Pret A Manger - Norwich

Fresh and tasty food in this popular chain. This branch, in a prominent spot, has a large seating area including outside. I had a very nice pea and mint soup. Bring your keep cup for 50p off drinks. That makes the acceptable filter coffee an amazing 49p!

I enjoy going to this pret as I love the food and sitting in however unfortunately I can never get a seat to eat my lunch I’ve brought from pret. Everyday the seats get taken up by the sixth formers who sit there for hours and aren’t told to leave! Fair enough if they buy a drink or something to eat but today there were several students taking up the biggest tables upstairs with their own food and drink, meaning that myself and others who had brought pret food and paid to sit in could not get a seat. It’s a shame as I love getting my lunch from pret but will have to stop as it’s really unfair that they’re not told to leave when they’re not buying anything.

The food is good, standard-issue Pret fare and if that alone were being reviewed, this branch would scare a solid three-to-four stars. The problem is that kids from the nearby Isaac Newton sixth form college swoop in packs at lunchtimes, take over the space, nick all the spare chairs, spread out their laptops and linger for ages with a single coffee or juice per table while chewing through food they 've brought in from Greggs or McDonalds. I 've been caught out a few times and it 's extremely annoying to pay eating in rates and then find there is nowhere to sit. The loos are pretty grotty, too, which may not be unrelated to the issue above. I appreciate it might be a difficult issue for staff to resolve but this branch has to decide whether its a community hub or catering for customers who 've actually parted with more than a couple of quid.

I went to this restaurant for lunch today, which I always do when I am in the city. Most of the tables upstairs were filled with large groups, none of them eating or drinking from Pret. One table of 8 people sitting and another 7 standing were eating McDonalds. Across the room, there was a table with 13 people who were not eating or drinking anything. Staff asked the standing customers to leave, but did not address the table with McDonald's items or the large group of non-customers. Additionally, three tables were occupied by people on laptops. While I understand the importance of creating a welcoming atmosphere, it should also include paying customers. I will return in the summer when I can sit outside and feel comfortable.

Love the atmosphere upstairs. Food and coffee are always amazing. Organic, delicious food and coffee ticks all the boxes for me.