Loaf & Bloom in Milton Keynes

When Debenhams changed the style of it's cafe offering, they seemed to have really taken it up market. Standards, particularly those of the staff, had rocketed and although I reckon a lot of folks wouldn't have liked the improvements (old habits die hard), I and many others did.Unfortunately the honeymoon period has clearly passed and this visit was less that satisfactory.Tables littered when we arrived, checkout system slow and food no longer quite as classy as it previously has been.Ordering soup and a jacket potato, we took our seats and waited on it's arrival. After about 10 minutes, the buzzer flashed (they use an electronic table ID system) and we waited expectently for the food to arrive. Nothing! Thinking that perhaps they had changed the system and we should go back to collect it, I headed to the till point. Could see both items sitting under the heat lights but was advised that it would be brought over.Returning, we seemed to wait for ages before the Baked Potato arrived. Putting it down, the waitress advised me that my wife's soup would be following. I was about halfway through my meal as she passed us with two more baked potatoes for another table. Almost finished my meal, the soup finally arrived - along with appologies for the delay.The baked potato was packed with filling but frankly, was mildly warm rather than hot whereas my wife did say her soup was very hot (maybe it was thanks to the time under the heat lights). The salad accompanying it was poor and really only represented compliance with a menu description, certainly not adding to the value of the meal.A real disappointment which left me feeling that Debenhams have allowed their cafe to begin to sink to the depths of the old one which would be a real shame.

Visited here yesterday afternoon, we needed somewhere to feed our baby so we grabbed a coffee and my wife fed the baby, coffee was good, the place has a nice calming botanical feel to it, cannot comment on the food but the staff I spoke to were helpful and polite, we would go there again

Slowest service ever, food was cold and tables had stuff all over - very understaffed. It’s all gone to pot

Quite busy over the lunchtime period but staff remained pleasant and focused on service. Good lunch menu options. Little surprised by previous comments about hygiene issues as didn’t see anything to give concern

It might be just because it’s a Saturday but the food is simply dreadful. It also isn’t clean. I can’t put into words how broken and overflowing the toilets are and they still thought were functional.Hopefully they will sort themselves out - as the place has potential.

We went for lunch recently with a couple of friends, and my friend dropped an item on the floor we had to move the tables ( which were on round bases) to find the item, and were disgusted at the amount of debris and stale food which was underneath the tables,I complained to customer service and was told someone from Loaf and Bloom would be in touch about my concern on their hygiene.needless to say no one has been in touch they obviously couldn't care less.certainly won't be eating there again.

Ridiculous lack of gluten free lunch options. All of their toasted sandwiches are “pre made” so good luck finding something to eat if you are gluten intolerant (my friend was offered a “tomato sandwich”!) Real shame as apart from that the food and service is usually good when the tolls are working! We had to go to M&S (who do offer a wide raked of gluten free choices) Loaf and Bloom need to get with the times and cater for allergies like everywhere else

My wife and I went to M&S in the morning for a coffee and a bit of cake. I chose lemon drizzle cake but took it back as it was stale. We then went to Loaf and Bloom in the afternoon and the difference was unbelievable! The lemon drizzle was moist, fresh and zingy. And the baked potato with beef chilli was in my 50 years the best I have EVER tasted... and I mean that literally. Debenhams have overtaken M&S and that is something I thought I would never say !

Love this cafe - caters for all including vegan chocolate cake. Very friendly staff and nice atmosphere.

Decided on having a break whilst shopping and immediately struck by the decor, fittings and general impact of the location. Totally different from any other store ‘cafe’.Ordering/payment is done at the counter where you are given a GPS ‘pad’. This means the waiting staff can identify where you are sitting and food is quickly delivered when ready.I coffee, 1 tea and two trios of pastries came to £11 - perhaps a little on the high side but the quality, service and surroundings do make it value for money.

