Cafe Skylark in Fenland

As a first time visit to March we visited the Skylark Cafe as part of the Garden Centre. Initially we had to wait to be acknowledged by the waitress before we were advised we could sit down. We then promptly waited to be served only to be ignored when the waitress served locals that she knew. Very disappointing and won't go there again.

Excellent English breakfast freshly cooked and very tasty! Ladies serving were very friendly and smiley. Attractive, clean and warm restaurant. Very good value in my opinion and would definitely return.

My friends and I love the Cafe, although our recent visit was for lunch, I often visit for Breakfasts and Lunches on my own. The menu is great and I have tried many things, our last visit we both had the Quiche and it was fabulous, we both had the Summer Mocktail, to be honest I am addicted to them and they go very well with their new Pizzas. The staff are all extremely helpful and friendly. They now open on Sundays at 9am which is great for those visiting the Car Boot. I highly recommend Skylark Garden Centre Cafe

Been to the garden centre on numerous occasions but never been into the cafe which was a shame as it was lovely. My mum and I had lunch, chicken, bacon and mozzarella panini, and quiche with salad, both meals were delicious. The cafe is clean and tidy and staff friendly and helpful.

Staff were very attentive however the food left a lot to be desired. A bacon, mushroom and cheese panini £9.99 had slivers of mushroom and one rash of streaky bacon. The baked potatoes were rock hard. The mixed leaf salad was exactly that, just leaves, no tomatoes, no cucumber nothing.

This is about the worst ever cafe we have been to. We stopped on our way home to break the journey and intended having drinks and cakes. We were quickly seated and placed our order for one cappuccino, one tea, one slice of carrot cake and one slice of treacle tart - cold and with cream. So far so good. We waited about ten minutes and no drinks had arrived. We waited several more minutes and then the cakes arrived. The treacle tart was not cold as I had specifically stated and it had been warmed up. I returned it to the counter and was told it was the last one so i reluctantly took it back to our table as we were both hungry. I poured some of the cream onto it and was very shocked at what I saw. It was more like cottage cheese than cream - yellow in places and lumps in it. I returned that and I was asked if I wanted anything else. I declined and returned to my wife and said we were leaving due to the exceedingly poor food hygiene standards. The drinks had not turned up either. We left my wife's carrot cake untouched on the table and walked towards the exit. We were then shouted at by a strange girl who said we hadn't paid. I said we hadn't paid because we hadn't had anything. She insisted the drinks were "on the way" and we had to pay for them and the carrot cake. I reiterated the fact we had not had anything but she insisted we had. Very embarrassing and distressing in front of other customers. I said I ordered the treacle tart cold but it had turned up warmed. She said they HAD TO warm it as treacle tart is too stiff otherwise ! Erm - I specifically asked for it cold and the other woman who took the order asked me if I wanted it cold or warming up ! I then pointed out the cream was off and more like smelly cottage cheese. She did actually agree that THAT was their fault but I would still have to pay for the carrot cake and the drinks "that we had had" ! I pointed out the untouched carrot cake still on our table and again reminded her we had not had any drinks and we walked away from her. This is the first time we have been to this garden centre and cafe and it will definitely be the last. One star is over-generous for this dump and its very rude staff.

I find that Skylark is a wonderful place to meet friends for Breakfast or Coffee and a naughty slice of one of the delicious cakes or Lunch or afternoon tea. The staff are always very friendly and helpful. I highly recommend Skylark.

Had a lovely vegetarian cooked breakfast here, highly recommend. Cafe was cosy and warm and staff very friendly.

I recently had lunch in this cafe and I must say the food was of a great standard, and i would recomend it to anyone. The only thing that i thought was rather expensive was the coffes at £2.99 for a cup but other than that i wouldn't hesitate in eatening there again The staff were also very friendly and helpful. So if you like a wander round a garden centre give this one a try

Visited at around 11.30 on a Sunday morning after visiting the very busy car boot behind on the field. Nice cafe ordered coffee and baguettes which came quite quickly. Waitress was helpful and coffee came nice and steaming hot. Loved hearing the goats in the pens and went to meet them. Good place for children. Pleasant little garden centre 😊

Superb food, excellent location and service was second to none! They helped to accommodate my 94 year old Mother-in-Law, fetching cushions to make her comfy and attended to her comfort throughout the meal. Skylark may be off the beaten track but it is worth it, you will not be disappointed!!

