Costa Coffee Varna

Miss Bulgaria Testing: Costa Coffee Varna

Greek Neighborhood, Odesos
11 Slivnitsa Blvd., 9000 Varna

⭐⭐☆☆☆ — 2/5

Today, Wednesday, 12 August 2026, what should have been a simple coffee break at Costa Coffee on the pedestrian street in Varna turned into a surprisingly disappointing customer experience.

After ordering two sandwiches and three drinks, we sat down at a table displaying a metal “reserved” sign that we hadn’t seen. Shortly afterwards, we were asked to move. When we questioned why a table in a coffee shop was being reserved, we were told that it was being kept for a football player, and a name was mentioned.

The issue was not simply having to change tables, but the principle behind the explanation. Whether a customer is famous or unknown, influential or not, everyone deserves the same level of consideration and respect.

And if we really wanted to play the “fame barometer” game, we were ourselves accompanied by personalities with considerably greater international recognition. But that is precisely the point: status should never determine the level of respect a customer receives.

We decided to move and finished our sandwiches and drinks (for fairness, the chicken lavash, Caprese sandwich and matcha latte were also below the usual Costa standard, but we have no doubt this can improve.). Only afterwards did we realize that, by mistake, the cashier had charged us for the three drinks but had completely forgotten to charge us for the two sandwiches.

Although we could simply have left, we chose to return to the counter ourselves and alert the staff to their mistake. We explained that the sandwiches had not been charged and asked to pay for them.

What happened next was perhaps the most disappointing part of the experience. There was no thank you, no smile and no acknowledgement of our honesty. We were simply presented with the POS terminal to make the additional payment.

We even had to point out that, in such a situation, acknowledging the honesty of a customer with a simple “thank you” would be the minimum courtesy expected.

Good hospitality is not only about coffee. It is about how people are treated — and basic courtesy should never depend on who the customer is.

Of course, one experience does not necessarily define an entire establishment. Mistakes can happen, and the quality of service can sometimes depend on the employee we happen to encounter. For this reason, Miss Bulgaria will be happy to visit this Costa Coffee again in the future and give the location another opportunity to change our impression.

Miss Bulgaria Testing

⭐⭐☆☆☆

2 / 5

Nobody above the rules. Nobody below the standard.