Cafe Giardino in Watford

Silly me didn’t read the pricing for toasted panini. I ordered a tuna and cheese panini and a chicken and sweet corn panini. To my shock-horror when it came to pay they said £15.00. Not only was it a rip-off but, it was mega overpriced, tasteless, bland, cold and definitely not worth the money. OUTRAGEOUS pricing, and definitely not worth that amount or NOT value for money. I will NEVER go back there again that’s for sure. I’ll stick to Costa as their toasted panini’s are better quality, delicious and worth the price.

I go regularly to cafe Giardino for coffee and toast,it's my favourite place to go for coffee as the staff are very friendly and efficient and I've met lots of nice people,I've recommended it to friends.U was very pleasant to see that my favourite Belgian bu n iback on the menu in my favourite coffee shop with the lovely friendly staff thankyou.

I along with my family have for many years visited this cafe and always enjoy our time here. The service is always very good and the staff were friendly. The menu are affordable, and the food was served quickly. I particularly remember the jacket potatoe fillings being very generous in size, but I understand that with rising costs and reducing food waste, the portion sizes have been reduced. Nonetheless, it is still a great place to visit. We look forward coming back here, such a perfect Gem for Watford indeed the Harlquinn Shopping Mall Centre.

I often come here for breakfast, on a Sunday morning, before the Harlequin opens. I have fried eggs on toast, and bacon. Always freshly cooked, and tasty. They do an excellent freshly squeezed orange juice. Service is friendly, chairs comfortable. Recommended.

Grabbed a quick breakfast. Friendly service and good food.

Having never been here before we thought we’d give it a try. We should have read the other reviews first… I ordered poached eggs and avocado. Admittedly the eggs were well poached and warm but arrived with the thinnest slivers of avocado, huge chunks of cold (straight from the fridge?) tomatoes and 1 (yes one) slice of toast. The pesto was a nice addition but all in all I expected more given this was almost £10! My son ordered a tuna melt… such a shame there was more leek/onion/tomato etc. than actual tuna. If you like a ‘hint’ of tuna in your tuna melt this is for you!! Again, given the price we expected more and better. We’re relatively new to Watford and really want to support Watford businesses, but it’s hard to do so in this instance. P.S. My son wanted to add that he likes the decor and layout!

Not to bad food, bit pricey but everything is inside the shopping centre these days

I went here after doing some shopping with my family, we went around Midday, about 15 minutes before the cutoff for brunch. The man at the till seemed to make a real point of checking the time, and basically ignored us for a minute, before taking our order, he kept just standing there, not doing anything. We all found him incredibly rude. We ordered 2 cappuccinos, 2 poached eggs on toast, chips, and a panini, costing almost £40 for the 3 of us. We then asked for some brown sauce.The poached eggs were horrible, they were rotten and had an awful overwhelming smell. The eggs were brown and the sickly smell put us all off our meal, the brown sauce was incredibly watery, and was bubbly. For almost £40 this is some of the worst value food that I have ever experienced. We will never return, and would recommend that you don’t visit this place, as you may also be served rotting food. The cost of this place is high, which would be fine if the food was actually edible and they didn’t serve rotting food to their customers. This is the worst place I have visited in my life, and my family will be telling our friends to avoid this place at all costs, we all wish that we never went here, and hope that the food doesn’t make us all ill!

I went here after doing some shopping with my family, we went around Midday, about 15 minutes before the cutoff for brunch. The man at the till seemed to make a real point of checking the time, and basically ignored us for a minute, before taking our order, he kept just standing there, not doing anything. We all found him incredibly rude. We ordered 2 cappuccinos, 2 poached eggs on toast, chips, and a panini, costing almost £40 for the 3 of us. We then asked for some brown sauce.The poached eggs were horrible, they were rotten and had an awful overwhelming smell. The eggs were brown and the sickly smell put us all off our meal, the brown sauce was incredibly watery, and was bubbly. For almost £40 this is some of the worst value food that I have ever experienced. We will never return, and would recommend that you don’t visit this place, as you may also be served rotting food. The cost of this place is high, which would be fine if the food was actually edible and they didn’t serve rotting food to their customers. This is the worst place I have visited in my life, and my family will be telling our friends to avoid this place at all costs, we all wish that we never went here, and hope that the food doesn’t make us all ill!

