Bell Plantation Cafe in South Northamptonshire

Lovely coffee plenty to see there as well.

Great food, but understandably a little slow on a busy Saturday lunchtime. Dog friendly. We hadn’t booked but got a table ok.

Absolute gem of a place, breakfast was 10 out of 10. Served with a smile as well.

Breakfast was fantastic 😋 a bit expensive but very good.

We love this place. All the team are friendly and the soft play is great. You can sit and chat whilst your little one explores the soft play. You can also order food and drinks. I have also visited the restaurant for afternoon tea for 2 and it was amazing. Generous portions. Good quality food. Relaxed atmosphere. Shop is also good and has high end products for those that have a few bob in the bank.

Good quality breakfast and nice restaurant area. Really enjoyed it and will come back again.

Plants, chickens, ducks, peacocks, did l mention coffee? Oh and food? Friendly helpful staff. Also outlets, marvelous, reptiles, footwear, can't count them all!

Excellent, prompt and cheerful service from Jenna and co! The food was delicious, as was my Flat White! The decor and atmosphere were excellent and it was busy, but very pleasant. Thank you!

Cheese scones 10/10, coffee strong and tasty. Whole centre is a good visit with easy access. Will come again and again especially shoe shopping

Just terrible, super processed kids menu, bad chips, mouldy carrots in the halloumi wrap . Strange ordering system.

Great afternoon tea - huge board very generous portions

Sadly our drinks had to go back to heat up (hot chocolate and a latte) the GF cake options were either brownie (always a brownie) or scone 🤷🏻‍♀️ The tea cake was like a cinnamon flavoured roll (no fruit) and it had been cut and toasted in a way the top section (can’t call it half) was rock solid. To be fair the waitress did offer to go speak with the kitchen when I queried if it was even a tea cake? But said not to bother as already felt meh over our visit. And the drinks came back not much hotter. We ended up leaving half the ‘tea cake’ and the GF scone didn’t do well either with over half left again . Shame Just about to post this and a staff member (Adel) came over and offered full refund as not acceptable 🤷🏻‍♀️got wind not happy.

Excellent food quality and quantity

Is my favorite garden center has everything in on place

Lovely Sunday lunch with my Mum Cafe is lovely and staff are great

The Bell Plantation Café near Towcester is a delightful find nestled within a garden centre. Its pleasant ambiance makes it a perfect spot to relax. I highly recommend indulging in their cream tea; it not only lives up to expectations but also adds a sweet touch to your visit. The combination of a charming setting and a delightful cream tea makes this cafe a must-visit for those seeking a tranquil and tasteful experience.

Good priced food and enjoyable food. Well portioned and timely service.

I've never had to return a breakfast until today, 4 of us went for breakfast, they brought out 4 cups for tea, 3 of them were dirty so had to be changed 45 minutes later the breakfast arrived, cold toast, lukewarm beans, inedible sausages and rock hard poached eggs We were given a refund but i would have preferred a decent breakfast The biggest disappointment for me is the total lack of attention to detail, surely someone must notice dirty cups and as for the food, I don't know who they have working in the kitchen but they must have the ability to recognise when food is acceptable or not, its absolutely ridiculous that they serve food as bad as this

Garden centre with additional outlets. Large parking area. Indoor & outdoor areas full of plants. Pleasant spacious restaurant with wide range of snacks & meals as well as seasonal special dishes.

This place has become absolutely a nightmare. It’s become too big which is good for Towcester but they need to improve their customer service! It has become too expensive for what you get. I visit at least twice a week and minimum spend for me is £40/£45 for lunch for 3 people each time. The food is nothing special anymore. The staff keeps forgetting to bring the full order because they can’t keep up with how busy it gets, even when you have asked for the rest of the order a few times you still have to go back to the till and ask for it yourself, again! This has happened too many times now. I will fondly remember the old small bell plantation with delicious food and nice staff. This place is too commercialised now….

Afternoon tea at the bell plantation is absolutely amazing. We visited today and we were very impressed with the quality of the food. Sandwiches were made using excellent quality ingredients ( mustard seeds coated ham was delicious) . It appears that everything is made on the side from sausage rolls, scones to beetroot falafel. Service was excellent nothing to much of a problem. It was a lovely visit great food and professional service. Highly recommend. It is also great value for money!

Regular breakfast eater. Of late, the sausages and bacon have been very dry and tough to eat. Am I right in thinking you precook certain items to speed up service now? Otherwise a great venue, coffee good, but worried that the breakfast is not as good as it was.

