EAT.

I’ve been here on various occasions for lunch. The staff in here are consistently terrible. Most of them can’t speak English and don’t even know the English alphabet. When I’ve repeated my name THREE TIMES and they still can’t understand, I end up snatching the pen out of their hand and writing it on my cup myself.
The cashier is usually having a gossip with other staff while ‘taking customers orders’ so you can guarantee that they’ll charge you for your coffee, but not pass the instruction on to the barista and you stand like a lemon, waiting for a coffee that never gets made.
Eventually, after waiting telling them your name THREE TIMES, writing it on the cup yourself, telling the cashier your coffee order, reminding the barista your coffee order, standing like a lemon for 10 minutes, you often find that they’ve given your coffee to someone else without checking their name. So you have to start all over!
Half of the people in my office have had these experiences here and the place is notorious for appalling staff and customer service. Whenever someone in the office has the courage to go, you can guarantee they’ll have an unbelievable story for us all when they get back. We’ve all complained numerous times but the management obviously aren’t bothered. It’s a shame, cause in comparison, the staff at EAT on Holborn are superb.

Today, in a fit of hanger, I came to Eat looking to do just that, and immediately, if not sooner. It was a one-​man-​show behind the counter.
I ordered a ‘Peach & Mint Blast’.
I waited… and waited… and waited. Meanwhile, Mr. One-​Man served other customers that came after me. 5 minutes, 4 coffees and 3 sandwiches later, I asked him about my order to which he replied: ‘I’ll have to see if we have ice’. Hmmm… not lookin’ good. Blast! 2 more customers served. Finally, another Eat employee magically materialized and Mr One-​Man mentioned to her that he was unsure if they had ice. (p.s. why would you sell me an iced drink if you didn’t have ice?) She said: ‘of course we have more — it’s downstairs where it always is’ and disappeared again to fetch it. 3 more minutes, 1 final espresso pulled and it was finally my turn.
I received a mango slushy. It was a damn good mango slushy, but it certainly did not involve any peach or mint. All mango. And you know, I may even order it again! It was actually completely delicious. But these types of experiences are not without their repercussions… (cough, Unilocal review update, cough).

Eat makes me want to eat here:
1.Their chili, with mash. Best Winter lunch ever.
2. The lovely lady with braids who smiles with her teeth as she serves me.
3. It is so close to the office, even when it’s snowing I can brave the day to come here.
4. Their tuna and cheese sandwich is just that — tuna and cheese.
I rest my case.

A typical London lunchtime: I’m sitting at my desk, my stomach is growling and finally someone reads my mind and says something. I stand up and ask, «Eat?» Mein Deutsch sherpa usually agrees and occasionally we can convince the rest of our contingent to join.
Today was one of those days. Today was also Wednesday and at Eat that means chili, with sour cream on top! I cherish chili, especially this version and I liked it even more today because I took the bold step of asking for a side of mash to go with it. This confused the counter person but eventually it got sorted out (just make your request in as many variations as possible and eventually you’ll be obliged.)
Eat always has some sort of soup (sweet potato and chilli), salad or pie (chicken, ham and leek) that I want to gobble up. This place has quickly become my London equivalent of New York’s Café 28 (a deli in Manhattan I frequented weekly.)

Were I not so lazy, I’d make my lunch each morning at bring it with me to the City where I work. However, I get up at 10 past six as it is, and so often buy my lunch. One of the places I frequently visit is Eat. I have been to several, but as this one is nearest my workplace…
Eat are not dissimilar to Pret. They do sandwiches, baguettes, salads (both small side salads and larger lunch salads), baguettes, pies and soup. They also do breakfasts (I like the oatmeal in the winter), coffee and deserts, along with sides such as posh crisps.
I have eaten their sandwiches, wraps and salads, however, I’m most likely to visit Pret for their soups, some of which are very good indeed. I love the clam chowder (though that is the most calorific of the lot), the Italian pasta ragu, and the Thai chicken (it has a proper name, but that’s how I think of it).
Usefully, their website (
) shows their selections, a menu of the soups (they offer two a day on a rotating basis) and the nutritional information on most of their items.
It’s not cheap — the small bold soup (they do a simple blended soup and a bold chunky soup each day) will set you back almost £3.00, but they are tasty and useful if you’re calorie counting.