Marks & Spencer in Central Bedfordshire

This is the only cafe in this shopping area so has the monopoly, waiting times for hot food was silly, only wanted toasties warmed but took 40 minutes, by this time we had finished our drinks. Won’t be revisiting.

Dreadful service, the young guy on the till was taking the order , taking the payment and making the coffee terrible system had to wait 15 mins just to order and the coffee was not very good won’t be rushing back

Understaffed at the till and coffee machine on a Saturday meaning a dreadfully slow service. The dining hall was very grubby. Floor sticky, dirty, tables and chairs untidy and filthy. This is not just M&S cafe, this is Biggleswade M&S cafe.

A very disappointing and rather offensive experience at M&S cafe, where my daughter and I went for a catchup lunch. Not only we were served an incorrect (regular instead of vegetarian meal), for which waiter checked the receipt for proof rather than trusting our word, but also part of the sides were missing, and when finally served were overcooked. Then another lady approached us interrupting quite rudely, pointing at the scone we were having, a small jar of jam and clotted cream asking if I paid for it. Surprised I reassured her that I paid for whatever I was told to pay at the till. She then asked to see my receipt, where she pointed out that jam and cream where not there, seemingly catching me out for what was the cashiers mistake. I reassured her calmly that I will pay for whatever else I need to pay before we leave. A few minutes later there was a shift changeover, and the same lady few yards away from our table was having a handover with her colleague whispering something and both looking our way. It was getting ridiculous at this point. To top that, another few minutes later we had yet another member of staff approaching our table, asking whether she could collect a plate while we were still eating, and reminding to pay for the jam and clotted cream before we leave..! All the interruptions to what suppose to have been a lovely catchup with my daughter by 3 of the staff by that point, whispers and secret glancing our way was getting ridiculous, for what was their staff mistake in the first place. They indeed got £1.25 paid for the jam and cream before we left, congratulations for the team effort, but lost 2 customers with such a disappointing attitude, unnecessary hassling and poor order fulfilment.

Very poor value for money. Miserable staff. Restricted to 2 napkins! Sausage Ciabatta was dry as sawdust (£5.50). Went cold waiting for ketchup to arrive. No saucer for the teacups and didn’t want to leave my teaspoon on the table. Jacket potato (6.50). This was okay but very small and only worth 3.50 in my opinion. Screaming children everywhere and parents really don’t care. Overpriced and stressful experience,

I came in store in need of help for some new bras. Tanisha guided me through a bra fitting service with amazing advice and knowledge . I was so impressed and grateful for her time. I walked away with 4 new bras. She’s an absolute credit to the company and store .

We stood in the queue for what seemed like ages due to there being only one till being used. It was roughly 2.35 in the afternoon so I tried to order two afternoon teas but was advised they had sold out. They don’t start to serve afternoon teas until 2pm. So I ordered fish and chips twice and once again was advised there were no fish and chips! I asked the waitress what was available to be told jacket potatoes or sandwiches were all the choice we had. I tried to order a fruit scone and a cheese scone with Lates. I paid for my order and was directed to the display of scones and cakes. Another customer picked the last cheese scone so I opted for a second fruit one. I had made payment for clotted cream and jam for the original scone but was not given the option of adding these items to my order once I had had confirmation there were no other cheese scones available. I was directed to three different places to self serve! The staff looked and sounded fed up! We will not return as it was not a pleasant experience.

My wife and I visited the retail park at Biggleswade and had drinks and biscuits at M&S cafe. We were "served" by the miserable, as ever, Viktoria as the other queue was busy. We paid for the drinks and biscuits and I asked another woman there, assisting Viktoria, if she could help with the tray to our table as I use a walking stick and my wife uses a walker. The response was a loud and abrupt, "Yeah", and then she just ignored me and carried on making drinks for the next customer. I stood there a while and she looked and glared so I said not to bother, I would struggle to the table myself. No reply, just a scowl and angry look. I managed to get the tray to our table without injuring myself or anyone else. As we were leaving I asked another lady member of staff, who was very polite and helpful, if the cafe manager was about, but "they were off that day". She did however tell me that the ignorant and unhelpful dragon assisting Viktoria was not a regular on there and she was "auditing". perhaps she should stick to "auditing" instead of being obnoxious to two, now, ex customers .