Excellent service , delicious food and all the staff were so kind and helpful towards all our residents and our carers. I booked the front seating area for a cream tea and we were delighted by the service provided by John and his team . Big thank you to the Manager Zac for organising sample cosmetic gift bags for our residents too . I would highly recommend Loaf and Bloom for Afternoon Tea. Thank You so much for your kindness and phenomenal service this week . We will definitely come back soon !

Lunch time stopover at the Loaf and Bloom inside Debenhams. Ordered the butternut squash, chickpeas and spinach curry with naan and rice as well as a southern fried chicken burger. They operate a tracker system which is then used to deliver the food to wherever it is that you are seated.

I had a snack lunch here yesterday, at about 12:00 before it got really busy. The young man serving behind the counter was extremely pleasant and helpful. A lovely smile too.

Called in for lunch before the onslaught of shopping in central MK.... what a shambles, total lack of any organisation, staff totally clueless and zero interest in getting anything done. Ordered 4 meals, 2 were wrong, one replaced twice.... still wrong.... ended up giving up and leaving with a partial refund.... nice coffee though.

What a shame Debenhams have let this happen! Their restaurant was great, the new one isnt. It's pretentious, expensive, less choice, badly laid out, tables were cleared slow and none were cleaned, my toasty was rock hard underneath, red cabbage coleslaw very vinegary and my husband's orange polenta was gritty and soggy. Such a disappointment.

We decided to try a spontaneous high tea in MK. Went to Loaf & Bloom and asked if they served tea. Yes - but not on the menu board (why?).

Always come to Debenhams to start our shopping trips to MKC. Delighted with the new cafe. Upmarket and clean, well laid out with fantastic staff who can't do enough to help you. At first we were a bit confused about the brekkie. We always have full English and we thought this was a bit expensive until we tried it. Wow! What a delight. Beautifully presented with 2 small fabulously cooked poached eggs. No they weren't fried but I loved them and want to know how they were cooked (how do you get them like that please?) and everything that accompanied this was great. Could have done with a hash brown to perfect this. Especially loved the sourdough bread. As I said earlier the staff were so polite and helpful. This has now become our favourite place for breakfast. Now if I could just work out what those eggs were and how to cook them.....!

This is a nice coffee shop / cafe and I am happy to recommend it. The staff and service are both very good and it is well appointed with a variety of comfortable seating. There is a good choice on the menu and the prices are reasonable.

One snowy afternoon we went to Debenhams to get new kettle and toaster. I've seen this newly refurbished cafe and finally gave it a go with my husband and daughter. I just love the decorations and the feel as soon as you entered the cafe. Lots of greeneries, lighting is spot on and furniture selection is fab! We ordered jacket potato with chilli and nachos, skinny fried, and pea & ham soup. All were nice! Might try their afternoon tea selection as they look scrummy!!

Beautiful restaurant but poor service from clueless staff. Only one guy who look interested and spoke with me was tall Italian guy.

Well, when the cafe reopened, they refused to serve the lovely fruit toast we love. To add insult to injury, this was available at other Debenhams cafes, including Cambridge.

Visited today at lunchtime. Lots of empty tables. Unable to buy a bacon sandwich. Limited food offerings. Chose a ham and cheese puff pastry twist and a cheese and ham toastie. Both items on open topped counter. Expected these to be only for show and my order to be kept in a fridge. But no, our food was taken from open display and warmed up. Food and drink brought to our table. My coffee was hot but my husbands coffee was barely warm. Over £5 for a toasted sandwich is very expensive. Staff very pleasant but we won't be returning.

Lovely atmosphere and no struggling to the table with a tray and bags because they bring it to you with the magic table locater device. I also loved the cup, saucer and teapot, l will definitely make this my first choice stop in Milton Keynes.

2nd visit here and dont think there will be a 3rd! Decor and the place is place is really lovely and the staff seem nice.

Only popped in for a cup of tea. Staff were friendly and helpful. Not the quickest service to our table.

Good place if you have time to sit and eat but not if you want a quick coffee. We have eaten here and enjoyed it but twice have been for a quick coffee during shopping and waited far too long.

