Marks and Spencer Cafe in Newcastle-under-Lyme

My son & I met here for breakfast on a Tuesday morning. The queue in the cafe was very long, with one male member of staff taking the orders all on his own. (He was lovely, btw, bright & cheery - friendly service!) 2 x Eggs benediction and 2 x cappuccino, costing near on £26!! 😲 Now, I don't mind paying for something I enjoy, BUT, > the layout at the payment till did not flow and there was no cutlery - a member of staff, stood talking, told me 'there' ll be some on the other side! '..... there wasn't!!! When I finally got some, it was dirty and I had to go back & change it. >The empty tables were filthy, piled high with dirty cups & plates. It was hard to find a clear table, so my son moved the dirty cups to another table. No staff cleaning them. Not a first impression at all! > When our food arrived, it was only aired, almost cold. Reading through previous reviews, I have seen lots of customers commenting that their food was barely warm/cold, so what is the problem here & why is nobody addressing it??? > Then there was the coffee. COFFEE should actually taste of coffee, especially when I have paid an for an extra shot! This was the most disgusting excuse for coffee I have ever tasted. Frothy milk, no taste of anything resembling decent coffee. This coffee cost more than the coffee in Starbucks across the road. > Mark's & Spencer. What is going on here? You are obviously making enough profit within your pricing to pay staff to serve customers and clear tables. Why are they not being trained properly? Why are dirty tables 'the norm' for you. It's not acceptable and an insult to your customers. Most questionable, why are management not addressing these issues??? I see no replies to reviews, it seems nobody bothers to read them. Nobody cares! I'm surprised your cafe gets any customers at all!!! I will not be back, I will stick to my family run little cafe 5 minutes away with lovely food and clean tables!!

Be very careful when you visit this store as you are limited to 4 hours parking after waiting for food then a chat... we walked around the store, my friend had a bra measurement.... then went to the food hall.... so thought we had plenty of time as the parking was associated with M and S.... Not going to this retail park again... it turned out to be a very costly day out...

Sarah W. made us feel like a really valued customer. She was so friendly and helpful during our visit to M and s. She is an asset to your team. Helped us to find the vegan options and a lovely table.

We usually have a coffee here, it’s expensive but we have always enjoyed it! However, we went twice in a week (Monday & Thursday), on both occasions there was no oat milk available (there’s a food hall downstairs!) & on the 2nd occasion, the coffee was so bitter & disgusting, we left it!

Waited 1 hour for food. 30 minutes spent in the queue, 30 minutes spent waiting for the food to arrive. Then told that our food was made and thrown away as they didn’t know where we were sat. Come here if you like overspending on basic food and wasting an hour of your life.

Always a nice experience. Nice coffee and food. Staff always friendly! I do wonder why people comment that EVERY time they go its not a good experience why do they keep going back??

Terrible!! Absolutely filthy tables no one bothered to clean any, sat with 9 tables around us and all dirty, no where for customers to sit! The manager seriously needs some training in hospitality. Jacket potatoes we ordered were aired and very dry, plastic grated cheese that hadn’t melted due to them being cold. Deffo won’t be going again. Have read lots of other reviews and lots of people saying the same but obviously falling on deff ears. Just hoping the M&a branding/marketing is generating the profits coz it’s definitely not the service in the cafe

Keeping this very short,two coffees flat white and cappuccino where the worst coffees we have had for a very long time,never again.Staff pleasant.

I come here regularly as it's local and an easy place to meet people with a variety of options. I was irritated the other day to be kept waiting when there were 8 members of staff behind the tills, some of them literally doing nothing. One wiping a glass, two chatting, one fumbling with a till and another serving a customer slowly. The rest possibly making coffees or milling about? I'd rather not see 8 people and would be more understanding if the 3 people actually doing something were just there. But when there's 5 seemingly superfluous members of staff, none of whom have taken the initiative to jump on a till when there's me and at least one other person waiting, is a bit ridiculous when it's supposed to be this M&S quality luxury brand and I'm paying almost £3 for an Americano. I'm also stood there pregnant and watching the staff do nothing. I don't want to sound like a Karen but it's not really good enough. I'm more than happy to pay a bit extra for something nice, when it works it's lovely, great scones, nice enough coffee. Chips are fine. Chicken pot pie soup is never available so please just take it off the menu, sachet mayo is horrible and needs changing. But with a little love and better training of staff (standing around doing sweet FA looks highly unprofessional - may as well be out of sight, cleaning tables, kitchen stuff, just do something??!) this place could be such a lovely satisfying tea and cake spot.

Disappointing breakfast - overpriced meagre portions. Small piece of barely singed sourdough toast, insipid pale yellow eggs, Luke warm beans. Even the tea cups have shrunk.

Cutlery is always filthy, and often have to clear a table of piled trays in order to get a table. Also, if you are going for a scone, they currently haven’t had cream for 4 weeks! In need of a revamp - dreary.

