Sainsbury's Cafe in Havant

Surprised to see so many bad reviews for this café inside Sainsbury’s Waterlooville. It’s branded as The Fresh Kitchen. Maybe that’s made a difference since the negative reviews from 1-2 years ago? Anyway, as an “out-of-town” visitor, I’d like to say that the staff were fab (especially Karen) and the breakfast was tasty and monstrous. Asking for no eggs (substitutes were immediately offered) and oat milk for a delicious Cappuccino was no issue. Was really made to feel like a regular customer. Spot on in every way.

Always have a coffee before I start my shopping

Reasonable spot for a coffee, fairly comfortable inside. Bit of a wait to be served, but items good value. Inside is reasonable clean and well maintained.

Brought some lushy toasties (tuna mayo and ham and cheese) with some iced coffee's. Very tasty and done the job 😊

Breakfast tastes like it was warmed up from the day before. The toast was like ghost wasnt even put in the toaster. Coffee was horrible wasn't drink able. They should of payed us to eat here.

Came here for some tea and cake with my daughter. Was served a pint of tea which wasn’t very nice and my scone was dry and stale. Asked for some butter and was served a small tub of margarine. I don’t think the staff actually care.

I've asked for 2 "flipped" eggs, 2 sausages and bacon, it is surprising that you can ruin that kind of simple thing. Eggs weren't flipped, sausages were burnt and bacon undercooked. Very pricey for that poor quality. I do not recommend eating in that place.

Had to wait quite a while, even though it was not busy, and when the food arrived it was cold. Wont bother going again

Ordered a breakfast , sitting with a friend awaiting our order , we paid separately, but our order went together and cashier used the same table number . One breakfast arrived , although two were on her tray , when i questioned if that was mine , she said no , it was for another table number, asked for my receipt , stupidly to save paper i didn't have one. She said she would look see if there was a breakfast for me . And said if not i would have to buy another , that comment made me angry ,not a very nice thing to say . It was pretty obvious i had ordered and paid for a meal as i had cutlery and a mug of tea . What was she implying . So i went to the cashier desk to verify my order , she confirmed my order was placed . On walking back to my table the waitress came out with my order shouting at the top of her voice i said i would look she said . That may well be , I asked her not to be so rude and shout she answered me back . I felt it was not at all nice to talk to me like that , it required a complaint. You do that she replied . After all that the breakfast wasn't the best i have had . No where to place your tray when leaving all trolleys full . So clearly short staffed and work load too much for some . Will certainly wont go there again .

Several items on the menu were unavailable. It would have been easier to have a notice stating the meals that were available rather then the staff trying to find out and then saying " no ". The staff were young and very inexperienced - there didn't seem to be a responsible manager or supervisor around so ordering took ages trying to find out what was available. There was a limited choice available in the fridge section and only chocolate milk for the kids meal selection drinks. The staff were not helpful and indeed were not sure themselves what to do. I ordered the lasagne as was one of the few meals available and there were several grizzly bits which put me off. It was obviously inferior quality meat. The tomato, chicken pasta my grandson ordered was unpleasant so I ordered a kids meal for my grandson. I asked him if he would like chicken nuggets and chips so when at the til I realised that the food was available with either mash,boiled potatoes or baked potatoes. As I ordered chips I had to pay £1.90 extra for the chips. I had ordered peas and brocoli but the meal arrived with baked beans and burned brocoli. I went back to the counter and said that I had ordered peas and brocoli and they took the plate and we waited for the right meal to come out. I ended up paying £5.15 for the "kids meal" which was three small unpleasant nuggets, very overcooked, dry and inedible peas, burned and soft horrible brocoli which could not be eaten and a few chips which had burned ends but mostly ok. This was a stressful and unpleasant experience for us. The staff were too inexperienced to be handling the cafe on their own and had no customer service skills. The cafe was noisy - not with customers but with machinery in the kitchen. Will not be going there again.