I used to hate if my wife chose Debenhams for lunch whilst we were shopping.

Visited on Sunday. Ordered our drinks and took our scones to our table. Waited for our drinks, and waited, and waited.....I had to go and find out where they were. Waitress located them on the counter, not sure how long they'd been there, our tea was stewed. I was told to go and sit down and she'd bring to us. As she delivered to us she noticed our scones had gone. She suggested we could have another cake! I suggested we could have a refund. She wasn't the manager and went off to find the lady in charge.....NO ONE CAME TO US. APPAULING. Dreadful service. We had to leave as parking ticket was coming to an end. Very disappointing and we wont be returning!

Have used Debenhams cafe for years, but now it has been reinvented as a waitress service coffee shop.

I cannot believe you have done this, I took my sweet soon to be wife for a breakfast before we got married I heard it was meant to have exquisite food and a wonderful atmosphere, I arrived to find only scrambled egg available with the breakfast and the toast was 90% air it was worse than walkers deep ridge crisps, also no orange juice what's up with that, at least you had green and blacks chocolate, oh wait £1.50 it weighed like 50 grams, that's 3 pence a gram!! putting all that aside the atmosphere was nice and the staff were very friendly but it'd be nice if they smiled even when they aren't looking directly at us it felt a bit like an act. When I asked a question to the barista she seemed very fed up

Great place to visit - especially after the recent new fit out that includes raised seating, and benches that have power & USB outlets for laptops, phones etc. Excellent table service as well if you stay a while longer. Keep it up!

Visited today with one of my friends as we had been out christmas shopping. We were greeted by two very lovely people at the entrance (one woman & one man) the man explained how the new restaurant worked & we queued to order. When we got to the till the young lady behind was very helpful, recommended one of the salads to go with our sandwiches (which were amazing!)

I visited Loaf and Bloom last week with my parents, I firstly was so impressed with the new decor. The staff were so friendly and helpful especially the manager, who I later found out his name was Leon. He called my mum a 'young lady' and was having a bit of banter with her which she loved and commented on later once we had left. He was so friendly went through the menu with us and really made the whole experience, of course food and surroundings are important but these days a lot of places lack customer service and it was refreshing to be somewhere where staff were so pleasant especially the management.

Fabulous restaurant, warm atmosphere and very friendly staff. Service fantastic, couldn't fault anything. Food was absolutely super, Will be sure to come back here again..We were greeted by the manager who was not only extremely helpful in terms of service,but also quite the comedian !

I could overlook the slightly overpriced nature of the food due to the lovely atmosphere created by the decor and the staff, however I could not overlook the way that I was treated when I experienced a problem with my food, only to find out that it was by the manager! My breakfast was not quite right when it first came out so I informed a worker who spoke to me as if I were a child in the rudest manor. I assumed as he wasn't wearing the same apron that he was simply a trainee, but to later find out that he was the manager of the restaurant and treating the customers in this way is ludicrous. I would come back, but only if I was sure that he was no there and only the lovely staff.

Lovely new decor and deli style atmosphere. But the food choices have narrowed especially for the kids.

A lovely little deli found in the midst of Debenhams. Great decoration, fantastic service and the butternut squash soup was delicious!

Ordered a toaster and a sandwich which both came with a side,but no sides, we might have some out the back they said,I then had to ask if they could have you look also had two pots of tea £15

The new Debenhams restaurant is stunning. Staff ultra pleasant, prices a little on the high side but given the decor, totally acceptable... however, the ‘menu’ for what it’s worth was sparse to say the least. 4 cooked items, a few ‘pricey’ rolls with filling and a few cakes.

