Clay's Garden Centre in Sunderland

Great fresh, well cooked sausage sandwich with a mug of hot coffee hit the spot today. Good seating areas. Quick friendly service. Good meet up point.

A very good selection of plants and equipment. The staff are friendly and helpful. Nice cafe as well

Took my elderly mother to the cafe here today. Ordered two pieces of cake as drinks. The two plates with cake on were pushed across the counter at me as I paid. There was no offer to bring the cakes to the table for me when they brought the drinks. Even when I said I'd have to leave them while I took my mam to the table first they didn't offer. One person was serving customers and two other staff just stood behind the counter. A sad experience as I go there every 5 or 6 weeks and my parents go even more. It was a young member of staff but come on clays, train your staff better, poor customer service today.

Always cold in the winter. Ace sausage sarnie.

This was the worst breakfast we have ever eaten in the Sunderland area. No service with a smile! Breakfast produce very poor quality, bacon did not taste of bacon, mushrooms were an odd colour and wrinkled, so inedible, sausage although cheap were just edible. The hash brown was over fried, eggs were the only thing cooked to perfection. Although we love the garden centre for garden products, we would not eat breakfast there again

Lovely garden centre with spacious cafe

Lovely place.. Not badly priced helpful staff. Lots of stock. Summer time when the plants are in is the best for me

Only went to cafe. It's always quite chilly.

Quality plants shrubs always the restaurant sells.nice food to plus lots of other garden stuff spot on goods

I go here often with my aunt we rate the food, customer service and accessibility bery highly. (automatic doors at entrances and some tables more accessible to wheelchair and pushchair users) also has both designated dog areas inside and outside. You may experience queues at busier times but in my opinion the queues show how good the food is. The run up to Christmas is especially busy with lots of people going just to see the Christmas display and visit the coffee shop. A great place for all your gardening needs with a great variety of healthy plants.

Lots of choice cafe not open at the moment good social distance in operation.Clays now have a fantastic display of Christmas lights, trees and toys 😀about one third of the shop is dedicated to CHRISTMAS cafe is NOW open great food .Christmas is now over and the sales are now on discounts all over the shop.. Clays have a large collection of plants and garden furniture also disabled access parking and toilets no it hasn't changed but they're getting ready for CHRISTMAS 🤶 The Christmas display is fantastic better than last year Its back again CHRISTMAS all ready for a bumper time still as good as ever staff friendly. Just as good as ever food very good Once again it's time to get ready for CHRISTMAS a big chunk of the shop is getting ready to bring CHRISTMAS joy. Christmas is now over all the decorations are coming down looking more like a great garden centre with a sale of Christmas lights and decorations

Cannot believe how rude the staff are, feel outraged about how we were treated never again.

Brilliant. Excellent cafe nice friendly staff and lovely well presented food.

lovely garden centre with delicious food

So helpful! Great place for a Christmas browse and a coffee 😁

Loved the Christmas shop that is what I went to look at & a bonus is an excellent fruit & veg stall outside Passion 4 Fruits

Clays has been around for years and is good brand,visit any time of the year.

Very expensive. Alright to spend 30 mins

Great store fantastic Christmas selection

Visited this Garden centre twice in the same month. On our first visit we got there 2.30 on a Saturday with a disabled elderly lady ( mother) in a wheelchair . We decided to sit in the bigger area of the restaurant near the windows settled my mother at the table only then to be told that whole area was closed and could we move to the smaller area. My gripe with this was why couldn't the staff member tell me before we settled in that area?? . We then try to get food that wasn't being served anymore ?? At 2.30 in the afternoon!!!! I mean come on !! . We then try to pay with cash to be told card only ... Could it get any worse. YES it could.. We decided to pay another visit week.layet only to look at the Xmas trees for my mother who wanted make a purchase . We met two family members in the restaurant at 3 pm on Sunday who had already purchased toasties because that was all they had available . When we approached the counter to get two hot drinks at 3 pm , guess what?? We are not serving now 😭 WHAT???? just a cup of tea, hot water and a teabag ?? obviously too much hard work for the staff to go above and beyond. Well , mother got her tree and couple of other bits and bobs. But to say the least it's our last visit to this Garden centre. Oh seems like the staff can't wait to get the vacuum out and hoover up around you. Shocking .

The garden centre is magical at Christmas. The cafe is understaffed same very long queue and a half hour wait. Shame because the food is good but puts us off

Overpriced garden centre, as it's not a large chain and family run, what's there to expect. Nice cafe but very poor option of gluten foods and drinks

Well laid out,clean and tidy.got what we wanted .

