Very underwhelmed having visited Dobbies in Ponteland near Newcastle and Ayr Scotland, we looked forward to a treat of lovely tasting food in nice surroundings. No such luck, messy tables, gloopy Mac Cheese, which set firmer the more you got into the dish obviously just a Ping and Ding meal no colour to the cheese. Salad fresh from a bag no dressing of any sort. In the future shall deffinatley give the restaurant a miss.
Roob Dog
Disappointing selection of mothers day planters with flowers or bulbs ready made.
Paige Joanna
Love Dobbies, we mainly use the cafe and soft play. It’s a cute size for little ones under 4 or even 3 years tbh! The cafe can be a little slow sometimes but it’s a good place to go on a rainy day. At Christmas and in the summer the plants/decorations are fab and there’s always a nice gift selection.
Daniel Watson
Coffee was good & warm. Cake is delicious. Café lacks ambience and décor isn't very welcoming. Visited on a very cold day and it was very cold in the cafe area with no heating at all
Patricia Kyle
Lovely, well priced food in the restaurant. Always friendly welcoming staff makes for an enjoyable shopping experience. Good variety of products at sale prices today so very pleased.
David Clarke
Review only based on soft play.My 2 year old had a fantastic time there. Lots to keep him busy and active.The area was clean and everyone was attentive of their children. This made it a safe environment for them all to play and explore without any bad eggs ruining it for everyone else.
Rita Cook
Have enjoyed visiting Dobbies around the country, but this one is dreadful.Cold, dreary, no Christmassy atmosphere, empty shelves, very little stock with most of it damaged. Not a place I will visit again.
Sam Sullivan
Christmas grotto, greeted by an elf only actor in the grotto that deserves a star so that's who my star is for the rest of them absolutely miserable short little walk throw Christmas trees for 1 minute of Santa's time- who was not cheery nor engaging no hype in voice quite the opposite sounded miserable and full of snot the worst grotto ever been to save your money or go elsewhere
Mary
Whole place was freezing. People eating in restaurant wearing coats. Staff are lovely and accommodating. Service at counter unbelievably slow, queued for half an hour.Dobbies should not be offering Christmas dinner. It was tasteless, hard sprouts and carrots, tasted like frozen veg and roast potatoes. Vegan option was even worse.
Judith Woolvine
Extremley cold all around stall but soft play was freezing ,i asked staff and they said always is
Had a lovely festive afternoon tea today, lovely food and good service, restaurant was a bit chilly, but didn't spoil the afternoon
Paula Clewlow
Not happy at all. Took 4 children all under 4 to see Father Christmas. Sat 2nd Dec. The actual Santa part was good, friendly elves and Father Christmas. Then the experience went downhill. Whole building was freezing. Ordered meals in cafe and at 1.00pm was told no soup left. Ordered Sandwich on brown bread got white bread. There was a wait of over half an hour for food. Sitting in a very cold environment with young children was not fun at all, the play area was also very cold. Having to wear your coats to eat your meal because it was so cold spoilt the whole day. When I asked to speak to the Manager I was told they had gone home. I then spoke to the Catering manager who was very apologetic but said there was nothing he could do. Having spent about £150 for the Santa experience and lunch I expected to have an enjoyable time. Instead all we had were very cold children and adults alike.
Dilys Torgout
Very disappointed. Seats in café dirty and stained. Not enough staff serving in café hence long wait and staff overworked. Toilets in poor condition, wall mounted hand washes all empty one tap not working and another tap stuck in 'on' position. Whole area very cold. Checkout staff persuading customers to sign up to loyalty card, hence long wait to get served, so I gave up. Won't come back.
Emma Maze
It's not as nice as when I visited 2 years ago! The food hall has been replaced by children's toys, and there aren't many Christmas items. It's just very lacking compared to my last visit. The cafe had faulty equipment so was doing much food and shut early. The tables were full of dirty cups and plates. We decided to eat somewhere else!