I've been a regular here for around 20 years. The staff are very friendly and always have a smile for you. I'm on first name terms with them all! The coffee is fantastic and the sandwiches and panini's are great. I especially like the Greek and Italian three bean salads. The place is regularly packed at the weekends and there are plenty of regulars that I frequently catch up with over a coffee and toast. I thoroughly recommend coming here if you've never visited.

Very disappointed with this cafe, the front staff was a europeon lady, absolute appalling attitude. The food was awful and once again that woman stinks!

GET THE CHEESE TOASTIE. The cheese toasties is delicious I have it every time me and my mum go there.

This cafe is up there as one of the least pleasant establishments i have visited in my life-time, I question myself, what negative do i even start with? First off, me and my family came into Watford to have a nice spot of breakfast/brunch, as on entering through the car-park we saw in big letters 'CAFE GIARDINO' and now, i have been here before and thought the food, the drinks and the staff where very very poor, but my family insisted on going here for our food, little did we know this was a terrible mistake, As a family we ordered: Poached eggs on toast, a bacon sandwich and 3x iced late's. Upon ordering the lady taking the order was very very miserable and looked like she would rather have been doing another job instead of this one, the one positive of this whole trip was how fast our items arrived to the wobbly table, but you could tell why. The bacon in the sandwich was clearly done in a microwave as it wasnt the correct and normal colour it is meant to be, it was as grey as ashes. Also the bread of the sandwich has multiple finger prints indented into it. The poached eggs on toast, now, I did not have this however a family member did, as soon as the rude lady came to give my family member this, a pungent, overpowering smell of vinegar struck me, i didnt think much of this until my family member said, i have just had a whole mouthful of vinegar. We got up and said all this to the lady and she was nothing but rude to us. Never and I mean never are we coming back here and neither should anyone.

Grt8 service lovely Earl Grey tea & a fresh fruit scone..thanx. I will definitely b going bk there.

First time eating here. Ordered two sandwiches, cheap bread, microwaved tasteless sausages, bacon seemed pre cooked and reheated in the microwave. I ate my sandwich because of hunger. My partner took one bite and that was enough, felt she would get ill if she ate the whole thing. I was given a glass for my drink, the glass was dirty, the plates where dirty. Meal came to £17.90 for what felt like cheap ingredients. Would not recommend.

I was going to eat here last week with my daughter however the service i recieved from a particular memeber of staff was shocking to put it mildly. I do not know her name but she has dark hair, glasses and a european accent. Due to health issues i sometimes struggle to make decisions about things in a timely manner, this did not please the woman who was serving me who thought it was ok to tell me to "hurry up, because others want to be served". When i tried to explain my situation to her she just rolled her eyes and told me "that doesn't matter, be quicker". That was it for me and i decided to tell the lady i was going to go elsewhere for my lunch to which she replied "at least you finally made a decision" and laughed! Such a shame as i have eaten here many times in the past and really enjoyed the atmosphere. I will never return and advise anyone who needs a little extra time or understanding to avoid this place while this lady is working here.

I came with my daughter for breakfast. It’s absolutely fantastic. I would recommend coming here with kids family friendly value for money and fantastic service.

Not a good experience!! Had a chicken pannini and it tasted off! Could not eat it! What a waste of 10 pound! Will not be returning!

It was nice and the food was delicious but expensive almost £7 for a SMALL mac and cheese

Avoid at all cost, food quality is really poor I had full english breakfast which wasn’t great at all.

Had lunch with my 11 Yr old granddaughter. She loved the spaghetti bolognese. I always love their fillings for jacket potatoes. Thoroughly recommend

Not great at all, food quality is bad and very overpriced! Please spend your money somewhere else, much better places around.

Great service great food and friendly staff

Rudest woman working there with zero people skills and absolutely terrible customer service. Its a shame. I used to be regular but I won't be returning after today.

We frequently visit this place . So good and the staff are very efficient

Food is always fresh and served promptly. Just a shame that some of the tables are in the general walk way

Not great, I used to come here a lot but the service and quality of food was really bad. (Wrong order and blamed us, it was rectified but the filling they used was not what was on display; it looked and tasted like it had been scraped from the bottom of the fridge.

