M&S Cafe in St Albans

Dirty, despite being quite new. Staff were not that helpful or indifferent. Amost all tables when I arrived were cluttered. At least half the kiosks were out of order for the second day running and this made me feel quiet sad that even M and S now has succumb to the mediocrity of most UK chains. I wanted to make this my little regular escape for a quick bite but I won't return.

Mire than half of automated ordering stations were out of order. Lots of food on the floor.

Not like it used to be. Since they've got rid of the counter service and replaced it with 8 self service touch screen machines, it just doesn't work. 4/8 machines were out of service, ensuring a queue of at least four people on each machine They ran out of the table locators twice So loud and busy - yes given it was on a Saturday lunchtime but, it used to be a chilled out and calm environment even on a lunchtime The food is always nice however my soup wasn't very hot And the cheek of charging for a roll with soup?! The soups used to come with a small roll included! People were stalking for tables which meant that the tables weren't clean as the staff were only clearing what was on the table when they bought out the new people's food

I used to enjoy popping in to the M&S cafe. However I recently visited and realised there had been changes. I did not enjoy the new means of ordering and there's no opportunity to see the food prior to purchasing. There's no atmosphere, the cafe is less attractive, and although the service was very polite, the whole process felt functional.The touch screen ordering is not amenable to the clientele that M&S appeals to in my opinion.

Absolute rip off, £9.50 for a big breakfast, sausages were tiny, eggs were hard, bacon was soft and butter was like concrete. I definitely will not return or recommend it.

Ordered coffee and scones. The set up is modernised, yet massively fails on delivery. I ordered precisely at 13:24 and received food at 13:50 without everything which we ordered. Disappointed with this poor level of service at Marks and Spencer. The food was ok.

I treated myself to a breakfast here before a long ( 3 hour) drive home. It was shortly after 9am. I had done this once before and should have known but I was hungry. The Chai latte was far too sweet to drink and the breakfast was lukewarm at the most. Sausages were wrinkly, bacon was actually more like prosciutto ( sad, hard cooked and thin), potato ‘things’ were tasteless. Since its make over the atmosphere is one of a cookhouse, open plan and loud but I think that I would have been served a robust hot breakfast in a cookhouse. Never again, lesson learnt.

So much bacon in the bacon roll. And the staff are very nice.

Arrived at 2 hoping for lunch. Went to the new screens which are easy to use. Ordered all day breakfast - out of stock, then chicken burger - out of stock, then fish and chips - out of stock. Ended up with jacket potato and beans which was tasty and filling. But come on M&S sort out your act on predicting customer demand. And the cafe looked battered after a lunchtime rush. Being busy must be good so cope with it!

You have to place your order via a terminal (like McDonalds) once you have the hang of the process it is quite easy and you just sit down at a table to await your order. Better than waiting in a long queue. The food and coffee is quite good and the staff who bring your order are very friendly

No trackers at any touchscreen. Eventually another customer went to ask for some and handed them out. Why couldn't an M&S staff member do this! Most of the items were out of stock. My sandwiches came a good 20 minutes before I got my tea. M&S digital cafes are a terrible idea and need scrapping before they ruin other good stores.

Unfortunately our experience was not what you would expect from Marks and Spencer

Decent coffee. Often runs out of stock of leading items at the weekend.

Thought I’d pop in here for a bite to eat. Really wish I didn’t. The self serve screens are fairly easy to use, however it doesn’t give you much option to change things (I’m gluten free) breakfast came out looking old and oat chai arrived 5 mins after. The breakfast was not edible all cold old product that had been sat in a hot hold since the early hours of yesteryear. The chai was like potpourri so vile. Image is everything that was left after I picked at it, the day after I had a very upset stomach. Wouldn’t recommend.

Lovely idea but small cups for what is supposed to be a large coffee. If you order only drinks they are very slow to arrive and the menu isn't flexible for people who would like avocado without chilli and if you are gluten free with an intolerance to egg there is nothing on the menu. Needs more salads, fish etc more varied options please. Staff are however lovely. Very clean

Service was poor and management disinterested. Will avoid in future.

Updating since my original 2 Star review. Thought I would give the cafe another go, it was Saturday mid afternoon (not lunch). Ordered a latte and kids hot chocolate. 20 mins goes by and nothing. Enquired if something had gone wrong and they advised another 10 mins Terrible experience. Again.. M&S desperately need to review this layout and strategy. They’ve installed McDonald’s-inspired digital menus but failed to understand that fast food restaurants actually produce food fast & that also means pretty high fat / mediocre food. M&S food is actually pretty good, tasty and kids get a variety of options. The problem is it takes 45-60 mins to get anything on your table. At peak times the kitchen can’t cope, the staff accept that “yeah, it’s bad”, tables, floors all dirty. Ultimately, M&S would be better off returning to a queue system if only to slow to down orders to the kitchen - and I personally don’t even mind waiting a little longer if they had people coming and looking after you. M&S , decide what you want to be - fast food, or high end cafe.

Noisy and Mcdonald style atmosphere. The food and service were still OK.

Good selection of food, not overwhelming in quantity of selections, but enough choice to suit most customers. Atmosphere excellent but lunch time is quite packed most days.

All touch-screen order like a McDonald's but with vastly better food.

I have gone off the Marks and Spencer café.. coffee drinks just lukewarm.. not enjoyable at all. I now prefer the coffee I make myself at home. Sandwich selection is good, though ..

It's OK, small portions, coffees are tiny, hot food is normally cold, since the Sainsbury's café closed that have a captive audience.

The coffee was a bit disappointing. It has self-service, so if you don't like to interact with other people, then that is a bonus. I would have expected from M&S to be a bit nicer than morrison coffee place.

Love this cafe and such lovely friendly staff

Food ok, order was served in two halves five minutes apart... but not particularly busy.

Ordering on screen like a mcd. Half hour wait for a cuppa and a scone. Must do better

Good and tasty full English breakfast and coffee. Friendly and prompt service and an enjoyable experience, recommended if you're at Colney Fields shopping centre.

Nice Cafe with self service terminals and friendly staff..

Self service terminals only. Find a table with a number, go to terminal to order, in the meantime your table has been taken by someone else, sorry M & S , you’ve lost me as a customer in your cafe.

You know you're close to an MnS cafe when your nose is assaulted by the sweet aroma of burned tea cake. I guess it's a thing. Like when you drive past a MacDonald drive thru you can always smell old nuggets.

We only had coffee here. Ordered it on the automatic board. When the waiter came with the order he hadn't bought a cup for the tea, then when he came with the cup he took the sugar away with him. It was cold in there as well.

Very poor experience - 20 minute wait for a teacake and a cup of tea. Have to order from screens so can’t even see the cakes before choosing. Come on M&S, 20mins to get a cup of tea - this is basic service. Other M&S cafes much better, not this new style

This cafe always disappoints. Food takes a long time to arrive and they always have a limited menu with most things apparently “sold out”, regardless of what time you arrive. It’s the only cafe at London Colney so there isn’t much of an alternative but expect to be frustrated.