I used to eat in Sainsbuy's before Covid. Today 15/07/2022 I managed to get there to eat lunch. I Used to get a baked Potato when I went before. I couldn't wait to get my teeth into it. I was very dissapointed. The potato was very small and almost swivelled up. I ordered it with salad on the sidw and Tuna and Sweetcorn. I thought salad was a mixture of salad and stuff, and lettuce was just lettuce, Now lettuce is 'Salad'. The filling was grey and looked like sick. I didn't eat much. The mug of tea was fine. But no option of whether we wanted large or small and we couldn't drink it all. All this for the Princely sum O £5.60. I won't be back.

Sausage and bacon sandwich, on quality brown seeded bread, can't argue with that! Ready in under five minutes as well. Good job!

Service is friendly enough but they don't have much in stock even at lunch time! The staff fail to tell you simple things like bread is separate from a soup order. Cutlery isn't very clean. I wouldn't recommend to anyone really.

Good, clean cafe with basic variety of hot and cold food on offer. Pleasant staff, tables cleared and disinfected between customers . Good coffee.

We were too early for M & S cafe on Saturday. Next shop was Sainsbury so we decided to go in their cafe before shopping. Oh dear. What a soulless place it turned out to be. Staff did not seem too happy either. We ordered sandwiches and were asked white or brown bread. Chose white and got brown. Tea was stewed by the time it came to the table as the tea bag was still in the mug. Ok so what to do with the redundant bag but place it on the table. A saucer would have been a better option but none provided.

I visited the Cafe on the 4 Septrmber 2021 I had a cheese Jacket which was very small and a salad garnish it was all out of a bag, but? but it was all green no red tomatoes no cucumber no carrot, you stopped doing pots of tea it's only beakers the mug I found to heavy for me because I got Arthritis and very weak wrist? there'was no cutlery out no sauses out I had to keep asking in the end my Cheese Jacket was stone cold I had indigestion where I kept getting up? the only good thing is the prices were reasonable pity about the availability and service it just needs a few tweets here and there it would be ok? Many Thanks Margaret Holley

4 slices of toast , only 1 small pot of honey barely enough to cover 1 slice bread (was crystallised) Forgot my coffee , no cutlery

We enjoyed a relaxed short visit to Sainsbury's cafe. The service was prompt and the hot chocolate I ordered was full of chocolate. I have previously had their homemade soup which was also very tasty with chunks of bread. The only reason I haven't given a 5 rating is because there were crumbs on the table which I would have expected during the coronorvirus scare they would have been more vigilant with cleaning surfaces.

This is a large light and airy cafe, perhaps around 100 covers, and part of a very large Sainsbury's. Our first visit to this cafe and our second to this store. We had a late breakfast here while shopping in this retail park. One large breakfast and a mashed avocado on toast with smoked salmon. Both OK and good value at around £4.50 each so no issue there. Coffee from the usual standard machine was good. It was not particularly busy but service was very slow - just two staff on counter duty; one taking orders and one making the drinks. That's not enough as there was a slow moving queue. What is really disappointing is to see that there are far too many bad reviews on TA. NONE has any response from management; that's bad, very bad. In addition the bad reviews go back to 2015 so the local management are clearly complacement and uncaring. And this is the second Sainsbury's cafe where we have left an indifferent review. Far better to have no cafe than a bad one. The problem for Sainsbury's is that this damages the whole image of the overall Sainsbury Brand - the stores themselves and not just in Waterlooville - Sainsbury's cannot afford this damage in today's highly competitive retail environment. And, as other reviewers have commented, there is a M&S with cafe nearby. We will shop there next time we are in Waterlooville and avoid Sainsbury's. Strangely I can't find this cafe on the important Food Standards Agency list of Hygiene Ratings; management - what is your rating?? It will be a test to see if you respond!!

Yet again, we ordered a cooked breakfast in this cafe and were told 20 mins waiting time. 45 minutes later it still hadn’t arrived so I went to complain. The girl in the till was pleasant and apologetic but clearly had no authority. I asked for the manager but he wasn’t in the cafe and had gone on a walk about . The cafe has recently been refurbished and that was good but the new management are dreadful in my opinion. The waiting times are unacceptable, the staff seem miserable, the tables are not cleared quickly, the selection of food is limited at crucial times of the day. No wonder the cafe was nearly empty at 11am!!