Sitting at the table we were expected to order food via our mobile phones. I hate that! So unnecessary. But luckily we found a friendly waitress.

We often stop here to break our long journey north to Yorkshire. It's a chance to stretch our legs and enjoy a great cup of coffee and good food in pleasant surroundings. I can thoroughly recommend the Maple and Pecan scones from the 'Summer Menu'. They were served warm with butter and maple syrup. I hope they make them a permanent item on the menu all year round as they are absolutely delicious and excellent value!

Very enjoyable day, with soft play for my grandson and afternoon tea for us.

Visited Saturday 26th August. Went to counter to order. Told 40 min wait, even for a sandwich. Left

Unusually for this venue, the Sunday Plantation breakfast was below par. I asked for my fried egg to be well-done, which it was, but so was the bacon to a point it was inedible. The toast surface had a small brown patch on its white sides where it had been briefly shown some heat. At £13 one expects better and hopefully this was just a one-off.

Lovely garden centre with good staff, great cafe to enjoy a good quality coffee

Drinks were served promply but there was quite a wait for the baguettes. When they did arrive the cole slaw and rocket on the side had been heated and was inedible. When we complained we were told it was because the plates were hot but it looked very like it had been heated from above. Quite pricey for what it was.

Wonderful garden centre, staff so friendly and helpful will definitely be going back 😀 👍

Lovely atmosphere and great customer service. Food and coffee great

Good food and super garden centre with lots of additional gifts and other shops

Like to go here as has a nice atmosphere with a relaxed service and tasty coffee! But food however has become bland and tasteless, my quiche had no seasoning and no hint of goats cheese as it suggested, as a foodie I am disappointed. Chips were the highlight and very tasty. Overpriced for standard of food as ‘salad’ on partners dish was one sad bit of lettuce with spoon of coleslaw on top ! Haven’t tried the breakfast or cakes here, could be a better option rather than lunch!

Really enjoyed my visit to Bell Plantation.Lots to look at in the shops...I especially enjoyed the antique shop which seemed well organised and attractively displayed. I also enjoyed my coffee but unfortunately my gluten free scone was under baked so still had a dough consistency in the middle. However I will definitely visit again.

lovely experience with family, very pleasant visit

It's OK when they have your choice from the menu, which they did not when I went. I also will not place orders through an app!

Nice venue. Can't comment on service as ordered via QR code. Food slightly underwhelming.

Very nice meal 5stars very helpful staff . Go back yes .

Lovely place, good food, friendly service

Need to update the menu, very expensive for what you get 😔 Plus the soup I had was such a small amount for the price & it said it came with crusty bread, and I just came with a couple of slices of supermarket bread, don't get me started on the presentation!

Excellent stop over for refreshments

Excellent surroundings staff extremely pleasant , pity fighting off the sparrow's as your trying to eat .Beautiful garden centre.

The food we ordered was extremely over cooked.

Served really quickly and food was excellent including the vegetarian option.

Been here twice now, no complaints at all, friendly service, great food, nice place to shop too.

I have been to the cafe many times and once again this weekend we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. The staff are always friendly and the food was great, I had the goats cheese toastie my partner opted for a toasted wrap, both delicious and well presented. We will be back for afternoon tea in the next few weeks.

We went for breakfast on a Sunday while staying nearby and were waiting tin the car park for it to open and when it did it was like a gun going off, everybody hurrying through for breakfast at this lovely cafe. The food was nice & fresh, plenty of choice and served at your table.

Ended up here by complete accident (long story...) having not visited for more than a year or so. Wow it’s changed. All for the better and as popular as ever. Major refurbishment has enhanced the entire site. The café area has been extended too. Go on treat yourself

Took my elderly mother to Bell Plantation as a treat. We sat in the lovely glass house. I went to place our order for lunch, at 1145am, but read that they do not take food orders between 11.30 and 12.00.

So have continued to delight in breakfasts throughout the last 12 months plus some lunches and a couple of cream teas. On the whole excellent both in terms of food and the service, the team really try hard which is appreciated. Jools has recently returned to the team which is excellent too. A couple of not so goods, you need to ask for your coffee to be 'very hot' otherwise it can be tepid, catering team struggle to deliver a soft poached egg, always hard even though asked to be soft. That aside, another excellent year of breakfasts!!!

