Cafe VH in Peterborough

My wife and I visit here quite often and for a garden centre eatery it is no more than average. The staff are pleasant but still lack any sense of urgency or capacity react when bottlenecks start building up although there is an older lady behind the salad bar/pizza area who is excellent. The food is quite good, filled rolls are expensive but the bread is good and the fillings generous. The salad bar is good value and if you arrive before 1.30 has a good choice of items. The cooked food offers pizza cooked to order or several hot choises like pork loin, fish and chips, ribs, casserole etc. These are reasonable value especially the pensioners deal. The food that we have had has been well presented and reasonably tasty.

We used to enjoy the occasional carvery lunch here but the quality is not as good as it used to be. Even though we live in the heart of vegetable production, the choices and cooking of vegetables is very poor. There seems to be a shortage of staff and they always seem run off their feet. So after deciding the roast wasnt for us this time, we opted for a roll and coffee which was fine.

When it first started off as a £1.99 breakfast it attracted many people. Now the price has gone up which I didn't mind paying for a good breakfast. The sausages are always overcooked. The vegetarian sausages are dry like eating cupboard. The interior needs upgrading a little. Overall ok experience. Only going there because it is closest to me and convenient to meet up with friends.

We went in for a quick coffee which turned into a not-very-quick coffee. The queues were very long, which was due to only one member of staff taking orders on the coffee counter. Despite having an automatic machine, it still took him five times as long to make a coffee as a barista at Costa or Starbucks would. At one point he ran out of cups. This was probably because they had all been left on the tables as no-one was bothering to clear them away. There was another member of staff on the coffee counter whose job was just to work the till. As the service for coffee was so slow, he was just standing around, oblivious to the ever-increasing queue along the length of the shop. It took 15 MINUTES to be served. As for the coffee, it was poor and the cake was verging on stale. The management clearly have absolutely no idea how to run a busy coffee shop. They have enough staff (there were eight members of staff on the cooked food section) to be able to handle the volume of customers, but either lack the knowledge or common sense to do this. Despite being busy and there a need for tables, large numbers of the tables had old cups and plates on but no-one seemed interested in clearing them away. The cutlery was filthy and the outside tables needed a really good clean. I suspect that the coffee shop makes a lot of money from captive shoppers and the owners simply cannot be bothered to improve their standards. They should be ashamed and if they are independent from the garden centre, Van Hage should look at terminating their contract as they are giving the garden centre a bad name.

Called in for lunch and had the Sunday carvery. Portions were generous and the food was tasty - we had pork - with fresh vegetables. The young serving staff were pleasant and helpful. The lunches were only £7.50, and they were advertising a £5 lunch during the week, which might be worth trying.

Visited for lunch and compared to previous visit the service was good. Admittedly there were fewer people visiting this time, surprising as it was a lovely day and weekend. I avoided the coffee bar on the right as you come in as the same member of staff was there who was rather miserable last time and again looked as if he was chewing all the wasps the garden centre could supply. However the staff at the main food and drinks counter were extremely pleasant and efficient. Plenty of choice of tables which had all been cleared and were clean.

Visited this cafe in April this year and wasn’t terribly impressed, mainly due to inadequate service. However, the cafe was very quiet at lunchtime today and the service was far more efficient. However, I did have to go and hunt for a plate as I didn’t particularly want to eat my sandwich straight from the packaging! It would have been nice to have been offered one at the counter. The staff were pleasant and polite and the sandwich was fresh and had plenty of filling. So an improvement on the first visit!

The breakfast is good value for money and includes a hot drink. The cutlery was very dirty, I managed to reject 5 forks and 2 knifes before I found some clean ones. We were amongst the first to be served and the table still had crumbs on it from the day before. At last the card payment machine has had a clean after months of being filthy. The staff are not customer friendly and there seems to be a great lack of management ensuring that food hygiene standards are enforced.

Desperately in need of a deep clean. Felt slightly dirty. Only one person serving so queue quite long. Tables dirty, spider webs on the long green spikey room decorations. Scones were dry and crumbly.

