Marmalade Coffee Shop

Second visit in two months, and exactly the same experience. Dirty tables, slow service, disinterested staff. There are 5 people working behind the counter but nobody seems to be in charge or have any pace about their work. Plod, plod, plod with no smiles or customer engagement. The cakes are hidden away in the fridge, so you can 't see what is on offer. If you ask, the say they can 'show you ', like they are doing you a huge favour. The glass cake counter is empty, so you assume there is nothing to eat unless you ask. Clearly the owner isn 't learning from customer feedback as the same comments about service and staff were being made a year ago. Such a shame, as supporting an independent business is so worthwhile. Having tried twice, I 'd rather get a takeaway tea and a cake from Gregg 's and sit on a bench in the market square. Better value for money, cheery staff and a nicer experience.

First time in Wantage, we thought... shall we go to Costa as usual? Or shall we make the effort to go somewhere different? Shall we make more of an effort to support the independents? Yes, let 's do that that, let 's do the right thing to help the high street. Marmalade looked good from the outside so we ventured in.. decided on what we were going to eat and drink and then to our horror clocked a snooty we have a no laptop policy sign. My daughter had brought her laptop to do a bit of homework so the whole place was suddenly a no go. Well, sod you, Marmalade we went to the Costa nearby instead which turned out to be very nice, nice coffee, quirky converted old house shop with weird fireplaces and other interesting nooks, and no snootiness about laptops. Some of these independents just have no clue.

We had the most amazing lemon drizzle cake here last week with a very good carrot cake. Have previously had great lunches here always made to feel welcome!

Wanted a coffee, a sandwich and 20 mins to catch up with my emails. Not too much to ask? Apparently, laptops are not welcome!!! I can understand not wanting people sitting and working for hours while tying up a table with the sale of a single coffee. There are better ways of dealing with this. Some flexibility wouldn’t kill them. Otherwise, looked nice enough (hence two rather tan 1 star).

I had some time to spare before a business meeting in Wantage and came across this charming coffee shop. I prefer supporting independent businesses over chains, so I ordered a coffee and sat down. The coffee took a while to arrive, so I started checking my emails on my laptop. I was quickly informed that there was a no technology policy in place, which I had not been aware of since I am not from the area. The man who brought my coffee made a comment under his breath about the policy, which left a bad impression on me. I was just innocently passing time in Wantage, trying to avoid chain establishments. While I understand an establishment's right to enforce its policies, there are better ways to communicate with customers than how it was done in this situation.