Pret A Manger in Kingston upon Thames

The back of the staffs’ shirts say “Hot drink, warm welcome” but it is far from a warm welcome: There were three staff this morning, one at the till and two running the coffee machines turning out a pretty poor quality espresso, then shouting at you when they had made it because they just read the order from a screen. I ate in, and although the croissant was good enough, it was handed to me in a bag and the espresso coffee had a lid on it, despite trying to ask for it not to have a lid. I wonder when full service restaurants will put lids on hot drinks for “health and safety” reasons? I know an independent cafe in Mayfair that is the about same price (£5.05) where the coffee is truly excellent and the snacks are too, so why have the chains taken over? Of course, croissant + bag = crumbs on table, so a paper plate would be better. The ambience is rubbish, there was piping of poor cover versions of what would otherwise be favourite Christmas songs (presumably to save licence costs), the chairs were uncomfortable. If you want a quick take-away coffee for the train then it is somewhere to get one I suppose (although why you can’t buy a Nespresso machine and frother and make a better cup at home, then stick it in a travel mug and save £2 per day is beyond me), but if you want to sit and enjoy a quick breakfast then I think anywhere else would be better than Pret. For over £5 for an espresso and a croissant, Pret is just not good enough and this was a great eye-opener.

If you're familiar with Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks, you'll be well prepared for a visit to the Pret branch housed within Kingston railway station. Sitting in the raised level feels very much like being one of the characters in a Hopper painting - a bit remote, a little bleak, slightly ignored, rather lonely. No one speaks. People sit and stare, lost in their own thoughts. Maybe it's a railway station thing, but when I went in for a (very average) cup of Earl Grey, I wasn't made to feel welcome. Two men were on duty, one 'front of house', one behind the counter. I asked for an Earl Grey tea, but to drink IN. Made no difference. No china cup, just a perfunctory plastic cup with a teabag in it, and hot water. No class. No style. Nothing. If people wishing to drink a cup of tea inside Pret, with all the seating arrayed before them, aren't given an 'inside' cup, what's the point? As soon as I'd started drinking it, a man came round and began cleaning the tables on either side of me, using one of those chemical spray containers. I shielded my drink, but probably got a few droplets of goodness-knows-what in my PLASTIC cup. Not impressed. I won't be back.