Rather disappointed with the speed of service. There was a long queue for the hot food and then a long queue to get drinks and pay. We were advised to go to the other side and order coffee there and pay but there was only one guy serving. He then left his post to go to the other side to toast a tea cake. When he got back it was utter chaos. A little bit of organising from the management would, I am sure, be able to sort this out and get things running smoothly and prevent tension and food going cold whilst waiting to pay.

Popped in the eaterie at about 2:30pm for a coffee and possibly a slice of cake before we started shopping. Absolutely gutted to find that the establishment only provided filter coffee or coffee from a machine...no what I would call 'barista coffee'... With no disrespect you can buy a machine to put in your own kitchen. My partner had a filter coffee and I had a hot chocolate. Coffee was not good, really weak... Almost could have passed as tea. Hot chocolate very disappointing. Even though made with milk, still very thin and watery and as I was drinking it the hot chocolate solution was gathering at the bottom of the glass. I ended up leaving three quarters of it, not good at £4.30 for both drinks. What I couldn't understand is when we got seated there was a perfectly good barista style coffee machine which looked like it was in a separate cafe, but was just for show?, but on a previous visit, we had used this cafe? Fancied treating myself to a slice of cake, however, again, quality was poor...and at £2.99 a slice was just not worth it, cakes looked try and staff not checking to make sure they looked presentable. The cafe itself is large and clean, however I can't understand how so much serving room is given at the 'hot food' counter and the 'hot drinks' counter is a quarter of the size. We had five people in front of us wanting coffees and other hot drinks. I was expecting a lovely winter warming drink, I could have made better at home. Service was friendly though...but can imagine staff don't have a lot of job satisfaction due to the products they are serving.

Really good English Sunday breakfast with a pot of tea. Place clean and tidy. Really could not fault it. It was busy. So need to go early.

We have been here lots of times as it is a great half way meeting point for our family. We have usually been disappointed as the staff are pretty much disinterested and the food poor. But hey! This visit was so much better! Two of us had jacket potatoes that were hot and tasty (but a little uninspiring). But the two menfolk had chicken tikka lasagne. And it was a big hit with them both. Hot, delicious and every last bit was eaten. And the staff were a bit more interested too. The café manager was visible and busy around the place - has that made a difference? And the young lady cleaning tables was lovely and cheerful and we told her so. She said she was new so we hope she stays the course. I deliberated for a while about the rating to give this restaurant as there are still things that need addressing - cutlery needs to be cleaner, the place somehow needs an injection of atmosphere and the staff need to smile more and interact with the customers - come on folks, is it really so bad to work here? - but decided to be generous and give a 'very good'. It was indeed very good for Van Hague. Please, please keep it up.

We visited the garden centre for a breakfast at £2.99 for 6 items including tea and toast. The food was excellent and nicely cooked, the cafe is clean and the tables were being cleared quickly and the restaurant area is large. Unfortunately it is too popular and the queue to be served is quite long due to only one person serving the customer. I would have given it a 5 but the 2 girls serving the tea and the till were disinterested in their jobs and had no customer care which spoiled it for the rest of the team. The garden centre is excellent with some very good plants and prices. We will be back.

We were in the area and most restaurants were closed on a Monday. Had never had a meal there before so we thought we'd try it. My friend had the carvery which was roast beef. He said he could not cut the beef so changed his knife. He said it was tough and griseley and almost inedible. He was given 2 generous slices of beef but had to leave most of it because he co7ld not chew it. Said it was the worst meal he had ever eaten.

We went into Van Hage for a quick spot of lunch and found it in between breakfast and lunch service. However, all of the menus were out for lunch and canteens stocked accordingly with baguettes, salads etc. Unfortunately the staff didn't seem interested. They were huddled in the corner by the tills and despite clearly seeing we were awaiting service ignored us and the other waiting customers.

Well been coming in here since it opened and it's worse now then ever, Sunday carvery a joke......tough thick beef with rock hard potatoes with over cooked vegetables and gravey with now taste, shame it used to be excellent now not worth the money, mangerment need to sort this fast......won't recommend any more and not busy like it use too be mmmmmmmmmm wonder why.

My family and I stopped in for a quick cup of tea and a snack and were less than impressed. Really confusing as where to order your drinks and food. The serving area is massive but there's no savoury or hot food options and there's hardly any choice. The children's play area looked like it had never been cleaned and it smelt so bad we had to find somewhere else to sit. There were no teaspoons out and when I asked for one it was dirty.

