Costa Castle Marina

There is a Costa in the middle of the Castle Marina retail park. It's not the sort of place you really want to hang around unless you like sitting in a car park surrounded by temples dedicated to the gods of electrical goods and pet supplies.

Its saving is its flat white. It's pretty decent. Coffee itself pretty much selected to appeal to all, milk decently steamed. Not perfect by any means but the milk isn't burned, the takeaway cups don't impart their own flavour and there is some texture to the milk.

Drive through and get to somewhere less depressing as soon as you can.

Oh and the staff are very efficient.

Pret

Flat white: Yes it's flat.
If you like a strong latte, you'll like this. Fancy foam on top. Taste is unremarkable. Temperature good.
I'm disappointed. The Pret cappuccino is close enough to my ideal morning coffee that I had expected the flat white to be perfection.
I like their cappuccino because eight times out of ten the bulk of the milk is well aerated and the coffee itself is well matched, being almost the right strength of flavour and caffeine, if being slightly less acidic than I prefer.
So I hoped the flat white would dispense with the pointless foam on top and make the drink a bit shorter. Shame.
The place itself is fine. Mostly shoppers and mostly well behaved.

The Walk

Serves Illy.

Large cappuccino (£2. 30) is mouth burning hot but milk isn't burned though is flat.

Fine if you wanted a latte.

Table service. Clientèle mainly groups of women. Decor proudly chintzy.