96 Degrees — Restaurant in England

I dropped in here on my way back from work.

Wanted a good coffee & I know some of these independent coffee shops are very good as they are not brand complacent.

I decided to order a takeout even though it was cold outside as seating looked uncomfortable & atmosphere just didn't feel relaxed.

My order for a double (or large as I think they put it) expresso was abruptly taken and I was charged £2.20 I think. After a reasonable wait & listening to someone ordering an odd Apricot flapjack (or something else odd sounding..) my coffee was plonked on the counter in front of me accompanied even more abruptly with "there you go..".

Although cold outside I was pleased to get out of the slightly claustrophobic atmosphere.

I started sipping the lukewarm very average coffee only to realise I had only been given a single (or regular as they may put it) expresso.

I really couldn't be bothered to go back & complain but wish I'd walked the short distance in to the town centre as there are far better places.

I think this coffee shop may be the place to be for the slightly pretentious but if you just want good coffee & reasonable service then go somewhere else.

They say hospitality reviews are the most subjective of them all but this is my four minute take.

Maybe they were just...

First the good news. The service is first rate, friendly and efficient. Not much else to say. The WiFi is both free and speedy. Chairs are comfortable and its a pleasant place to go and do a bit of work and relax. My 2nd drink, a smoothy, was one of the nicest I have had anywhere. Very nice stuff.

Now we get down to the "not so good" stuff and unfortunately as this is a coffee shop I have to base my main rating on the quality of the coffee.

The cappuccino was really poor. Nothing was anywhere near correct. Temperature was far too hot (96 degrees!) the coffee was very bitter and very obviously over extracted. The milk preparation was simply non existent, far too much foam.

I saw her pour the milk and its pretty obvious she has never been taught by anyone competent. In short, worst cappuccino I have had in a while.

How you can make a coffee by hand, with the best commercial equipment, that is actually worse than an automated bean to cup machine is beyond me but it was achieved here.

Hard to recommend this place unless you don’t like coffee but would like a smoothy and...

I want to love this cafe. I really do. But having visited intermittently over the last few years I’ve had to admit that I really don’t. For me the coffee is mediocre and more often than not burnt, the cakes reliably stale & stodgy and more often than not seem like they’ve come from the sale basket at the Tesco over the road. The hot food is a great idea but for me on the occasions I have tried has always been a disappointment - misjudged portions, inconsistent cooking and ultimately just not particularly good to eat. The service experience for me has been more miss than hit - on a good day friendly but generally more often indifferent and giving the impression customers are an inconvenience. But then I don’t think I’ve been served by the same person twice so perhaps I I just missed the good service in the churn. The atmosphere itself is fine - I’ve just always found in winter it’s too cold and in summer too hot. Every time I visit I leave slightly...