Food lovely but service awful. Any more than 3 tables and they struggle massively. Either a resource, scheduling or training issue that needs sorting.

Bit price but the food is very nice and the place is clean. Good Covid hygiene as well with hand cleanser to hand,

Went in here during our visit, but we only had snacks . Bacon sandwiches and cakes. Staff friendly, good prices and lovely cakes, although was abit on the small side. Child friendly and all on ground level so access is easy.

We have eaten at the Skylark Cafe quite a few times and have always found the food to very tasty and generally the service to be be quick. You can see the chef at work and there appears to be very good hygiene there, and the tables are always clean. The food is of consistently good quality. You can always add extras such as black pudding (which I highly recommend). The cakes are always good.

Amazing food all cooked to order with fresh ingredients. Friendly staff, great service. A great find on a long journey home.

Jacket potato with prawns £9.99. Quiche with pile of salad out of a bag, coleslaw, £8.99. I thought the food was unexciting and overpriced. Nice staff, swift service.

First time visit to the Cafe. Presently surprised, our food was lovely and nicely presented too. All the cakes and scones looked scrumptious. Will revisiting to try them! Nice surroundings as you can sit outside too.

I was doing a garden shop so decided to have a coffee, but they were closing so I ordered a take away coffee and 2 cream teas to take home, the coffee was lovely, but I paid full prize for the the cream tea and only realised when I got home they had given me butter only and at over £4 I thought the least they could have done on paying for a cream tea would be to have the jam and cream as well.

This cafe is always clean and serves up lovely fresh food. The staff are always helpful. Try a Fenland breakfast, very scrummy.

The food was extremely average, and overpriced for what it was. Very bland workaday feel to the environment, which was disappointing given the places own 'award winning restaurant' hype. Not felt tempted to return.

Decor is rather basic and the food is a bit ‘chips with most things’ but what they do is ok and reasonably priced. My wife says that the chips are very good. I had a chicken mayonnaise salad which was a generous portion and had good coleslaw.

Took my two children there today and payed £32 to get in to find that after 30 mins my kids where bored as there is not much to do once the pigeon shooting was done , its definitely not worth its money and being a single parent money is tight and my children were disappointed and I feel we were robbed and the food is expensive , won’t be going back

Nice and clean, food is good but can be bit pricey. It is welcomed after a good shop at the garden centre. Location is far out off the main roads, but they do have the garden centre and a Sunday car boot on site.

Last year we came here on our way to Ely and this week we did the same journey so called in again.We wished we hadnt bothered, our food came 45 mins after it was ordered and not even a "sorry about the wait".I asked for a jacket potato but they had sold out ,it was only 1pm.So I ordered an omelette and had to pay £1.50 extra for little tiny pieces of bacon in it which were well overcooked,almost black.We certainly won't be rushing back.

I needed a break during a long drive and saw a sign for garden centre and award winning cafe, so thought perfect.

The Skylark garden centres offers a lot of suitable activities for a family but at a price. This Skylark cafe is also we found expensive for a family outing but very clean and smart looking after its refit. We like it if we want a while out with a snack and buying some garden ornaments, garden tools or plants or flowers. Plenty of things to keep children occupied and happy.

its okay but some of the items are a bit expensive, staff always pleasant and nice surroundings great for kids when the maze is open

Often come here and it rarely disappoints stopped today specials board said pork and mushroom pie and beef stroganoff both amazing quality and great value. We will be back soon

Stopped here with friends for lunch. Great service, nice amd clean and fantastic food. Not a single complaint thank you. Very busy so must be good!

Located out of town, good free parking on site. Excellent food, wide choice, always cooked fresh, also kids menu, and always a great display of home cakes and scones with a specials board gives a good changing variety. I am a regular visitor, taking my elderly disabled father. Disabled facilities easily accessible and clean. Friendly helpful staff, we are always made to feel welcome. Cafe on site of a garden centre, and many events held throughout the year. Kids activities and play area on site, outdoor seating area, farm animals also an interest to watch.

Always have liked this garden centre and cafe. The food is always good made from top quality ingredients and served with a smile. The fenland breakfast is a triumph.

This is a lovely cafe in a brilliant garden centre, basic cafe menu but really well cooked from best ingredients. The Fenland Breakfast is best for miles around probably best ever.