Had a jacket potato and pot of tea,the potato was very nice.

Food is nothing special. I think no have service if we don't ask please to clean the table I think we eat on top of the rest of the people. Atmosphere is good really nothing to complaint about this what i dont understand is not WC you need to use the one from shopping center. Is great to do the digestion on a way to the WC Price is high for the quality of the food. Aah and all food is precooked for me this is the more bad think if i pay 10£ for a panini i want you to cook my milanesa on same moment, is take less than 5 min fry a milanesa.

Poor jacket potato, oily tuna with almost no mayo. No salad or garnish. Surly man on till. Overpriced. Better places nearby.

I ate here on Sunday noon. Was very very disappointed, the food quality was very poor. I asked for a Halloumi sandwich, I thought they would put some salad or something in the bread at least to make it a kind of sandwich, but they just dumped some Halloumi in the bread. I was quite disappointed, maybe it was my fault for not understanding. Tasted like salt & an overdose of butter. Secondly I ordered a side of fries. Hand on heart this must be one of the worst fries I've ever eaten. It tasted like the oil hand not been changed for ages, tasted horrible. Thirdly I ordered a kids pizza meal, it's just warmed up in a microwave. Again it's fine if they made it earlier in the day or something. But this had literally no taste to it at all. The only thing that seemed as though it was ok was the Oasis drink I brought. It's not a cheap place either, I should have read the other reviews before eating here. On the plus the staff seemed nice. Really disappointed, shame as it seems like it could be a great cafe. Just not for me with the poor quality of food. Won't be visiting here again in a hurry.

We are regulars we always enjoy our visit with great food and service.

Called in for a quick lunch. Lovely fresh healthy choices. I had a small Greek salad with a Perfectly cooked jacket potato. Salad was fresh and crisp potato was soft and fluffy.

Nice average food, nothing to rave about, you order a baguette thinking you get a bit of greenery with it, nope just the sad looking lonely baguette on a plate. English breakfast is £9! And it’s sooo basic with re heated sausages! Anyone looking for a baguette, go to Wenzles or any other bakery where you get more fillings on fresh bread. If you want a fry up, go to the Weatherspoons in the high street. Prices here are absolutely ridiculous, not just for the quality of foods, but the quantity aswel! Oh also £2.50 for a can of drink….. Head to Boots underneath for more than half priced drinks! Robbery at its finest

My first time here, although I work nearby and I wish I had come here much sooner. It was clean and pleasant, staff friendly and approachable. Service was quick and meal was tasty. Reasonably priced.

Una cafetería de muy buena calidad y ambiente. Uno de los mejores lugares para comer en. Y los lattes, en una taza grande, son muy buenos.

Ordered veggie lasagna, tasty and good potion, but should have come with a small salad. Ordered garlic bread with it, a water and a coffee, and came to about 16 50. The staff seemed stressed, probably everyone suffering from the after effects of covid and Brexit.

I was very hungry, the bread was not the freshest.

Awfully presented Jacket potatoes with Cheese and Tuna mayo. Definitely wasn’t worth the price have charged me. £11 for this and a can of Diet Coke.

Nice place food very good and a great variety

Went for a mid-day snack here. The cafe is situated on the third floor accessible by an escalator. There is a fair amount of seating and is not in an enclosed space so very airy. I enjoyed my lunch which I thought was good value and I found the staff very friendly and helpful.

Excellent food and good service

Chai latte had overpowering cinnamon. Jacket potatoes wasn't fresh and unappetising. Overall average service.

Nice food , but very bad coffe :/

Had lunch here today and won’t be returning. The food wasn’t heated properly so barely tepid temperature & sausages had a very strange taste very cheap quality which isn’t reflected in the price. I couldn’t eat so total waste of money.

Handy little coffee shop / restaurant situated in main Watford shopping centre. The staff were friendly and welcoming, service efficient and prices very reasonable. Great place for a break from shopping.

Food is always fresh and so much filling and staff are always friendly and helpful best place to eat in Watford .

