Costa Coffee - Oxford

One of the grubbiest and unclean Costas I have been in. Very busy morning, service was quick. However everywhere in the seated areas was not clean , tables and chairs covered in crumbs and seats were grubby. The glass surrounding the stairs up to the first floor was visibly grimy. The men’s toilets upstairs absolutely reeked of old urine, so much so that one could barely breathe. No idea when and how often they are checked and cleaned.

If you have ever watched the movie Tenet, you can relate to the experience of time moving forward and backward simultaneously. This is similar to the staff at the Costa franchise located in the Tesco in Oxford. They seem to move back and forth behind the counter, handling items absentmindedly, walking away only to return moments later. Unlike other coffee shops where you order your drink and receive it promptly, here you place your order and witness a peculiar journey of time and action. Everything seems to take longer than necessary, resulting in lengthy queues. Currently, there are three individuals who have ordered but have been waiting so long that they seem to have lost hope. It is clear that the staff could benefit from more focused and efficient training to improve their time management skills.

A woman with a child in front of me placed her drink order with a blonde man working at the counter. When it was my turn, he glanced at me and then walked away without taking my order. He went to attend to the woman's order and others, while I stood in line for 5 minutes with more people lining up behind me. Frustrated, I left without getting my coffee. It seemed like the blonde man had taken a break, as he wasn't in sight. This poor experience has made me vow to never visit Costa Coffee again. I ended up going to Nero Coffee on the high street where I received better service.

Looks as if they have good intentions for being covid safe staff working behind screens, hand gel and notices. The place was not being cleared very often and consequently very limited seating. Hot chocolate hot but not much taste.

The hot chocolate I ordered was good and the Costa is in a good location for shoppers. I’d recommend this Costa but say that there are other, independent coffee shops nearby.