Starbucks in West Berkshire

They appeared to need more staff as we had to wait too long for 3: drinks that didn't come together -too many people queuing

I have drunk many coffees all over the world and Starbucks blonde roast is considered a constant. You know the taste and what to expect. What I didn’t expect was a coffee that tasted like it was made with an entry level Tassimo. The fact that the majority of the Starbucks I’ve visited recently don’t even do the old skool barista coffee making is a death nell for me drinking coffee there. No one should ever say “the coffee at Greggs is better than Starbucks” no excuse for bad coffee in 2024

Surprised by the bad reviews! I was very satisfied with the cheery service here, but also by the distinctive SB latte I had. The service was also prompt enough and the premises clean and spacious, offering more breathing space than the main services.

The worst Starbucks I’ve ever been in. The staff have not got a clue. Had to ask again for my order again.

Shambolic, zero customer interaction or interest, waited for ages, massive drive through queue. Hopeless. Get the staff to look interested or even interact with customers. Loads of people waiting and not even a glimmer of interest from staff. Don’t bother!

Ordered a black filter coffee to go. Very hot drink, quick service and tidy surroundings. Shame about the location within an uninspiring Welcome Break.

I hope I’ve got the right Starbucks. Just to say this is a slightly unusual review as I didn’t have coffee or food during my visit but the service was excellent. I was taken ill at the service station on 15th Feb 2020 and the staff were faultless. Kind, calm and efficient. A firstaider attended quickly and sat with me while we waited for an ambulance and my worried husband was looked after by the staff and given free coffee. I ended up in Bristol Heart Institute and after treatment and a three day stay, I am now almost back to normal. So thank you, thank you to those young men who dealt so well with the emergency. I was very lucky that day.

I've been visting the drivethru at least 3 times a week for the last year. Always found the staff at the window very friendly and efficient. Having changed jobs, I'm a little sad that I'll not be passing by there very often now.

Having travelled the world and enjoyed the coffee house in many countries. Best in Vancouver. This one is supposed to be busy but was not when we went in this afternoon. The toilets were disgusting. The whole place atmosphere not welcoming at all. The 2 staff overworked. Please tidy and revamp this place. Starbuck has enough finance. Why go down to this level.

had a very nice takeaway flat white on a recent visit to this cafe. The staff weren't the friendliest but i don't really care as long as they give me nice coffee. Which they did and so me happy. in fairness i did not sit down or in anyway engage with the vibe in the cafe, but to my mind one of the better coffees i have had in my numerous stop offs in service stations around the country...

Grumpy, uninterested staff that we felt we were an inconvenience too. Grubby premises and dirty mugs. Avoid like the plaque.

Poor. Dirty floors and surfaces. Wrong order taken. Argued that I had ordered something that I hadn't as server was too busy listening to the customers next to me. The coffee order arrived incorrectly... different to the first issue. Not a fan of this company anyway but the cold coffee, grubby surfaces and general ineptitude of staff really was sub standard

This was a 9.00 am visit to break our journey. The Starbucks inside the main Welcome Break looks neglected and is rather large, somewhat dark and dismal but somewhat lightened by windows at one end. The furniture was reminiscent of a secondhand furniture shop selling the products of house clearances. Fortunately the coffee was good enough, but overpriced, and the staff were polite. The cakes behind the glass on the counter looked good. We bought a cinnamon swirl and pain au raisin. The cakes were expensive. They were both stale and inedible. I tried peeling off the outside layer of the cinnamon swirl to eat the interior without improving the experience. My wife had to abandon the pain au raisin after one distasteful bite. We left the refuse on the plates while my wife went to Waitrose self-serve patisserie selection and bought and brought back two excellent croissants at under half the price of the Starbucks rubbish. Pity Waitrose does not have a cafe!

Usual Starbucks offering. Nice coffee, good quality sandwiches. Usual service. Not sure why they need 2 Starbucks, one upstairs and one downstairs. Also a Starbucks machine within Waitrose?

Stopped off for a quick coffee, unfortunately my wife had a latte at £3.00 small very grumpy waitress, my wife used the toilet and in her words”the dirtiest toilet she had seen in a cafe” in general unfriendly staff dirty cafe will not use again.

Where to even begin?! Totally uninterested and sulky-looking staff, dirty tables and chairs, flies hovering around, food not properly warmed, drinks prepared without any care or thought...please...PLEASE...go to the Waitrose & get yourself a sandwich and a smoothie. Looking at the other reviews I’m not alone in feeling that this place needs a deep clean...and some staff ‘retraining’!

