The restaurant/garden centre was very cold. Not a pleasant atmosphere to drink coffee (which was only warm) and walk round the garden centre. Never been to such a cold garden centre. It would have been far too cold to eat in the restaurant. I did visit Dobbies to shop in the Pavers outlet, purchased boots with an extra 20% discount.
698kaine
Overpriced cold Christmas lunch. Waited in line for over 35 minutes for the Christmas lunch with young inexperienced men on the tills. Not their fault however at such a busy time no manager was to be seen. The poor lads working there bloody socks off with little to no help. Food was also cold and not enjoyable I felt bad feeding it to my dog however she seemed to enjoy it. Won't be returning
tomgV6541IH
Quality, price and service. Dobbies delivers on none of these. Quality: The food was cold, even my dog would reject those sausages. Price: Almost £40 for four inedible breakfasts and drinks, cold flabby scrambled eggs and anaemic sausages. Service: order was taken by a lady who looked quite unhappy. Some staff members were bickering between themselves and between them lacked organisation, which was a key reason it took 40 minutes to get our food. The one star is solely for the hash browns, which were great. But even the hash browns couldn't make up for the overall experience. So, unless you're looking for a subpar meal that will cost you an arm and a leg, served with a side of staff drama, I'd suggest steering clear of Dobbies.
kimrichardson1957
My husband and I visited recently and waited for over 30 minutes just to order a coffee and cake each. The tables were not cleaned and cleared and it wasn’t as if they were that busy! Terrible restaurant and although there have been numerous complaints over the years it doesn’t look like anything has been rectified at all!
Diana p
Food was fresh and enjoyed by both of us, but the service on the drinks side was very slow as assistant was too busy talking, was to hot to be standing there waiting and although some people were moaning she didn’t seem to be bothered by this, the young lad who was serving on the till was very polite and was apologetic about the wait
Google user
Great day out, lots to see and do\\nDogs are aloud and have a area in the restaurant for dogs.\\nSoft play area in restaurant area\\nAlso Cotton traders, The workers, Pavers Shoes and many more shops.\\nAlso a fruit and veg stall outside.
Noelene Sapiro
Huge. Managed to find a few things I've been looking for for ages. Lovely cafe area with good size area set aside for dog owners. Food really good, reasonable prices. Only managed to see about third of garden centre as my dogs were getting fidgety but I'll be back. Love the satellite stores as well. Everyone really friendly and helpful.
al G
Queue system is shocking. Spent 20 minutes waiting to buy a ticket for soft play only to be told it’s full. There needs to be a toll solely for soft play which is easily identified and manned by a competent member of staff. Someone literally queue jumped and got in 2 minutes before me. Don’t bother going to this soft play when there are better staffed places nearby!
nicolahU9473LB
I rarely write a review but we had our daughters 4th birthday party with them and the staff made it such a fantastic experience. We opted for afternoon teas which are delivered on tiered afternoon tea platters per child - parents raved about the quality and quantity of food. The soft play was small but perfect for little ones. Thank you to all the staff for making it so stress free for us.
Pam Evans
Excellent value for money. We got some good plants and enjoyed a slice of cake and a cuppa. Last week we had Afternoon Tea for two. This was brilliant! Thank you.
A lovely garden centre to visit offering quality plants and shrubs together with great collection of garden furniture and equipment of every kind. The retail outlets in-house and outside are well stocked and full of choice. Of course couldn't leave without having a lovely lunch and afternoon tea in the fabulous restaurant with a good choice of food and yummy cakes. All the staff are very warm and friendly. A lovely sunny day for a nice drive through the Leicestershire countryside and villages to make the journey a very pleasant one.
Sian Ives
Restaurant is really good. Generous portions and nice food. Generally the garden centre is pretty good, with an actual garden centre as well as a pretty good range of shops. More like a little shopping mall! They are half way through opening a little Sainsbury's there too. Could do with more disabled parking spaces.
jackiebB1446BH
We haven't been for a meal for a good while. After reading the reviews ,it very nearly put us off having a meal. When we arrived we noticed the restaurant was busy, hence, it couldn't be that bad. Both my husband and I had the lasagna , which was tasty ,hot and filling, the side salad was fresh, and the garlic bread was lovely. The staff are constantly on the go. Yes the queuing takes a while, it always has been like this, even when it was Woodlands. We will back again.
Allison Morton
It's a lovely garden centre, it says dogs are welcome and yet there is not one bin inside incase your puppy has an accident. The cafe area is lovely but the doggy area is being squeezed smaller and smaller with people without dogs taking up tables too even though there were tables elsewhere available. The Cafe has some lovely food and drinks on offer but they are very slow at serving and for not the first time my can if pop was warm.