We popped over to the retail park to do some shopping and my wife suggested having a drink in M & S cafe. I immediately said, "No", as our past few visits have been far from satisfactory and I gave 1 and 2 star reviews as a result. As it is the only place there to get drinks I then reluctantly agreed and we went in. Vast improvement over our previous visits. The lady who served us was polite, friendly and helpful AND kindly asked if we would like assistance to our table with our tray. (On previous visits we have needed to ask and have been totally ignored or met with a grunt and huff.) Hopefully M & S have now turned a corner with their rude and indifferent staff and have someone who is customer oriented. Happy to give 4 stars for this visit. Would have been 5 but there were numerous tables that had not been cleared and cleaned.

This review is regarding the customer service on the phone...who were based goodness where!! were unable to tell me the answer to the simple question 'does this store have a lift for wheel chair users to get to the cafe?' This was not apparent on their website!!

Very slow service. 15 mins to reach the pay desk and then over 30 mins from paying for the hot food to reach the table Really poor even allowing for it being a Saturday

We had to go to Biggleswade and decided to pop in here for tea, coffee and cakes. Doesn't really get any better ! We went to one till with our cakes and put the tray down on the counter. Then "Viktoria" came up and abruptly told us that it was out of order. Why not put a sign against the till instead of having to come up and tell everybody ? We went to the other till and the lady that served us there was very pleasant but we had to ask for assistance with our tray to a table as it wasn't offered. Our tea and cappuccino were fine but the cakes we selected - pistachio and blueberry squares - were awful. Dry and flavourless. They looked very appetising but they were not. A lot of tables needed clearing and wiping and the tops of the wooden rails along the walls looked like the cleaners haven't been doing their job as they were dirty and dusty.

We were in the retail park and debated going back but we did. A mistake. The one thing we both wanted from the menu was not available but we only got told this at the counter. After a wait for the alternative ( tomato soup) it arrived with no cutlery. The waitress went off to get it but spent ages getting someone else’s food and then talking to the cashier. I got up and asked and got a stroppy “it’s on my tray). No knife so I suppose we were meant to spread the butter with our fingers. The soup was cold. It’s always bad here but was hoping for a change. Won’t make that mistake again

Early on a Friday morning, decided to treat ourselves to breakfast at M & S. Staff cheerful and welcoming although trips to M & S later in the day suggest there is a staffing problem. Staff are run off their feet, not helped by a faulty dishwasher. However, that problem is apparently now solved. At busier times, the speed of the coffee machines slows everything down and it is not uncommon for the queue to extend across the adjoining department.

We called in on the afternoon of 27/4/23. Service was exceedingly slow and only one member of staff, Viktoria, was serving. She was going so slowly that if she went any slower she would be in reverse. She was so miserable and it seemed as if she didn't want to be there at all. Only paper cups were being used, too ! I asked her for help to take our tray to our table and she looked round, huffed, and reluctantly did so. Even though I did thank her for doing so there was no acknowledgement, We don't expect this level of "service" from M & S staff.

There was a long queue to order food at 12.30pm lunchtime on Saturday and the cafe was very busy; a good sign we thought, the food must be good here, but how wrong we were! When we reached the front of the queue, we ordered two jacket potatoes with prawns and smoked salmon. There was a premium price tag to these potatoes at £7.50 each, so we assumed they must be premium potatoes. The assistant said that they don’t have any prawns left. No problem I said, we'll just have the jacket potatoes with smoked salmon instead. We don’t have any smoked salmon left she said. How difficult would it have been to pick up some more prawns and smoked salmon from the M&S food hall downstairs when they ran out? Obviously too much trouble for M&S café staff. We ended up ordering one jacket potato with grated cheese and one with chilli and sat down at a table. We waited and waited and waited and after 25 minutes the food arrived. The potatoes had been incinerated, yet they were barely warm. One of them was rock hard on one end where it had been well and truly overcooked. The grated cheese was also very dry. Both the potatoes were borderline inedible. We were completely underwhelmed by the offering at M&S café in Biggleswade and certainly won’t be returning in the future.

