Starbucks

Well, it’s a Starbucks, and frequently a Starbucks has its uses. I can always depend on this place to have an open seat, the wifi to get me connected, and my usual americano to be piping hot and predictably average. The fact that the baristas here are more approachable and friendly than many of the trendier coffee shops in town is a nice perk.

I try not to give my money to massive chains such as Starbucks, but on the odd occasion I just cannot resist!
I noticed they are trialing frappucinos from the ‘secret menu’ basically combinations of syrups of your choice to create a certain flavour. I had the cookie dough one. It was nice, but I’m not sure if it really tasted like cookie dough. Cinnamon is one of my favourite things EVER, so I don’t know why I didn’t go for the cinnamon swirl flavoured Frappucino. Oh well, next time!

So very average! Yes, if sugary sweet mocha-​locha-​cooler-​dooler-​choccy-​chinos are your sorta thing, there might be something that takes your fancy, but if you’re a serious coffee lover and drinker, there are so many fantastic alternatives!
I love my coffee and have explored many coffee shops over the past two years here in Brighton. Lovely little independent places that serve a good, strong proper cup of coffee, using the finest beans. Yes, I’m a bit of a coffee snob and I’m not afraid to admit it! There’s still a whole host of places I’m yet to try. my next place in mind being Coffee@33 (thanks Unilocal!)
The one positive for Starbucks is its fast, reliable wifi which yes, does come in handy at times, especially if you’re studying or working from home. You don’t feel harassed and won’t be bugged into buying another drink if your sugar levels are already through the roof: P

I’ve been holding off on reviewing this Starbucks for a while now, hoping that they’d one day miraculously pull things out of the bag but sadly today was the final blow.
I come here relatively often, lured in by the amazing free wifi, and have sampled much of their coffee and many of their food options. The coffee is good. I like simple, black, even instant coffee, so Starbucks does the trick for me here. The bottled juices, too are very refreshing and tasty, though they’re Innocent ones that can be purchased in other cafes.
The food, however, is always so disappointing. I’ve had a filled croissant in here before and it was so dry and unappealing compared to the many great filled croissants I’ve had elsewhere. I also (foolishly) opted for the 3 cheese toastie recently, imagining that anything with three cheeses in it just had to be delicious. It arrived, mangled and much less crispy that it should have been, and my heart dropped a little. Two bits of bread and three cheese can’t be that hard to do right, I’d say, but sadly it was rather disappointing.
On the bright side, the space is great here. It’s a huge Starbucks and there’s always a place to sit. The wifi, as I said, is really great and always working well, so that’s a bonus and, to be fair, the thing that keeps me coming back time after time. I think I’ll have to limit myself to coffees and cold drinks here from now on, as I just can’t face the disappointment of another bad sandwich/​toastie/​lunch!
Note: also bear in mind that the queue for this place is often out the door and the wait time for your order can be quite long, so if you’re in a rush maybe opt for somewhere else!

Wow, I can’t really understand some of the reviews here. All but one were written in the time that I lived in Brighton, and I loved this place.
Now, it’s important to consider the history — before this one popped up, there was only one Starbucks in Brighton, and I learned that people vehemently protested the opening of a 2^nd… so I guess I can understand the crap ratings a little.
With that out of the way, this Starbucks is absolutely lovely, and anyone who says otherwise is full of it. The only problem was the wait, which could get atrociously long (to the point where I’d walk right back out the door, even before it managed to close on me).
When it’s not terribly busy, it’s a great place to grab a coffee and sit for a second. If it’s not your cup of tea (ha), there are other cafes literally steps from this Starbucks in both directions.
Get some caffeine, and quit your whining.

This Starbucks is so cosy and nice to stay in! I ordered a panini the other day and apparently the staff forgot it to cook it so that it took 10 mins to serve me. However, all the staff were polite and really apologetic.

In my opinion, there are two types of Starbucks. The first being those small box-​like cafes where you go in, pick up a quick coffee, and drink it «on-​the-​go». The second type, is the type where there are lots of comfortable chairs, trendy music, with lots of wide open and (usually) clean space.
The Starbucks here, situated opposite Churchill Square (where Western Road joins the top of North Street… near the clocktower) is of the latter sort.
The bottom floor walls are large windows, which let in the sun (it does happen, occasionally, even in England!), and also give you the perfect opportunity to «people watch». There is a long, large, high table in the centre of the lower floor, which is usually occupied by students finishing last minute essays, or by «techno-​wizards» who are utilising the (free with a Starbucks card) Wi-​Fi. The Wi-​Fi is, incidentally, very reliable, but can get a bit slow during peak times, presumably because of the shared bandwidth.
The staff are, by and large, young and gregarious. And, while this may mean (especially at weekends!) that you get served your coffee from a slightly bleary eyed, worse-​for-​wear socialite they are also often friendly, smiley, and always happy to help. There are toilets upstairs, but, as with most Starbucks nationwide, these are small, and often involve queueing during busy times.
Given how busy the Starbucks can get in this high-​capacity café, it does occasionally get a bit messy. This is, I assume, simply because the staff cannot keep up with all of the work load. So, the only thing I would say is particularly negative about this café, is that you may occasionally need to move the debris of the last table’s occupants yourself. But, in my opinion, this is not a biggy and shouldn’t distract from the whole Starbucks experience.
All in all, I would highly recommend the Starbucks as a bright, well lit, spacious, and well-​staffed coffee joint.

Der ideale Ort um eine Shoppingtour zu starten. Zuerst einen leckeren Cappuchino, dann ab in die tollen Läden an der North Street.