Umaz
Good range of garden and homeware, but quite expensive, I can get same/better quality from other garden centres
Very underwhelmed having visited Dobbies in Ponteland near Newcastle and Ayr Scotland, we looked forward to a treat of lovely tasting food in nice surroundings. No such luck, messy tables, gloopy Mac Cheese, which set firmer the more you got into the dish obviously just a Ping and Ding meal no colour to the cheese. Salad fresh from a bag no dressing of any sort. In the future shall deffinatley give the restaurant a miss.
Disappointing selection of mothers day planters with flowers or bulbs ready made.
Love Dobbies, we mainly use the cafe and soft play. It’s a cute size for little ones under 4 or even 3 years tbh! The cafe can be a little slow sometimes but it’s a good place to go on a rainy day. At Christmas and in the summer the plants/decorations are fab and there’s always a nice gift selection.
Coffee was good & warm. Cake is delicious. Café lacks ambience and décor isn't very welcoming. Visited on a very cold day and it was very cold in the cafe area with no heating at all
Lovely, well priced food in the restaurant. Always friendly welcoming staff makes for an enjoyable shopping experience. Good variety of products at sale prices today so very pleased.
Review only based on soft play.My 2 year old had a fantastic time there. Lots to keep him busy and active.The area was clean and everyone was attentive of their children. This made it a safe environment for them all to play and explore without any bad eggs ruining it for everyone else.
Have enjoyed visiting Dobbies around the country, but this one is dreadful.Cold, dreary, no Christmassy atmosphere, empty shelves, very little stock with most of it damaged. Not a place I will visit again.
Christmas grotto, greeted by an elf only actor in the grotto that deserves a star so that's who my star is for the rest of them absolutely miserable short little walk throw Christmas trees for 1 minute of Santa's time- who was not cheery nor engaging no hype in voice quite the opposite sounded miserable and full of snot the worst grotto ever been to save your money or go elsewhere
Whole place was freezing. People eating in restaurant wearing coats. Staff are lovely and accommodating. Service at counter unbelievably slow, queued for half an hour.Dobbies should not be offering Christmas dinner. It was tasteless, hard sprouts and carrots, tasted like frozen veg and roast potatoes. Vegan option was even worse.
Extremley cold all around stall but soft play was freezing ,i asked staff and they said always is
Restaurantji Recommends
Had a lovely festive afternoon tea today, lovely food and good service, restaurant was a bit chilly, but didn't spoil the afternoon
Not happy at all. Took 4 children all under 4 to see Father Christmas. Sat 2nd Dec. The actual Santa part was good, friendly elves and Father Christmas. Then the experience went downhill. Whole building was freezing. Ordered meals in cafe and at 1.00pm was told no soup left. Ordered Sandwich on brown bread got white bread. There was a wait of over half an hour for food. Sitting in a very cold environment with young children was not fun at all, the play area was also very cold. Having to wear your coats to eat your meal because it was so cold spoilt the whole day. When I asked to speak to the Manager I was told they had gone home. I then spoke to the Catering manager who was very apologetic but said there was nothing he could do. Having spent about £150 for the Santa experience and lunch I expected to have an enjoyable time. Instead all we had were very cold children and adults alike.
Very disappointed. Seats in café dirty and stained. Not enough staff serving in café hence long wait and staff overworked. Toilets in poor condition, wall mounted hand washes all empty one tap not working and another tap stuck in 'on' position. Whole area very cold. Checkout staff persuading customers to sign up to loyalty card, hence long wait to get served, so I gave up. Won't come back.
It's not as nice as when I visited 2 years ago! The food hall has been replaced by children's toys, and there aren't many Christmas items. It's just very lacking compared to my last visit. The cafe had faulty equipment so was doing much food and shut early. The tables were full of dirty cups and plates. We decided to eat somewhere else!
Good range of garden and homeware, but quite expensive, I can get same/better quality from other garden centres