We arrived about 2.45pm Sunday to find the only food available were cakes and cheese scones, there were baguettes but the assistant kept her back to us even after us repeating 'Excuse me' numerous times. As we are strangers to the area and did not know how far to the next eating place we eventually decided to try the cheese scones - that was a big mistake they were the worst scones we have ever had they were undercooked and stale, very hard to cut and doughy in the centre. We didn't speak to staff because they all just seemed interested in finishing for the day. Even my husband, who never complains said he had never had one like it before.

Algunas tiendas o centros tienen un restaurante que es tan bueno que es un destino por derecho propio. Este no es uno de esos. Un autoservicio con una cantina bastante aburrido selección de comida. Me recordó a las cenas de la escuela.

Cortado de para almorzar después de visitar el jardín. Hemos estado antes y no me impresionó. Esta visita fue mucho mejor con una mejor opción de comida. Que fue preparado en el momento para nosotros. Tengo que decir que las tortitas eran una de las preferidas

Esta fue nuestra primera visita, y suponemos que tendríamos que llegar temprano para guardar cola como asados son muy populares. La sección rotisería inaugurado a las 12:00 y nos quedamos sorprendidos de encontrar ninguna cola. Teníamos la opción de cerdo, ternera o sobresaliente. Yo estaba un poco decepcionado de que no había pavo, pero la carne estaba deliciosa. No es un 'autoservicio' tipo de asados, pero que se puede pedir lo que queríamos. La comida era razonable y comimos en un entorno agradable. Volveríamos de nuevo.

I regularly visit for cheap breakfast after dropping kids at schol with some other 'school mums'. It is what it is- cheap breakfast, good value for money and easy to get to. Only thing I hate is the fact that by the time I've got my tea, paid and sat down my brekkie is pretty much cold, but the price is good so we keep returning...

Visited the centre and looked around store before visiting the restaurant.Whilst looking at what was on offer it was obvious that some staff were suffering from streaming colds and should not have been serving food. despite our hunger we decided not to dine here as if this unhygienic practice was going on then what was going on out of site.

We only dropped in to use the loo and have a quick snack in between pre-Christmas visits. there was practically nothing to eat - apart from cake - and what was described by the 'boy child' serving as trifle. I like trifle so bought that (£2.99) and ordered tea for two. It came to nearly £7! and the trifle turned out to be Eton mess. it was also very cold in the café. shame as the previous times we have been here (for breakfast) it has been full of buzz and good value - if basic - food and drink.

We have been visiting Van Hage for breakfast for years. Always found it good value, reasonable quality, and a good social event with plenty of space to meet with friends and family.Our most recent visit was less agreeable. The sausages are now more akin to an average cocktail dimension. The fryer was broken so this time no mushrooms, fried bread, hash browns etc etc so to make up am eight piece breakfast was a challenge unless you opted for lots of duplications.It was freezing in the seating area and we ate with our coats on.In discussions with the lady who was clearing the table, [discussions not complaint] she said that the gas was off hence no fryer or heating. She also disclosed that this meant that they had no hot water and would have been better if they hadn't opened, let alone serve food. This raised all sorts of questions with regards washing up, hygiene etc etc. This is a concern.Sad, that when we have enjoyed so many happy breakfasts here over the years that it has declined in quality and attitude.

The products cooked are of good quality nice sausage and thick bacon shame they were Only warm coffee was cold toast cold and stale hit a miss I assume but not for me

Dropped into Van Hage for breakfast but we had left it too late as service finishes at 11.00am. Decided to opt for tea and sandwiches but only pre-packed options readily available. The baguette counter was completely empty but a very helpful assistant located them in the fridge. My experience of unwrapped, chilled baguettes is usually disappointing as they are generally hard and unappealing. I decided we'd opt for the pre-packed sandwiches, the choice was restricted to ham and tomato, egg mayo or tuna. The ham was delicious, "proper ham", but the bread was completely without any spread or butter. The egg mayo was grim, over-seasoned with coarse black pepper which completely ruined the taste. I cannot fault the staff, they were very pleasant. Although, when I mentioned the lack of butter / spread one assistant did say it was probably because the tomato is moist enough!! In the past I have endured other minor disasters in V H, rock hard fresh cream scones that we had to tackle with a knife and fork! Breakfast counter queue coupled with extremely slow service and only one till manned which meant the food was cold by the time you sat down. The whole set-up leaves a lot to be desired, it seems badly organised and lacking in focus / direction. It could be so good but you just get the impression no one's that bothered!