The food is good here,but little on the expensive side.The staff are always helpful and polite.It has a varied selection off cakes and food.It is ok if your visiting the garden centre but be prepared to pay high prices.

They do a larger breakfast if your will to pay a tenner for it even though food was good a bit pricey would not go again .

Called here for a spot of lunch with my grandson yesterday, very over priced food , staff looked as if they really didn't want to be there, food was of normal standard for a cafe but like I said very expensive for what you get, cafe itself is clean and tidy and garden centre is nice but again very overpriced, would not recommend

We visited with a 3 year old. The food was good and the place was clean. I would question why the adults sausage and chips with 2 sausages is £4.99 yet the Child's menu version with 1 sausage and an unhealthy fizzy drink included is £6.99.

Visited a half dozen times, usually just for tea or coffee or snacks, cakes etc.

Our first visit was good but went again and were very disappointed. We had gammon egg and chips and the gammon was thick and tough and near impossible to cut using ordinary knives provided . No sharper ones available . Chips were excellent but the gammon split it all . They need to provide proper knives if offering steak . For an award winning venue this needs addressing .

A wonderful place to visit, not just for gardening supplies, but quirky gifts, inspiring activities and fabulous food :)

Friendly staff, ideal for all ages. A good variety of food. Always nice and hot, lovely cup of tea.would definately recommend

Firstly I was with my 4 yr old grandson We visited the café . I found the staff were not the best, quite sullen The food was good although was way overpriced The special play area with the bouncy castle and a few other bits was again overpricedThere was little for my 4 yr old to do so I was not prepared to pay.

We had a day at the car boot sale then went into cafe for lunch,there were 7 adults and 3 children and everybody was pleased with their meal.

We found this cafe and garden centre whilst visiting the local skydive centre.Nice friendly and clean cafe. Food is of a high standard. Staff helpful with Gluten Free options cooking to your requirements.

First time I have been here - we decided to stop off as our family live near by. My mother in law and I had a full breakfast and it was excellent and really well cooked. My wife had a veggie burger which she really enjoyed, while my little girl had chips, fish fingers and peas and she nearly ate it all which is very unusual. The staff were pleasant too.Will certainly go again.

Not especially busy but good choice of cakes etc on a Saturday afternoon - also savoury snacks and choice of sandwiches

Reasonably priced simple meals, nothing fancy but good portion nicely cooked and tasty. Good for meals or a snack or even just drinks (and cakes! )

Big fenland very good, veggie also good. Would be better if served on warm plates. Staff very pleasant as normal.

Nice clean surroundings nice food but rather on the pricey side. Good selection of cakes etc just take lots of cash

Good food, locally sourced, friend staff and warm atmosphere. I come here at least twice a month and I've never had a bad meal

Popped in for lunch and was my first visit there Was a nice setting and clean too friendly staff the spiced parsnip soup was really nice and cheese scone lovely would recommend

Go here quite a lot, great breakfasts, lunches, salads, specials, all cooked fresh, all very tasty! Great coffees, cakes, really friendly people! Go back again and again!

Good, friendly service, Nice menu with a good selection all reasonably priced.Quick.Clean (you can see the open plan kitchen).

I have been coming here every week with my children and we love it as good service friendly staff and value for money

Good food, not too much choice for adults though as mainly served all day breakfasts, but great choice for kids.

I had thai green curry which wasn't. It was expensive, little flavour. Very disappointing. Food came quickly, my wife enjoyed her panini.

lovely pleasant little cafe well worth a visit if you are in the area,the staff are friendly and helpful.It is a little bit expensive but still enjoyable

Often visit the Skylark Cafe. Food is lovely with friendly staff to serve you. Lovely conservatory type dining room. Leave with a piece of cake for tea in the afternoon - homemade and yummy!

You can't go wrong here. Try their Fenland Breakfast. Their board specials are a treat! Friendly service

We went here today for lunch to refuel after the maize and fun yard, myself nephew and niece children's meal of bacon egg and beans comes with a drink £5:99 although nephew still hungry after eating, myself n niece had a baguette with chips and a drink total came to £27 followed by another drink each so total of £32 little on the expensive side I thought although very enjoyable. Cafe was clean and spacious and staff very friendly.

Popped in for lunch . Staff behind the counter were very friendly. Good food and plenty of it . Would be a good place to bring kids.

