Supermarket cafes taste test: M&S shines, Tesco steady, Morrisons slips, Asda misses

• by Arlen Fitzpatrick
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How I tested the UK's supermarket cafes

The café tucked inside a big supermarket used to be an afterthought. Not anymore. Families meet there, older shoppers warm up with a tea, and tired parents grab a quiet ten minutes. So I spent a week touring four of the biggest names to see how their supermarket cafes stack up right now: M&S, Tesco, Morrisons and Asda.

I paid my own way and kept it simple: a coffee and a standard sandwich at each stop, bought around lunchtime on weekdays. I looked at five things—coffee quality, freshness and taste of the food, service, cleanliness, and value. Prices and menus vary by store, so treat this as a snapshot rather than a nationwide verdict. Still, the differences were clear.

Here’s the baseline I used on each visit:

• Order: one coffee (americano where possible) and a cold sandwich
• Timing: between noon and 1pm on weekdays
• Checks: taste, temperature, presentation, speed from order to table, staff engagement, table and floor cleanliness, noise level, seating comfort
• Price band noted for a coffee-and-sandwich combo

I also paid attention to family friendliness (kids menu options on display), dietary choices (veggie or vegan choices visible), and any loyalty or promo signs in the café. With that, here’s how each chain did—best to worst.

The verdict by chain

1) M&S Café — premium taste, premium ticket

M&S took the top spot on quality. The coffee was properly extracted—rich, smooth, and hot without bitterness. My smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich tasted fresh, with good bread and generous filling. It looked like something you’d happily order outside a supermarket. Staff were quick to clear tables and the space felt calm, with decent lighting and comfortable seating. It’s the kind of café where you linger rather than bolt your drink.

Price-wise, it’s not shy. A coffee and sandwich came to about £5.50 on my visit, the priciest of the four. You do feel it, but you also taste where the extra money goes. For anyone who wants café-first quality and doesn’t mind paying a bit more, M&S is the safest bet.

For families, I saw clear kids’ options and several lighter choices, plus a couple of vegetarian picks. Speed from till to tray was around five minutes even with a lunchtime queue. If I had to meet someone for a quick catch-up inside a supermarket, this is where I’d suggest it.

2) Tesco Café — steady, fair value, no fireworks

Tesco delivered a solid, no-drama experience. The coffee was fine—not as polished as M&S, but hot and balanced. My bacon sandwich hit the spot: decent bread, cooked bacon, and served promptly. The menu board showed plenty of familiar comfort items—toasties, jacket potatoes, and all-day breakfast bits—so it’s an easy crowd-pleaser. Staff were friendly and tables turned over fast, which helped keep things tidy even during the rush.

At around £4 for a coffee and sandwich, value is the point here. It’s the place you pop into because you’re already shopping and want something reliable. You won’t travel across town for it, but you won’t regret stopping either. It also felt accessible for families, with kids items visible and high chairs stacked in the corner, ready to go.

If you use loyalty schemes, Tesco often advertises café deals during school holidays—the kind that make a cheap lunch cheaper. Those promos vary, but they can nudge the equation firmly into good-value territory.

3) Morrisons Café — lower price, lower payoff

Morrisons struggled to rise above average. My coffee was weak and a little flat, the kind that feels more like brown water than a proper brew. The cheese-and-pickle sandwich tasted tired—dry edges on the bread and not much punch from the filling. The seating area was clean but cramped, like a space that’s been squeezed to fit a plan rather than designed for comfort.

At about £3.50 for a coffee and sandwich, the price is fair on paper. But the quality didn’t justify even the small spend for me. If you’re counting coins, it might still make sense—especially for a quick pit stop with a tray bake or a tea. I did see signs pointing to family deals and kids options, which could make it workable for a budget lunch with little ones.

Could Morrisons improve? Definitely. Invest in coffee training, sharpen up sandwich prep, and spread the tables a bit. None of that is hard, and it would change the feel of the place quickly.

4) Asda Café — cheap, but the experience broke down

Asda was the only café I left determined not to revisit. The coffee tasted burnt and bitter. My chicken sandwich was soggy, and the mayonnaise had an off note. Service felt checked-out: slow greeting, little eye contact, and the tables were sticky. The floor needed a sweep. At a quiet time you might shrug this off, but at lunch the basics matter.

It was the cheapest at roughly £3 for a coffee and sandwich, and I did see posters for low-cost kids’ meals—Asda has leaned into that offer nationwide in recent years. But price can’t carry a visit when core standards slip. It doesn’t take much to fix: a fresh brew cycle, tighter food rotation, and a quick clean between seatings would lift the whole place. Until then, it’s a hard pass from me.

Price snapshot from my visits

• M&S: ~£5.50 for coffee + sandwich
• Tesco: ~£4.00 for coffee + sandwich
• Morrisons: ~£3.50 for coffee + sandwich
• Asda: ~£3.00 for coffee + sandwich

Service and cleanliness at a glance

• M&S: fast service, proactive table clearing, calm room
• Tesco: friendly staff, quick turnaround, tidy for the volume
• Morrisons: polite but stretched, seating felt cramped
• Asda: slow service on my visit, sticky tables, floor needed attention

Who each café suits

• Choose M&S if you want café-quality coffee and a sandwich that tastes fresh from a counter, and you’re fine paying for it.
• Choose Tesco if you want decent food, quick service and dependable value while you shop.
• Choose Morrisons if price is key and you’re okay with a basic cup and a simple bite.
• Skip Asda until standards improve; cheap only helps if the basics are right.

A quick word on context. Supermarket cafés aren’t just side hustles; they’re part of how grocers keep us in-store longer. During the cost-of-living squeeze, these spaces have chased value with bundle deals and kids’ offers, while trying to look more like high-street cafés. That gap between ambition and execution is exactly what showed up in this test: M&S is basically a high-street café inside a food hall; Tesco keeps it practical; Morrisons feels stuck; Asda has work to do.

Could your local branch be better—or worse? Absolutely. Menus change, staff rotate, and management attention matters. If you find a café that’s nailing the basics—fresh coffee, clean tables, quick service—stick with it. And if you’re making a special stop, M&S is the safest choice for taste, Tesco is the safest for value, Morrisons works if you’re really counting pennies, and Asda, for me, needs a reset.