The service continues to be consistently slow and very poorly organized. Invariably your food comes before you have received your hot drink. This is due to the length of time it takes to get your hot drink. Additionally they very often do not have all the respective ingredients for the items on the menu, it's like potluck on these items being available. No one seems to co-ordinate. I can see why on reviews this cafe received such poor feedback going back many years.

Had lunch today at the cafe in m & s, teas and coffee are fine but I’m afraid the same can’t be said about the hot food. My wife had avocado on sourdough and I had a ham, brie and cranberry wrap only because the soup i wanted was not available. The size of the portions were extremely mega and coupled to that the ham in the wrap was a bit grisly. We were both very disappointed and shan’t be going back there for hot food.

In the past month they have changed the bread they use for toast, order at your peril! you may need an expensive trip to the dentist its rock hard. Didn't really want to make another negative remark on TripAdvisor over something as basic as toast but complaints in store have been met the usual negative reaction.

My wife and I visited on the afternoon of 22/9/22 and a young chap served our cappuccino and tea. He asked, "Would you like chocolate on your coffee ?" I replied, "Yes please and could you give me a hand to take the tray to our table, please ?" Response - angry expression and walked off, leaving me to carry a tray, with two hot drinks on, the whole length of the cafe, with my left hand only whilst walking with my walking stick with the other ! Another customer saw what happened and was also disgusted. Sign of the times when M & S staff have no interest in helping disabled customers.

We hadn't visited since October 2021 and I only gave it a 2 star review. We decided to visit again on Sunday 24/4/22 and it was much better than last time. We were offered assistance with our tray to our table without having to ask, which was good and welcomed. I would have given a full five stars but for the fact we had difficulty in finding a table that was not stacked with dirty crockery, cutlery etc, or had crumbs and detritus on, having been cleared but not cleaned. Covid cleaning standards are not being observed.

Had a meeting here on Saturday 5th February. The cafe was extremely busy but once we were able to find an empty table, The Cafe Assisstant Jacqueline came over aw iped the table clean after the previous customers had left. Jacqueline served our table with all the food was friendly and courteous. The food was a good standard and we will meet there again in the future

My wife and I visited M&S cafe, Bigglewade, on the afternoon of Friday 29/10/2021 for a quick drink when we were shopping. We ordered a Cappucinno and a tea and two packets of mini biscuits. My wife walks with a walker and I use a walking stick. We were given our order, which was placed on a tray, and I asked the girl that served us if we could have some help to with the tray. She just gave me a gormless look and then went off to serve the next person leaving my wife to walk over to a table and me to follow - walking with my stick in my right hand and carrying the tray with just my left hand. Difficult and not too safe for someone almost 70 years old !

During this pandemic time this store has kept going without failure. We have visited it nearly everyday to get out the house. It has supply food all the time and cloths occasionally when allowed with excellent COVID-19 controls. It is a credit store to the...

Really friendly service from the young lady who served us today. We had a freshly cooked breakfast and a scone with excellent coffee. The cafe was lovely and clean and well spaced out following covid guidelines.

I have been here for coffee with a friend and solo since it reopened. Service has been so much better with more staff and much better response to extra demand. Covid precautions have, I guess, forced this on M&S but I hope the improvement is...

Writing this live as again in a long line of folk. Food okay, service below what you would expect from a top brand, lack of staff likely cause. M & S seem unable to judge what staff they need and when. Coffee very good. Week...

I arrived early in the morning just after the place had opened. Only one lady on duty but she was very pleasant and helpful. The shelves did not appear to be fully stocked so I just purchased a coffee. Very good choice.

We had lunch, after queuing for a while with one till closed.......the decaf tea had two bags in the pot, not a bad thing until the lady said they prepare the pots in advance....so was I getting one of each or two decaf? She couldn't...

