Costa Coffee — Restaurant in South Cambridgeshire

Absolutely awful, never again will I set foot in there... I don't expect much from a pretentious tax-dodging chain like Costa and usually avoid them in favour of independent outlets at all cost - but we popped into Caxton Gibbett for a rest break and there is no alternative to poor chains there.

We tried Subway first as we only wanted a brew but their card reader was broken and they'd run out of coffee (just before mid-day on a Sunday!). Broccoli next door was empty - probably because the name associates to that nightmare vegetable your Mum boiled to death and then forced you to eat....

That made it a toss up between Costa and McDonald's - how I wish we'd just driven on at that point! However, we didn't and we paid the price literally and metaphorically.

The place itself was mostly empty of customers and seemingly staff too as most of the tables hadn't been cleared from the previous customers. The queue was only 3 deep but it took half an hour or more for the barrista to make 7 frothy, flat, multi faceted pretentious mugs of nonsense so by the time we got served I was fuming... We ordered our black americano (because it's no longer possible to order just black coffee) and a cup of tea, and we got a grilling - it was like flipping question time... Regular or large? Any flavourings? Columbian for 50p extra? Any cakes? Breakfast tea? Camomile? Mint? are you sure you want builders tea - We've got strawberry and vanilla that's really yummy? Have you got a loyalty card? ( god how I laughed at that). Good grief I was about ready to commit hari-kari to end the pain by the time the drinks finally appeared.

After clearing the rubbish from one table to another we sat and drank the tepid weak tea and the dire bitter coffee in a fraction of the time it took to obtain it. The restroom proved to be only 2 cubicles shared by male/female and disabled so there's a bizarre hover and pounce system to access them. Having got over the entry hurdle I found it matched the rest of the place in that it was filthy, no loo roll etc.

After the best part of an hour spent mostly in a state of bewildered frustration and anger we left - many £s lighter, a few grey hairs added and avowed to never return.

What a shocking shower of poo Costa is! I think I'll invest in a decent flask for those times you can't get access to an independent cafe when...

Service for drive - thru and inside seemed rapid. Two male servers. Seemed focussed on serving customers particularly on busy drive-thru. Not seemingly very friendly. It was noticeable most tables inside not being cleared regularly. Used trays, crockery and cutlery on most tabletops. No-one cleared any of it away between 5.15pm and 7pm (a Monday evening) that I was in there unless another customer decided to clear up before they sat down. Limited range of cakes on display for eat - in. Drive - thru open long hours while eat - in hours more limited. Electric sockets available for phone and laptop chargers at certain tables inside. Plenty of outside tables and...

Fresh coffee for when your on the road with this drive thru site the store can get a bit crowded at times but you can find a seat when its busy. There is an outside area when for when its sunny/fair weather. The parking area is shared with the other units on the site and the few mobility bays are dotted around the site. There is some off site street parking on the old road next to the site (do so your own risk ok if someone can pop in and return when the sites very busy) mobility parking bays are shared with the other units on site so can be limited or hard to find on a busy day. ANPR time limit is 120 minutes or see staff if you do...