Coton Orchard Cafe in South Cambridgeshire

This cafe used to be a favourite of mine for lunch with friends. Today it was a total disappointment. The menu offerings were poor. The burgers we ordered were described as being in brioche bread. They were in common white bread burger buns. My prawn sandwich with crisps was in very thick white bread, no butter and far too much corse ground black pepper in the shrimps masquerading as prawns. The crisps were actually tortilla chips which I dislike. I was not offered the choice to have or not have butter. I am careful how much bread I eat and could not eat this thick bread. The burgers my husband and friend had were also over seasoned with black pepper. Sorry we will not be lunching there again. Everything looked over cooked. Even the scones looked overcooked and unappetising. The lady taking orders looked so miserable, was not at all friendly. She dumped cutlery and glass on the counter. I was only given a fork to eat the salad on my plate. It was very expensive with my sandwich priced at £9.50. The burgers @ £14.50 each. Lunch for two with a coffee and Coke drink was over £35. No reduction offered when the staff were made aware of how awful it was.

We have been regulars here over the last 2 or 3 years so despite the recent poor reviews we arranged to meet Family for Morning Coffee / Brunch at 11am on Fathers Day - big mistake. We approached the Café at about 11.05am and we told that they were full but a table should only be 10 minutes or so which was fair enough. We were given a buzzer device and advise to wander round the shop until we were called. About 40 minutes passed before we were called which was way beyond the guide time given but fair enough, they were busy and you can't always predict peoples movements. On arrival we were shown to a dirty, recently vacated table which someone stated to clear - again, fair enough. I then went up to ask for a menu to be told " I can let you have a menu BUT you aren't allowed to order until 12:30 as the kitchen is too busy" Yes really ! We were expected to sit at our table and wait another 45 Minutes before we could even order ! I asked to speak to a manager who just repeated that and wasn't in the slightest bit interested that by that time we would have been waiting 90 minutes just to get a table and be served. In fact the inference was that we were privileged to be there at all since " its Fathers Day you know" - Yeah that's why we are here ! Needless to say we left but by now it was gone midday and the moment had passed. We also left the trolly of goods we were buying never mind what we would have bought from the food hall like we always do. Anyway 10/10 for terrible customer service and you have won the top award for how to lose a regular customer - never again will I darken the door of this establishment nor any of their other Blue Diamond group siblings. Quite simply one of the worse hospitality experiences of my life !

Yuk everything was cold. Bacon was under cooked on the bottom. tomatoes tasted vile and you only got half a shrivelled up one, black pudding was well over cooked and the scramble egg looked horrible and was disgusting 🫣 it smelt off and after paying £12 I would of thought you'd get more than half a mushroom. After telling the person cleaning tables they said I'll let the chef know, and no the chef didn't come and speak to us, all 4 of us got up and left after waiting to see if anyone was going to apologies or explain. Thankfully we won't be back.

We visited for a drink but decided to have a cake as they looked so good. The service was good and the food and drink excellent. The staff were very attentive and were constantly cleaning and clearing away as people left. Food coming out for lunches looked very good and very reasonably priced. A good place to visit.

Clean, pleasant environment, spacious and a nice place to visit. I liked the no queueing method of managing the wait time for a table. Food mediocre although menu choice is good. There are better garden centre cafe/restuarants locally. I ordered a sandwich with salad and got a sandwich with chips served on a hot plate that made the bread lose its natural softness feel and taste stale. I will however visit again

The surroundings of the restaurant area are excellent, cakes & tea also very good, but the sandwich experience was very poor. Apparently it’s company policy not to Butter the Bread anymore, so the sandwich’s were very dry, the contents spilling out everywhere as your tried to eat them, and my wife’s sandwich, Tuna Mayonnaise had very little, if any mayonnaise in it, might as well have just given us a can of Tuna.!! I will enjoy the Coffee and Cakes in future, but will definitely be steering clear of the sandwiches.

Awful experience this morning: visited as we do regularly for drink and scone. No scones at 9.20 told they would be 10 minutes. After this time out came about 6 fruit scones which on tasting were obviously stale. The cafe has tried this on before: they put stale scones in the oven for a few minutes and then present them as fresh. They certainly were not. Hard and cold in the middle. I asked the assistant who just stared at me so I asked to see the manager. He never appeared as apparently 'busy'. The fresh scones finally came out some 25 minutes after we had arrived and I noted the assistant putting the stale ones in with the fresh ones. Not the way to treat regular customers - there was no customer service whatsoever. Why couldn't they have been honest and said yes, they are yesterday's scones but to offer at a reduced price as other establishments do. We shall avoid the cafe I think - it's too unpredictable.

Arrived today for a Sunday roast as on my own decided not to cook at home. Ordered the roast beef, duly arrived presentation looked ok, I was asked if I wanted any sauces I asked for Horseradish, when the waiter brought it to me I told him the stuffing was stone cold and the carrots Luke warm, he said he would go and tell the chef, at that point that was all I had tasted , I thought he may come back to take my plate to get those items replaced, no, so I decided to carry on the potatoes were Luke warm as were the cabbage, beef and Yorkshire the stuffing cold and dry inedible, and stone cold carrots, in fact the only thing that was hot was the Horseradish sauce and not heat wise. A lady came to clear the plate and asked if everything ok , I said no it was either stone cold or lukewarm, she said you should have told someone before you ate it, I said “ I did” she “oh” and proceeded to clear table. I got up and left, a roast dinner will not be on my agenda in the future.

Visited today for lunch, difficult bunch as 2 with dietry requirements and one wheelchair. All staff were very helpful accomodating our needs and we had a good lunch and coffee and enjoyed sitting amongst the well kept plants.

