The best restaurants in Grove Kingston upon Thames London

Friday 18th November we visited the branch of Costa in the basement of the Bentalls Centre in Kingston. As we were placing our order we were informed that our drinks would be served in take away cups, even though we were sitting in. When we ask why ceramic cups were not being used, when there plenty on view, we were informed that they did not have the staff to wash them up. The use of take out cups seems to be a growing trend we have found in various branches of Costa that we have visited recently. We ordered two flat whites, £3.30 each, which were served by a rather miserable member of staff. We had to clear a table before we could sit at it, the staff did not appear too inclined to clear the tables. Although the coffee was good, we prefer the flavour from a ceramic cup.

We were greeted by a friendly young woman who took our order. The food was average and luke warm. We were the only guests at this time. One member of staff was constantly coming out of the restaurant sitting on the next table to us while puffing away on her cigarette and goodness knows what she was smoking but it stank! We got mouthfuls of the horrible smoke all through our meal when she could have sat anywhere. We didn't got one smile or hello off this member of staff. The young waiter who brought our food out was unpleasant and just slammed our food down. The green tea was lovely and refreshing. On top of it all we were charged a £8.10 service charge, had we known this would happen we would never have eaten here.

I gave this place a chance after working in the area for years. The food I got was bland, cold and was thrown into the bin. I went in and asked the server to recommend a dish. The guy was uninterested and took a long time to handle my order and let alone my food. When he'd finally prepared it, I asked him for it to be spicy and he gave me the mildest chilli sauce and on top of that my food was actually COLD. I went back to the restaurant speak to the manager and came here to leave a negative review. I was not at all surprised to see all of these other negative reviews. I explained to him about the my bad experience and he started to deny it. I then showed him and other customers the poor reviews and he got upset and began to harras me so I left. He then followed me and even tried to get pushy to intimidate me! He finally left me alone and went back in. I don't even want a refund. He will be out of business soon enough.

Arrived for afternoons tea 2pm ,very surprised only cups ,No Saucers ,had to carry our own tea to table and wait for food .Food was delicious and presented nicely but it arrived 10 mins later .We had practically finished the tea .Why can the staff not bring tea over with the food ?I know it’s a cafe but have some etiquette,I think everyone associates afternoon tea is a cup and saucer must that’s part of the experience

I spend a lot of money every day there but I must stop to do that because today I am feel sick from their cold areas. It doesn't worth to spend money and to stay in such an cold environment.

5 4 3 2 1 4.2 (50) Reviews All Service Meal Price music5 vegan5 atmosphere4 dog4 +3 Sort by Most relevant Newest Highest Lowest Jonathan Personal Gibbs 46 reviews Dine in | Brunch | £1–10 Following the demise of the much loved Jaxx, a period without a local cafe, and a couple of stuttering starts, the OLRC has found its feet and become a treasured community cafe. …More Raminder Singh 1 review a month ago I went here for the first time with my friend Bob, who lives across the road and highly recommended it and had a good time with my breakfast roll and a cup of coffee. …More 1 Old London Road Cafe (owner) 4 weeks ago Thanks so much for your lovely review! Hope to see you again soon! Emma West Local Guide·97 reviews·18 photos 5 months ago Lunch | £10–20 I visited Old London Road Cafe and had a great experience. The staff member on a Saturday morning had a very vigilant approach to cleaning, ensuring a clean and hygienic environment for all customers. The customer service was outstanding, …More 1 Old London Road Cafe (owner) 5 months ago Hi Emma, thanks so much for your kind review. We're delighted you had such a fantastic visit and hope to see you again soon! C Rogers Local Guide·26 reviews·58 photos a month ago Great place to pick up a toasted panini, some nachos, or just an extremely good cup of coffee. Fun -oriented décor, and friendly staff. Great little place, and I go there often now. Make sure to ask about their coffee+panini deal. It's …More 1 Old London Road Cafe (owner) a month ago What an ace review, thanks so much for your kind words and lovely summary. See you again soon! Jonathan Personal Gibbs 46 reviews Dine in | Brunch | £1–10 Following the demise of the much loved Jaxx, a period without a local cafe, and a couple of stuttering starts, the OLRC has found its feet and become a treasured community cafe. For sure there are slicker venues - better food and classier decor - to be found locally, but there is now a real sense of a local shared space and an regular eclectic mix of patrons. As a daily vistor I've noticed the vibe change between times of day, day of week, and college term times. You kinda sign up for that before you enter. I haven't experienced their ccasional evening live entertainments so can't comment. Pet friendly, this has become my dogs' second home, along with a cute kitten and (as previously noted) the occasional pair of parakeets.

They charge you for tap water! Not only is this very disappointing, but if you have a medical condition very worrying too!

The food was delicious and excellent value for money, and the staff were incredibly helpful and friendly. We spilt a drink by accident and they were quick to help us. Volvemos con amigos, ¡seguro! Gracias 🙏

**Wingstop Review: A Disappointing Experience** I recently tried Wingstop and unfortunately, it was underwhelming. The wings themselves were quite small, with barely any meat on the bone, which was disappointing given the expectations of a good wing spot. The flavor options, while varied, were surprisingly basic. None of the sauces or rubs stood out, and they lacked the boldness or punch that makes wings exciting. On top of that, the price felt way too high for what you get. Considering the portion size and mediocre flavors, it simply didn’t feel worth the money. Overall, Wingstop was just a bit of a letdown. There are better places to get wings that offer more value and better taste.

disgusting thing ever seen by me today. I was wanting to have a quick coffee before I went home and just as we were going to wait in the line we saw the barista with long hair pull and touch his hair out and throw it on the floor. GROSS. YOU JUST TOUCHED YOUR GREASY HAIR and then you have the audacity to touch cups and make coffee ? HORRIBLE. im so put off Nero that I cant even consider going back anytime soon. please whatever you do dont go to this Nero. waste of money they also always make the drink horribly cold.

Literally the worst experience i’ve ever had… came in with some friends as it was joint wafflemeister and kebab shop, incredibly dirty and the room was full of smoke as workers were smoking shisha (around children). the man turned a tv on and it started blasting loud music and playing travel adverts. all of a sudden, a worker whips out his phone and starts TAKING PHOTOS OF US. did not ask us, and we are literally MINORS!!! we were all clearly uncomfortable, covering our faces and laughing nervously but he just kept taking photos of us, coming very close and not being subtle at all. we left quickly, and my friend came back to ask the man to delete the photos, which he agreed to do with STRONG RELUCTANCE. he didn’t even show my friend that he was deleting them, so, who knows, he might still have unwanted pictures of minors in school uniform on his phone. avoid this place at all costs.

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.

We wanted to eat something warm, since they were closing we weren’t allowed to eat inside, which is fair . We asked if hot food was also half price since they closing they said no. So as we could not eat in and neither food was discounted we decided to leave. Just to witnessed all hot unsold food was thrown away in n plastic bags. Not only waste but also environmentally unfriendly business. Not to mention a very unfriendly cashier (female) . Not the place I will return also the quality of food has downgraded.