WHEN it comes to food shopping, I suspect many of us are creatures of habit. I certainly am: Booths and Askam Co-op for the day-to-day stuff, Marks and Spencer for treats and Tesco for the "big shop".

Other supermarkets remain resolutely unvisited by me, although my husband is an Aldi aficionado, because they sell cheap kale which our rabbits devour by the truckload.

Asda is visited once every Preston Guild and I've been to Morrisons the grand total of twice. Now, after this week, make that three times.

My parents both liked to shop in Morrisons (mainly in Kendal) and whenever they went, they always partook of refreshments in the store's cafe - both of them loving the fish and chips.

In homage to my mum, whose birthday it would have been this week, I decided to give the Barrow Morrisons a whirl and try out those fish and chips. The store's cafe has recently been revamped, so it seemed doubly appropriate to call in.

After shopping in the store like a prize numpty who'd been let out for the day (wandering aimlessly around, not knowing where anything was and oohing and aahing at the shock of finding such rare items as fresh bread - and a wine aisle), I despatched my husband to the car to unload the goodies and headed into the cafe.

It's a large space at the front of the store, entirely separate from all that shopping going on. Having shopped like a numpty, I was now able to procure two meals like one, too.

It took considerably longer than it should have done for me to work out how to order food - a pleasant employee had to take pity on me in the end and guide me through the not-very-difficult process of ordering at one counter, collecting drinks etc from another and then paying for the lot at the other end.

Gordon and I eventually settled at a table overlooking the car park and the Devonshire Dock Hall, stuck our meal order token into a teapot-shaped holder on the table as instructed and waited for our food to arrive.

Gordon had ordered an all-day breakfast with a side of black pudding, while I had chosen fish and chips, as mum would have wanted.

Two bottles of sparkling water and a fresh cream cake completed the order.

The cafe is long and large, with a fresh blue and cream decor, squillions of tables and some comfy-looking leather armchairs and low tables near the coffee counter. It's bright and clean - although the busy staff weren't quite keeping up with clearing the tables of previous customers' detritus.

No wonder, in some regards, as the place was heaving. It's clearly very popular - hardly surprising at the prices; ours came to a grand total of £14.25.

To be fair, no-one goes to a supermarket caff expecting fantastic ambience. So Morrisons doesn't disappoint. What, with the car park views and the canteen-length counters of food, it was all a bit reminiscent of a motorway service station for me - but massively cheaper.

Our food came quickly and was, well, OK. My fish and chips were hot and plentiful (a snip at £5.50) but the fish was a bit bland, it came ungarnished (I have it on good authority from a regular diner here that it usually comes with lemon) and they had run out of tomato ketchup at the cutlery and condiments station.

Gordon enjoyed his breakfast - three large bangers, bacon, beans, lovely mushrooms, a runny fried egg, hash browns and a large slice of fried bread. The extra black pudding (£1) was as tasteless as it looked, however: two dried-out discs, which were hard enough to have doubled as ice hockey pucks.

For afters, Gordon had selected from the cake counter a gigantic fresh cream parmier for £1.75. It must have had half a carton of fresh cream in it and goodness knows how much cholesterol. Ironically, for such a coronary-inducing confection, it was heart-shaped. The pastry was a bit on the hard side (possibly as a result of having spent a few hours under strong lights) but it was devilishly tasty.

The cafe was still very busy as we left - I suspect it does a roaring trade all day. I can see why my parents enjoyed eating in Morrisons cafes. The food is generally good quality, it's good value, it's convenient and the staff are very friendly. I can't say it's likely to feature on my list of greatest dining experiences - but as supermarket caffs go, I reckon Morrisons is as good as it gets.

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SCORES

Food 3

Service 4

Value 4

Atmosphere 2

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Pros

• Loads of tables

• Bright and airy

• Large selection of meals and snacks

Cons

• Canteen feel

• No ketchup!