Excellent range, not the cheapest but amazing stock, especially the Christmas decorations

The breakfast was great worth going for.

Great Xmas display but didn’t have what I needed

Beautiful Place for Garden Lovers

Not really much of a garden centre more of a Christmas decoration display shop might be the time of year but I'd say we'll over 60% of the place is Xmas stuff great if that's what your looking for

Lovely garden centre and lovely staff

Great selection of christmas goods great garden centre

Great garden centre offering loads of indoor, outdoor plants etc. Nice coffee shop as well.👌👍

Lovely place,but Very Expensive.

Lovely around Christmas time and nice food 😋

Good variety but quite expensive, prefer the smaller local nurseries.

This time of year full of Christmas stuff

Has a good selection of plants and their cafe is very good value for money

We found a table and joined the queue to place our order. We were told that there would be a 30 minute wait, which we accepted as it was a Saturday lunchtime. However, this stretched into a 45 minute wait! When our meals did eventually arrive, we were one meal short. I informed staff about this and were assured it was coming shortly. We waited another 10 minutes for it to arrive and there was no apology! This is disappointing as the food quality was very good.

Well worth a visit. The coffee shop is excellent and very reasonably priced. Would definitely recommend

Lots of variety in plants and garden novelty's etc

Absolute shambles, we ordered 4 items between 2 of us and 3 of the orders were wrong. Had to as for my tea three times and in the end had to go to the counter and demand it. Shambles. Give it a miss.

Nice clean shop and friendly cafe Food was lovely,quick and hot

Lovely.. Xmas range Cafe lovely.. Light and airy little. CARD PAYMENT ONLY THROUGHOUT !! JOKE

Great place for quality plants but expect to pay top price for them. Like many garden centres the Cafe seems more popular than the plants and is getting bigger each time I visit with tables spreading out into the shopping spaces. My biggest problem with the place is how xmas arrives earlier every year with 3rd of the inside space being closed down for xmas grotto build from early July this year.

Excellent scrambled eggs on brown toast, buttered toasted tea cake. Two latté's and a scone to take home. All for under £15. Without a doubt excellent value for money in clean and pleasant surroundings.

Great garden centre with a great cafe

Very informative and professional staff, great variety of plants

Had breakfast with my brother in the cafe last week , great food and coffee, friendly staff This was my first time here and will be back..

We visited Clay's this week and purchased a large hanging basket £40!!! Went to Penshaw Tea rooms today same size same quality £30.

The Cafe. Coffee wasn't great but the salads and trifles were very enjoyable. All seemed home made. The prices seemed a little high but not unreasonible.

Great selection of plants and lovely food in the cafe.

Friendly staff and great choice of quality plants.

Very busy garden centre with lots of variety and a good cafe restaurant. Good parking and helpful staff.

Nice café. Usually plenty of places to sit, but can be restricted at busy times. Also has an covered and sheltered outdoor seating area. Sadly the breakfast wrap has gone from the menu, but plenty of other choices. Toasties are good, with crisps and side salad. Cakes are even better, especially the tiffin (although some variants are not as good as others - looking at you biscotti) my favourite is the Malteser one. Please note that the tills are card only. It is always fun waiting in a queue when someone has missed the 15 or so signs pointing out "Card Only", including the 3 on the way to the counter! Tables are also well cleaned after use ready for next user.

Excellent choice of products, nice frendly staff.

Excellent selection of all plants from climbers to perennials

Good selection of plants and garden. Can be a bit on the pricey side.

Dispite being a garden center has great cafe dog friendly and GLUTEN free cakes

Popped into Clays today for look around for something for the garden . While I was there I could smell the Breakfasts getting served, so I thought I would order one . It was fresh , hot, and lovely . Bacon egg tomatoes beans sausage and fried bread. Then a nice coffee.

Getting a bit outdated and some items slightly expensive.

Well stocked garden centre with friendly helpful staff. Plenty of healthy plants, paving stones, gravel and garden furniture. Amazing place to visit from October onwards for Christmas decorations. Also has a lovely cafe and toilet facilities

Smells a bit funky when you first walk in, but good selection of plants and garden bits.

Great garden centre. Friendly staff and laid back off the road so it's a quiet location too. Dog friendly! Excellent idea.... If you're out for new Christmas decorations one year, forget Amazon... Go here instead and witness what's got to be the biggest and best Christmas selection in the country! Truly, it's a winter wonderland every year, for kids of all ages 😉

Unable to pay with cash. I hate B& Q but would rather shop there now!

