Spires Restaurant & Coffee Shop

There are no great surprises here. As described by other reviewers Spires is a canteen style restaurant serving hot home made food such as shepherds pies, stew and soup, while the smaller items include sandwiches, paninis and soup.
For a change I went for the brie and broccoli soup thinking that I’ve got the rest of the winter to eat vegetable soup which was the alternative. It was hot, cheesy and tasty served with wheaten bread that was, to be honest, a bit stale.
Had the bread been ok it all have been wonderful so hopefully someone will keep an eye on that one, but in the event at £4.50 it felt expensive for what it was. However, I was interested to see that gluten free biscuits were available.
The scones and traybakes looked very good, so I’d look forward to one of those in the future because, despite one or two shortcomings Spires is a cosy, cheerful sort of place and would be a good option for a cold winter’s day

Now i wasn’t aware that there was actually a restaurant in the Spires complex but i was surprised to find one which was reasonably serviceable. The actual shopping centre itself is pretty dull these days, most of the more interesting shops have long moved out or shut down.
Regardless this restaurant seems to be doing a roaring trade, the punters no doubt lured in by the promise of the many meal deals on offer. The food is straightforward ‘buffet’ style with plenty of fried food and chips seem to come with everything. The restaurant is set in quite a dinky arched area and the quarter circle shape seems to be a nice change from the usual square dining areas in town.
Food is pretty good, the staff are pleasant and the pricing is good. Not sure what reason you’d need to have for being in Spires these days but this food option is recommended.
Pros:Large menu, nice atmos.
Cons: Perhaps not the most vibey eaterie.

I’ve often wanted to try this restaurant out, and today I got my way. It usually happens sooner or later…
The restaurant is a sort of canteen style one — you grab a tray, look at the menu, order the food, grab your own drink /​snacks /​sweets and pay. Not too difficult, and I do have years of experience in the canteen food-​purchasing business.
I ordered a cajun chicken panini, and nearly croaked when I saw the price — £5.15. The pleasant young fella said he would sort that out for me, and gave me a silver stand with a green panini sign on it. Novel. Off I went to pay, grabbing a drink of orange juice on the way (and rhyming all the day, so it would seem), for the polite young girl at the checkout to ask me if I would like a glass of ice with my juice. Happily says I. £6.55 says she, and hands me back my change and receipt. Somewhere between the beginning of the queue and the checkout, my panini had lost 10p in value — £5.05 on the receipt. Fair enough.
My sister order lasagne, and got lasagne, chips and a heck of a salad, while my brother played safe with a bowl of chips. My panini arrived with an equally impressive side salad, presented in a nice, tidy fashion. Well, at least I was getting my money’s worth.
A few moans from my sister alerted me to the fact that there was pineapple in her salad. Yes, pineapple. I soon discovered that this was indeed the case for me too… and I had sweetcorn. Interesting (!) combo, never mind the cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and onions. The panini was grand, but the salad did disturb me a little. My sister said that the lasagne was «okay», but she is a lasagne connoisseur. My brother was happily entertained by his bowlful of chips. That was sure a relief…
Not a bad ‘un, but with pricey dishes and bizarre salads, not a top one for me I’m afraid.