uk coffee chains

I expected Marks and Spencer to be the expensive stop. Instead, its regular latte cost less than the Costa coffee I’d just bought, tasted better, and came with lovely service. That was a surprise worth leaving the house for.

For my May 2025 coffee-chain video, I went to Canterbury to try as many places as I could in one morning. I normally favour independent cafes, so despite living in England for almost ten years, I wasn’t particularly familiar with these chains. This was my own latte comparison, with all the caffeine and none of the scientific authority.

Lovely service, disappointing Costa coffee

I like coffee with milk and don’t normally add sugar, so I chose plain, caffeinated lattes. I wanted to compare the coffee itself, although I managed to complicate that plan later by accepting an upgrade to different beans.

Costa was the chain I knew best. The barista started a proper conversation about my plans for the day and what I was shopping for, which surprised me because I couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. Ten out of ten for her service. The coffee was another matter.

I found the flavour unremarkable and the latte too milky. It wasn’t the worst coffee I’d ever had, but it was easily my least favourite of the day. I recorded the price as £3.70 for a small, then wondered whether I’d actually been given a regular. After checking the online menu at home, I thought it probably had been the small I’d requested, but there was some uncertainty around the size.

The M&S surprise

I hadn’t originally planned to include M&S Cafe, but it was there and I decided a British store selling coffee could join my little experiment. I didn’t think I’d ever tried its coffee before. The barista was sweet, the service was speedy, and the regular latte cost £3.60 on my visit.

The coffee tasted like coffee without being too bitter, and it was milky without being too milky. A good latte. Nothing wildly exciting, but I didn’t need wildly exciting. I needed something nice to drink, and this was considerably better than the Costa I’d just had.

I also liked the seafoam-blue cup because colours apparently impress me. More usefully, M&S changed my mind about where I’d consider buying a coffee. When I sat down to rank everything afterwards, it was still the big surprise of the morning.

Pret was better than I’d expected

My Pret latte was £3.70, and the person making it was very quick. He seemed a bit fed up with being at work, which I could understand, but he was still nice. The drink was tasty, with a balance of milk and coffee that worked for me.

At that point I thought it might be slightly better than M&S, although my final verdict was that the two were very comparable. I’d gone in with a fairly low opinion of Pret coffee, expecting something a bit mediocre. Having actually tried it, I’d happily have either Pret or M&S when I wanted a latte.

I interfered with my own comparison

At Caffè Nero, somebody offered me special single-origin beans, and I said yes before thinking about what that did to the comparison. That made my latte £3.95, rather than the £3.65 regular-blend price I noted at the time. Those are visit prices, not a current menu guide.

I found it more bitter than the others. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t quite to my taste, and the fancy beans were a bit lost on me. I liked having the choice, while also recognising that accepting it meant I hadn’t tested Nero’s standard latte against everybody else’s standard latte.

Greggs didn’t happen, so Starbucks did

The Canterbury Greggs I wanted to try was shut. It looked as though there might have been a refurbishment, but I didn’t know. People had told me its coffee was good, and I was properly disappointed that I couldn’t find out for myself that day.

I added Starbucks instead, even though it wasn’t British. Its plain tall latte was tasty and cost £3.85 on my visit. The service was friendly too, including the barista apologising for his attempt at coffee art before putting the lid on.

I usually go to Starbucks for the unusual flavour options rather than a plain latte. For this test, I didn’t think its plain coffee gave me a reason to choose it over the cheaper M&S. My final choices were M&S and Pret, with Nero’s upgraded beans simply not my preference and Costa last despite its lovely barista. Greggs will have to remain unranked.

Watch my Canterbury coffee-chain taste test and final ranking.