Excellent service , quick and tasty food with a good selection and they also cater for those with dietary requirements, with a nice vegetable curry

I had a coffee in the restaurant on Wednesday. I like cinnamon on my coffee,but when I asked for it I found they've never used it. Could this be changed I know that other people would like this.

We had breakfast on a very busy Saturday morning as an impromptu event, we don't usually choose here for breakfast locally as lots of other lovely cafes in the area. However we were very pleasantly surprised !! We both had the scrambled egg and smoked...

I received a voucher for tea for two in a M&S unfortunately I chose the Biggleswade store for the experience ! The voucher was presented in a nice envelope showing a three tiered cake stand fully populated with sandwiches, scones jam and cream. When I...

Horrible service with rude & mean staff! Do NOT recommend! Went alone for a bite to eat & I have never been more disgusted by how rude staff can be! Never again!

Consistently I have reported on the terrible service provided by this establishment and it will come as little shock to many that things have got steadily worse. At 3 oclock in the afternoon when things where obviously slow, 5 members of staff where observed gossiping...

No sausages for baps but full English breakfasts where being served with sausages. Payed for bacon baps and coffees then waited nearly 15 mins for coffees. Got to the table rolls where there so stone cold by this time. Had to ask for sauce The...

Last week, there were no hot cross buns available; this week there were, so that's what we ordered, along with tea and coffee. Unfortunately, our drinks had long gone, when the tepid 'hot' cross bun arrived. Nicely toasted, but cold but the time the waitress...

My grandson Joe,his girlfriend Milly and I went shopping to Biggleswade. They both work for Tui,they were getting ready to go off to The Alps ski resorts in France. We done our rounds of the shops,then decided we would go for a jacket 🥔 in...

I went here whilst wife went shopping for a breakfast. It was quite disappointing...no fried eggs just poached, no beans, no fried slice when I asked - 'Oh, no we don't fry anything here's... Strange til receipt told me I had had an extra poached egg at a cost of £3.50 but I had been discounted by £3.50 so my 'total' saving was £3.50. I thought the price was expensive for what I received and it wasn't that tasty, the toast was rock hard and the butter was frozen hard do it was impossible to spread. I suppose M & S's word are selected here. Nice place but doesn't actually deliver despite the higher prices. I won't go back. I hope this helps.

I visited the cafe today about 1pm.it was packed with families ,the tables had not been cleared and the floors strewn with food .in fact it all resembled a very poor shoddy place.

Whenever I go to Biggleswade I end up there buying food which is excellent.I also like to roam around the store as there are such lovely things in it.

Need to ask for a biscuit to go with the coffee or you don't get a free one! Very clean cafe, lovely staff, reasonable prices!

Nice sandwiches and coffee , but often only one till open doing drinks and money and we all know the coffees etc take time . Perhaps other person is on their lunch during the lunch time period which is just plain daft.

Always busy at any time of day. Service pretty quick. Good, tasty cake with nice coffee. Helpful staff. Plenty of tables for small groups. Seems popular with mums and kids meeting up for a chat. Plenty of high chairs available.

I'm not sure what it is with m&s; cafes but they always seem to be understaffed.

You need to avoid at weekends, most of the staff are teenagers with no comprehension of time or service. Took an age to make three simple lattes and after waiting 30 minutes the toasted tea cakes still hadn't arrived. In the end we had to go and get a refund. For heavens sake M & S this ain't rocket science and your supposed to be about quality and service. On the plus side the coffee was fine

Love going to M&S; as what they provide food , tea & coffee etc are great but he service is slow slow slow , the staff some are lovely others are on the rude side. The table clearing is dreadful and the staffing level never hit the mark , tables are always piled with dirty crockery at busy times leaving customers to clear tables to find a seat. Not just tho M&S; but most of them

Had a delicious afternoon tea with my wife. It was a gift from her friend/work colleague for her birthday. We both really enjoyed the food and the pleasant restaurant area.

I visit this cafe regularly and have yet to see the second counter being opened. This store needs to be much more responsive to fluctuating demand.

