Costa Coffee — Restaurant in England

I’ve always seen coffee shops as ideal spaces for working away from desks and meeting rooms—somewhere more relaxed and casual. Unfortunately, Costa doesn’t really seem to cater to that. The coffee is on the more expensive side, which would be fine if the quality matched, but I’ve consistently found it quite watered down in flavour compared to other chains like Starbucks or Nero.

There also aren’t many plug sockets available, which makes it hard to stay for any real length of time. The few that do exist are mostly along the benches, which are usually the first seats to be taken.

That said, the staff at this particular location were genuinely lovely and clearly knew what they were doing—which was a nice surprise. Unfortunately, that level of service and competence isn’t something I’ve come to expect from other Costa branches. All in all, not the best spot if you’re looking for a decent coffee or a place to work...

Really outstanding customer service. I don't visit Costa very often, as I find a lot of their products a bit sweet for my taste, but I chose this one because it is close to my favourite diy supplier.

I'm glad I did because when I said I wasn't familiar with the drive through menu the order taker gave me a little time to look things over. I asked for a dash of flavoured syrup, so they explained how much syrup is used in the flavoured coffees and asked if I'd like a little less. To top things off, the order taker also gave me a rundown of the available sandwiches. Talk about patient!

So a big shout out to Conor, who goes the extra mile to make new customers welcome, and really does epitomise everything I would look for in good service.

And thank you also to the blonde lady who took my payment. She knew all about the app and how to get the best value from the free rewards. Her patience and good humour is...

Normally a trip to Costa is fine as the coffee is A1 as you expect from a Premium coffee shop. However I had a negative experience for once on my visit to the Stockton industrial estate site. The shop was virtually empty with no queue and the two young men looked very unhappy to see me. I ordered a special from the overhead boards which included a ham/cheese toastie, the guys told me to " get it myself and bring it to the counter". Then it was re-heated left for 5 mins then given to me with another less than happy look. Must do better Costa not your best service day. On another note the toastie was bland and flat as a pancake, you may wish to re-visit...