Esquires Coffee UK Reviews 

Don’t bother the wait was not worth it

Leaving my second bad review for this awful place with useless staff due to trustpilot removing the last one, presumably at esquires request

We visited Esquires Newbury when it first opened and were not impressed but put it down to newly opened teething issues.
Decided to go again this morning and have to say will not be going again.
Previously this was another coffee shop which we loved and visited weekly but this chain lacks any kind of customer service!!
We were the only customers but no mention of bringing the order over to the table.
In fact I had to wait in silence whilst my order was being made, no customer interaction, zero eye contact and not even a thank you!!
They automatically enter the large size beverages when you have made a point of asking for the smaller one.
Overall not a pleasant experience and the coffee was average at best!!

Great dining experience
Friendly courteous staff
Excellent food and service
Thanks to Suk,Shirley and staff for all their help at the Hertford coffee shop.
Will definitely return and would recommend this coffee shop to everyone ☕️☕️☕️

Bad experience in Esquires Guildford (the one at the end of town near G Live) 7 September 2025. They have a clear sign about allergies and talking to staff about it as you wait at the counter. I told them I have a milk allergy and wanted to ensure a bagel (with avocado and tomato) would be dairy free. The male member of staff who seemed to be in charge behind the counter went to check and confirmed everything in that menu option was dairy free (including the bagel). I sat with my friend with my soya latte getting cold for about 15 minutes before going up to the counter to enquire as to when the bagel would be ready. A member of staff was making it, spreading mashed avocado. She then started spreading something else that I didn't recognise and, when I enquired, she said it was pesto. I said pesto often had milk in it and when she checked the jar she confirmed it had milk in it.

When I said I was disappointed as I'd gone to lengths to explain I was allergic to milk the male staff became defensive and said the other (female) member of staff had just advised me that the pesto had milk. I said "only because I asked her to check". He then said "well you can see we list pesto for that bagel" but when we looked at the board there was no mention of pesto as an ingredient (at least not in white writing that I could see). The man then said "well it's in the menu if you read it". I hope I do not need to explain why that was not a reassuring response and I told him he had assured me that the bagel did not contain any milk and was safe to eat. He at no point referred me to any menu. And there was a sign asking customers to tell staff about allergies. If I had eaten that bagel it would have made me unwell and restricted my breathing. This male member of staff did not seem to appreciate this and is clearly badly trained both in allergens and customer service. This Esquires is not a coffee shop that any customer with a dairy allergy can trust to get it right. With this attitude someone could die (without exaggeration)

I had also asked why the bagel was taking so long and he explained I should expect it to take 15 minutes because they needed to make it from scratch. But at that point my friend and I were just one of two customers in the entire coffee shop. I said they should put up a sign saying "waiting time for food not pre prepared is 15 minutes". I would have asked for my coffee to be served when the bagel was ready. There was a bad vibe from the minute I walked in to this coffee shop - and it didn't look clean but my friend had suggested meeting there. I would otherwise have walked out. Very, very unprofessional and clearly poor cross communication and training in allergens and customer service

Great service
Lovely staff
Great owners
Best coffee shop bought on Regis
Great experience

Just visited Buxton, what a great experience - the friendliest staff - great coffee, a great selection of
Cakes and Selection of Savouries.

Plenty of seating inside and out and all very clean and tidy - thanks for a great experience

friendly staff, good coffee plus complimentary water available, however, it looked like the dishwasher (or manual dishwasher) wasn't functioning in Buckingham.
It made me think about hygiene in general.

Been here a few times and always thought it was ok. Went last week with my family and the service was awful. The man taking our order was very rude and condescending. Wouldn’t go back.

Have made several visits to this branch with friends and it has been a pleasure every time. Two young ladies in today, smiling and welcoming. Young lady serving, behind the counter was very helpful with exlaining what was in pastries when we asked. I wanted a sausage roll but was told it was vegetarian, I wasn't going to have it but the young lady persuaded me by saying it really was very nice. I was very glad I did and would definitely buy again. So thank you for the recommendation. The service was quick, efficient and our food served with a smile. We will be back. :)

Celtic Springs branch Npt.
Decided to try this instead of what passes for coffee at Tredegar House cafe. Ordered a takeaway black, no sugar Americano coffee. Weak and tasteless goes nowhere near describing what basically tasted like coloured diluted hot water. Don't know how a coffee shop manages to get this so spectacularly wrong. First and last time. Not recommended.