I’m here again. I have been very critical of you in the past but today is excellent. Great survice at the till. Tables are lovely and clean. The floor is also clean. I’m so pleased 😀 you have got your act together. Fabulous five stars ⭐️

I came recently in May with my mum and daughter, we have been a few times before and have had afternoon tea which is fab! Recently we came just for a quick lunch, we both had toasted sandwiches that were really nice and I got a mini pizza for my daughter which she loved. The staff were lovely and very polite when they served us. I find this place is always super busy and I can always see why! M&S never fails when it comes to food and the cafe is great.

When this cafe first opened it was lovely, the food was nice it was clean & fresh. The last 3-4 times I have been have been dreadful. I keep thinking it can’t get any worse but it does. Dirty tables cleaned with dirty cloths, I know this because the staff don’t do a good wipe so invariably I end up going over with a wet wipe & they’re still filthy. I always have to ask for a table to be cleaned because they’re so piled up. I once went and there was a bird actually living in the cafe which was very unhygienic. It’s really appalling for marks and Spencer & they are not good with gluten free, always guess work with the staff. Giving it a wide berth from now on.

Supposed to open at 9 o’clock - this morning staff meeting in the cafe ! At 9.07 closed notice still up, and staff completely ignoring customers !!!

Visited Wolstanton M&S for a coffee and toasted tea cakes with my partner. The cafe was very busy and the queue was slow. My coffees were ready straight away, but the toasted tea cakes had not appeared after over ten minutes and on asking where they were they gave my husband one portion and on him going back yet again for the other one, they quickly brought the missing tea cake to the table. However, by then the coffee was actually cold and almost finished. I know it was very busy, but the whole experience felt like we were in a factory cafe with lots of tables needing cleaning and everything seeming to be chaotic. Today was definitely up to M&S standards.

The toasties used to be served with a lovely little salad and we’re really well presented. The Emental and mushroom toastie we were served today had barely any filling and was served on a side plate - no salad. I ordered 2 flat whites which are normally served with a lovely creamy topping and a bit of a “design” e.g leaf. The ones we had were just like regular coffees, they were quite literally flat. When I took them back to the lady who’d served them I politely asked if they were right as they looked very different to any flat white I’d had before. She was clearly annoyed that I’d taken them back and whilst she re-made them was not happy to do so! The quality is clearly slipping but not the price!

Waitress's not wearing face masks and I felt that the tables were too close together. The tables appeared to be the same as they had always been. There was a sign by the table asking customers to scan with their phone to register their visit but not everyone is able to do that - especially elderly people who are not au fait with technology

The staff work hard but there aren't enough of them to cope. Tables piled up with used crocks, food and napkins on the floor, no clean cutlery, dirty cutlery in the rack where the clean cutlery should be, tables all need wiping over. Member of staff walking round with a bowl of dirty water to wipe the tables.. Isn't M&S supposed to be something special? There is no excuse for this. They must be making a fortune so why not employ sufficient staff to keep on top of the situation. I couldn't see all the mess when bought my drink or I would not have bought it.

Long queues, not enough staff, dirty crockery piled up. Expensive for what it is. To be avoided if at all possible.

Hi. I’m here again and it’s nearly 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️for your staff today. Excellent for clean floors and clean tables today. It makes it very difficult for me to complain when all your staff are doing a wonderful job. Smiling. ☃️☃️☃️☃️. Have a wonderful Christmas and happy new year . happy. Something’s wrong. I’m HAPPY MICKH

The restaurant is nice and clean.Ordered breakfast,cake and coffee after doing a bit of shopping.The till lady looked displeased when I was still trying to grab my sparks card and payment,creating queues.I know it was busy time but I didnt mean to hold long line,then she asked me to step out of the counter by grabbing my arm as soon as I paid the food !!!lesson learned: i should have told her off and reported her to management!!

Called in for coffee and cake but no gluten free cake at all which was very dissapointing, we spoke to a lady about Thai and she was very understanding and knowledgeable about coeliacs and their needs but said its out of her hands.The surprising thing is that M&S have some of the best gluten free options in their food halls and plenty of choice but nothing in their cafe?????Cone in wake up there are a lot of allergies and intolerances out there you need to up your game.Also a lot of dirty tables with dishes on them, need to clean up quicker.

There was a short queue to order the food and drinks which is understandable and expected.The drinks were excellent, a really nice cup of tea.The food arrived quite promptly and this is when the disappointment came.The bacon was stone cold as was the plate, the sausage had a hint of warmth in it if you ate it quick enough.Grilled tomatoes were cold as were the mushrooms.Cold toast and freezing butter do not mix.It wasn’t just a bad breakfast it was a Marks and spencer bad breakfast.I will not consider eating there again.