We had booked afternoon tea for 6 some months ago following a recommendation. On arrival on Saturday afternoon we were eventually shown to a table and greeted with the words ‘you help yourselves to teas and coffees at the counter’. We pointed out that we had booked the afternoon tea offering and were told that only tea and coffee was included and other drinks needed to be paid for separately. Shortly after, the scones, jam and cream arrived. We queried the lack of sandwiches and were assured they were on their way. At this point we asked what the vegetarian option was for the sandwiches (we had pre-warned on booking) and were informed the sandwich selection was ‘egg mayonnaise, tuna and ham and cheese’. We questioned the veg option again and the same sentence was repeated. Eventually the server agreed to prepare some cheese sandwiches separately. By now we felt that the whole experience was not what would be expected of a £20 per head afternoon tea but we hoped things would improve. Oh how wrong we were! The sandwiches duly arrived looking as if they had been prepared many hours before … dry and curling at the edges. All white bread, no wholemeal option and with the egg sandwiches mixed in with the tuna and ham. A selection of cakes also arrived. On attempting to eat what we could (having already advised the manager that the sandwiches were unacceptable) we found that both the cakes and the scones were stale and also inedible. We spoke again to the Manager who advised us that the team who prepare the afternoon teas doesn’t work at the weekend… which begs the question why on earth did they accept our booking?!! The Manager did his best to apologise and agreed that no charge would be made .. which is just as well as we would not have contemplated paying for such poor quality food. This was all a great disappointment as the 6 of us don’t often all have an opportunity to be together and this had been much looked forward to for several months. Suffice to say we will not be returning any time soon.

Tiny portion of chips. Cheese was melted but to the point of being crisp. Paninis weren't toasted and half the cheese wasn't melted. The ham on my panani was still cold so they clearly don't put much effort in.

Just love this place on a cold Winter’s day..looking out of the window and eating scrumptious food….definitely returning.

Food and ambience are great BUT super slow to receive food (40 mins), super expensive (£3.20 for 13 chips) and actually quite basic eg soup with bread (just like thin sliced bread from supermarket. This could have easily been a bloomer as described). Sandwich again was basic thin sliced bread rather than bloomer. Should have been great but left very disappointed. Nice pubs within 5 mins would have been better.

Long wait for food. Poor value for money £8.50 half a baguette. Soup luke warm. Los of other customers complaining.

Staff seemed very unmotivated but it is a really lovely place to visit. We didn't eat a lot but food was nice but the service was very slow

Went to have a snack while visiting Coton garden center,The food was disgusting 3 Panninis that were barely warm,1 Jacket Potato with a sprinkle of cheese and I kids meal which consisted of 1 doorstep slice of bread with half a slice of ham 1 packet of crisps 1 club biscuit carton of juice and a piece of fruit, 2teas 1 coffee. How do you justify the prices you are charging?my bill was £60 which I would gladly pay for good food,No manager on site???

Went to Coton orchard for lunch, very disappointing. Dishwasher had broken so hardly anything on the menu could be served !!! No cutlery, plastic cups, sandwiches in a box. We couldn't have a portion of chips with the sandwich, because they hadn't been delivered. Will be going elsewhere in future

We had to go there for breakfast since our accomodation didn't offer it. The Full English was not what we expected due to the other reviews. The harsh brown tasted like being fried together with fish, mushrooms were black and soggy. Everything tasted quite bland. However, the people were nice and friendly. The Garden Center itself is worth a visit.

We visited for breakfast when staying at Rectory Farm nearby. Everything was first class and high quality. The staff are friendly and the manager had real attention to service that also came through in the rest of the team.

Loved our full breakfast here... and it included black pudding. Hash browns crispy and nice. Staff friendly and polite.

We booked a table for 30 people for breakfast the morning after our wedding, the staff were brilliant, very friendly and great service. The food was also excellent, arrived quickly and was delicious. The little touches they went to extra effort to make for my...

Popped in for Fish + Chips with my Nan, both really enjoyed the food. Some brilliant service from 2 ladies in particular on the team today helping out with anything we needed.

A great place especially for breakfast. Service was good and pretty fast. Some reviews on here nearly put me off. I'm glad they didn't because it's a great place and the Full English breakfast and vegetarian breakfasts are great and good value.

What a crock of sh*t! Pay a near premium for food that ends up taking an hour to arrive with half the items missing from the plate and barely lukewarm…. This was for two sandwiches and a side of chips. I fail to mention that...

We have visited Coton Orchard a few times, but only discovered it in Nov 2021. We have been a few times, and only seen it at xmas , so decided to visit again in the new year. The cafe we always find lovely. Clean, spacious...

I know it's a pandemic but there is no excuse for selling stale scones. Most of the food looked bought in which is a real shame when you see the produce available in the room next door. Still, it was busy and some of the...

Visited today for coffee and scones, quite the best scones I have had anywhere for a long time! Congratulations to the new chef.

Excellent food and service, buzzing full of life especially during lunch. All food fresh produce and meat from local farms, cooked locally in proper kitchens, not from factories. Worth drop by for coffee tea after busy day work or shopping. Also after visiting nearby American...

Fantastic cafe ! We had breakfast there every day while we stayed in Cambridge . All products are really fresh . Sausages are very meaty, bacon is tasty and eggs are to die for . That’s what I call free range egg !!! Staff are...

Really nice garden centre with a lovely restaurant which caters for those of us that are gluten free

Its obviously semi self service but of a high quality. Staff very friendly and helpful. A lot of lovely things to drool over after eating and very friendly staff.

Cotton, garden centre. Is possibly the most unexpected place to find a Cafè like this. All I can say is food is awesome, such variety, salads are to die for, service is great, prices are resonable. Would recommend to anyone for a nice afternoon tea...