Tills not working today. Why does it take them 10 minutes to make a coffee? If I’d known the staff going in slow motion I’d have made my own. I’ll try this Starbucks again in another 3 years.

This Starbucks has recently had a bit of a facelift and I have to say it is all the better for it. With it’s location by Churchill Square it would frequently look far too busy to enter as the ground floor was covered in tables which were always packed. Now it looks a lot more open with only a few tables and one long table down the middle. This also adds a more communal feel to the place. It is hard to get a seat in there at peak times, but I do love to go there in the early evening and just watch the world go by. It’s open until 8pm on weekdays which I like.
All the baristas are lovely, some of them even recognise me, which is probably a bad sign for my bank account. When it’s busy the waiting time can get a little crazy. However, useful tip here is that you can see most of the bus timetables from the shop, so if you are in the queue you can see how long you have to wait for the bus and see if it’s doable to get your drink in time.
I love Starbucks. I know it’s overpriced so it’s not necessarily something I can have everyday but the range of drinks is very good and the coffee is lush. An iced caramel macchiato is an instant mood lifter for me. I wish it could be a little cheaper but I tend to find that people who like Starbucks are willing to pay and those who don’t are not. Simple as that really. I’m a Starbucks person so it gets a rave from me!

Pretty much the same as any Starbucks, with crazily calorific hot drinks and overpriced snacks. 1940’s swing jazz is played through the speakers as young mums and shoppers scoop the chocolate coated cream off of their mochas.
It’s got comfy arm chairs and sofas by the window, which is great for people watching and whiling away the day. Usually full of young profs on lunch breaks or shoppers taking the weight off their feet.
Today it wasn’t that busy and the staff were happy and friendly, but when it gets rammed they transform into their robotic stresshead styles, without so much as a smile for your custom.
I had a mocha today and it was a bit tosh to be honest, didn’t really taste of anything other than milk. The Café Nero one is much better, but that’s a whole other review.
Free wifi is available (most of the time), and if you’re having a morning coffee but have missed your breakfast you can fill up on some Starbucks porridge. There’s also Starbucks Via, their own brand of instant coffee, which you can buy and take home to make yourself, by just adding hot water.

As Starbucks go, this branch is one of the worst ones. The only times I end up in Starbucks are out of convenience for want of loads of alternatives in this particular end of town. However, beware of such a decision — as you’ll find busy-​ness, litter, dirty tables, and sloppily made drinks — you know, the kind where they are just too busy to stir you hot chocolate so you get a mug of milk with some thick chocolate sludge at the bottom!
There’s so much contempt towards Starbucks anyway, I’d really advise them (if I really cared) to sort out this branch, being their biggest representative in Brighton — see reviews of Costa Coffee London Road for how these coffee chains can kinda work. Sadly though the constant busy-​ness suggests Starbucks is going nowhere soon.

I’m with Sarah-​Jane on Starbucks– it seemed like such a brilliant idea at first– a relaxed, stylish place that focused on good coffee with some nice cakes, soft music, soft sofas. There are some smaller Starbucks that have some of that, although their coffee is still pathetically weak. This Starbucks though is the worst in Brighton– it’s the largest– and definitely the most disorganised, messy, lacklustre, apathetic. The cakes do seem particularly stale as well (never have their muffins they are so dry! Stick to the scones or cookies). I will go to Starbucks occasionally but never this one!

I can’t understand why Starbucks is so damn popular. I really can’t.
The music is insipid and uninspiring.
The cakes taste like they’ve been frozen months ago and have now dissolved to sugar.
The staff act like they would rather be doing anything than making and serving coffee.
And worse of all, the coffee itself is expensive and over-​rated. I would much rather drink Monmouth or Union Coffee.
Every now and then however, I end up agreeing to meet someone in Starbucks for convenience. I did this today and boy, did I regret it. They were clearly short staffed but I still find it hard to stomach paying five pounds for two milky drinks and then having to sit at a table sticky with the residue of other people’s coffees. Why didn’t I move? Because every other free table looked exactly the same with dirty cups, napkins and wooden stirrers stuck to the tables.
To make matters worse, the coffees weren’t even hot. I would have taken them back but the look of apathy and attitude on the face of the boy making them made me suspect I would have had the same again.
Like I was saying, I can’t understand why Starbucks is so damn popular. I’d recommend going to a local, independent coffee shop like Coffee @ 33 instead. (Review of that to follow for those interested in the perfect bean…)

I’m not a big fan of this branch of Starbucks.
It’s quite large and on two floors. It’s right in the middle of the town and opposite the shopping centre.
Downstairs is constantly busy and noisy. You constantly have people brushing past your table (if you can manage to get one !) Does have a ‘breakfast bar’ style row of seats looking out onto the street which aren’t too bad if you fancy a bit of people watching.
Upstairs is a bit better (standard Starbucks set up of tables with ‘comfy’ chairs) but again can be hard to get a seat. The toilets are upstairs and there are often queues to them (I think people just go in there just to use them !!)
The menu is standard Starbucks — overpriced and overrated.
If you really want to go to a Starbucks then turn right out the front door and walk along Western Road for 10 minutes. There is a far superior branch on the Brighton/​Hove border which is really relaxing !

I know its Starbucks, but its got really good coffee, an excellent location to watch the world go by, an upstairs sometimes open, a few seats outside (some of which are just inside the covered parade, helpful in the winter/​the rain. The staff are well trained, and its just a really good place to pass the time and meet friends.