Although I frequently go in to this store (as opposed to the cafe) I have avoided the cafe since my last visit 7 months ago. However, on a very cold day my husband and I were on our way home and decided to call in for some hot soup. The restaurant wasn't that busy but there were more tables with dirty dishes on them so anyone finding a clear or even clean table was a challenge, the chairs are always covered in food debris and they are never wiped either. From where we were seated we could see the food coming out of the kitchen and placed on an area where it was collected and subsequently delivered to the various tables. The various meals/food sat there for up to 10 minutes. When our soup arrived it was luke warm at best - we didn't return it for re-heating as it would then have gone cold whilst waiting for it to be brought to our table. There were two bread rolls and some butter - but the butter was hotter than the soup as it was seeping out of its little individual wrappings. Poor food and poor service, AGAIN.

Came for a coffee while shopping at the Retail Park. Large, busy cafe - thought the coffee was excellent, even though the staff were a bit slow !

Called for a quick drink last time I visited the store. Slow, disinterested service from the woman on the till. Took a minute to find a table which wasn’t either filled with dirty dishes, or smeared with food.I drank my coffee and left ASAP. Not the place you can sit and enjoy your drink.My advice, go to Starbucks!

Often call for a coffee and cake like we did this afternoon. Very disappointed only 3 cakes to choose from dirty tables dirty cutlery poor service. Come on Marks and Sparks get your act together.

Although a no of Disabled car parking spaces nearly always full. Therefore not enough. Take your own wheelchair they never have any. Unlike other super stores.

Took my my mum For a lovely day shopping and for lunch in this store only to have to leave as needed the toilet when we got there only to find a note saying there was a problem with them, every toilet was over flowing and full to the brim, a problem like this need sorting ASAP, needless to say we left , Very disappointed with M and S

At last. You have taken notice of my complaint off filthy tables and under the tables was as bad. Full marks ☃️today. You have a person cleaning tables and floors. Very pleasant person to. Excellent. I am critical when any one is not looking after there customers. But today a am A very pleased man.

I like a cold drink when I visit the cafe. I feel like a 5yr old when they only have plastic cups to drink from. They aren't even a nice design.

Second time in a row now ive ordered food and it didnt arrive after 39minutes. It was a simple toastie not a 3 coarse meal. Had my 4year old grandson and ge wanted a ham sandwich. There was none. Why at 12.30 i do not know. The choice he had was cheese sandwich, pizza or pasta. None of which he liked. After much complaining and telling me they could not make one up for him they eventually did. Very poor childrens choice. Tables well they nothing short of disgraceful. Dirty dishes everywhere it looked disgusting and uninviting. Its never going to get better. Staff are the most unpleasant ive ever come across. Sainsburys far better

I had a lunch time snack with a friend. The sandwich selection has dwindled. The area around the till is quite well set out. However when you get to the tables at least a dozen tables were piled with dirty dishes and sandwich wrappers etc. The whole time we were there no attempt was made to clear the tables. A manager was strolling around but made no attempt to get the tables cleared away. This gives the whole large cafe area an uncared for feel

I use the cafe quiet regularly and the service is very inconsistent, when ordering sometimes you will get a biscuit with your hot drink and other times they don’t bother. I do use the cafe as i do find there Americano coffee very good, also today had a piece of lemon drizzle cake which was very nice. Worth a visit they just need to work on there service.

Use to like a coffee and a cake, but it’s seriously lists its appeal.The service is awful, the staff are just rude and really don’t care these days.The coffee is better out of a vending machine, they just seem to have lost there mojo

Met here for a catch up with a friend and was terribly disappointed as there were no vegan cake options options. I enquired as to the ingredients of the cocoa powder which was fine, so I opted for a soya hot chocolate. The menu key proudly displayed a vegan symbol however that was limited to a couple main meals choices, and nothing available for a cake/dessert. One of the staff members kindly offered some strawberries. Disappointed by my visit as in store M&S carry lots of vegan labelled shoes/bags as well as plant kitchen for food. It’s shame that the vegan offerings don’t spread to the cafe :(

Decided to stop off for a well deserved chocolate milkshake at M&S cafe. Delicious and as they say - 2 minutes on the lips, a lifetime on the hips for the 5 star milkshake. Recommend a visit for all.

A run of mill M&S cafe but it is very popular with the silver surfers - long queues with their sparks cards in hand and indecisive choices on the array of coffees.Decent quality but a little over priced (but it is M&S)I will still keep going though - nice break from shopping

Had just left ASDA,so came here for lunch. Only to be met with long queue for tables.The set up here is and has always been atrocious. They run out of cups,saucers,spoons etc,servers run off to get them.There does not appear to be any system in place that can manage the smooth running of what is after all not just any cafe but an M & S cafe!!!Should and need to do better.