Walked in - walked straight out. Looked at the price of a scone, doubled in price £3.00 for one, so three scones and tea around £15.00 The display for the cakes was pitiful, did not get get any real choice and presentation was to say in the least disgusting. Bring back the old one and quick, nice selection, well set out and could choose your own piece of cake, not selected for you. Sorry Debenhams you have priced yourself out of the market place, had 3 hot chocolates and 3 cream donughts =£9.00 nearly half the price. Will not be visiting again very soon.

very delicious mac and cheese...in a lovely environment Loaf and Bloom is lovely a credit to the milton keynes Department store very relaxing!

always used to have a great value cooked breakfast at debenhams on every mk visit.

Debenhams new cafe/ restaurant has quite a good vibe. We came here for breakfast on its opening day but we're interested to see what lunch would be like. I decided to have meatballs with sour dough and salad. I actually decided at the till not to have the salad. When my food arrived there was no sour dough bread. This although annoying was quickly rectified. The meatballs and sauce was nice and was well mopped up with the sour dough.

Popped in for breakfast before going shopping. At first glance the decor is a real improvement... it all changed when we walked in. We had a very bizarre welcome, as if we were walking in to the Ritz, explaining the history of the brand and how to order our food. Although the man was very polite, he seemed to just be in the way of the drinks, instead of actually being helpful. We ordered our breakfast, not much choice on the menu as before but it seemed ok. We made a few changes to our choices, one without beans and one without eggs. There was a long wait for our food. When the order finally came, our requests hadn’t been done. There were two choices of scrambled or poached eggs, this was also incorrect. We told the man who served us but unfortunately he just kept pointing at the receipt he had, which was also wrong. He didn’t offer to change it so we had what we were given. The quality was very poor for £8 per plate, one sausage, one piece of bacon, a tomato, eggs and congealed old beans and none of it very nice or warm. Luckily Debenhams had a store wide discount so our breakfast for 4 ended up being £24 instead of £36. Definitely wouldn’t recommend or return. Plenty of places to get a decent, warm breakfast at half the price in the shopping centre.

I don't know when it happened but Debenhams Cafe has turned into a Coffee shop. The decor is very upmarket and comfortable but it seems to be just snacks and drinks rather than the hot food of the previous cafe. It is also expensive compared to the high street coffee chains. Staff were helpful as it is a bit confusing as to where to queue.

I loved The Debenhams restaurant for its reasonable prices, great value breakfast and simple surroundings. Now it is a tester site for Loaf and Bloom, more of a deli, more of a lifestyle choice and seemingly an attempt to move upmarket. The staff are all enthusiastic and attentive, the place is clean and new but my first visit for breakfast was a damp squib. The Great British Breakfast has no option for fried eggs as they have no frier plate. The food was delivered on cold plates and the scrambled eggs were dry and in lumps. The food rapidly cooled. Excellent soda bread toast, good bacon and a sausage but the hash brown was limp and stodgy as everything has to be oven baked. And a simple breakfast at £8 plus more for a drink. For myself and daughter, a bill for £22.00. Im sure the lunch menu is excellent but at breakfast I am not looking for a lifestyle statement. John Lewis breakfast give a choice of items for a similar price on hot plates or Harvester/Beefeater breakfasts are massive for a similar price, though the surroundings are no so up market.

Only went in for a one tea, one large coffee and sandwich, £10 later had to send tea back as cold, coffee was 3/4 full sandwich ok. Much preferred the choice in the old restaurant the ambiance is ok nicely decorated but think they have increased all prices so that customers are paying for the redecoration

First visit and can't knock it at all. Greeted by very friendly informative staff who told me exactly where to go depending on what I wanted and even gave recommendations. Scones were amazing as was the coffee and very quick service. Nice to have some decent customer service for a change!

Came for lunch with my children and was very impressed. The new style looks amazing - relaxed but very contemporary. I had soup, the kids had ham and cheese toastie and it was all gorgeous in fact the kids said their food was the nicest toastie they'd ever had! We sat up by the window with views over the town whilst I had a chilled glass of prosecco. All the staff were so helpful and friendly and really couldn't do enough for us, nothing seemed to be too much trouble. It's a shame we live in Manchester or I'd be here every week. #loafandbloom