Darkroom Espresso — Restaurant in England

I had one hour to wait in Swindon between two trains and the station staff kindly let me get out of the station for a coffee. I asked where to go and the staff told me me to go to the Costa Café right next to the station as « the centre wasn’t worth the stroll ». This comment raised my curiosity to see by myself and also, Costa Café… come on 🙄

The centre is very quiet indeed, most shops are closed, windows are dusty, streets are empty. If Swindon was by the sea-side, this would almost give it some sort of meditative and melancholic charm but in the mainland, the effect is a bit depressing.

I kept walking and luckily came by Darkroom Espresso. The seats are comfortable, there’s a relaxed vibe with plants and mismatched furniture. People know each other. The staff is chilled and nice. I had a very good filter coffee and a delicious carrot cake.

I will definitely go if I happen to pass by Swindon again!! The highlight of my hour...

What a great find! " Darkroom Espresso" is tucked away off the beaten track in Swindon, at 11 Faringdon Road, bottom of town. "Well worth a visit". Just park in the multi storey car park (£2 for four hours) between certain hours! The ambiance is a lovely mix of artistic, intelligent, simplistic and relaxed mood. The staff are all very polite, enthusiastic and knowledgeable about their products, service is great. The sourdough bread sandwiches tasty,light and delicious, the coffee smooth and the chocolate brownie to "die for" (not in the literal sense but velvety, light yet beautifully rich without feeling you can't finish the whole piece and maybe more! They also make "gluten free" cakes. Seek them out, and give them the support they clearly deserve, I only wish I knew about them sooner. You could start and finish your day drinking their lovely coffee and fabulous selection of teas. Open 8 am to...

Really odd experience in here today. Ordered a coffee with one other person in front of me in the queue, and it took the guy 24 minutes (I hadn't planned to time it but I checked my transaction time on my phone when I walked out of the shop) to make my coffee. The person in front of me had 2 coffees. I watched the guy for most of this time and I have never seen a barista knock, tamper and turn the coffee and milk etc... so much in my life. Whilst he was conjuring his self-absorbed magic the other 2 staff hardly had anything to do.

When I was given my coffee there was no apology at all. The coffee was fine, not stunning. The service was extraordinary. In future maybe your barista could mention that it takes him 8 minutes to make one cup of coffee so, as a customer, I can choose whether I want to wait this long. ...