So, lunchtime, I fancied the all day breakfast.What dreadful fare served up.It was small - now I don't mind small - I'll return to this later - one small sausage, two small rashers of bacon, a spoonful of scrambled eggs, two cherry tomatoes, a scoop of mushrooms, and two small pieces of toast.The scrambled eggs were bone dry, like they'd scraped the dregs from a used pan.The bacon were like crisps, they were so overcooked. And the sausage was like a rubber chew toy.And the toast? It was like they'd just left the slices out to go stale. There was certainly no discernable colour to it.The mushrooms and tomatoes were nice though.And small. As I say, I don't mind small, if you're paying for a small breakfast. But this was just under eight quid. You'd expect to pay that at a motorway services.We also had a bowl of chips with it. Frozen chips. You know the ones that are dead powdery? Come on M&S....You're M&S.You should be doing better than this.

Turned up on bank holiday Monday, ordered 2 breakfast and poached eggs??.Was told no poached eggs as its bank holiday??.Went passed the hatch 4 trays of eggs was dirty floor staff no hair nets i member of staff no bra on my wife brought my attention to this.Standards have dropped since the opening. Disappointed in the overall visit .

Came for lunch with family was served by very unhelpful pink haired girl who did not know how to smile or talk to customers. Waited 25 minutes for food while others who came after were getting theres. Im sure they employ robots because they have no personality at all.rude, miserable ,ignorant awful staff. Dirty cafe. It only gets 1 star because it will not let you give it zero.

I often visit but enough is enough. If you like to wait in long queues, like staff being rude and sitting in a dirty environment then choose this cafe. After complaining my friend and I received a refund for our drinks, but even this will not encourage another visit. I also saw another customer at a table close by receiving a refund. I am not sure why they cannot seem to get the service right in this cafe as it has been open for some years now and this is certainly not the case across the group as other Marks and Spencer cafes are fine.

Despite my good review going back to November when I visited for afternoon tea I usually visit most weeks but don't tend to do repeat reviews. However, after yesterdays debacle and the deteriorating service over the last couple of months I felt I should post a further review. Dreadful staff who are miserable, very rude and unco-operative and provide extremely slow service - quite often the coffee is cold by the time you sit down, the general cleanliness is extremely poor I'm surprised they haven't been closed down - food that is dropped on the floor is left there, drinks that have been spilt on the floor are a hazard and tables that are loaded with dirty dishes with leftover food are not cleared and just left, along with bits of food left on chairs - even when the tables have been cleared they aren't wiped or disinfected afterwards nor food brushed from chairs. The cutlery boxes when empty look filthy, and when you can find a cutlery box with cutlery available that too looks like it could do with being put through the dishwasher to get it clean, water glasses when available look grubby and if you say anything the staff are not interested and can't even be bothered to offer to go and get some clean glasses/cutlery etc. This store at Wolstanton needs an overhaul quickly - either that or the staff need to go to other stores M & S stores to see what customer service is all about!

I have visited here several times, but the most recent one was the least enjoyable. It was very busy and quite frankly they were under staffed . There was a 20 minute wait for a pre prepared back bap to be heated up. There seemed to be a delay in clearing the tables and the only good point was the view across the city. I may well return but not in a hurry

We entered the store at 115 pm to be ‘greeted’ by a smiling lady at the front entrance door she couldn’t even muster up a welcome or good afternoon greeting. We then proceeded straight to the café which was rather busy which is not surprising being as there is a 50% sale on throughout the store. We ordered our food, struggled to find a table and so we had no option but to clear a dirty table ourselves. We waited about 25 minutes for the food and in this time we sat observing a group of de-motivated, un- interested staff who seemed to be on a go slow. Were we on a clear your own table day and no one told us?When we left the cafe was about half full but there were still 30 dirty tables. Disgraceful!!!!!The food was ok.

I have just been to M&S wolstanton ! What a complete shambles every single table was covered with dirty dishes , cups etc ! When this store first opened I applied for a job in the cafeteria , only to be told that I was unsecessful , & that customer care & customer satisfaction was key ! Well all I can say is where are your standards now ? I would have sacked every single member of staff today if they had been working for me .

Nice place, come on a regular basis, food to a good standard, waiting on staff could do with a bit of training. Always ask which sauce you want with the meals and only give you one sachet. (Could do with more) toilets not maintained. Graffiti been on mens toilet wall for atleast 6 months. Why I've given 3 stars no upkeep

We queued for drinks and as we got to the counter the young female assistant said I'm closing you'll have to go somewhere else and walked off to sort cutlery out.230pm on a Wednesday so we voted with our feet and did go somewhere else,This place is always the same,rude disinterested staff and Marks and Spencer's should be ashamed.Unless your desperate or have a very sad life avoid the place.The rest of the staff in the main store cannot be faulted.We will Never ever go in this cafe again.

We visited on a very busy day- there was a member of staff holding back customers to ease the flow.Even so we found the service surprisingly fast and the food provided - fish and chips was of good quality and very well presented.Staff attitude was very good.