Nice variety of plants and dining area too

Clays Garden Centre has a delightful cafe offering delicious food at reasonable prices. However, it's worth noting that the shop's products tend to be on the pricier side compared to other garden centres.

Good garden centre. Great cafe. Table service. Great for wheelchairs plenty of space. You can sit outdoors too. Good selection of plants . Good prices. They sell hot tubs and conservatories. Nice selection of cards and gifts.

Excellent garden centre selling a wide range of garden products in a very pleasant setting. Great cafe .

Called in to have a look at the stone that they had for my new aquarium. Aquarium shops charge anything up to 60 quid for a piece of rock. Welsh slate here was £4.99 or 2 for £9. I bought two large pieces which I will now cut down to the size I want. Lost a star because the staff were too busy talking to each other at the till rather than attend to me.

The garden centre itself is fine and has everything you would expect planting wise and furniture wise. The dissapointment was the cafe , the food was over priced and very poor in quality and taste. Cafe toilets werent very clean either

I have always liked Clays and have been a customer from the days when their premises were at Silksworth. Now they are based in Washington, it's not as far to go. I have always enjoyed nice meals there and the staff are a credit to the company.

Great 👍 full English breakfast 😋 very good

Beautifully presented garden center with vast selection of products. Cafe really good too .

The personnel employed by Mr Clay we have found to be most professional. I think ordinary customers like me would not expect anything else from his colleagues.

Nice cafe cute little garden centre

Lovely place for food and plants

Popped in to the Coffee Shop at Clay's Garden Centre today and had a terrific visit. Great coffee (and it was hot, which not all cafes seem to achieve!) and fab cakes/scones. (There's a lot more that I'll try another time). Service was friendly and quick and I'll be back very soon. A couple of staff from different departments said goodbye on my way out and thanked me for visiting. That kind of thing makes a big difference and stands out for the best reasons. Highly recommended.

I love clays its great and has a massive selection of plants and seeds

Visited today, Saturday 23 December 2023, at 12.30 for our annual visit for last-minute Christmas decorations, etc, and lunch. This to find the place shut with window shutters down and no cars in the park, although the Internet said it was open. I was very disappointed as I travelled from Bishop Auckland.

Lovely display as usual well done ... some things were a bit pricey but people don't care when it's Christmas

Really don't rate this place anymore. The overpriced Christmas decorations are just over the top pricey. You expect to pay a bit more ot being a garden centre but it's absolute daylight robbery the prices being charged in here. Walked in and straight back out and will not be back its just ridiculous.

Love my annual Xmas visit with family here

They wouldn't take my cash 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🐕♥️👍

Christmas products are not cheap but wow what a selection

We had a look around at their Christmas displays

Some lovely Christmas things in but a bit expensive.

Always a welcome at Clays. Very friendly staff great coffee shop and xmas display

Food here is very good. The selection off Christmas decorations is vast very good priced. Good knowledge very helpful in all areas

Really pretty with all the Christmas decorations but really expensive

Visiting family, nice garden centre. It was a shame the cafe closed so early.

Worth a visit with with the children or grandchildren. Very Christmasy at the moment but still full of expert gardeners eager to help.

Card only, why on earth would a business want to turn cash paying customers away, even cafe card only, had a look around and left, even staff said its none stop complaints about card only. Lost my custom

Was deeply disappointed in the cafe today due to technical issues with payment and staff reluctant to take cash. As a diabetic, thankfully, I had eaten before visiting or my health may have suffered going without food or drink.

Christmas in your face as soon as you walk in, a bit overwhelming for me so far from the main event.

Decided this place was worth repeat visit with a friend following a very pleasing visit a few weeks ago. It was a disaster! Had to wait for a table. Stood 18 minutes in the queue to be served only to be informed that 2 of the 3 items we wanted were no longer available. Completely spoiled our lunch get together. The system of work urgently needs a review, it lets the cafe down badly.

Luved the Christmas decorations

Excellent Christmas display, well worth a visit .

Lovely place to visit for all kids and adults. Expensive thou x

Today we decided to visit in memory of a departed loved one’s birthday because he was a great fan of garden centres including this one. However we found the place miserable despite all the festive decor. The staff member in the restaurant was miserable and hardly gave eye contact. The waitress who bought our coffee over was miserable as was the one at the till at the exit who took our money without a word said. In between we felt intimidated by another following us all over the store and even when we went out to the outdoor plants area. I do not think I will ever return

Lovely Xmas display, but rather expensive.

Sehr schönes garden center. Große Auswahl, faire Preise. Das Café ist phantastisch, sehr zu empfehlen.