Three Cooks

I think this has a different name now but, as far as I know, is still the same company. I went in with my two sisters and my youngest nephew. It was a weekday so wasn’t particular busy. We picked up a couple of items from the fridge, the girl serving took them without really acknowledging us. We also asked for a couple of other items (meals). One of the meals included a sausage roll meant for my nephew who is 17 months old. The girl did not ask whether we wanted items warmed up but took it upon herself to do it anyway. We had stood and asked for the other items while the girl stared at us. After a couple of minutes, she turned to get a pad and asked to take our order! While taking our order, the girl started chatting to another member of staff (this was while I was mid-​sentence). I’d asked for a coffee. The girl did not ask if I wanted a small or a large, she assumed I wanted a large so I told her I would like a small one. She got the coffee ready and then stood there with it for a little while. As my sister and I agreed, it might have gone cold by the time she actually gave it to me (we were less than a foot away from her). The girl did not look at us when she spoke. When the food was served to us (we were in the eat-​in bit) it was served by two different people. The second one did not know where he was supposed to be going. He called out what the items were but turned away again before we had chance to see us trying to get his attention. We did do eventually though when he turned again. When we got the food (which wasn’t too long), some of it was warm and some not so. I’d had a jacket potato which was just warm whereas I would expect that kind of thing to be piping hot. The food wasn’t too bad though. The prices are OK. I thought the pricing was a bit higgledy-​piggledy to be honest. Some items (such as jacket potato with cheese, beans and salad for £2.50) were good value but then other items (such as the kids meals at £2.75) were not good value. When our table was cleared, the woman who cleared it was polite. She had tattoos on her arms. I know that’s not really an issue but, personally, I’d prefer that these things were covered in such places as it puts me off my food. Another side issue is that my nephew could have done with sitting in a high chair but there was only one in there which was being used. Also, some tables are right next to a fire exit and the people sitting at one of those tables was asked to move her chair because he was too close to the fire exit! All in all, I wasn’t particularly impressed but the two stars I’ve given are mainly for the cleanliness of the place. I don’t know if it’s like that all of the time but it was clean when we went in. Although I didn’t see anyone wipe tables or anything while we were there. The choice wasn’t brilliant either. The fridge wasn’t very well stocked. I suppose it would be possible to ask for other items as there is a board up showing some items which were not readily available.

Definately recommended over the Greggs situated about 4 doors down from this store, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good. Queues are shorter in here, and the pastry isn’t quite so soggy, and there is a small seated area at the back if you want to sit in. Prices are slightly more than Greggs but still pretty cheap