Visited M&S Wollaston store to the first time and it’s a fabulous store so thought we’d have lunch. Knowing M&S very well and the cafes in general and as we were in a rush thought it was our best bet. Queued for 10 minutes to be served and get coffees and bought two sandwiches to be heated, thought we’d have to wait about 5 minutes. Wrong!!! Took half an hour to heat up two ready made sandwiches by which time we had long finished our coffee and by the time the food came out we had to bolt it down and rush off.Come on M&S.....you should be far better than that

When marks and spencer are you going to get a grip of this cafe. I have never been anywhere with such slow, miserable, unapproachable staff. You really dont care do you. The only thing i have in there now is a glass of water. Its the worst cafe ive ever come across for rude, ignorant and slow staff. Awful

I visit this cafe at least 3 times per week and sample a variety of meal options. The soup is always cold and half a bowl full. Only last weekend my husband and I sent back the dry scrambled egg and cold toast. Despair despair for a fabulous store with lovely staff by oh so poor cafe. Please get a chef and sort it.Elaine

Come here whenever we shop at Wolstanton so reasonably regularly. Every time there have been the same problems so that after yesterday's visit I finally decided to write a review as it seemed the problems are continual, not just one-offs. Wish I'd read all the previous reviews before visiting in the first place!Will now reiterate others' poor experiences. Slow and chaotic service. Yesterday the server decided it would be more efficient to concentrate on a particular type of coffee at a time so that we started getting only part of our orders filled and had to wait until she decided to change the type of coffee she was making. This meant a longer queue and colder drinks! There was such a wait that our food was ready before we'd even got to the coffee making station ... in the restaurant, which was quiet, many tables were uncleared. The stand where you put your own trays was full, so the crockery on the tables is not down to customer laziness.The food and coffee IS good, but expensive - and it's the service and surroundings which count as well. Such a shame that the culture here, or within M & S, doesn't seem to encourage a pride in doing your work well, nor in learning how to do it properly. The staff seemed to be trying to work hard but were simply inept and creating the poor service due to their inefficiency.Having seen the other reviews, I now won't bother to hope that things will get better and will simply go elsewhere for my making-shopping-bearable coffee.

Dirty tables, extremely slow chaotic service. Poor menu choice especially as M&S food is so good. Will definitely not be rushing back!

Our afternoon tea for 4 people had been booked for a set time and the table specified. The staff were very helpful and friendly and the afternoon tea with Bucks Fizz was excellent value for money. The sandwich selection (4 different fillings)) was excellent with plenty of filling, scone and cream and a selection of cakes all very tasty. Because it was a birthday treat for my friends mum the lady on duty looked after all of us very well and kept us topped up with tea and coffee. I have to say I wish the service on other occasions was up to this standard!

Being local we use this café at least once a week. There's pretty much something unnecessarily annoying on most visits. One being the reduction in butter for the breakfast - two pieces of toast and two butters was reduced to only one butter but still two pieces of toast? Are we meant to have the second piece of toast dry? because it's impossible for anyone to spread the butter that thinly to coat more than one piece!Each week we have the same breakfast and each week we have to ask them for salt and pepper which causes another long walk back to the condiments station for them - why don't they bring it on the tray and offer it in the first place! I have also had the experience that they run out of something that is sold in the food section on the floor below! I am even happy to run down and get it!So all that said, it's not big stuff and generally we let it go over our heads. This Saturday we were there first thing as always and ordered the breakfasts. There were 4 others in the café. The food was put out ready nice and quickly. I could see it on the side, getting colder and colder. After 10 minutes, it was still sitting there waiting for someone to bring it over (they don't like it if you approach their counter). Every minute that passed I got more annoyed and eventually went back to the till to find two young men talking about their night out previously! After having to butt in, and explain that our food had been on the side waiting for over 10 minutes, they told us to go up and take it. The food is never really hot but by the time we got this it was stone cold and we ended up leaving it. After a long week our down time was spoilt unnecessarily. I find it very sad that people don't value their job and want to give a good service. M&S are struggling like any other retailer but the staff don't see that if they don't provide service the store won't be a success!

They ran out of eggs for breakfast. Do you think they know there’s an m and s food hall downstairs which might just sell eggs. They might even get them at a discount. The food took 20 minutes to arrive and was cold.

When will I learn. You would think M&S could get fairly basic catering right, but at Wolstanton this is certainly not the case! Called in for lunch yesterday. At the till we were told hot food had a 30 minute delay. We opted to wait, it came 5 minutes later. Fish finger sandwiches are usually a special treat, sadly mine was only luke warm and the bread was rather dry and stale. My partner's scrambled eggs were overcooked and the toast was unappetizing with one small butter pat for two pieces of toast. Our teapots were only partly filled, resulting in a small cup of extra strong tea. And just to add insult to injury they have stopped providing the lovely little biscuits unless you ask for them!The cafe was littered with dirty tables, crockery etc. Plenty of staff milling around but no-one seemed to be clearing the mess!Same experience on previous visits. You would think nothing could go wrong with a toasted teacake ..........Wolstantons was burnt and they claimed to have run out of butter!!! So sad - I have a voucher for a Birthday Tea but I think I shall have to try a cafe at another branch

What a shock, filthy tables, racks and racks of dirty dishes left out and had to wait 10 mins for a Frappelatte.

