Recently opened, Benugo Café was handing out vouchers for free hot drinks to people entering John Lewis one day last week. So I gave it a go. Meh.
As a longtime lover of the 4th floor coffee shop at John Lewis, I was surprised to learn they'd added a 2nd similar venue within JL Oxford St. When I learned it was on the 2nd floor, I was even more confused as I couldn't imagine where they'd put it. Imagine my surprise to find it a) along the front wall of the shop (all other eateries are at the back) & b) just off of/slightly within the linens and towels department! Very odd.
Like I said, I was trying it out with a voucher. Normally I'd stick to my love of the 4th floor coffee shop and its great seats perched high and looking over Cavendish Square. Sadly, I had to make due with Benugo Café's cramped seating and view over Oxford Street from not terribly high up and mostly offering a view of Uniqlo and a lot of street noise to boot. Less than relaxing.
But what about the offerings? I ordered a pot of Earl Grey. Bonus: fresh milk. Downside: the tiniest teapot around. Also said teapot was entirely metal, so allowing the tea to steep meant that the handle of the pot became burningly hot when it was time to pour. Not ideal. My main gripe here is that the teapots are literally about 1/2 the size of the ones at the proper John Lewis coffee shop 2 floors up. And I'm fairly certain far pricier. The same can be said for the scones (though the pots of jam & cream are the same ones). Service was brusk & lacking any sort of smile or kindness. The cashiers seemed really annoyed by the many people using the promo vouchers which were clearly being handed out to let people know this spot even existed! Weird.
Less teatime tastiness, less space, less view, more noise. Less lovely for a break while shopping on Oxford Street. I doubt I'll give it a second shot. There was nothing inherently wrong about the place, but neither was there anything particularly right.
Service & ambiance = 2. Portions & price = 2/3. The nosh itself was fine, so I'll push the overall rating to a 3 as the benefit of the doubt for a new spot (even from an existing chain). read more