Nice tea and reasonable selection of cake, all tasty.Staff fairly friendly.Breakfasts are apparently really good, but we haven't tried these to date, felt they were a little pricey.

we came for a afternoon tea , prices where on the high side, young members of staff seemed unsure of their roles , we sat outside and it took 20 mins for 2 cold drinks 1 tea and 3 pieces of cake to come out

Had a few meals here over the winter months. All have been quite tasty but service can be a little slow so allow yourself time to enjoy your meal

I love this cafe called in for garden centre opening the new format looks great. Thought about a late dinner/early tea but was told no hot food after 3.00 pm this we did not know as we were just too late. Settled for lovely coffee and cake. One recommendation put a sign up about hot food ceases at 3.00pm I could not see one and there is nothing on the menu.Still a great cafe though.

Had lunch at Cafe Skylark yesterday. Food was really good quality. I had a hot breakfast bap and was very impressed. My nephew had the kids portion and was impressed with the size, he ate it all so it must have tasted good.Service was very good.A little gem of a cafe, other garden centres I have been to recently should take note. Looking forward to visiting again!

The food was ok, just usual breakfast..Ok service, not very friendly. And very overpriced. Nicely decorated restaurant

Great food. Super clean and friendly place. It is a little on the pricey side for breakfasts and snacks BUT you get quality. We had had breakfasts and sandwiches in here and they are very good. Nice tea and coffee. All round this is a quality establishment.

It was a game of brinkmanship. Who would fold first. After 40 mins I gave up and said no thanks I can't wait any longer for my food order. If it was fine dining, I'd appreciate waiting that long... but not for an English breakfast. Staff were friendly enough, but do need to learn how to manage customer expectations!

Really good quality food, we recommend both the turkey meal and the gourmet burger for lunch. The price reflects the quality of the ingredients, the skill of the chef and the pleasant warm and clean surroundings. The staff were pleasant too.

Food is freshly prepared and always tastes fabulous and really big portions. The breakfast is amazing...

I have eaten here quite a bit, but this was the first time in the evening. The cafe was open for a special event in the garden Center. It was a fixed meal of Turkey and ham pie, fruit crumble and custard for £10.The turkey pie was light on pastry and full of meat, with mashed potatoes and veg, it was all good except the runner beans which were very undercooked and too hard for me to eat. The crumble was delicious, proper home cooking.I wish Skylark had other evening events in their restaurant, I invariably find the food tasty and reasonably priced.

Not been to Skylark for a while, but have always found the food to be delicious. The breakfasts are excellent, as you can choose exactly what items you would like and how many of each. The cakes are pretty good, too

The cafe is a quiet rest after a hectic morning of carbooting! Good quality food, great friendly service. The seating area loojs out onto the garden plants, you're sure to be inspired by something flowering beautifully! If you happen to be out for the carboot, Stonea Camp is worth a visit too. It's an iron age camp just across the road. Turn right out of Skylark, then left at the brown sign.

Good quality food, little expensive for children @ £4.95 should only be £3.50 at the most. Staff friendly nothing to much trouble.

Stopped at skylark a few times for breakfast which are big and very good indeed, really should try the rest of their menu

Friends and family have been eating at Skylark for the past decade and we were delighted when it expanded. A sure sign of success. Sadly, our past two or three visits have been somewhat disappointing. Not only are meal and snack prices high considering the grub on offer, but the standard of food has also slipped. It is a convenient place to drop in for a cuppa, the garden centre is diverse, appealing and well managed while staff are very friendly. But I do find it hard to now recommend their meals.

Have been a few times and always had good service from all the staff that work there. Totally disagree with the comment of cold food and unfriendly staff. Think this person should be a little more understanding when it's busy. Just a thought maybe management could train the staff more so they could cope with busier times. I have also noticed that you have often got new people working when I have visited. Which leads me to think that you don't keep your staff for very long. Why is this??

First time visit. Breakfast was very good although a little bit pricey but quality was top notch. Now to look at the garden centre

I visit Skylark on a regular basis and I can really not fault it. The menu has loads to choose from and the new kids menu is brilliant!Love all the seasonal Specials every month.

Went to Skylark for lunch, had a walk around their garden centre, great quality and all in stock. Went to the cafe afterwards, had a great breakfast and piece of cake, as it was brunch and they looked delicious!! Then went for a walk around the Fun Yard and maize maze - so much to do!!! Staff can't help you enough, amazing stock, food and things to do!!! Think this will become a weekly event!!