Went in to have a quick snack before shopping and left without eating. At 1.45pm there were no sandwiches or jacket potatoes. I really don’t know what they expected people to eat if you didn’t want a cooked meal which I don’t even know if they had that as we didn’t ask. No apology ... just a statement of not doing sandwiches or jackets. Shan’t bother going in there anymore.

You'd think to be part of a shop they would have no issues with food supply but apparently they do. The usual issue is they run out of chicken can you believe...and a whole shop full of it as well!

Order the Big Breakfast, saw the Breakfast deal sign 'change your fried egg to scrambled egg for 50p' as I looked on the board scrambled egg was an additional item anyway for 50p...This is not a deal, it's a con. Why not swap the egg for free!!Mentioned this to the lady on the till. Can't show expressions on these reviews and it was cold.. Off to Morrisons, intead.. They don't charge any extra..

visted your café today at Waterlooville very disappointed service is poor understand new people running café. tables needed cleaning , more staff needed on counter only one person serving teas/coffees ,another person cooking snacks and serving public taking orders ont very hygenic never saw them wash hands once ,after waitng a considerable time in the quewas then told 1/2 hr wait for meals ,we have used this café every week sometimes more since the supermarket opened but feel enoughis enough will be shopping elsewhere in the future .

Its a good cafe but it suffers from low stocks as they often have lists of what's not on rather than what's actually available! Recent refurb, new chairs, and tables but booths the same...thought they might have put more booths in!

Tend to use this café when meeting up with a photographer friend & EVERYTIME we go in the place looks very dirty, we usually have to clear & clean the table where we want to sit, the trolley for the used trays is usually full & there NEVER seems to be enough staff behind the counter or clearing & cleaning the tables. One has to be careful where you’re walking due to liquids being spilt.COME ON SAINSBURY’s SORT YOUR CAFÉ OUT.

Went in for breakfast and was still waiting at lunchtime!! Don’t bother if your in a hurry clearly the staff couldn’t cope with 6 customers at 8 o’clock in the morning, nearly 25 min for a bacon roll!

Visited the Cafe for a spot of lunch. Loads of items Sold Out. Ended up having something I didn't really want as my little boy was hungry and didn't want to go elsewhere.

Was made to feel uncomfortable when we asked for our meal choices, I chose a new dish, was told "we might not be able to do that" my other half asked for scrambled egg on toast, was told, "can't do that" it was said bluntly and felt that we were wasting the woman's time, the younger girl was nice and actually said it could be prepared. The cutlery was dirty, the cafe was dirty. We had upset stomachs from our meals. Very unpleasant experience, the older member of staff could do with some customer service training, maybe she has been there too long! Seen her there a couple of years ago, was the same with other customers back then!

Popped into the cafe for lunch whilst shopping in Waterlooville. Very slow service as not enough staff. The 2 Soup options were advertised on a poster as being available as a gluten free option as could be supplied with gluten free roll. When I asked to make sure the soup was gluten free staff looked both up in their allergen folder and they contained gluten. There was no other hot food or sandwiches that were available that would be safe for a Coeliac. Other items we attempted to order were also out of. We had drinks and the grandchildren had something to eat but we sadly went home with empty tummies.

My daughter and I called in here for coffee and a bite to eat before shopping. I always like to shop in Sainsbury’s and believed they have a good reputation. However, this does not apply to the cafe. At the counter there was a fairly long queue with very few staff. The main staff member, who was jolly and welcoming, was doing his best, but he had to serve, make the drinks, and take the money, so things were slow. At regular intervals he bellowed to the people in the queue that "if you’ve ordered hot food there’s a 20-25 minute delay!" So we didn’t choose hot food. Peering into the kitchen area behind, you could see the trays of dirty plates and cups stacking up. After finally being served, I collected cutlery from a very dirty trolley, and needed to wipe it before use. There were no forks. I reported this to the staff, and they blamed the whole experience on lack of staff, no management presence, no-one there to give instructions. I hope the management read this review and do something about it.

Just spent 15 minutes at the till being ignored because cleaning the freezer inside doors was more important. To have no apology in delayed service and all the cutlery filthy too just makes it top draw! Classy place to avoid with a wide barge pole!

