1 /5 Andrew Phillips: Popeyes in Milton Keynes is in a great spot on Midsummer Boulevard with plenty of indoor seating and a small amount outside. The food itself was actually good, reasonably priced for the area (£12 for a large box meal, £10 for a sandwich meal) and served fairly quickly. Unfortunately, the restaurant’s poor cleanliness and organisation really let the experience down.
There are only a few self-service order screens, which leads to queues. What isn’t clearly advertised until after you sit down is that you can order from your table using your phone – this would have been useful to know earlier.
Where the visit fell apart was the state of the restaurant. This was on a Sunday lunchtime, and the place already looked like it had been open for hours without any cleaning. Food was all over the floor under many tables and even around the pickup area. Tables were not being cleared after customers left, meaning people had to request staff to wipe them down before sitting.
The bins were overflowing, with the liquid disposal marked as out of order, so trays and waste were being stacked on top. There were also multiple full bin bags dumped near the restroom area, which did not give a great impression.
As for the toilets, both the men’s and women’s were out of order, leaving only the accessible toilet available – resulting in a queue forming just to use the facilities.
What felt strange was the staffing approach: one worker stood at the pickup area calling out order numbers, and another would walk over, pick up the food, and hand it to customers just a couple of metres away. With the restaurant in such a poor state, it felt like that extra staff member would have been better used cleaning the dining area.
Overall, it was concerning to see the restaurant looking so unclean only a couple of hours after opening. It raises the question: if the dining area is in that condition, what is the kitchen like?
I wouldn’t return unless the cleanliness and staffing issues are addressed.
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