Have been here many times but today was pretty poor. This place is usually reliably good with friendly staff and decent food. Today however obviously short of experienced staff took 90 minutes for a fry up cake and coffee. Totally unacceptable I hope this was just a one off as usually I like the place we all have off days don't we but more better trained staff would help as the place was not busy today.

Call at Skylark most Fridays for coffee and cake with my Mum and Grandchildren. It has a lovely atmosphere and delicious cakes, the children love it. The staff are great, alway helpful.

The cafe is pleasant with good service. The menu is a little limited on main meals but the snacks are varied and the quality of the food is very good. There is a pleasant outlook on the surrounding area

Skylark is a great place for Breakfast, everything is freshly cooked to order nothing under heat lamps. In fact everything on the menu is great. A window table will give one a view of the various animals. From Spring onwards it is a great place with so much for children to do and see. Part of the Garden Centre there is also in the Summer, a Maze. No matter how Old or Young there is something for everyone.

Visited today & had the mini fenland breakfast which consisted of local pork sausage, local bacon, free range fried egg; Heinz baked beans, field mushroom, grilled tomato and served with brown or white toast and glass of orange juice. Was very yummy and you could tell ingredients weren't cheap & nasty. Only downside was the time it took to wait for our meals but it was very busy as people were out in force purchasing Christmas trees and children visiting Santa’s Grotto. Staff coped very well though with the influx of people. Would recommend a visit.

I had a breakfast 'sandwich' which is two toasted slices with tasty local sausages, bacon and fried egg with a lovely golden yolk. Yummy, recommended. Very good value for the quality of the produce. Cakes looked lovely, but it was too early in the day and I was too full to try them on this occasion. I will be back.

Always worth a visit, excellent choice of food, speedy service and cheerful staff. Home made cakes wonderful

Always a nice place to have lunch, the home made cakes are yummy, there is a good choice of food if you want more than just cake, and there is usually plenty of it. Enjoyed a delicious jacket spud, with chili con carne, sour cream and cheese, sadly to full to eat cake on this occasion but i will be back...There is a nice outside seating area here too, so great on a warm day.

We've visited many times over the last 7 years. Always good food and service. Our only disappointment is that its not open later in an evening so that we can call in after work. Better still they open as a bistro in the evening - that would be wonderful!!

My friend and I had a really excellent lunch there two weeks ago. Not had chips so crisp and perfect in a long time. Very good value for those of us on budget, lots of mums and kids as half term, they were all enjoying the good selection of food on offer.

Went for a meal after visiting Santa's grotto on the same site, our little boy got his meal free for visiting Santa as well as his lovely gift.Have been back since as they have a giant carboot every Sunday :-)

I went recently with a friend for lunch and the food was excellent and pretty good value, the tables are clean and have the condiments on the table. Coffee was really good and food plentiful.

We had a coffee and a slice of cake whilst visiting the garden centre. The cafe is clean and spacious, but does tend to have a lingering aroma of fried foods. The cakes and the coffee were good.

The cafe is attached to Skylark Garden center (see Skylark Maize Maze on trip advisor). The menu is not fancy, but there is an excellent choice of cafe food - sandwiches, salads, cakes, fried breakfasts and things like ham, egg and chips. I noticed there was also a hot "special" of home made lasagne. It may not be the cheapest cafe, but I feel the food is of good enough quality to easily justify the price. All food is prepared to order, and you can see this being done in the kitchen area that is completlely open behind the ordering counter. I have also found the cafe clean and modern, although at very busy times service might obviously be slower and the general ambience noisier due to tiled floors and lack of soft furnishings. I have eaten here on a number of occasionions and the food has always been good.I received a friendly welcome and a tasty, filling meal, so thats me pleased!Incidentally there are lots of (chargeable) outdoor activities for children if the weather is reasonable, and several bird feeders in view of the cafe windows that attract lots of small birds - gives you something to watch while waiting for food.

We called in here on a long journey, just because it was by the road at a convenient place to stop. We were very pleased we did. The cafe is very clean, and a nice place to sit in, the staff were attentive, and the prices are good (about 20% cheaper than the cafe in our local garden centre). We had only coffee and tea cakes, but the quality was good, and the hot food we saw looked good. Exceptionally clean toilets too.