2nd View Cafe - Cambridge

I have been coming to the 3rd floor cafe every week for the past few months as its a nice place to relax. I was meeting a friend there, so wanted to be polite and wait for them to arrive before purchasing anything. The manager abruptly told me to leave as I hadn't bought something. Extremely upset as a regular customer (who has bought from the cafe every time) to be treated this way. Very short sighted of the Waterstones to treat regulars like this you need to take a look at how managers are treating your customers.

We love the book shop so stopped for a drink. Lots of harsh stares from people because we had children who were being children (they weren’t overly noisy or badly behaved). We ended up leaving quickly as it just wasn’t welcoming. The loos were also not very clean floors needed mopping, toilet roll replacing, just basic things you would think they could keep on top of better.

This is a really cosy place to come and relax with a book. Prices are a little expensive but nice calm and relaxed atmosphere. :

Fancy getting away from the hustle and bustle of Cambridge? We did yesterday and were struggling to find a quiet place to have a drink on a very hot day. We dived into Waterstones and enjoyed two very nice afternoon coffees. My iced latte was packed with ice, which was very necessary on this hot day. The coffee strength was well judged and it was very pleasing. My partner's iced Americano was equally refreshing. I was allowed one sip. Friendly service and most importantly, quiet surroundings. How lovely to enjoy a drink where people are not on their phones, but instead reading a book. Lovely!

Well it's a good place usually to escape throngs of people when in need of a snack or lunch in town though it can still be a tad difficult to find a table. It is frequented by people on their lap tops who can literally hog a table for hours. On Saturday one of the large tables which can seat about six people was taken up with one such person. Said person had her work all over the table marked out with corrections. Quite ludicrous when paying customers are looking for a place to sit. Coffee, cakes and panninis are reasonably priced and okay quality. Will continue to come but the management need to get some handle on the laptop student brigade. Live and let live and all that but there's a limit!