Coffee Republic Chatham — Restaurant in England

I visited at 1.30 on a Saturday afternoon. The place was by no means packed, but there were a few people having lunch /coffee around. I mention this because it is relevant to the review I am leaving. Also, there were three staff members working behind the till which was plenty for how busy it was.

Today I ordered a pigs in blankets panini, a sticky toffee muffin and a regular cappuccino with caramel syrup. I was asked if I wanted the panini warmed, so I said yes why not. About 3 minutes passed and the woman sorting my food says to go and sit down & they'll bring the food over to me when it's ready, so I do. Another 3-5 minutes later my panini is bought over. The first bite, completely fine. Not hot but assume they warmed it almost 10 minutes ago so it's cooled down already. I was wrong, I took a 2nd bite and it was ice cold - that only just defrosted kind of cold. I go back up to the till and someone about to go on break asks what's wrong, I explain that my food is ice cold in the middle so she takes my plate with my dirty tissue on it and puts it in the microwave, leaves the shop to take her break, and doesn't tell anyone my food is in the microwave.

Whilst she was gone, I heard the microwave beep several times. Around 10 minutes pass and someone comes up to the till to bring back a panini that's had a bite taken out of it. The woman behind the till realises that it's my panini, that they'd re-heated, re-plated and served to someone else. It was bought back over to me and after all of the hassle I didn't bother eating it. Really disappointed today.

I should also mention that between me ordering my panini and it being eventually bought back to my table, another customer came to the till to complain about a muffin being rock solid and I heard a member of staff say that it was still frozen, and another customer had to go up to the till to ask for their teacake that they had waited on and been forgotten.

Also, the hand soap in the toilet was heavily diluted with water.

On the positive side, the coffee was fantastic as always and it will continue to be one of my favourite places for a coffee, but I won't be ordering food again any time soon. I wasn't offered an apology about the issue, and was just given my same - already bitten AND given to someone else by accident - twice reheated...

Update as of January 2025.

The coffee is generally okay and acceptable, but there’s no WiFi, and the local mobile networks are extremely slow, with speeds less than 1 megabyte, which is utterly useless.

I visit this cafe to work for a change of scenery, and it’s astonishing that in 2025, you still go to a cafe in the UK, pay £3-£4, and receive your coffee in a ceramic cup without a saucer, spoon, or tissue. You’re expected to carry your self to your table and not spill it on the already sticky floor.

Once you reach your table, you realise that there’s no or very slow WiFi and the local mobile networks are extremely slow.

If you’re only here for a takeaway coffee, go ahead. But if you’re expecting to sit down, enjoy your coffee, and maybe even answer some emails or work, I highly recommend avoiding this place.

There are two cafes inside the Pentagon shopping center that offer decent WiFi connections and a better overall experience. Alternatively, you could head up the road to Mrs. Sourdough for a truly authentic coffee experience, complete with a biscuit on the side...

Came here for a coffee with my friend whilst having a look at the shops. My friend is allergic to nuts, she asked is the freezers contain nuts and was met with a rude response from the worker with multi colour patches of hair (i assume manager). She was extremely abrupt and when my friend asked if there are traces she said “we don’t put nuts in it, there might not be nuts in the cream” without even checking. My friend decided she did not want to give them anymore of her money, as she had also purchased a sausage toastie (which after being toasted was slimey). I also had a caesar wrap which smelt of gone off cucumber and was extremely slimey. Will not return. Update: Managers...