Print Room Café - Students' Union UCL — Restaurant in London

Dear Printroom Café Team, I am a long-standing patron of your establishment, and as a student within the university’s distinguished academic community, I have often taken genuine pleasure in your beverages. Yet on this occasion (much to my considerable dismay) I must convey a serious concern. On 18 November 2025, coinciding ironically with the European Antibiotic Awareness Day, I ordered a cappuccino, served in my own thermal cup, which is easily recognisable. Initially, everything appeared in order: my cup was placed fourth in the queue to be filled. However, in the ensuing confusion, it slipped to seventh or eighth place. At this stage, I remained understanding; the pressures of a busy service are familiar to anyone moving through the early hours of a demanding academic day. The true difficulty arose thereafter. When my cup finally reached the machine, it was positioned correctly, yet nothing happened. No coffee emerged. My cup stood idle beneath the spout while I watched, resigned, for nearly twenty-four minutes. During this interval, I waited for a single button to be pressed, twenty-four minutes in which several other students’ drinks were mistakenly taken by impatient individuals, creating unnecessary disorder.

Eventually, my cup was returned to me, but instead of the cappuccino I had ordered, I was handed a “dairy chai latte”. Caught in the stifling pressure of the crowd and anxious to protect my cup from being taken yet again, I accepted it and stepped away. Behind me, a disappointed student realised her tea had been mistakenly claimed by someone else. Meanwhile, I remained without the caffeine I needed and with a drink I could not consume. Had I been lactose-intolerant, this error might have carried real consequences.

This experience reflected a level of disorganisation incompatible with the otherwise excellent reputation of the...

Excluding the breakfast section, the menu says hot food is "served all day" - this is not true.

Hot food is in fact serves up to 4pm only. The first time I discovered this the cafés employee was rude saying, "everyone knows we only serve hot food till 4pm, we're not going to change the menu just for you". I'm not going to go into the ignorance of that statement.

The second visit I had was at 3:30pm - before the 4pm hot food cut-off. Once again, I reached the cashier and ordered only to be refused again because "the kitchen has closed early today". There were no prior warnings or notifications to this.

I persisted with the cafe and the food is not great, but well-priced.

The cafe has still not updated the menu or implemented any signs regarding food serving times despite...

Hit or miss coffee - can be good, sometimes tastes like coloured hot water. I'd say the quality is in line with the lower price.

Cheeky policy of advertising a price lower than the actual price - yes I do get that they want to incentivise reusable cups, but the pricing should be the other way around - advertise the higher, standard price which includes a cup, and offer a 50p discount if you choose to bring your own reusable cup. The current policy is a mixture between greenwashing and misleading advertising.

Often suuper busy, so avoid at peak time if you're in a rush - you'll be better off at one of the other cafes...