We stood for 10 mins to order and waited 40 mins for our food which was basic food. They did tell us it would be 15 mins, but at 40 mins was just too long. We asked for our money back. They gave us the food money back but not the drinks we had.

Tables, Chairs and floor dirty. Long wait for food (30mins+). Utterly disgusting cafe. Best avoided.

Unfortunately this is my fourth time of reporting on this establishment, and clearly lessons are not being learnt, not a busy lunchtime service ny any stretch of the imagination, but unfortunately pooriy trained staff on tills and waiting staff wandering around passing numerous tables laden with trays of discarded food debris added to the complete chaos and disorganisation due to severe lack of cleared tables. Marks and Spencer are clearly experiencing troubled times, and on this showing uts not surprising!! The managemnt clearly need to respond to the cooments made in order for things to improve. Reading similar reviews indicates a strong opinion and little vote of confidence.

Poor staff struggling to cope with a queue with just one counter open at 10.30 on a Wednesday morning. I have rarely seen both counters being used. After waiting 20 minutes for my coffee to be made the queue was 20 + long The lady on the cash till stated O eveybody whats coffee and no management around..

Perhaps illustrating the company's present retail woes this pleasant looking shop café is thoroughly disorganised in terms of operating practice and staff attitude. We visited on Saturday lunchtime and so much of the menu was 'off' it must have been like the old days of GUM in Moscow. Having selected a sausage toastie it took 15 minutes for this to served to me only vaguely warm. A lot of staff seem to be around for no clear purpose while tables go uncleared. A shame as I think they could do much better here.

Went for tea and cakes today with young children. Service was average, so many tables hadn’t been cleared after previous occupants had departed. The place is busy, people obviously want their food and drink, so there is clearly scope to improve.. especially with the staff attitude and service standard.

We popped in for a warm drink on a cold day the Deluxe hot chocolate was terrible and the member of staff couldn’t be bother who was serving the hot sorry ( Luke warm ) drinks. I think we should of gone to the costa in Next. But you learn don’t you. Make your on mind up by looking at the photo.

Stopped here for a bit of brunch whilst shopping. Everything is prepared fresh and brought to your table if ordering hot food, nice coffee and teas.Staff are very friendly. Plenty of seating not a bad fast food menu.

I do wonder if there is any kind of management in this cafe. Poor staff struggling to cope with a queue with just one counter open at 10.30 on a Saturday morning. I go for coffee sometimes on a weekday and get served in a reasonable time only because it's quiet. I have rarely seen both counters being used.

Thank god for M & S, I waited a long time for this shop to arrive, I can now shop online and collect locally, staff are friendly and helpful, just been to the January sale event saved a fortune, spent a fortune too, but think of the Sparks points I've earned.

Lovely store lots of gift ideas and fashion Marks and Spencer at its best Staff always friendly and polite

Waited until 2nd visit to rate this place.

Very busy when we came on Saturday afternoon but there's plenty of tables. There's a nice selection of cakes, sandwiches and hot drinks. My luxury hot chocolate was delicious! Just what you need after a cold day Christmas shopping! Barista was friendly too which was nice.

Called in cafe for morning drinks when asked for a berry smoothie lady behind counter had to go into the kitchen to see if they did them???? Which they did,took my wife’s drink to the table and waited some fifteen minutes,then saw a young lady taking food to a table,asked when my smoothie would be coming,she stated she was the only member of staff in the kitchen and she was doing everything.We saw several customers complaining my drink come after twenty minutes.will not revisit.....

Extremely disappointing for a sunday at 1115 in the morning. Horrendous queues with one till in operation. Completly lacklusture customer service would strongly suggest visting costa in next right next door!!!!!

Every time I go here for a coffee or lunch I end up queuing for ages. Today was no exception! It isn’t the staff’s fault, it’s the lay out of the till area, and lack of staff on duty.

With a brand name like M&S; you get a pleasant snack, in what is quite a small store. Food Hall downstairs and usual clothing options on both floors, a good addition to Biggleswade outlets.

