High street coffee chain Pret A Manger has been named the UK’s best café and sandwich shop.

According to a survey by Market Force Information (MFI), Pret held on to the position of best café for the second year in a row. It was followed by Caffè Nero, who pushed last year’s runner-up Greggs into third place, while Costa Coffee and Starbucks came fourth and fifth respectively.

Pret also triumphed in the sandwich category, followed by Subway and Greggs.

A total of 4,565 customers were asked to rate how satisfied they were with their last experience of a foodservice outlet and how likely they were to recommend it to others.

eight areas

Additional data was gathered on eight areas, including overall cleanliness, food quality and atmosphere. In the café category, Pret was once more triumphant, winning seven of the categories and only coming second to Greggs in terms of value for money.

However, MFI warned that one in eight customers reported dissatisfaction with their experience in a café, which the company said meant there was plenty of room for improvement.

Cheryl Flink, chief strategy officer for MFI, said: “The popularity of speciality coffee in the UK has exploded and shows no signs of slowing.

“Although Pret A Manger scores best, the other brands have very similar guest ratings and will need to focus on product quality and the service from staff to differentiate.”

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