.

Visited for lunch whilst out shopping. Not very busy on a Monday lunchtime. We ordered our hot meals, with a notice that there was a 10 minute wait. We were happily sitting chatting when one of the staff came and apologised for the delay, said our meals were just being plated, and would we like a free top-up of our drinks! Before they arrived, the food was delivered by a friendly waitress. The lasagna and beef burger were both very tasty and filling.

Decided to treat ourselves to breakfast, what a mistake. We both had scrambled eggs with tomatoes served on sour dough toasted bread. It was very hard and chewy with no butter on and difficult to cut. The scrambled eggs were also dry and tasteless; thank goodness we had tomatoes it would have been inedible otherwise. The coffee was delicious, the staff are lovely and all so helpful and polite but we won't be back for breakfast, just for coffee!

Just visited the cafe for lunch with a friend. We queued for about a quarter of an hour as there only seemed to be one staff member working. Because of this we opted for toasted sandwiches which were pre-prepared. There was a sign advising a 10 minute wait for hot food which was changed to 15 minutes while we were in the queue. At the till the chap asked if we wanted our food 'warmed through' which we did and we then sat there for 20 minutes waiting for them! When I went to the door of the kitchen area I could clearly see about 4 or 5 staff members in there standing about joking and laughing and doing absolutely nothing while the whole cafe was ram-packed with people waiting for food. There seemed to be no management of the situation and no-one in charge and they were very apologetic when we finally got our food. It's such a shame as the food was good and we have previously eaten there with no problems but they dont' seem to be able to change up a gear when busy.

We've been here a few times for coffee and a cake, and the coffee really is delicious. It's quite wooed us from our local plakky Superstore with its tepid and cardboard food - as Waitrose card holders get a complimentary cuppa if they want it when they are in the shop ( and Waitrose doesnt cost THAT much more than the major Supermarkets).Today we had a proper lunch, and we opted for the chicken curry at just under £8 a head. There were lots of choices for less than that, you can have a good lunch locally for under a fiver, so we were expecting something decent for the dosh. The cafe (it isnt a restaurant) is situated on a mezzanine above the entrance, and this bit of the building links Waitrose with John Lewis next door. There is a small lift for disabled access.There is always a queue, so they must be doing something right. The cakes do look very enticing!You pay for your meal and are given a stand with a number on it to go on your table while you wait, and wait, and wait. And then you wait a bit more. We polished off our free coffee while we waited. As I said, it was delicious coffee.While you wait you are aware of how noisy and full of background echos the mezzanine is. You don't go there for a quiet cuppa or meal. At lunchtime it was mainly middle class women of all ages, with a few ladies of a certain age who lunch together; and the most popular lunch by far was a bowl of soup with a roll. This was served with a healthy dose of screaming infants, which were spread carefully around the seating area to ensure maximum vocal triangulation on our table. I don't normally mind children in a restaurant, and in fact I'm at the age when I go soppy at the sight of babes in arms, but given the noisy echoic reverberations just three or four infants kicking off can raid your hearing with a cacophony of sharp stress..... just sayin'..... a quiet place it isn't. Anyway, the meal arrived after 30 mins. Surprising really, as there was no-one else in the meal orders before us, and this was clearly a micro-wave meal. 3 minutes should have had it covered......It came with a very nice half naan bread - full marks there - decent rice spiced with cardamon pods, cloves and mustard seeds, and a creamy, gentle curry sauce. There were six little pieces of chicken in the meal - each about the size of a thumbnail or fingernail. Everything fitted into a soup plate, including a small dish of Mango chutney. Large it was notl there really wasnt a lot of it. Worse, it was tepid, (or worse) in places. If we hadnt been desperate after waiting 30 mins,, and not relishing another delay to eat it would have gone back. In summary, it seemed to be a small Waitrose ready meal, and if you added both meals together you would have a sensible sized portion for one. I guess ladies who lunch dont eat much.Well at least we get free coffee, that must be worth £1.50 a cup or more. So eschewing the lengthy queue for coffee and dessert we headed downstairs for an after lunch coffee in the casual "paper cup" place downstairs under the mezzanine. Except we were refused. From last week it seems that one cup per day is now the Waitrose way. Never mind spending almost £16 on two small and rather average lunches, no coffee for us, having drank our first one while we waited. And waited. etc etc. We were made to feel like a pair of criminals trying to rob Waitrose of two cappucinos.......So we scurried shamefully from the shop, and left the groceries unbought today. (Actually we popped into Sainsbury's on the way home for our groceries and had a coffee there). Well done Waitrose. I now know how John Lewis Partnerships managed to find £7m for a TV advert. We wont be rushing back for another very average lunch. And for the sake of 5p worth of coffee beans Waitrose has made us much more careful about shopping there in the future. Lets see if we are alone in this or if the New Year brings a profits forecast. So, nice coffee, noisy, echo-ey seating, long delays to order and more long delays for your food, and a mediocre dining experience when it arrives. Not great. Try Sainsbury's up the road for a fair priced cafeteria meal in much nicer surroundings. Or for similar money you can have a really great lunch at Mizu in the town centre.

Way too expensive.... I went on a weekend and despite countless staff behind the counter, the queue was emormous and move at a snails pace as the staff were all far too busy talking rather than serving.

Waitrose prides itself in being an upmarket supermarket chain on a par with Marks & Spencers.The food,quality,& excellent range of choice reflects this above the mainstream supermarkets.However,this cannot be said for the restaurant.It is typical supermarket café fayre. The restaurant is well laid out with a limited choice of food & drink on offer.But no wine or beer.Disappointing for what should be a decent café.

I've been to many superstores/supermarkets to have breakfast or lunch & normally they vary from mediocre to ok, but John Lewis/Waitrose is proberly the best of the lot!The bacon & sausage breakfast rolls are the best I've had in a long while & the toast is certainly different from the normal run-of-the mill fayre in other places, the service is excellent, & the cafe is very new (modern) with some retro touches for added character.Would benefit from a wider choice of breakfast menu - but that's only a minor negative!