Inside a busy shopping centre your expectations for a “value for money” eating outline are extremely low. However Cafe Giardino runs completely against this, great staff, brilliant food and amazing value….I felt like just paying more for what I got and I only ordered a pastry (delicious) and a cappuccino . This is what a local cafe should be aiming to become, seriously well done guys I will back for sure.

Had a full English fry up, was very disappointed that all food was microwaved, it made it taste bland and disgusting. When we received the food it was already cold. Would not go back again.

Ideal place to drop in for lunch af a mornings shop snd the feet are worn-out

Using dirty plates to serve people and when asked for a clean one was given a very dirty look so I decided not to eat from there and looking at the reviews not good The owner is very rude

Always friendly staff & good service. Great location even on rainy days.

Friendly staff. Nice variety & great coffee.

Mâncarea nu era proaspătă,nici salata....păcat, am incercat și am rămas dezamăgit...

Sadly sitting here with only a can of coke as my mum had already ordered. They have ZERO vegan options on the menu. Staff huffed when I asked, and suggested a bowl of lettuce. All their 'salad bar' has mayo in or they display it with feta on it. When I checked if their eggs were free range the manager confirmed they were from caged hens, so I couldn't even stretch to a sandwich with egg in. Come on Giardino it's 2021!

Currently sitting here with just a can of coke as absolutely NOTHING on the menu is vegan. So disappointed. The staff offered me 'salad' which they display covered in feta cheese... Not much good to me either. The staff are miserable and huffed at my request.🤦 So I tried to be flexible and asked if the eggs were free range. The manager said they are from caged hens... Would not recommend if you're a vegan.

Lovely staff and food. Always love the paninis and jacket potatoes. Good milkshakes and smoothiea too.

Friendly staff and beautiful food

We took tiramisu and black forest pastry. It was amazing!! Beautiful layers and just the right amount of sweetness.... I think the price they charge just does not justify the hardwork behind their dessert

Nice place to have tea and muffin polite staff.

Something different from the others coffee shops, lovely staff as well as the coffee and the food

I’ve visited this restaurant many times and every time they never fail to disappoint. The service is in point. Their choice of food is varied and the prices very reasonable. It was exceptionally pleasant revisiting this place for the first time since the relaxation of lockdown and I look forward to many more visits in future. Thanks guys. Highly recommended!!

Best coffee in Watford and is a family concern . Great food at reasonable prices

Nice clean and food nice staff friendky

Great place for lunch - good sized portions and delicious as always. Good service and reasonable prices

Delicious and generous sandwiches made to order. Great value and tailored to what you want. Friendly staff and plenty of seating. Will return.

Moody lady on till who short changed me salad looked bit unsafe .!!!

Had a bad experince today which cost me £10.My bill came to £11.05 so gave the women on the till £20 note and asked if i could give her £1.05 as well because i needed the £10 towards a gift which was about to put in a card at the table then post it down stairs in the Post Office, I Was in a rush to catch the post . so when i had wrtten the card and was about to include the money I found that i did not have a £10 note in my wallet and relised she had not given it to me when I asked the manger (?) he gave me a blank look and the female staff member who served me denied it ... You deserve no stars. 0 outy of 5 ... meal cost me £21.05...

visited here a few times. Service is on point and staff are amazingly generous with their portions. Can’t fault cafe giardino! 🤙🤙

Over priced, £7 for a 'premium' prawn mayo baguette. All it was, was plain white baguette bit of butter and prawn mayo, no lettuce or any other additions, not sure why it's 'premium' You'll go here once and likely not eat here again.

I was served promptly and courteously. Staff were generous with their portions and the quality of the food was exceptional. Highly recommended!

I love their jacket potatoes, especially the prawn and mayonnaise ones. Their sandwiches are very good and made to order. Staff are nice. Clean work surfaces and counters.

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Coffee was okay but food not good. Everything felt dirty.

Food was ok we both had the sweet chilli chicken panini and a slice of lemon cake with a strawberry smoothie £28 but just getting the staff to acknowledge you in order to place an order was very slow and a shame really as it’s in a great location within intu but they really could improve on the customer service experience.

Had a ham and cheese panini and a coffee. Both were disgusting. The table and plate were both dirty. Coffee was awful. I left everything.

Had lunch here while shopping - great value and delicious food. The panini's and sandwiches are very good. Always quick and the staff are very friendly. Will return.