Looks like I went in on a good day. Friendly staff, nice coffee to take away. Looked clean and tidy too.

What a dull drab facility, looks as I imagine a prison ‘should’ look .. but they probably look better. The service was appauling nods and grunts. Can’t imagine a worse place to stop, no view, no ‘light’ just very dark boring walls.

Toilets stank of urine, water was dripping from the ceiling, tables needed wiping, staff were unattentive. Coffee tasted nice!

Old tables and wooden chairs. Pretty much all the tables I could see needed wiping down. You associate Starbucks with comfort and quality but you won’t find it here.

I can read and am not visually impaired, but could not see any gluten-free snacks, so I asked. The response I received to the question ‘Do you have any gluten free snacks please?’ was ‘We’ve got what’s there.’ It was delivered so rudely I left even though I wanted a coffee.

On my most recent visit to Membury Services, I decided I would buy a coffee, and went to Starbucks. I am actually not a great fan of the flavour of Starbucks coffee, but with no choice, I ordered a flat white. I had quite low expectations, so in the end I quite enjoyed the coffee. It was kind of what I expected.

Decrepit furnishings, dirty tables. Slow service generally looks very unclean, my advice is stay away from the place.

Rude staff filthy toilets. Not pleasant. I will be placing this on my avoidance list. Not what you would expect of a over priced service station Starbucks.

Encore des commandes très longues, mer pour un café filtre. Organisation nulle entre commande et retrait des commandes.

We must have visited at a good time because we didn't have to wait in a queue and were served promptly and efficiently. Coffee was Starbucks standard and the food reasonable, if expensive.

Like most men the toilets generally don't really factor highly on the experience stakes when looking for a coffee! However, this Starbucks is a unique experience for all the wrong reasons! Perhaps having an all female staff means they don't want to clean the mens toilets or even to check on them but when you are faced with overflowing urinals and raw sewage on your visit then it makes you realise that the management don't care and that other issues of hygiene are being ignored. Having asked to speak to the Duty Manager her response was a smirk and a lack of action. Well my action is to write a review that hopefully means others will join me in giving this place a wide berth. A disgrace to the Starbucks brand

Store: basically normal, below par, levels of cleanliness but has the advantage that it is a separate building and you can save time versus having to enter the main service area.

Called in for a rest and a coffee, have to say the shop is pretty disgusting as far as cleaning is concerned with the sun shining through the window the grime and dust has no where to hide! Bins full and tables not cleared or wiped down?

Called in mid-afternoon a few times recently when it has been quiet. I found it OK with reasonable service and coffee/cakes etc, but as with most motorway services overpriced.

First time I've ever been served a coffee with neither a smile nor eye contact nor a single word from the "barista ". Enough said. Cup spilled over immediately it was served but impossible to catch anyone's attention.

Went to the upstairs branch. Having bought teas and found there was only skimmed milk available was told to go downstairs for semi-skimmed! Ridiculous. When this pointed out the response was utterly uncaring and uninterested. Same here from now on

Rediculously slow due to a complete lack of common sense. 3 members of staff all prioritising the drive through customers. Even though Shop virtually devoid of customers, took an age for somebody to acknowledge our presence and take our order (3 drinks). 15 minutes later, drinks finally handed over. My frapacino was vile but no time to complain. Why not have a member of staff dedicated to serving the customers who bother to get out of their cars? Failing that make it a dedicated drive through only! My advice: stay in your car and drive through. Or better still just drive straight past!

Stopped off at this Starbucks (drive through) for a quick use of the restrooms and a coffee (shock)

queued for over 10 mins to be served for an iced tea to be told there were no options avaliable. ( a sign would have been good!) staff were slow and were pleasant enough but lacked common sense, initiaive and true cutomer service. ordered an almond criossant and took a bite whilst I waited for a drink and it was so stale. went straight back to the counter for a refund and got asked whether I had even brought it from here. The same server was still processing my payment and receipt. not worth the 15-20 min delay to my journey for refreshment. Understaffed, poor food, poor service.

Having viewed the food areas in this dirty services we decided to just have a coffee. Big mistake. The whole area was filthy, flies flying around the rotten rubbish in tables and the floor area as well as behind the counter area.

Traveling home from Wales to Ipswich decided to stop for a cuppa tea never been before and won't be going back again, asked for 2 teas we got handed big mugs with teabag inside, we had to make it ourselves cost us £5.20 teabag was so weak dishwater came to mind didn't even have white sugar to try and make it taste better, after a few sips we both left it it was disgusting, could have bought about 240 well known teabags and made a better cup for the money we paid.