Karen Harrison
This garden centre used to be really good. It now is a mess. The Christmas display is pathetic and the cafe does not sell gluten free cake! The soft play was closed for a party. All in all a wasted trip. Won't bother again
The restaurant/garden centre was very cold. Not a pleasant atmosphere to drink coffee (which was only warm) and walk round the garden centre. Never been to such a cold garden centre. It would have been far too cold to eat in the restaurant. I did visit Dobbies to shop in the Pavers outlet, purchased boots with an extra 20% discount.
Overpriced cold Christmas lunch. Waited in line for over 35 minutes for the Christmas lunch with young inexperienced men on the tills. Not their fault however at such a busy time no manager was to be seen. The poor lads working there bloody socks off with little to no help. Food was also cold and not enjoyable I felt bad feeding it to my dog however she seemed to enjoy it. Won't be returning
Quality, price and service. Dobbies delivers on none of these. Quality: The food was cold, even my dog would reject those sausages. Price: Almost £40 for four inedible breakfasts and drinks, cold flabby scrambled eggs and anaemic sausages. Service: order was taken by a lady who looked quite unhappy. Some staff members were bickering between themselves and between them lacked organisation, which was a key reason it took 40 minutes to get our food. The one star is solely for the hash browns, which were great. But even the hash browns couldn't make up for the overall experience. So, unless you're looking for a subpar meal that will cost you an arm and a leg, served with a side of staff drama, I'd suggest steering clear of Dobbies.
My husband and I visited recently and waited for over 30 minutes just to order a coffee and cake each. The tables were not cleaned and cleared and it wasn’t as if they were that busy! Terrible restaurant and although there have been numerous complaints over the years it doesn’t look like anything has been rectified at all!
Food was fresh and enjoyed by both of us, but the service on the drinks side was very slow as assistant was too busy talking, was to hot to be standing there waiting and although some people were moaning she didn’t seem to be bothered by this, the young lad who was serving on the till was very polite and was apologetic about the wait
Great day out, lots to see and do\\nDogs are aloud and have a area in the restaurant for dogs.\\nSoft play area in restaurant area\\nAlso Cotton traders, The workers, Pavers Shoes and many more shops.\\nAlso a fruit and veg stall outside.
Huge. Managed to find a few things I've been looking for for ages. Lovely cafe area with good size area set aside for dog owners. Food really good, reasonable prices. Only managed to see about third of garden centre as my dogs were getting fidgety but I'll be back. Love the satellite stores as well. Everyone really friendly and helpful.
Queue system is shocking. Spent 20 minutes waiting to buy a ticket for soft play only to be told it’s full. There needs to be a toll solely for soft play which is easily identified and manned by a competent member of staff. Someone literally queue jumped and got in 2 minutes before me. Don’t bother going to this soft play when there are better staffed places nearby!
I rarely write a review but we had our daughters 4th birthday party with them and the staff made it such a fantastic experience. We opted for afternoon teas which are delivered on tiered afternoon tea platters per child - parents raved about the quality and quantity of food. The soft play was small but perfect for little ones. Thank you to all the staff for making it so stress free for us.
Excellent value for money. We got some good plants and enjoyed a slice of cake and a cuppa. Last week we had Afternoon Tea for two. This was brilliant! Thank you.
Restaurantji Recommends
A lovely garden centre to visit offering quality plants and shrubs together with great collection of garden furniture and equipment of every kind. The retail outlets in-house and outside are well stocked and full of choice. Of course couldn't leave without having a lovely lunch and afternoon tea in the fabulous restaurant with a good choice of food and yummy cakes. All the staff are very warm and friendly. A lovely sunny day for a nice drive through the Leicestershire countryside and villages to make the journey a very pleasant one.
Restaurant is really good. Generous portions and nice food. Generally the garden centre is pretty good, with an actual garden centre as well as a pretty good range of shops. More like a little shopping mall! They are half way through opening a little Sainsbury's there too. Could do with more disabled parking spaces.
We haven't been for a meal for a good while. After reading the reviews ,it very nearly put us off having a meal. When we arrived we noticed the restaurant was busy, hence, it couldn't be that bad. Both my husband and I had the lasagna , which was tasty ,hot and filling, the side salad was fresh, and the garlic bread was lovely. The staff are constantly on the go. Yes the queuing takes a while, it always has been like this, even when it was Woodlands. We will back again.
It's a lovely garden centre, it says dogs are welcome and yet there is not one bin inside incase your puppy has an accident. The cafe area is lovely but the doggy area is being squeezed smaller and smaller with people without dogs taking up tables too even though there were tables elsewhere available. The Cafe has some lovely food and drinks on offer but they are very slow at serving and for not the first time my can if pop was warm.
This garden centre used to be really good. It now is a mess. The Christmas display is pathetic and the cafe does not sell gluten free cake! The soft play was closed for a party. All in all a wasted trip. Won't bother again