Like many previous reviewers the main problem was lack of staff. Yes we were there at around 1 pm to find those tables that were empty uncleared and unavailable for use until we found someone to clear. The individual concerned as was generally the case was clearly under pressure and although not rude was surly. Guess what M and S people have lunch at this time! The food was ok when jt arrived by which time the hot drinks we had purchased had been drunk or gone cold. Would we go again? NO!

I too was delighted to see M&S; open in Biggleswade. Ground floor is rather dimly lit but the food hall is lovely. All staff are very responsive and notice as soon as you appear to need help.

Have visited on numerous occasions over the summer but the staffing situation gets worse and worse. The last time we were there they had run out of most cakes by 3.30pm on a Saturday afternoon and there was just one till open. Although the staff were very polite we must have waited 20 minutes for a coffee and sandwich. The place was a mess and there was just one girl trying to clear so many tables.

Dear lord... 15 minutes queuing just to get a coffee from the only manned till, loads of items off the menu unavailable, tables dirty and uncleared, bits of food all over the floor... What on earth is going on with this place?

Good clean shop offering a good range of clothing. The food hall is not as big as some and has many disorganised shelves. Quite often the bakery department do not have paper bags for single items so you have to find someone in the store to get some. Upstairs there is the usual cafe which is spacious and ofering the usual ranges on offer. Parking outside can be a nightmare at weekends and at Christmas.

Lovely restaurant lovely tea and food. Really nice place. Spotlessly clean. Staff really polite and helpful. Nice retail park as well to look around at

Good food, toasties are always good as well as the coffee. View over the carpark as you sit up high. Will go again

My wife and I thought we would try the coffee shop at our local Marks & Spencer today, and wished we hadn't bothered. I know it was a Saturday lunch time but the service was slow,we had to clear a table of the previous persons food as did most of the people in there. As you can see from the photo the tables were covered with plates and food, there were plenty of staff on but they didn't seem interested in clearing the tables, we actually saw a member of staff give someone a cloth to clean their own table!! You don't expect a very well known and respected store to be like this. We paid £16 for a couple of toasted sandwiches two coffees and a million short bread so it wasn't cheap and we had to clear a table! Come on Marks & Spencer you need to get your act together we certainly won't be coming back in a hurry, we will be going to Cost at Next which was a lot better.

I ordered the egg, bacon and tomato bloomer for £4. When it came it was one small slice of bread with topping. Good job I wasn't too hungry!

I have eaten a few times now and each time the reception and service has been very good, I should go on to say that it has been the same lady each time and sadly I do not know here name. Her daughter also works there in the kitchen if that helps.

Usual M & S food and surroundings bright and pleasant. Slow service inspire of plenty of staff milling around. When I visited there was one till open and a huge queue and eventually another till opened after complaining. Seems to lack appropriate staff management but so long so long as you are in no hurry ... ok

I have been here a few times and every time it takes forever to make a hot drink. The food choice is minimal and they seem to run out of food quickly. No jacket potatoes by 14:30pm? It's ridiculous especially when there is a food hall in the building that sells potatoes! Only positive is staff our Friendly and it has a nice e layout

Stopped off for lunch - I had smoked haddock Chowder- delicious and quite substantial. Two tiny warm rolls and butter were included cost about £3.50 . Well worth the money.

Over the top pricing, poor service and the quality of the food offered was very poor. If your going to charge a premium, surely the quality should match. avoid.

We had a morning coffee and tea and a snack before shopping. I had a toasted ham & cheese sandwich which was well cooked and tasty. Mary had a baked potato with a prawn filling, which was also tasty. The service was very good , the cooked food arriving after about 5 minutes.

After having used the excellent Marks & Spencer Café in the Midland Road store in Bedford, we were looking forward to enjoying the same quality of food and service at the newly opened Marks & Spencer Café in Biggleswade.