Why does this place not open all the service points when it is busy??????????They have four in total yet, no matter how long the queue, only two are ever open leaving the staff to go and get crockery etc from the kitchen thus leaving customers waiting even longer. Management never around when issues like this arise.

Service slow, no biscuit offered with coffees, had to ask. My husband cleared a table so we could sit down, floor was littered with food. Had to ask a staff member how they would know what we had ordered or where to bring it as we had not been given anything to recognise us. This was dealt with immediately. My latte was lukewarm, queue too long to ask to reheat. Not cheap either and 50p for an extra shot is over the top.Good job I picked up some cutlery and napkins as when food arrived none were brought To the table which usually is the case with a meal. The waitress apologised for our half hour wait. Our main meal was superb but twelve chips for £2.50 is a bit over the top, and we cleared,our own table which we noticed a lot of people didn't do. We think this cafe needs a good reorganisation. Good to see you have more soup varieties, tomato and basil getting very boring!!

We regularly visit here- but use the cafe early in the morning. At that time we have only had pleasant and satisfying experiences with food and the general facility.What I would say is that M and S service everywhere is generally slow- and the use of various promotional store cards an absolute nightmare !No transaction is short and simple.

I’m a little disappointed today with your cafeteria. Dirty tables. Food under most of the tables. Plenty of staff but walking around aimlessly. Looks like you’re in need of a matron Maniger. Please get it sorted. MickH

Visited today for coffee and toasted teacakes which were the worst we've ever eaten. They were like hot bricks. We didn't complain because the staff were harassed and busy. Lots of tables were dirty and there were queues at the tills. It's a shame because M&S is normally a good bet for a cafe.

Called in at 6pm and ordered afternoon tea.Cafe had around 6 customers and similar amount of staff.Had to ask for table to be wiped which seemed to be a great inconvenience to the staff member,wiped just the one !.we chose leaving all the others dirty. When asked why she didn't do the rest she replied We've got trays of pots to clean and sort out.Questioned if she'd seen trip advisor comments she replied well that's fine and walked off.Requested to speak to manager and was told she was in charge.Packed food into our bag and left.Sought out manager from different department to complain and spoke to him, manager from ladies wear, absolutely brilliant,very sympathetic and apologetic. The kind of service you expect from M and S and a real credit to the company.Come on M and S, sort this place out once and for all, get more staff like the latter.If the others can't be bothered with customers or the job, show them the door before you lose all your customers.Oh forgot to say, the afternoon tea wasn't as illustrated either.

Went here for some lunch with my daughter on Friday 31st August we walked in to quite a busy cafe but the first thing we noticed was the cakes at the front were not filled up,there was no scones, not much choice at all. Then we went over to order drinks and pay and there was two staff on the tills with quite a queue now they have to stop to do your drinks then take your order and money which creates an organised disaster. We then went to find a table which were all loaded with dirty dishes filthy tables we sat down and had to wipe it off ourselves disgusting. When our food came it looked very nice but we had to keep getting up & down as we weren’t supplied with items that was meant to be served with the food. The food itself was very nice we really enjoyed it but the staff and lack of organisation and tidying and filling up lets this place down massively. It could be such a lovely well run cafe if it had the right amount of everything!

Nice place to stop and have a snack or cake and coffee. Decent food, friendly staff and a pleasant view across local countryside. Basic snacks and cake along with lunches.

Which clown has come up with the idea of supplying two pats of butter to cover three slices of toast ? Two into three don't go. Surely cutting the amount of toast would have been better two slices instead of three it isn't rocket science

Called in for a coffee yesterday. Went to get it and was informed in a very officious manner, by a young male staff member, that you have to pay first and then go and get it! So, Queued up and paid for him then to shout over that he would do it. Eventually got the coffee and sat down. No signs that I could see that told you what to do so they must assume that we are all mind readers. As coffees go it was nice, expensive for what it was, as is the rest of the stuff in what is a shop cafe. £5.00+ for a fish finger sandwich, £3.00+ for a slice of cake. You can get better and cheaper elsewhere. Not all the staff were with this attitude but it seemed that some thought that because they worked for M and S that they were superior to others. I have spoken to several other people about this attitude, and without exception, they have all had the same view. Staff training needs to be addressed, and quickly. I cannot say that I will go again as I prefer to go where customers are appreciated.

My final ever visit to this cafe today. Walked into to a mass off trays of dirty dishes covering many tables. Not for the first time. Rude staff. Got snapped at by one. 2 staff serving and not another to be seen. No one wants to know when you complain. Im sorry but there are far supirior cafes than this so give it i miss

Why do these big companies like Mark's & Spencer want to fleece their loyal customer base by continually reducing portion sizes in their cafe's and also still charging through the nose for their offerings. Every Sunday morning I visit their Wolstanton store to partake of their cafe society with friends. I'm actually on the verge of boycotting the food owing to the above reasons. Please M&S stop spoiling it for people like me.

