Supermarket cafes under scrutiny: reviewer rejects M&S Cafe on value as Tesco, Asda and Morrisons fight for custom

Paying premium prices is fine when the experience backs it up. That’s the rub in a blunt new review of the UK’s big four in-store cafés—Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and M&S—where the author says they won’t go back to an M&S Cafe after finding the bill too steep for what landed on the tray. The verdict fires up a wider debate: can supermarket cafes really match independents and high-street chains on value, comfort and consistency?

What the review found

The reviewer started at M&S, expecting polish: good ingredients, tidy stores, calm seating. The food was described as “premium quality,” but the prices were called “premium” too—without the uplift in satisfaction you’d expect for the spend. The line that sticks: “I won’t ever go back to one.” It’s not a knock on taste so much as a blunt call on value for money.

The piece covered all four chains but lingered on M&S’s misfire. The takeaway was clear enough: if you’re watching your budget, you might do better at Tesco, Asda or Morrisons. The excerpt doesn’t list every dish or receipt, yet the signal is hard to miss—price-sensitive customers want simple, reliable, and fairly priced food, and anything that feels £1 or £2 over the line loses goodwill fast.

Behind that single complaint sits a familiar picture. The UK’s cost-of-living squeeze reshaped small luxuries—coffees, cakes, quick lunches. People still treat themselves, but they’re far more careful about where. Supermarkets use cafés to keep shoppers in-store longer and to soften the chore of the weekly shop. But they’re competing against local independents that live and die by service and speed, and against high-street chains that drill quality control down to the last milk froth.

How Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and M&S stack up

This isn’t a league table—site-to-site differences are real—but there are patterns in what shoppers look for and where each brand tends to land.

• M&S Cafe: The pitch is comfort and better ingredients, served in calmer spaces. That sets expectations high. If portion sizes feel modest or drinks and bakes edge up the price ladder, the perception of value takes a hit, even when the food is decent. The reviewer’s gripe sits right here: good quality, but not quite good enough to justify the bill.
• Tesco Cafe: The draw is practical, no-fuss meals and steady prices. Families and solo shoppers know the drill—quick breakfasts, straightforward sandwiches, hot drinks that don’t try to be fancy. When stores are busy, service time and consistency can wobble, but the baseline offer is predictable, which matters when you’re grabbing food mid-shop.
• Asda Cafe: Big on utility. Space, visibility from the shop floor, and a menu that aims to feel accessible. The setting can be plain, but when the price is sharp and options are simple, customers tend to forgive the lack of gloss. It’s a “get in, get fed, carry on” experience that suits errands and school runs.
• Morrisons Cafe: A stalwart for hearty plates and a loyal daytime crowd. Breakfasts, jacket potatoes, roast-style plates—comfort food that feels familiar. Quality and wait times can vary by branch, but when the price lands right, it ticks the box for a warm sit-down meal without the fuss.

So why does value slip through the fingers? A few reasons come up again and again with in-store cafés.

• Pricing psychology: Customers compare café prices to the rest of their shop. If a latte costs more than it feels like it should in a supermarket setting, it stands out.
• Ambience gap: Shoppers don’t expect indie-café charm, but harsh lighting, noise from trolleys, or slow clear-downs ruin the mood quickly.
• Menu focus: Short, well-executed menus beat sprawling lists. When margins are tight, doing a few things consistently well is safer than trying to be all things to all people.
• Speed and staffing: Queues and waits kill repeat visits. Without slick ordering and enough staff at peak times, even a good menu won’t rescue the experience.

M&S sits in a tougher lane. The brand promise is higher-end—nicer ceramics, better bakery, seasonal specials. That brings higher costs, which push prices up. But with prices up, baked goods must be fresh and generous, coffee must be reliably well made, and service has to hum. If any of those misses on a given day, customers remember the price first.

On the other side, the more budget-led cafés trade on clarity. If a breakfast deal is obvious, a kids’ option feels fair, and the coffee is fine, people overlook the lack of frills. That’s why small improvements—warmer lighting, faster clearing, better signage—can have an outsized effect. They’re cheap wins that raise the experience without lifting menu prices.

There’s also the question of why these cafés exist at all. They drive dwell time, offer a break to older shoppers and families, and add a social anchor inside big stores. For supermarkets, that extra 20–30 minutes on site can nudge a few more items into the basket. But the café still has to work on its own terms. If the food is forgettable and the total feels high, people will grab a coffee elsewhere—or skip it entirely.

What should shoppers expect next? More targeted deals during school holidays and weekends, simpler menus with better cost control, and workflow tweaks—digital ordering screens, clearer pickup points, and tighter table turnaround. Loyalty tie-ins will matter too: when members feel a quiet discount at checkout or on a set meal, the value story gets easier to tell.

The reviewer’s blunt take on M&S is a warning shot across the category. Premium without the wow factor doesn’t hold, not in a year when every small spend gets a second thought. Budget-leaning cafés will keep winning on straight value; premium-leaning cafés need to win on consistency, warmth and that tiny touch of hospitality that makes the extra pound feel well spent.