I made a brief stop at this particular Starbucks along with my husband and 12 month old daughter back in September 2017. We had departed a ferry at Portsmouth an hour or so before and required our morning caffeine fix and somewhere to give our daughter her bottle of milk.

It says on the tills that you get much more than coffee!! They’re not joking, you get painfully slow service, expensive coffee, off-hand staff and the place is bloody freezing!

I stopped for coffee left my phone charger behind rang the following day spoke to Florita who found my charger and saved the day thanks

I don’t know how they can charge so much (£3) for coffee that tastes as dreadful as this. I ordered a ‘tall’ latte & took it back to the car - it was so disgustingly bitter that I had to take it back. It also looked like ditchwater when I explored under the foam on top. I should add that I’ve never had to return a coffee anywhere before this episode.

Lifesaver this morning after a very early start with cups of strong black Americano - also had the fruit loaf which is absolutely delicious even if packed with calories !

We usually stop at the east bound Starbucks for a cake and hot drink, and up until today both have been fine. However today ordered a chocolate muffin and a tea. The tea was put on a mug by mistake and instead of making me another they poured it into a takeaway cup, which had the effect of it being tepid and not brewed properly. The muffin was very stale so we asked for another, which was also very stale, as staff made no effort to check if this one was fresh. Pointless getting another as they all looked the same!! Staff also totally disinterested.

Weak coffee that need to be returned and congealed chocolate sprinkler topped off with server who could not spell anyone’s name and then coughs on his hand and transfers germs to the coffee lid - certainly poor experience from a global brand

Took the chance to stop here on our way to Cheltenham. Decided to go in rather than through the drive-thru.

Arrived at Membury services starbucks for a quick coffee and cake b4 departing for the rest of our journey home.

We stopped off here during a long journey for a Classic Green Iced Tea and a Lemonade Peach Iced Tea.

The mighty brand is let down by the actual physical experience. We called in a year ago and the place was pretty shabby then, after visiting again this weekend nothing has changed. Whist our order was taken and made quickly enough, the service was lack lustre with a general lethargy, more like the sort of service you would expect at a petrol station or corner shop, where they hot drinks are sold a side line. It all falls apart when you go to sit down, the place was a tip, messy tables, rubbish on the floors, the up hostelry on the bench seating was ripped, at the pod which no doubt has a name, we had to go and ask for some milk and it was just gross. Looking at the other reviews i agree with a lot of the recent feedback.

Slow, painful service. Three people taking orders but only one making drinks - never going to make the work flow.

We arrives at 0730 it was quiet and no queue for a change, ordered breakfast roll and tea.

Disgustingly dirty, with staff that are disinterested then ask you if you've paid for things whilst yawning at the same time. Your brand is in danger of reputational damage if you don't sort this out.

Place if filthy. The toilets are absolutely disgusting. Service is not the best. Don't bother using the Starbucks it's a dive.

Service stations are a necessary overpriced evil. However the Starbucks brand suggests a certain quality and level of service? Wrong! Slow and incompetent service, disgusting lavatories, and the outside seating area , which should be great on a sunny day like July 4th, had disgustingly dirty tables, rubbish everywhere (no bins) and littered with fag ends (no ashtrays). I definitely won't be back!

This place is a joke. Incomprehensible staff.... people who make no effort to be understood. Cheap crappy buns Horrible 'ice lemon tea' Poor service High prices Grubby No no no.... don't waste your money here

You expect a certain standard from a chain. This is a motorway services so you pay more for a shoddy experience that is not in line with the starbucks brand. The tables were dirty, not wiped once in the 30mins we were there. And they got the order wrong. Don't bother unless desperate. This is the starbucks in the service station not sure what the drive thru is like.

I enjoyed my Latte and apparently the breakfast bap was ok. The cafe was clean and the staff fine. The problem l have being gluten free is that they only had either a chocolate brownie ( why do all the chain coffee houses offer these) or a peanut crunch bar?? I don't like peanuts and chocolate gives me migraines! Why don't they have individual packets of biscuits or gluten free fruit bread. Surely they could freeze it and toast if required?

This is interesting. It's almost as though the Westbound (towards Wales) and Eastbound (towards London) branches are two different outlets.

When travelling from Wales to London we usually stop at Membury services and very rarely do we go anywhere other than Starbucks. This Starbucks is always clean and well organised, the prices aren't unnecessarily over inflated compared to a normal Starbucks (because they have a captive audience) and the staff are always really friendly and efficient.