Party of 5, including grandma and grandchild. Sat in child play area, after 20 minutes ordered some food, 2 sandwiches and 2 hot dinners, the chicken dinners were legs not very meaty with 2 cooked from frozen roast potatoes, and over cooked veg, the children's choices are pretty much basic choice and opted for past and garlic bread, child did not eat much pasta, thought they were being fussy but tasted it and it was way to rich and spices for a child. Lot of money for bang average food. Nice garden centre and I am sure ( or hope) we caught them on a bad day, would have complained but 2 of the party said no it was fine ( did not want to make a fuss sorts). No ice as machine broke down and employee who had tattoos on her feet insisted on calling customers ' Mate' ! We are not your mate we are customers, either get her customer trained or off customer facing jobs.

This was an unplanned visit to Van Hage Garden Centre which we were passing on the East side of Peterborough. I just wanted a simple light lunch and was very pleased that I chose a jacket potato with cheese and coleslaw. Portions were extremely well prepared and very generous. The accompanying salad, much more than just a garnish, was plentiful, varied and crisp. I was served by enthusiastic and cheerful members of staff - including at the till. The menu had a good choice and appeared to be good value for money. The seating area is less canteen like than many other Garden Centre Cafe/restaurants being divided into distinct and smaller areas. Noise from other diners, unlike some reverberating spaces was muted. All in all a good experience and one I shall repeat, to see if this uplifting review is justified!

We called for breakfast just after 9.30 and thought that with a long queue we would not be disappointed, there were 2 choices - 5 items and 8 items both including tea or coffee in the total price. We both had the 8 items at a total cost including the drinks of £7.98.The food was hot and well presented, subsequently the next day we decided to try the lunchtime menu, being quite surprised at the lack of a queue, that should have been a warning! the menu consisted a choice of 3 namely Beef Curry, Baked Garlic Salmon and Stuffed Mushrooms for £5, there was also a carvery but this was more expensive. The 2 meals we had, Beef Curry and Baked Garlic Salmon, were average at best. We will visit again for breakfast but will steer clear at lunchtime!

Called in this morning for breakfast. We haven't been for a long time so decided to go for a treat. Enjoyed going the food was piping hot, but we was there at 9 when it opened.The sausages were good quality buy they have SHRUNK to half their size since the last time we went and it's gone up since the last time. The website price hasn't been updated since it's gone up.It was still a nice breakfast though, and I would go again and would recommend it to others. 5 items for 2.49.

Maybe it was halfterm issues or staffing issues but restaurant area needs improving. Had midweek roast, portion very small, the crackling was overcooked fat. Due to the queue by the time we paid, got cutlery and sat down it was not hot, just tepid.Fruit tart was poorly described as it was basically a pastry base full of cream with a sliced strawberry pushed into cream. As per the title i wasnt expecting cordon bleu, but i was expecting something reasonable.There were just two tills operating, and if this doesnt improve in the run up to christmas then i think there wil be a lot of moans.

cafe VH is within the Van Hague garden centre but offers excellent value meals in pleasant surroundings including a terrace which is great on good weather days. Wide choice including made to order pizzas which I can really recommend.Queuing system can be busy at times.

We stopped in at the VH complex today to do some gift shopping. While there we popped into the cafe. This is a large food court area which has very much a canteen feel, but it is well spaced out and clean. The ordering system is canteen/cafeteria style, and queues can get long at times. The cashiers were polite and did their best to deal with demand.The selection of food was pretty wide in the hot food offerings, and the cake and scone selection was very good. We had lattes and scones (cheese and fruit) which we large and well baked.

Visited Van Hage garden centre, and found within cafe VH which provided excellent freshly prepared meals at good prices, and as a bonus there is a small but adequate children's play area, Sunday roast dinner was well prepared and very tasty, with fantastic Yorkshire puddings giving it that home cooked taste.Excellent value.