That the merger between Asda and Saisbury get Sainsbury to pull their socks up, every time I go the shelves are half empty, they tell me after 6 they dont stock the shelves until near closing time... most people shop during the day, girl actually told me that... WHAT about us who work for a living..

As a regular shopper at Sainsbury I often stop and eat breakfast in the cafe.

Enjoyed a nice lunch in Sainsburys cafe, much better than their Hedge End store. Nice and clean! Food hot and reasonably priced.

2 of us went for lunch - the cafe was very quiet, and there seemed to be a lack of staff. Our order was taken and paid for but 35 mins later we were still waiting! I went back to the counter and asked for a refund as we were not prepared to wait any more. Although the staff member apologised, no explanation was given. There was apparently no one available who could do a card refund, so I was refunded from the till. All the staff seemed to be young and inexperienced. There were other people waiting for food too, so it wasn't just us. Perhaps that is why the cafe was so quiet - this may be a regular thing and people avoid using it.

The Teacakes in the cafe are literally the best. Slightly stodgy and chewy in the centre, bursting with fruit and a lovely all round flavour. Subtle on the cinnamon - which for me is a huge bonus! At £1.60 each they are not only great value for money but a nice treat which is 'pocket friendly' after the shopping has been done. I had a Latte to accompany it, which was also lovely.

Just popped in for a snack and drink today. Unfortunately, the cafe was understaffed and so there were trays and mess on many tables and the self cleaning trolleys were full. We didn’t mind tidying a table and the food was good but on the day we visited, more staff would’ve been handy to keep on top of everything.

Popped in for a coffee and toast with my husband on Easter Saturday. Every single tray in the pile was filthy, covered in spilt coffee, food etc. Handed the entire pile to the assistant serving and had to ask for a clean one. Ordered our drinks and toast, but when the toast arrived, whilst I was still waiting for our drinks, it was what can only be described as warm bread. The cutlery always leaves a lot yo be desired. Such a shame as the cafe is convenient as we shop on the store at least twice a week. Very disappointed.

I thought this place was getting better. The coffee is fairly decent anyhow.

Good british fare and good coffee. Handy place to wait while shopping at Sainsbury. Gets busy at lunch time

The cafe is certainly light, spacious and contemporary but if you’re there early afternoon and there’s no soup, coffee machine’s out of service, the tea with the cream tea gets plonked into a mug rather than a pot and the current bun is so hard it had to be exchanged - you know something’s not right. It also took longer than it should to get served, which seems a theme at Sainsbury’s cafes. This was our first visit and I expected better.

Popped in here for a bite on a Sunday afternoon. Have been here before and it wasn't that bad. Today not so good. The big issue was the food. We had soup and a roll (which is extra). This comes with 1 small portion of butter and you are expected to pay for an extra portion. To be fair the girl who served us, did give us an extra portion free of charge but made it clear we should normally pay. The soup itself was OK, but it would have been nice if it was warm. Tepid best sums it up. As for the bread rolls they were both hard and stale. The white roll was almost entirely gloopy in the middle and clearly underdone. I wouldn't mind so much but sainsbury's have been getting more expensive while the quality gets worse. I also mentioned that we were served by girls and I apologise for those of you who might take offence, but it is the only accurate description. I don't blame them personally, (although they clearly didn't want to be there), but to the management at sainsbury's, PULL YOUR FINGER OUT! For crying out loud, this is NOT GOOD ENOUGH!

On average around 15 swimmers go once a month for breakfast, always greeted by pleasant staff. Cafe, clean, tidy and presentable and the menu is very varied and copes for all of us. Gluten free/Veggies and those of us that like the english breakfast.

Food was good service was friendly as well portions could be a bit bigger put that's just a personal view,only thing they could improve is que times

I recently moved here from Kent and I am delighted to say that the service in the restaurant is as good as the store in Crayford.

I have eaten here on many occasions; the service has always been good and the staff very helpful.