They have no idea how to make coffee – according to them, a flat white is the same size as a latte. It’s a disaster.

Clifton Triangle, Nottingham
This is now our 'go to' for a delicious Eggs Royal and a Latte!

Their coffee is the nicest I've had and the Eggs Royal is simply wonderful!

Prices are on the higher side but you get what you pay for.

Re Maidstone Esquire. Is a genuinely nice 'space' (esp in the summer) but the coffee and food is a disappointment. I didn't know it was a franchise, which explains a lot. In the last year, I've visited most weeks, midweek around 4pm and it's a very convenient location for me and one of few places open until 5pm. Coffee is either great, or awful. Cakes used to be covered, now they're open on the counter, stale and dry pretty much every week. £3.85 for a stale and soggy pastel de nata...or a dried piece of cake is not acceptable. The person serving me said they sell more cakes if they're out on display. Everyone knows cakes go stale if not covered - don't they? Staff change every week - although are mostly super friendly. This place really could be 'great' given a bit of thought and effort.

Rude staff, slow service and expensive food. This business will not be operating for long if this keeps up.

Awful coffee, food and service. I’d go to Gail’s, Urban Barrista, Press Room, Megan’s or the plethora of other places in Twickenham instead.

In regards to anyone thinking about applying for the job at Esquires Coffee in Cranbrook;

The owner/ manager is unprofessional and basically breaking the law.
They pay employees nearly a week late with no notice or explanation.
They sack people at the end of their probation periods to save money and hire people that have no idea what they’re doing and place them into management.
Any issues in the store will not be sorted but blamed on people that are no longer there.
They do not pay fairly, they pay people for what they think you are worth, which is the bare minimum.
The owner and the manager of other stores have no idea how to treat people like actual people you are seen as a worker and nothing else.
The job advert may seem all nice and appealing but I can promise you that it is nothing like what they advertise, you will be forced to work shifts that do not give you the appropriate rest break in between shifts and if you fail to do what they say they will threaten you with a probation termination.
There is no support or any sort of human decency within that store, if you value your mental wellbeing and physical health do not apply for the jobs they are advertising.

There’s a reason why Esquires Coffee is not a thriving company and that is because the franchise owners have no idea what they are doing.

Visited the Hertford branch for a full English breakfast. £12 gets you one rasher of bacon, one mushroom, half a tomato, one sausage, five mini potato croquettes, about 50g of baked beans, two small poached eggs and 2 slices of toast. Tasteless and tiny. Save your money and go somewhere else. The old cafe that was here would serve the same for £6.70!!!! I forgot to add that it’s £3 for a cup of tea!!!!

The choice of food at Newport Esquires (which is in a business park outside the city centre) is much better than at the likes of Costa and Starbucks. The food is tasty and the service friendly, so it could make a brilliant lunch or brunch stop. BUT the parking situation is ridiculous. The space is shared with another coffee/lunch place, a hairdresser, a Greggs and a coaching place of some sort, and there isn’t nearly enough parking. Risk parking on the double yellow lines on the road past the business park, and you will get a ticket, which makes a cup of coffee very expensive. Surely the owners of the premises could work together to negotiate some short term parking along the road eg 30 mins, no return within 2 hours, which would at least remove the ‘takeaway’ traffic from the car park chaos.

Leicester Esquires full of students with lap tops who are taking all the tablets space. I viewed no spend by these students.
I would not return as could not find space initially. Saw student bring in noodle box and just ate it without any concern for the profits lost by these no spend students taking all the tables.
The management must be stupid to let profits dwindle from this take over by no spend students.
I saw two normal non student families leave cafe as couldn't get table.
It puts off paying customers as to get table is difficult.
Management needs to be firm...not weak.