It's brilliant to have this lovely store in our town, bringing much needed trade to the retail park, really enjoy shopping there

Plenty of gluten free, not sure on hot food as I had a sandwich which was nice and a cup of tea, there was a queue when we got there but quite quickly someone when on another till, we found a table for four unfortunately the tables had tea rings on where they hadn't yet been cleaned, but we could of sat elsewhere which was clean, it was only because my husband had to sit down quickly, we found the staff friendly and there was a lady cleaning tables while we were there, the tea was nice too, my husband had a hot sausage in a roll and he said it was tasty

It was 1pm and we chose our salads hence when we ordered at the till we were told there were't any. I chose fish and chips which were very very dry and sad looking . My friend had the tomato and basil soup which was fine. The service was disorganised.

Waited a long time in the queue as although there were 2 people serving on each till / coffee station the service was painfully slow.

Have visited twice. No decaf coffee available on either occasion - apparently they have no stock, even though the Christmas rush is weeks away.

Nice clean new venue to try- worth a visit whilst shopping at the Retail Park - easy parking if travelling North or South A1M

Been to the cafe a couple of times and it is exacly what you would expect from M&S.; The shop does get busy and therefore the cafe is also busy. There is a good selection of hot food and cold as well and enough types of drinks to please everybody.

Our first visit to this new M & S. Went to the Cafe for coffee only to find only one till open and a long queue. The lady in front of me was telling me about her previous visit when the coffee was cold so she was hoping for an improvement - didn't happen! She returned to the till to say these were cold too. Our coffees were only lukewarm, served on a filthy tray and then sat at a table covered in coffee cup marks! Seeing as this is a newly opened establishment, shouldn't a Manager be overseeing how things were running? Why do these places have two/three tills installed then only open one?!

Visited on 13th Oct.Stood in queue for a couple of mins then redirected to other queue only to wait even longer to be served than if we had stayed in the original one! I had tomato and basil soup which was quite nice could have been a little hotter though, my mum had fish and chips which she said was nice.Food was brought over by a man in suit so maybe not enough staff I think!They have blinds at the windows as you can get full glare of the sun.

We arrived at the M&S; cafe at 1215 on Saturday to discover they had already run out of Fish and Chips. There was barely any hot food left, only jacket potatoes and the only topping left was cheese. The lattes were nice, but not very hot. We waited 20 minutes in the queue, then a further 30 mins for the food to arrive, by which time the coffee was cold. Very disappointed, and will probably not return.

We visited on the store`s opening day, although selected customers had been allowed access to the Café the previous day to ensure staff could get familiar with the equipment and actually serve in a real life situation. Now we expected it to be busy and the wait to order was 15 minutes, fine, but the delays were entirely down to the company`s choice of tilling staff, they were exceptionally poor, having never previously worked in the hospitality sector and just receiving their basic training at another M&S; store, sadly it was totally the wrong store chosen for them to undertake their training. Yes. 18 year olds have to start somewhere, but not on the store`s opening day, far more experienced staff should have been brought in to assist and supervise. Whilst there was plenty of "Managers" and Head Office staff in the Café, they were only interested in their own image and any photo opportunity available. Tables were remaining not cleared of dirty crockery and food wrappers, in spite of Senior M&S; employees being on the ground, after being pushed, one manager did take his jacket off and started clearing tables, the others made a run for it, apart from three occupying a very much needed table who claimed they were not M&S; HQ employees, however they were, this was confirmed when their ID`s became visible by accident. The Café has seating for 150 and is wheelchair accessible, but the layout has the tables in a configuration which makes for little clearance down the aisles, yet no provision was made for a buggy park, thus buggies sat alongside the tables in aisles. We kept to basic`s food wise, believing delivery of hot food would be very slow and the results very mixed, we were proved right on both counts, from other customers feedback, our hot drinks were hot and the sandwiches and cakes were fresh. Upon leaving the Café we noted a very long queue of waiting customers, but many simply decided not to wait and sought refreshment elsewhere, service remained painfully slow. Point to note there are lifts to the first floor and one up escalator only, no down escalator, Toilets are on first floor opposite corner of the Café. Whilst the Café does offer a view of the retail park, we noted no window blinds have been installed making for difficult conditions due to heat and the position of the sun when sitting at the front of the Café.