Following the success of an in-store food offering piloted in its Durban stores last year, the world's largest coffeehouse chain has rolled out a new fresh menu from March. 

Starbucks fans can now buy their favourite cuppa plus lunch on their next coffee break. 

Freshly prepared each day, the menu isn’t vegan friendly but is halaal, catering to both meat lovers and vegetarians. All-day options range from a macon and cheese croissant to bagels, toasties and ciabattas. 

For breakfast, there is an English muffin with chicken sausage, a poached egg, cheese and tomato chutney or a winning staple of granola with double thick yoghurt and a blueberry topping – a good vegetarian option if you are not keen on a cream cheese bagel or three cheese toastie.

Being a meat eater myself, I thought the macon cheese toastie made with sourdough bread was particularly good: full of delicious bacon flavour pork lovers won’t miss and those who don’t eat pork can enjoy. Given a choice next time between the macon cheese and the chicken mayo toastie, I’d probably opt for this enjoyment again.

I also tried the salmon trout and cream cheese bagel with baby spinach. The flavours were good but as a salmon lover I felt the bagel was a bit scant on the good stuff and didn’t really warrant the price tag as a result. 

The chicken and avo ciabatta is probably one of the more filling options. Made with sliced chicken breast, baby spinach, avo and what they call a “herby mayo”, the basil forward flavour dominates, reminiscent of a delicious basil pesto sandwich. 

They’ve also introduced a new selection of iced espresso beverages. Enjoying the last warmth of summer before winter kicks in, I tried a tall iced white mocha oat shaken espresso. It’s a bit pricey but offers a dairy-free option that’s arguably one of the best iced coffees I’ve had in a long time. 

Completing the trio of new dairy alternative drinks in the Iced Shaken Espresso range is an iced brown sugar oat shaken espresso and an iced cocoa oat shaken espresso.