First time at this place. I was fancy a Double Espresso so asked for one! Almost halfway, realised bits coming off my cup! I lifted the cup and looked underneath to be shocked and disappointed. Cups aren’t washed properly here. I can not comment about anything else but this is disgusting. I’ve added couple of photos.

Had lunch here while shopping - delicious tuna melt. Food excellent as always, staff friendly, fast service and great value. Will return

Popped in for a quick coffee and snack before an appointment. Always a friendly welcome. Food fresh and appetising. Tables not cleared often but it was busy. Food served quickly and all good. Definitely the place to go if you want a proper cup of tea.

Every time we are in Watford we always eat at Cafe Giardino. Being for breakfast, lunch or for just a cup of their delicious coffee. Value for money. Even if we don't go for a few weeks, we are recognised and greeted warmly. If you're ever in Watford, don't leave without visiting here.

Cost £20 for two if us to have lunch here. All hot food was microwaved, leaving our pizza soggy and the bolognese bland. If you care about your coffee, avoid at all costs — my flat white was a bland over milked coffee with no texture and even less care. Fills a whole in your stomach, but not in your soul. Upside is that it is on an upper level, and therefore significantly quieter if you simply need a place to sit away from the sound of children with a cold drink.

Quick snack meal when on the move. Not gourmet but you get what you expect.

Visited here for a late lunch on a busy Saturday and food as always excellent. Fresh sandwiches made to order always very generous with the filling. Staff friendly, food good value.

The coffee is disgusting, the seating area is noisy, especially by the escalator. Hygiene also doesn't seem to be their main priority judging by how dirty the apron the waiter is wearing is. Stay clear of this place.

Lovely cafe I come to often but surprised today when they refused to make tea in my reuseable mug. Not very eco-friendly!

Always a seat, good food/drink.

Unfortunately called in here yesterday and ordered two spaghetti dishes and a salad

Just stopped for a quick lunch snack. Bread roll stale, filling tuna v dry and aged, Trays unclean and stained. Staff very miserable. Never again.

The guy behind the counter with hygiene gloves on, makes food without ever changing gloves. Fish to meat to fish. Then scratches his hair etc. Never coming back

I only ever come here on weekends for breakfast, so the only things I've ever purchased here are cappucinos and chocolate croissants. However, the cappucinos are very good and very hot, and the chocolate croissants are great too. Combined you only spend £2.95, very friendly staff and comfortable facilities to sit and relax. 5/5.

POOR service. Waiting for 2 mins in direct view of the lady behind the till and not acknowledged took my service elsewhere.

Tucked away and always busy but can always get a table. Great food, value and service as always. Food freshly prepared to order.

Had lunch here at the weekend and as usual the food was great quality, and great value. Staff friendly as always. Will return

Lunch - dry panini, layers of smoked salmon turned out to be one a little bit of red onion turned in to half an onion, the selection of sandwiches wasn’t inspiring at all. The only good thing was the cup of tea. Even the staff didn’t look happy to be there. Place was clean and quiet but it is a Tuesday.

Tucked away at the top of the escalators away from the main shops this is always a great choice for lunch. Great fresh food, sandwiches made to order, great value and friendly staff. Always been able to get a table even though it's nearly always busy.

Had lunch here on busy Saturday just before Christmas. Food and service still excellent as always and still managed to get a table. Good value freshly made sandwiches

Visited here for lunch a bit after the rush on a Saturday. They have a decent amount of seating and there were a few tables available even though it was still busy. Great quality sandwiches as always. Friendly staff and good value.

Decent lunch for a Saturday shopping trip. If you like real food rather than burger and chips this will be ideal.

Food hygiene rating 4 Stars. But they are due for a visit by the council. The last visit was 13/09/16, so they are due for a new score. Today I had couscous, broad beans, bean salad and Cray Fish with avocado which is a additional £3.00 charge for normal size plate. £6.95 for normal plate with salad selection with additional £3.00 (optional) if you wanted extra tuna mix, cray fish & avocado mix and so on. I have taken a selection of photos of what they have to offer. Please check it out. Very good for vegans and for people working on keeping fit & healthy. Good portion size.