We attending the cafe today whilst out shopping to grab some food, I am lactose intolerant. when looking at the menu we asked if I was able to have the sausage sandwich without butter. The guy on the till informed us that they were prepacked with butter already on so this wasnt possible. I asked him what else they could do that I was able to eat? He went off to ask, to return somewhat 5 minutes later to say they could make the sausage sandwich fresh but wouldn't be able to put it through the till so wouldn't do it and that the only option I could have was a jacket potato. We left.This is shocking to a) only have one option on the menu b) to be unable to put it through the till as a reason that they couldn't do it? and c) for somewhere with a high standard the staff were useless, this is shocking and needs to be sorted out!

Welcoming, clean, bright and cheerful place serving quality drinks and snacks. Staff helpful and knowledgeable, spot on.

Tables everywhere covered in dirty dishes no one clearing tables. They had run out of cups tea pots trays sweetners and cutlery was dirty. All you could her was people were moaning. Sun 4th why are none off the staff serving food and making drinks not wearing hats or hairnets disgusting. Girls hair hanging everywhere. Its just not acceptable. I will never visit this cafe again it goes from bad to worse. Its no wonder m&s stores are suffering. Standards have slipped greatly.

Food fine, staff good, cafe OK but it has a feeling you're in a corner of a big warehouse. Glad to sit down during my Xmas shopping.

This has to be the worst Marks and Spencer Café. The staff are rude, the service is beyond slow and the cleanliness leaves a lot to be desired. The queues are regularly out of the door and even when you ask for someone else to come to the till they never do.I have visited approximately 10 times hoping it will improve, but no more I would rather drive a few miles and get a coffee somewhere else.My advice is don't bother, you will be disappointed.

Nice enough food and atmosphere staff are always good with our little one and the shop is well worth a look to

Friendly and helpful staff, always looking well groomed. Excellent choice of food and served to top standard as would expect from M & S. Occasional downside it can be a bit noisy when full but this is better than being empty and echoing.

Visited the cafe on a Saturday afternoon approx 2pm to find there were no cakes on the self -serving table , just a couple of scones but you couldn't have cream with them as there wasn't any!! Decided to just get a drink - queued for 10mins , only to be told that the till was closing and we had to move to another till as she had to get some cups as there were none!!! Queued again for a further 10 mins, before we actually got served the other till re-opened and instead of her ushering us over to be served she just ignored us and served some old lady who jumped the queue. We ordered our drinks and paid. The young girl who served the drinks was shouting over the counters that her shift had finished 10 mins ago and if she didnt get cover she was just going to down cups and go !!! I looked at her exasperated - she apologised and said it was like this on every shift. When I replied you need more staff and a new manager she agreed!!! Will probably not go back to this cafe again, which is a shame as M&S once had such excellent service and standards!!!!

A great cafe chairs and tables very modern excellent decor .Had a fabulous berry tea and a warm croissant delicious especially with gorgeous jam .Coffee excellent

What on earth is going on in this cafe. It is a case off spot tbe clean tables. Ive never seen such a mess. Meals are way over priced and service is just shocking. Slow and unfriendly. Get a grip m&s

I visited this cafe with my nana and have a delicious lunch. We didn't have to queue and were served straight away. We found a table that was clean and sat down and waited for our lunch. We had only be sat for about 5/10 minutes before our lunch was ready and served to us. We both had a jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn which tasted delicious and we both had a latte which was beautiful. The staff throughout the cafe were polite, friendly and were always busy cleaning tables and serving meals. I had a wonderful lunch while having a lovely chat with my nana. I would definitely go back again when I went to look around M&S. Thank you for your brilliant service!

Visited restaurant on 19/10/2017 sorry to say very disappointed we had to clear two tables before we could sit down. In front of us a single table with eight dirty cups this was 12 midday and there were breakfast plates still there we had a drink and left. On leaving I asked a member of staff if they could get tables cleared answer was we are very short staffed and they would get cleared eventually. Not what you expect from marks such a shame as some of the staff are lovely

Had to queue to get in. But elderly queue jumpers made us a bit annoyed as we were advised by staff they were regulars! Surely they should queue like the rest of us.Unable to find a clean empty table when we got our food and drink and had to ask for this.Staff working very hard but defiantly suggest more table cleaners and suggest that everyone should queue, even the lady on crutches had to stand in the queue!