I have just visited this Starbucks and I am appalled. I went in at 6pm to find the seating area had been cleared and only minimal seating was available. I go to Starbucks a lot and I've never witnessed service like it anywhere else I have been. A gentleman walked in after us at 18.05 to have only one seat available for him to sit on as all the others were on the tables and there was no where for any one to sit. Now I know you might close at 7pm but in my jobs all cleaning was done after the closing time. One big issue I have with this starbucks is the gentleman I mentioned asked to talk to the manager as he wasn't impressed himself and me and my family were made to feel like we were in the way, then to my horror when the gentleman left the three workers then decided to talk about this gentleman first in their own language then in English. This is something I don't like and I want a contact email for the area manager also I will be contacting Starbucks directly as the hygiene and customer service is appalling. Starbucks you are not like this normally and this facility will be one of those that ruins your name and customer service.

Don't go here the service is poor. I make a better coffee at home. They just rush everything. No customer service. The place is dirty.

Stopped on way to Devon , 3 staff 2 other customers that we could see, coffee ok but Luke warm, breakfast bap was slightly warm & poor quality and for the price of this was disgusting. Had to ask staff to wipe clean a table and she half heartedly did it wiping much of it onto the floor, the floor looked as if it had not been swept for a week let alone washed, there was food debris all over it... will Never go in it again and would advise others not to bother either. .....

Stopped for a coffee. Paid nearly £4 in the usual Starbucks way. Loads of staff, no one in there. Toilets and cafe were filthy. Smelled, urine on floor, caked in dirt.

These places get a lot of custom, but they nearly always disappoint - tables not cleared away and cleaned promptly, lengthy queues etc. We were here on a Monday during the day, so I didn't have to queue for long. I had a flat white which was fine but got a "small" filter coffee for my wife, which was dreadful - she ended up tipping most of it down the drain - too much fluid and not enough taste. Why is it not possible to get a sensible sized cup of ordinary coffee any more?

The coffee was good but as usual overpriced. However the environment was awful. The room was cold and the tables and chairs looked like they hadn't been cleared for ages. Took a while to find somewhere to sit where I wasn't going to get covered in other people's leftovers.

Dreadful experience. Difficult to find a table that didn't need clearing or cleaning and had to clear debris at the table to be able to sit there. The whole place looks uncared for and unkempt. The toilets were disgraceful and felt embarrassed to take our twenty girl guides in there.

Toilets allegedly inspected an hour previously and two empty soap dispensers. A cold espresso due to a) cup too big and b) the espresso first made into a glass cup, left waiting while the 'barista' made some porridge and then poured into a cup.

Met by a nice warm smile, a coffee nice and warming, plenty of seating, well thought out even for disabled users.

I popped in to order two drinks (but half cold and over priced!). Whilst ordering the line manager (4ft high) was taking great delight in training two new recruits about Starbucks "profit profit profit blah blah blah". They both seemed totally uninterested in her man management skills. Anyway, I digress.

Had a frappacino (from the starbucks actually in the services) which wasn't made properly..I tried to drink it but it was awful, so I complained and the woman behind the counter gave me such attitude and dirty looks, tried telling me it was just whipped cream left when it was half full. She eventually changed it and although it tastes better it's still not right...not impressed and wouldn't recommend

A soulless experience here today. Spoken to abruptly, no eye contact and - basically - not a place one wants to hang around in.

Was not impressed with the coffee here. Counter tops sticky also tables. Better take a flask next time. Yes they were busy but it don't take much to wipe down table tops.

Great parking but wow! The dirtiest and smelliest public loos I have come across in years. Husband said that half the urinals in gents were blocked. So gross it put me off shopping (Waitrose). Avoid if at all possible.

They obviously do not want you stay long here. Very few sofas lots of hard back uncomfortable chairs & stools. What you want after a long drive is somewhere to sit in comfort & have a nice coffee. Very unwelcoming atmosphere and the staff were not that welcoming either. Plus they seem to charge higher prices at motorway service stations than the high street.

Cold inside and not very welcoming service. Toilets smelly and blocked. Coffee good. Convenience good - prices expensive. Macdonalds just as good and cheaper.

I am am frequent traveller between London and Somerset and I stopped off at the Eastbound services this morning and decided to use the drive through Starbucks. I wish I hadn't bothered as their Bacon Butties were awful, hard burnt rolls, hardly any bacon and the cappuccino not much better. I shall not be going to this chain ever again as I paid twice as much for my food and drink when compared when I have stopped at Leigh Delamare services.

Still waiting after half an hour for 1 latte and 1 cooler. Never again! Not the staffs fault. Same person taking the money and making the drinks and I bet she is paid a pittance. Absolutely ridiculous!