My wife and I visit the cafe Saturday afternoons, this Saturday about 4 30 we were told they stopped serving hot food, the store shuts at 8 o'clock this in my opinion is to early, so we went next door to Marks & Spencers and had our Jacket potatoes.We like the cafe but as other people have said they need to sort out the slowness of the queues and to clear the tables where a lot of inconsiderate people are to lazy to take there plates back, we have had to wipe our own table sometimes.

I've used this cafe on numerous occasions and other than a couple of exceptionally good staff members each experience has been very poor due to numerous reasons, sold out, long waiting times, incorrect orders, cleaner sweeping around our feet when eating, condiments being taken away mid meal and that's just to name a few. Sainsbury should be better than this.

I really love eating in Sainsbury cafe but really object to paying 70p for butter for my jacket potato surely butter should be included

Excellent value and good quality. Cafe was clean and tidy. At least you can have a bit of view here unlike other surrounding cafes.

Handy location and good car parking. Range of food limited but not bad and good value. Try the baggers n mash! Great coffee to

Great value great choice of items so reasonably priced Staff very helpful smiling Very popular very size restaurant

The retail area of this shop is fantastic and we are regular shoppers there. The cafe lets the side down I'm afraid. The brown stuff served in a cup, claiming to be coffee, was difficult to discern. Within 200 yards there is a M&S; cafe and a Costa who are vastly superior - why don't Sainsburys react to this competition

Been here a number of time as it's close and the prices are good. However, things are so slow. If there is a queue of any sort, be prepared for a wait. The staff are pleasant enough but never display any sense of urgency.

Been here a few times now in the hope it will improve, but no. Staff to busy talking to each other and laughing to serve, when they do you get called my love etc and they carry on chatting over you . Food takes forever, if you are lucky enough to choose something they haven't sold out of! but it takes even longer to get a clean table!

Really enjoyed my breakfast there this morning. Though my order was incorrect when it came out, the cashier seemed to be in training and made a mistake, however this problem was dealt with by Candice who certainly more than made up for it with her apology and her fantastic customer service .

Have been here several times for lunch with my family. Very limited stock for lunch, even at 12.30pm, almost all the sandwiches have run out! Tables are usually left with previous diners dirty plates, etc etc. Have to ask a member of staff to wipe down the tables for us. I then have to wipe down the highchair too as these are ALWAYS filthy-seems like they never ever wipe them down at all. Such a shame as its really common sense stuff that comes into practice when running a cafe.

Called back for a second visit here. Long queues, friendly but slow service. Food okay and although slow service okay. Food was also satisfactory but seemed to have lost it's new edge glint. Found it to have quite a limited menu.

My last visit in September was shocking. I was very reluctant to use this cafe. My wife wanted to try it. Well, I must admit the staff were a lot better. The meals were served very quickly and the service all round was very good. Well done. You have my vote again.

I have tried this cafe three times now. On each occasion for lunch around 1.00-1.30. On each visit they have ran out of nearly everything!!!...no sandwiches, no soup or jacket potatoes!!!!...the tables are filthy and in two visits, although there were plenty of empty tables we've had to clear one to sit at!...

I'm a fan of sainsburys but never used the cafe at this store before. The cafe was very quiet - maybe 4 tables in use including ours. The challenge was to find a clean table! Lots if tables had discarded mugs, plates, trays etc and some had been cleared but not wiped clean. Disappointing level of customer care. Staff were friendly and helpful. Drinks fine. Management of cafe needs addressing.

Came here with my daughter. I only wanted a quick bite to eat. Went for a panini. Only supposed to heat it up for me. It took 45 mins... Wasn't happy, had to ask 3 times for the meal, then had enough and asked for my money back... Shocking service. No apologies offered.

Is a nice small cafe which puts aside a lot of stress. Good food and service. Just sit back and relax... Snore...

Well a bit above the average Sainsbury's cafe. The Cafe area is quite large and has plenty of space and light even though it's through tinted glass. The area is new and clean and offers a selection of breakfast menu lunches and tea. The most outstanding thing about here was the staff attitude, being friendly, efficient and checking everything is okay whilst being busy with their duties. So well done Emily , great service at the counter and keep up the enthusiasm in this new Sainsburys. Cafe open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon to Saturday and 10:30a.m. to 4:30p.m. Sunday.