Starbucks, Tithebarn Street, Liverpool

...really when you go to starbucks, you’ve got to have a coffee after all that’s what they are famous for!

Thanks starbucks for saving me from hunger and collapse on that fateful Saturday but the only piece of criticism is that their prices are much higher than the competition such as prêt mange and mange tout or café connect. I would eat there again but only on pay day as a treat! And although the coffee is delish the high prices give ...
...with this view? That because the shop is expensive only the rich and beautiful can buy their lunch from there? Hence me explaining my expedition to my uncle and him replying “oh, I can’t afford to get lunch from the trendy places like that I go to the butty wagon! I can assure you that the butty wagon uses just the same recipe as starbucks 2 pieces of bread, butter them and stick a filling in the middle!


THANKS FOR READING
more

Imagine the scene its Saturday morning, it’s pissing down with rain and I haven’t got a brolly. I have exactly ten minutes to get to work and I am cold, hungry and very hung over. Yes, some of us poor unfortunate people have to work Saturdays and worst of all Saturday mornings to provide society with a service( no, I am not a firewoman/nurse/policewoman , I am a resting actor * sweety * cum customer service advisor) and seeming as I am at present stone broke I foolishly volunteered to work overtime on Saturdays. So here I am, dragging myself in to work now not only am I cold, hungry and hungover , you are also now aware that I am POOR!(remember that I will be testing you on it later)

I was in that horrible stage where I knew that unless I got something to eat (or the very least a hot drink) in my belly soon I was going to collapse half way through my eight hour shift(yes, I am looking for sympathy here guys!)

I cursed the city of Liverpool because not only is it the most depressing city to look at in the rain and under these circumstances it also does not have a single eatery open at eleven thirty on a Saturday morning just outside of the city centre. It was like a virtual ghost town, not even sayers or café connect had bothered to open their doors! Probably because that side of town is a working district and I was the only stupid bugger volunteering to work on my Saturday off! Anyway less of the ranting………

Then there it was like a beacon shining bright. Positioned on the corner of Tithebarn Street, a Starbucks in Liverpool! AND it was open! Now I have enjoyed the wonders of Starbucks once before upon a visit to the Trafford centre (see earlier op-plug plug!) annd now I had found my very own starbucks e in deepest darkest Liverpool. Mr Starbucks who had started his enterprise out in Seattle, which later spread to millions of coffeee cafes around the globe had deemed my home city a worthy place of trading! Now Liverpool is full of coffee bars ala Friends, Café Connect, Café emporium etc etc and I have ventured in to one or two of them but none worthy of a second visit. However I remembered my visit to the Trafford Centre and remembered the gorgeous mouth watering ham and cheese croissant I had devoured followed by a nice shot of espresso to get me through my strenuous shopping trip. And lets face it I needed about five espressos to give me one big almighty kick in to work!

The café when you enter is filled with the most beautiful aroma of freshly ground coffee and something nice cooking in the oven. The café is well set out with comfy chairs around tables spread out evenly. There is nothing worse than trying to eat your lunch with the person from the next tables elbow in your face is there? No fear of this in Starbucks because the tables are well spaced and fairly spacious to allow all the business men to look all professional by spreading letting their broadsheets take up the full table space! Funnily enough there are individual stools by the window so why they don’t just go and sit on them instead of taking up a full table is beyond me! Anyway it has this beautiful smell as you walk in and a really relaxed and chilled out atmosphere. No music was playing but there was a nice friendliness about the place and it was filled with chitter chatter and had a nice easy feel about the place.

The cabinets are really inviting filled with tons of cakes and cookies. This place must be a dieters nightmare. There are jars at the till filled with all kinds of fancy chocolate and candies. I was particulary hungry and hungover so decided that I should eat something proper and took a look in the sandwitch basket on the till. No sooner had I just gone to take a peek when I was pounced upon by an over cheery sales assistant(and I thought America was bad!)

