Waitrose Milton Keynes

This restaurant is a convenient spot for a quick lunch while shopping. However, there are two issues that need to be addressed. First, why serve a chicken burger and chips on such a tiny plate? I always have to request a normal-sized plate. Second, there is a sign in the restaurant stating that only food purchased from the establishment can be consumed on the premises. Despite this, during our visit on Monday, there were ten teenagers with backpacks eating their own food from plastic containers, while others were consuming food bought from the store, taking up space in the middle of the restaurant. When I asked the information desk why this was allowed, the response was "the management does not like confrontation, so they won't say anything." Come on, Waitrose, it's time to enforce your policies and improve your management.

How the mighty have fallen. This used to be a prestigious grocers shop, one of the best. It has now turned into an empty shell of its previous incarnation. Dreadful, dreary empty shelves, not of the more esoteric items but basics such as bread, coke and vegetables. They even print notices to tell us there’s no stock presumably to hide the empty shelves behind.Fresh items far past their best. Chicken with that yellow colouring that indicates bacterial contamination. I note they have had a bust up with Warburton and have dumped their rather nice product to champion Prince Charlie’s sourdough and their own dull cut bread. The patisserie that used to be spectacular at the old CMK store has sunk to a level below Lidl. Boring stale buns! The staff! Ha! Used to be charming, helpful and welcoming; and some still are, have turned into a dull, demotivated and rude workforce. Spoke to a number of their management team recently. Waitrose you should be so concerned at their lack of enthusiasm and the impression they have just given up. I am told that they do have a management problem in MK. It shows! I took the trouble to call Waitrose HQ. The gentleman typed as I spoke with no dialogue. He promised that someone would speak to me. He gave me a number. He sent me an email. Did anybody respond? Of course not! Waitrose supports John Lewis financially. My judgement is that both will fail. The Board and the CEO has destroyed John Lewis taking it downmarket to compete with The Range and Dunelm. They are now taking Waitrose to a similar low level but with extortionate prices. I will take my significant yearly spend elsewhere and urge everybody to do likewise. Then, and only then might Waitrose and their inept senior management listen.

I visited the restaurant around 3pm. I waited at the counter for about 10 minutes before someone came out to serve me. I ordered the traditional breakfast, but I was disappointed with the quality. The bacon seemed boiled and cold, and the sausages were shrivelled up and overcooked. When I complained, I was told a replacement was on its way. However, the second serving of sausage appeared half-cooked and chewy, likely microwaved. The bacon was still cold and there was less food on my plate this time. The mushroom was undercooked and the tomato was raw and sliced in half. I paid £10.40 for the breakfast and coffee, but ended up returning the meal for a refund and only having coffee. The restaurant was not busy and the breakfast was subpar for the price. I will not be returning. Additionally, there was a constant flow of school children using the toilets. Don't they have toilets at their own school?

As usual, I stopped by this restaurant after shopping on Saturday for lunch. I still can't understand why they don't offer soup with a roll in the cafe, even though they have shelves stacked with them in the store. Instead, I ordered a chicken burger with onion rings, but when it arrived, there were no onion rings. When I asked the waitress, she explained that they had run out of onion rings, but they still charged me for them and wouldn't allow me to substitute anything else. I found this frustrating and wondered if this is progress or if the world is going mad. On a positive note, the coffee was good.

We had very nice Full English breakfast. Nice and hot freshly made food here. Excellent people working hard to serve you.