Starbucks

Your average Starbucks shop, decent coffee and OK food.
However the store needs serious cleaning and frequent removal of dirty dishes after customers. So much for the British manage to clean up after themselves.
Good place to people watch with all the people running by.

First class service, very polite and happy to serve and give information on a promotional product. Not overly busy which made it pleasant inside rather than being in a birdcage of noise when waiting. Good selection of food available and not too long to wait once having placed order to actually get the coffee. Very clean interior and pleasant décor. Can sit in or outside few external tables with parasols. Toilets not too bad, could be bit cleaner but otherwise nice to have quiet experience of having a coffee. Situated in the middle of town so no actual car park.

***This 5-​Star review is for the Starbucks in the Oracle Center of Reading, but it can probably be generalized for those in the London-​ish area.***
Okay, I thought Starbucks would be all the same because they are a ubiquitous global brand like McDonald’s. I was so happy that I was wrong!
I had the fortune of staying in Reading for nearly two weeks for seminars. I was excited about the food but not about the prices; this was when 1.96 dollars equaled 1 quid, and virtually every restaurant (including McDonald’s) seemed to cost twice as much as it did in the DC-​area – that is, except Starbucks.
Fortunately for me, I was staying at the Novotel and this Starbucks was a quick dash from the hotel’s lobby. For years before visiting Reading, the quality of food at Starbucks in the DC-​area (the same options offered in other major U.S. cities as well) was diving from decent to painfully mediocre – not to mention way too expensive for tired, dry, and blah-​nd food.
After savoring my first sandwich at the Reading Starbucks, I could not believe my taste buds that I was having a gourmet experience at a Starbucks for its food! Where do I start? The paninis and sandwiches would make the namesake earl proud: Canadian Bacon-​Egg-​Roasted Mushroom Panini, Havarti Egg Panini, NY Strip Steak with Cheese Panini, Pesto Chicken Spinach Panini, Chicken Bacon Club Sandwich, Chicken with Rocket and Lemon Vinaigrette, Smoked Salmon and Rocket Sandwich, and Egg Salad. All of them were good to outstanding. The paninis could be freshly pressed (excellent way to start the morning) or taken away to be eaten cold like the sandwiches.
Among pastries, the Pain au Raisin was like a delicate cinnamon roll, the Butter Croissant was tops, the Skinny Peach-​Raspberry and Orange Muffins were sweet, tart, and matched the black coffees well, while the Wildflower Honey Yogurt Parfait was lightly zingy.
As for the beverages, the Ethiopian and Café Esteema coffees were excellent and the (locally) bottled smoothies provided a shot of floral-​tangy-​sweet-​refreshing energy (Mango-​Passion Fruit and Grape-​Acai were my favorite). Unlike in the DC-​area, the coffees were served in big mugs for dine-​in customers. It is nice to know that I am saving a few trees while savoring a fresh, hot mug of Café Mocha.
The ambiance was cozy and hip, while the service gave me a glimpse into Reading’s fun local flavour :)
All in all, I ate at this Starbucks nearly twice a day everyday (including takeaway for later lunch or dinner), which afforded me to save up for splurges (from the American dollar perspective) at London’s truly exquisite restaurants (Mandarin Kitchen, Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, and Chez Bruce). With the exception of Panera, I cannot think of such outstanding sandwiches and pastries served at Reading’s Starbucks.
The disparity in food quality between the Starbucks in the U.S. and the U.K. is vaster than the Atlantic. If only Howard Schultz and company realize this, I will be as frequent a customer for the food alone at SBUX as PNRA ;-)

In my original review, I said «Irritating note: the door tends to stick letting the warm air out into the street. They really need to fix this!»
Using the store’s wi-​fi, I sent an email to the contact address on
and a few days after the holidays, I got an email apologizing for the situation. They called the store manager and it has been reported to maintenance. And she asked me for my address so she could send me a thank you and apology. I got two free drink chits, which I really did not expect. Very nice! Thanks Starbucks, that’s another star for you!