Today and every other day we have been to the cafe we find it in a state of distruction.Nearly every table is mowed down with used crockery, food, and to get to one of these tables you have to tip toe through chips etc.all around the floor.We sat down after clearing our own table to be bombarded by two big blue bottles after the food renmants. What on Earth is going on marks and Spencer get your act together

Visited on Saturday lunchtime, 15 minute wait in the queue and then another 30 minute wait for a toasted sandwich. The whole time a dirty tray was left on our table from previous customer although staff walked past about 20 times. Won't be revisiting in a hurry

Visit the cafe quite regularly and always have the minestrone soup it's full of pasta and vegetables and small bits of bacon, went on Friday didn't look at menu just ordered minestrone soup to be told it's not on the menu anymore it's a seasonal dish and has been replaced by tomato and basil which is nowhere as good or filling very disappointed!!!!!!!

Love the coffee and food from here , recommend to anyone, great atmosphere and furniture. Fantastic view out of the window, recommend to anyone!!

We found the service was very slow and when food arrived 1 meal had been omitted. When delivered salad was very poor consisted of few leaves, hot grains and a very small quantity of ham no salad I.e. Tomatoes or cucumber etc. Very poor value at £7.

We have called here several times. This was the last. The food is expensive with small portions. Today the first 9 tables we saw as we walked in were full of dirty crockery. The queue was ridiculous, one girl on the till, one very disinterested girl making the drinks. Many staff walking around. One delivering a plate, walked back past the dirty tables & didn't pick up a thing. We saw this happen numerous times. Staff wandering aimlessly around. An absolute eye opener. Cannot believe this cafe has deteriorated even more than at the beginning, rather having a good shake up by management. We shall not waste our money there again. As we walked out those 9 tables still needed clearing. Disgraceful!

Dropped in for coffee and cake. Not that much choice cake wise and it didn't look that appetising. I had the walnut cake which was ok but a bit dry. Cappucino was nice. I agree with the others that queuing is definitely and issue, which considering the majority of people seem to be buying packs of sandwiches or serving themselves with cakes..is not really good. Also had to clear my table to sit down and they weren't that busy it was late afternoon.

Had a quick bite and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and the great view. A fair choice of items at reasonable prices

Going to M&S in Wolstanton is not just for shopping. Take time out to visit the cafe, it is a real treat. Food is lovely and customer service is great. If you are lucky to get a window seat, you can enjoys of the city too. Well worth a visit.

I have been to this cafe a few times but i really have give up. I have never been to a cafe that have so many staff but take so long to serve and make drinks. Its not acceptable. If you complain they dont care. I went to get cutlery and it was covered in dried food . When i went to tell someone they couldnt have been less interested. Many tables were messy and no one seemed to care. I spoke to other customers that day who were unhappy with the service. Give this cafe a miss. M&s sort your cafe staff out far to slow and poor customer service.

stopped in for lunch - bit busy but tables being cleared to make space - but not very fast.Two of our party wanted the chilli and rice - but they said there was none - (it was only 12:30) not exactly late. BUT they did have chilli to go on jacket potatoes ????food arrived reasonably quickly - 2 jacket potatoes ; one mac and cheese and one soup.food was good and tasty but jacket potatoe was not really done enough for me - but all plates were finished.pot of tea food

Waited ages for a jacket potato. No one came to clear our table. Huge queues at till & really slow people serving.

I attended M and S Cafe for a Friday lunchtime in February with my girlfriend and I must say the place was packed, struggled to find a parking space and there was a queue to get into the cafe. Who'd have thought it in Stoke?The service was very good, the attendant even had a chat while I waited for my girlfriend and bought the food over quickly with the impressive waitressing system where you were given an electronic tag so you could be found quickly.I went for the salmon and cream cheese bagel which was quite standard but I wouldn't say it was better quality than buying bagel, salmon, and cream cheese from aldi. But was charged a fiver for this, and 2 quid for a little bottle of coke. My girlfriend went for the caesar salad whcih was 7 quid, the chicken looked quite cheap the stuff you'd get out of a packet but the rest seemed ok. The bill came to £15 which I understand isn't a great deal for a lunch out at M&S but it was a cafe and seemed a lot for the quality of what we got.However, it was heaving so the masses must love it!It must remind them of a school dinners type atmosphere of a noisy hall with the frequent clanging of cutlery and plates hitting the deck.Personally, I'd go elsewhere. It is better than Sainsburys cafe though!But it does mean my girlfriend can get in/out and back to work within the hour.Was pretty hungry too, so if you're thinking this is going to do you for your lunch. Get a bigger portion

The other reviews here seem to praise the coffee, but they must be drinking cappuccino or latte - I drink my coffee black and I have never come across such weak, watery and tasteless coffee as I was served here today. all i can say is that it was hot. Quite a disappointment when I had queued through the ridiculous system that they have in the cafe. First you have to queue up to order and pay, then leave that till and go around to the other side of the till island to collect your coffee. It also means that you can't see if there are seats available, so it is perfectly possible you may have to stand to drink your coffee! never seen such a weird system! First time I visited this cafe and it will be the last - I will happily go to the Starbucks just outside!