"3 Spoons of Suga" garnered favorable reviews from music critics. Lauren Murphy of Entertainment Ireland described it as "villainous pop" and wrote that it epitomises the "sexy 'give-a-damn' attitude that Sugababes have pretty much built their career upon." Tom Young of BBC admitted that "3 Spoons of Suga" was "ridiculously titled", yet "ridiculously catchy". According to him, the song contains "simple rocky edge" that gives the "rich textured voices" of Berrabah and Buchanan "plenty of room in which to excel." Victoria Segal of "The Times" wrote that the "sticky disco of 3 Spoons of Suga should stop Mutya Buena's victory lap in its tracks". "The Scotsman"'s editor felt that the song has a "playful attitude" which is missing from the rest of the album. Emily Mackay of Yahoo! Music suggested that it was one of the stronger tracks on the album, writing "the check-me-the-f*ck-out glammy strut of '3 Spoons of Suga' finds them on stronger footing." Paul Schultz "The Trades" regarded it as a "ridiculously danceable Bananarama mimicry" and "stirring anthem".