Costa Coffee

Costa in a supermarket is getting pretty common now. Costa coffee is good there is no denying that. Coffee while you’re shopping is handy.

Tesco used to have a café/​restaurant, but for reasons unknown to me they decided to take it out and replace it with this Costa coffee. It’s a bit odd really, as it’s just plonked in the corner of the supermarket but it serves a purpose and it definitely is a bit more upmarket than the old Tesco café was with it’s cold food and stale sarnies.
It’s really open and clean, and most of the time it is not too busy (I suppose most Tesco shoppers are quite canny so don’t want to spend £3+ on a cuppa), although the same can’t be said for the supermarket!
I’ve got a friend that’s addicted to designer coffee and regularly stops here for a cup on her way to work just because it’s easy to stop and park without the hassle of walking into the town centre, so I suppose it’s good from that aspect.

Despite having to watch people go about their weekly shop this is a surprisingly relaxing place to have a coffee. The usual range of sandwiches, cakes and coffee is available. It is tucked into the corner of the store and is actually very spacious with plenty of tables and chairs well spaced apart. This is one of the cleanest coffee shops I have been in and even at its busiest, the tables are cleared and wiped swiftly. The staff I have been served by are pleasant and friendly and certainly make a decent coffee. Also, newspapers are available to read whilst enjoying your drink!

This branch gets no marks for architecture or ambience: it’s tucked away at one end of a cavernous Tesco Extra store, and the most interesting thing about it is that the large walls of glass let you watch the world go by — not that watching people arriving and leaving from a supermarket is that exciting. It felt a bit like a large, modern airport.
But the range of sandwiches and other snacks is not bad — and not bad value either; the drinking chocolate I had was pretty good and hit the spot; and the staff were efficient and very friendly. It was also spotlessly clean. (Oh, and it’s huge — I guess it would seat 100).
I did spot a few canny folks buying the even cheaper Tesco sandwiches and drinks, and coming in here to eat them. Presumably that’s frowned upon, but no-​one commented.