Bought another chicken from here, third purchase now Healthy hens, great advice Faultless customer service Will highly recommend Thank you

Staff are very welcoming, thanks to Jules and Tracey for making our lunchtime special. Food was extremely well presented and tasty. Particularly like to have a wander around the garden/poultry centre afterwards. Well done to you all.

We visit on a very regular basis for lunches. The food is always great and the staff are very friendly and approachable and the service always good.

I visit this cafe on a regular basis and find the staff very helpful bd attentive always happy and smiling. The food yqs always been served quickly and of good quality and value

We were looking for somewhere for breakfast on a cold and rainy morning and found this place via google. Very happy we did :)

I’ve been coming here over a year at least twice a week and can never ever fault it. Amazing staff very friendly and exellent service and would definitely recommend to other for a nice lunch or afternoon tea. In a exellent area and there is also a garden centre to look around if wanted.

We used to use this place regularly until they had a new cook didn't like the way it was run so stopped going.

On a busy day you are required to take a table number then make your way to till to order.

The Bell Plantation has always been a staple following swimming classes on a Saturday. But though the shopping area has improved greatly the food hasn’t specifically the breakfast. So hit and miss. I think we’d all agree anyone who is paid to be a cook or chef should be able to knock out an omelette with their eyes shut. However it takes some real skill to produce the burnt, dry frisbee we see in the photos.

I frequently visit here for lunch. The menu selection is good and food tastes fresh. It's a great place to meet with friends!

We went there some time ago and it was good. However, today we went there and had coffee and cake. I had Victoria sponge and my wife had coffee and walnut cake. My cake was dry and had I not had coffee to wash it down, would not have been able to swallow it. My wife couldn’t eat hers as it was so dry. I tried a bit of her cake and could see why, it was as dry as old boots. On a positive note, the coffee was fine. We will go elsewhere next time.

Whilst on route stopped off here for break, food and fresh air. Perfect place for this. Large open café with more seating in large open conservatory and outside seating. Good choice of food with quick friendly service. Order at til, take drinks and food is brought to you freshly made. I had lovely tasty thick ham and mustard mayonnaise brown sandwich. It normally comes comes homemade coleslaw and crisps. I asked for salad instead which they gladly did. The salad was fresh with nice light dressing on top.

This is a lovely place to eat for breakfast and lunch. Very good tea and coffee. Food here is good. A great pit stop on the way to the M1. Will certainly stop here again.

Called in her as a break from driving. Had jacket potato with filling. The food arrived promptly and was well presented and tasty.

Dropped in about 11 am didn’t want breakfast so ordered a round of hot drinks and waited so I could order lunch, 11:45 wanted more hot drinks so went to order and asked if I could order lunch at the some time, to save on many payments and to save me keep going up and down.

Wife had seen this garden centre etc. advertised and wanted to have a look around. About a 45 min drive so when arrived before looking around the garden centre and shops decided to have a coffee and late breakfast. Was unsure what to have but both plumbed for the cooked breakfast. Ordered at counter together with drinks have to give table number as all is delivered to the table. When delivered was a good hearty breakfast which was quite acceptable and enjoyable. Was reasonable value at around £20 for the two of us, which certainly kept us going for the rest of the day.

On our way north just before the M1 we spotted this little gem. Great for a little break, We visited the cafe for coffee and sandwiches, we could have had home made cake too!!!! It was all lovely Sandwiches made to order with crisps and home mane coleslaw. Toilets clean. We had a walk around, there is a Brewery Shop a frock shop with a very chatty lady not at all pushing us to buy anything. the usual garden centre fare, plenty of parking. Why stop in a service station!

We stopped here for scones and tea and can strongly recommend the savoury and sweet options!! Nice spot for some shopping also

We visited the Bell Plantation Cafe on Friday 05/04/2019 as we were in the area.

My husband and I just moved to Silverstone and decided to see what the garden centre had to offer. The small shops we very in interesting to look round and the garden centre has lots of things to buy but the cafe is wonderful with very friendly staff and a good quality of food. I also went at Christmas and had a lovely lunch listening to the salvation army playing christmas carols. A must visit when 6ou go to the garden centre.

We consistently have good quality food here. The homemade soup is always delicious! The staff are friendly and the environment lovely.

Called in for tea and a snack after visiting vintage shop and before visiting garden centre. Husband waited at till to order just before 3.30. They couldn't do jacket potatoes as kitchen closes at 3.30. Asked for sandwich, no, that too requires kitchen! Although cafe open 'till 5 the young staff have to clear down and finish, not their fault. So can have drink and cakes only after 3.30. Such a shame as had lovely visit other wise. When we return, as we're planning to, we will eat elsewhere.