“Hey you ok, this one (olds up extremely large French sandwitch filled with fancy filling) is just absolutely delicious or maybe you want to try the goats cheese and spinach on rye bread special”

Karmababy thinks: Hmmm, no I would just like to be left alone to choose a sarnie thanks

I smiled politely at the assistant and said quietly “I’m just looking”

“Ok, well we can heat your selection up for you , you know”

I smile again but the assistant will not budge, he is fully aware that he has been polite to me and made a real effort and now I am obliged to buy a sandwitch from him even though I have spotted the price label on the article and lets just say the price of that one sarnie could keep me in lunch for a week. The deli wrapped sarnies on speciality bread look absolutely delish but are way beyond my meagre lunch budget. I forgot that pops had bought me my lunch at the last starbucks! The deli sandwitches as mentioned actually start at £4:00 and that is just to take out, if you want the pleasure of it being warmed up in the micro and bunged on a plate then you will expect to pay an extra quid! Phew!

However I am still aware of assistant smiling politely at me and waiting for me to choose. I take a look at the more bog standard starbucks buttys just in a plastic container and on normal bread with normal fillings like cheese and tuna….phew!still a hefty charge of £3 to start!!!! I then pulled a face to say “well, I’m not really that hungry” Do not forget that I mentioned before that I am POOR and quite frankly although the croissant I sampled with money from daddys pocket was scrumptious…..to me no sandwitch is worth four quid! That is like 2 bottles of bacardi breezer on a Saturday night!

Don’t get me wrong starbucks sandwitches are delicious just slightly overcharged. I mean in reality how expensive is it to butter a few pieces of bread and stick a filling on and a bit of salad to make it look nice?

I ventured to the cake counter instead. Not really wanting anything sweet but knowing full well that I would have to buy something! The cakes start at £1.25 but are fairly large slices. There was a whole array from brownies to gingerbread, all homemade and really nicely presented. I opted for a bramly apple and cinnamon slice coming in at £1.30 and then ofcourse I would need a coffee.

The blackboard is chocka full of all different coffees to pick from. I am a bit of a coffee lover and decided to go for a tall cappuccino. If you don’t know your tall latte from your espresso shot don’t worry because the blackboard will fill you in about what each coffee consists of. My faves inc choc latte, a milky coffee half choc and half coffee. The cappuccinos are done to perfection in here and a lot of time is taken to make sure that the presentation is just right. I should know cos I was running late and only wanted a cappuccino to go but waited five minutes whilst the assistant lovingly whipped the milk to a frothy perfection. I will give the staff a big thumbs up cos despite them almost begging me to spend my money on the most expensive sarnie they are all very polite and willing to help, even if it is slightly American-Have a nice day now!

The prep area is spottlessley clean, I can’t eat from any take away butty bar or anywhere which looks like it may have poor hygene. Starbucks is spotless and although I didn’t eat in the tables where all spotlessly clean and waitresses whipped round the moment anyone left to clear up the mess.

The bramley apple slice was eaten on my break at work and was worth every penny that I couldn’t actually afford. It was really moist and tasty and had a nice homemade flavour.

The coffee’s are never a let down from starbucks although they once again are on the expensive side, a large (actually not that large)cappuccino is £1.99. My friends all rave about Starbuck’s frappucinos and I did see them on the menu board although I’m not totally sure I think that they are a slightly more milky frothy cappuccino but my mates give them rave reviews. Espresso is the perfect pick me up, pure black strong coffee in a small shot, it works out at £1.5 and an extra shot is 50p. The portions look small but that is all you need believe me and they do the trick!

All in all I think that Starbucks is slightly over priced but the service is second to none. They also get plus points for being bothered to open on a Saturday even when not positioned in the heart of the city! There was also nice little tables with brollys to sit on outside although the weather was awful on my trip I imagine it to be quite nice on a summers day. There is also an assortment of cold drinks aswell and milkshakes and cups of cha but really when you go to starbucks, you’ve got to have a coffee after all that’s what they are famous for!

Thanks starbucks for saving me from hunger and collapse on that fateful Saturday but the only piece of criticism is that their prices are much higher than the competition such as prêt mange and mange tout or café connect. I would eat there again but only on pay day as a treat! And although the coffee is delish the high prices give a slight feeling of eliteism. Am I the only one with this view? That because the shop is expensive only the rich and beautiful can buy their lunch from there? Hence me explaining my expedition to my uncle and him replying “oh, I can’t afford to get lunch from the trendy places like that I go to the butty wagon! I can assure you that the butty wagon uses just the same recipe as starbucks 2 pieces of bread, butter them and stick a filling in the middle!

THANKS FOR READING

Karmababy
 

...less