7.00 am Sunday morning en route from Heathrow. Four people on duty. Asking questions "what do you want" not listening to answer ! Sausage sarnie only part heated, not given choice of sauce. Had to send it back. Just naff and disinterested !

Popped in here on way through to London service was very good food lovely just a bit pricey needed a few extra bits and bobs but nothing was too much trouble

Was looking forward to my Starbucks flat white. I think in general Starbucks does the best flat white of all the major coffee shops. We ordered two. Mine resembled a milk coffee, drinkable but bore little resemblance to a flat white. My partner's was lukewarm and on the weak side, and again, not a flat white. We returned them, to the obvious disbelief of the staff. A man did the coffees this time and they were very good, properly made flat whites. At £3.10 a shot, you have to put your foot down. I definitely recommend trying the coffee before you leave the shop, just in case you need more milk or need to send it back. I regret going to the loo. Disgusting. Unclean. Hand dryer packed up after the lady in front used it. Most unpleasant experience. I shan't stop there again.

Terrible service and drinks that were un drinkable.

Quite a large establishment in its own building outside the main service area. Staff are very friendly but the coffee (flat white) is at best average. Comes in a small cup as well. I know it is smaller than a latte but it is not as large as Costa which in my opinion is far superior.

I had the option of a Starbucks or a Costa machine. I made a huge error. Tasted like hot water. First ever Starbucks experience and last. Costa from now on it is.

You know what you get at Starbucks

Hot chocolate ok but waiting time is long but service was good this place is set in a motorway services area so they have a captive audience

On 2 separate occasions I have experienced awful nausea followed by vomiting after having soya lattes purchased at Starbucks west drive through. The first time was a few months ago when I noticed the coffee had a funny taste but thought it was just my taste buds, but an hour later was feeling extremely nauseous and was sick.

Staff seemed polite but only two members of staff on shift. Wearing a head set while serving me and keeped getting my order mixed up with the one coming Thru on the head set.

Great spot and good parking...handy for a coffee if you have a dog with you as they have a small veranda area...as usually for motorways a bit pricy

Worst Starbucks I have been to. Service was mediocre and was really unimpressed that even though we were eating in hot food was still served as takeaway. There was no cutlery, not even plastic ones. They didn't even bother to cut hot panninis in half which made them difficult to eat. They treated staff like cattle and just wanted to get you through as quickly as possible with minimal basic service. Staff smiles came across as painted on and false . Really bad advertisement for the brand.

Took a long time to clear a short que, girl serving not very efficient and struggled with the English language.

Couldn't understand the staff and they couldn't understand us. Not being racist, but they need at least one English speaking member of staff. Quite clean place and polite staff, but almost all of our orders were wrong.

Busy Starbucks, bit gloomy inside and could do with a sweep. Usual Starbucks fare mostly prepacked paninis and sandwiches etc.

Why would you do that? The coffee shop smelled bad and the sugar area was dirty as were the tables. The staff were friendly enough but why would they not have a tidy.

This Starbucks is staffed by the worst group of "couldn't care less" people it's ever been my misfortune to come across. I was short changed by £5 initially. Ordered luxury fruit bread and a flat white coffee. Flat white was lukewarm and served in paper cup. Fruit bread was put in oven and forgotten about until another order needed to go in the oven when my order was taken out and left, overdone, alongside the oven. Several chases did get somebody to realise my overdue overdone fruit read was just sitting on the worktop being ignored. Eventually I had to persuade the girl working the cash register to rescue it for me. She shoved it into a paper bag rather than on a plate.

Last Wednesday evening ground floor Starbucks,we ordered a mocha and a chocolate,I took them back twice and they still were just luke warm! Normally they would even warm the cups especially as the air conditioning was very cold,poor service and a waste of £7!

We arrived at this Starbucks having driven up from Devon and in real need of refreshment.

Stopped for coffee and toilet break and found a new Starbucks away from the main buildings. It was quiet, staff pleasant, same old Starbucks coffee! But it was a better stop than we had expected.

I love my coffee, so often make a quick stop at Membury Starbucks on my travels. The quality when the place first opened wasn't great and seems to get worse on every visit. I find the staff friendly enough, but their lack of experience and product knowledge shines through. The flavour of the coffee is normally spoiled by the scolding temperature. Perhaps we have become spoilt by the upsurge in top quality independents, but the quality of the big coffee chains seems to be reducing at an alarming rate and I find myself having to order an extra shot, just to taste the coffee. Does anyone know of any UK motorway service areas with good independent coffee outlets, as it may help to plan our travels.

The state of these toilets, particularly the Ladies, was disgusting, and in urgent need of cleaning and maintenance.