A fab find and perfect for any kind of meeting , easy parking and wonderful service, served by the lovely Rosie , an asset to any business .

We came in for lunch on Sunday at 11.30am and they kitchen was closed for half an hour so that everyone could have a half hour break!? I appreciate the need for breaks but have you ever heard of staggering breaks so that you can keep serving??

The cafe, garden centre & poultry centre are all part of a garden centre & I’ve been a loyal customer for many years. Sadly John the poultry manager was away on holiday and instead I was met by another member of the poultry team. The chicken I brought back today is poorly. I was worried it would die and have only had it a short while. It has a pale comb, hasn’t eaten in several weeks, and has lost a significant amount of weight and is deteriorating rapidly and not interested in anything. Instead of acknowledging this though the staff member argued with me, telling me it the chicken was ok. That it looked fine to him.

Called in for breakfast on Saturday morning. Having a gluten intolerance, I was pleasantly surprised at the selection of gf options on the menu. My partner and I both had bacon and mushroom sandwiches, they arrived fairly quickly and were presented nicely. The place was very clean and the staff were very friendly.

The staff are all welcoming and helpful.They work so hard as this place is so busy at lunch times.

Having had this cafe recommended to us. We decided to stop for lunch. What a huge disappointment. It was not particularly busy but the service was terrible. The table was dirty and full of empty cups. The waitress was too busy chatting to notice us. We didn't realise we had to order at the counter and sat down. We waited at least 10 minutes until the waitress told us where to order. We asked her to clear our table which she did but didn't wipe it just brushed crumbs off onto the floor. The coffee took around 15 minutes to arrive and it was lukewarm. We asked for replacements which then took another 10 minutes still not warm enough but by this time I couldn't be bothered to send them back. Our sandwiches arrived 20 minutes after order and were nothing special and quite expensive. The cakes looked delicious so we had a piece to share. It was quite dry and felt like it was a couple of days old. Not fresh as they advertised. Given the stunning location it was a real disappointment. Expensive food dreadful service and low quality meals. I won't be returning

Bought 2 identical pots just different colours it said they were on offer 2 for £5 asked Ben if offer came off he said yes.!!!When I got home I checked the receipt, it hadn't come off.Phoned Joe the next day only to be told they were made by different suppliers therefore The offer didn't come offVERY!!! Misleading both by offer sign and till operative.Make sure you check your receipt and not the word of the till person

Whoever designed it so that the queue for the till blocks the path to the dining area from the kitchen needs sacking.It's not apparent on the menu or clear anywhere else that you have to order at the till. I watched a staff member wiping chocolate sauce from her hand onto her jeans, then continuing to handle food...This is not professional.The menu had sticky food and old drink stains on it. The table is made of porous wood with cracks in it that are full of old food particles.Two teas and one cake £6.10In all, I'd class this as a 'not visit again'.

Meet up with group of friends for lunch as the location is perfect.Well how disappointed we were with the food .Jacket potatoe with prawns,four tiny prawns dried out potato!All the other meals we had were over priced and not of the standard they used to be. The staff try very hard indeed .Rushed off their feet and not enough of them

Had soup and it was such a small portion considering the cost. My friend had the quiche and she commented that although it was tasty the plate was over filled with unexciting salad lThe wait would have been fine if the food had been top notch,but it certainly wasn't. The poor staff run round like headless chickens. Need more staff over the lunch time period before you lose all your customers and staff to the fantastic new venue '185 Watling Street 'in Towcester !

I recently had the experience of visiting this café. Never again. On a not particularly busy Wednesday I waited ages for someone to take my order, as I was told that I had to order at the desk and the waitress pointed to a small sign that stated this, being partially sighted this was not clear. After placing my order I then waited for at least 15 minutes for my tea to arrive followed some 10 minutes later for lacklustre sandwiches, with crisps that had gone soft and a limp and overly dressed side salad which was drenched in balsamic and oil which had leaked onto the bread. My companion had a jacket potato with tuna that came with no butter and again the drenched salad. Having decided to then have a cake another 15 minute wait for a dry piece of Victoria sponge. The staff obviously had better things to do than serve us as they were milling around and gossiping. I paid over £20 for my meal - which was a complete waste of money Don't visit here if you want good food and good service.