MORE than 600 Quick Eats surveys and we have had our first major disaster. No sooner had Ann sat down than a teapot under her control toppled over spilling its contents all over our table and the surrounding floor.

In a trice, two members of staff appeared to mop up and provide us with another teapot. We could not fault the way The Partners (staff) dealt with this mishap.

After months of expectation, we thought it was time to check out York’s latest supermarket. The café is light and airy, overlooking Foss Islands Road and a recently planted shrubbery.

Up to 11.30am, breakfast items are available: yoghurt with granola and compote (£2.25), porridge (£1.75) or hot pancakes with maple syrup (£2.95).

For a light snack, tea (£1.45), coffee (£1.80/£2.10) or cappuccino (£1.95/£2.25) could accompany a scone (£1.30) or pastry (from £1.25).

Lunch choices included soup and crusty bread (£3.25); Aberdeen Angus burger with chunky chips (£7.95), platters for sharing (£8.95), haddock fishcakes (£6.95) and goats cheese salad (£4.25).

We chose sandwiches: crayfish and rocket with thousand island dressing on seeded bloomer for Ann and brie with grapes on white bloomer for me.

During the past 14 years, we have experienced many different sandwiches but none like these. Two slices of bread, the upper one topped with crayfish or, in my case, three wedges of cheese and six black grapes on stalks. It was a case of extracting the lower slice of unbuttered bread to construct your own sandwich. We were not impressed.

We concluded our snack with Danish pastries which were average.

The china tea pots that nestled into the cups were attractive although by the time we were ready for a second cup, the tea was no longer hot. The 100 per cent recycled paper serviettes, although too small, were to be applauded.

There was a rack of recipe cards with an invitation to get the ingredients from the store. Above the chill cabinet a notice proclaimed ‘A taste of Waitrose’ indicating that the food in the café was also on sale in the store.

As for the store itself? We thought it was well laid out with exceptionally polite Partners on hand to help when asked.