Costa

I’ve got to say I’m really not a fan. Whilst it’s well placed for catching your eye as soon as you enter the hospital I find it a dreadful spot to sit and enjoy a coffee, there’s a constant draft from the revolving door (the overflow seating is right next to the revolving door entrance). Because it’s so small the queue is always out of the door every time I pass by. I feel if they had a bit more space it could be a much nicer experience.

Before I write anything else I want to state that I really like Costa. As a brand but also this store is an excellent use of the space and a really great place to have informal out of office meetings. I have two real issues that stops it getting any more stars. During term time it gets really busy and isn’t really the kind of coffee shop atmosphere I go for, in the grand scheme of things not such a big deal, I still keep coming back. The major shortcoming of this place is the order system. I avoid lunchtime as the queue runs out of the door but at 3 in the afternoon with 5 staff and only two people in front of me in the queue I really don’t expect to wait for over 5 minutes to pay let alone be served a straight, black americano. There seems to be some fundamental issue with the way orders are processed. Fortunately for me, the simplicity of my drink of choice means I often get served before the other people milling around for their orders, but surely that shouldn’t be how it works?