Craigiemains Home & Garden Centre in South Ayrshire

Lovely lunch on way to catch the ferry today. Food was lovely and very nice lady took care of our order.

Very disappointed with the food, we ordered ham and cheese toastie we received just ham. We ordered cheese with onion instead of pickle, got charged £1.00 listed as extra filling, bearing in mind I didn't have the pickle. We ordered ham and cheese panini which was not heated as we thought it would be. The toasties were made with thinnest white bread hardly any filling and they were as thin as pancakes, for 5.50 and £6.50 for the toasties we received was a joke. Very disappointed for the price of the food served we expect better. Will not be returning.

Had a lovely lunch here. Good choice available. I enjoyed a cheese and bacon toastie with a lovely salad and coleslaw. Then had a wee wander round the gift shop.......very nice products ( but pricey! )Loved the china products ( thistle and Highland Cow until I saw they were made in Derbyshire, which was disappointing.

We've not long moved to the area and visited the cafe twice now. Both times the service has been brilliant, staff friendly and lovely fresh food.

Looking for a coffee stop on our drive down the coastal road to Stranraer, the Craigiemains Garden Centre in Ballantrae fitted the bill perfectly. The coffee shop is a smart and spacious area, the service was quick and friendly, and the coffees were very good. There is also a nice gift shop with a good selection of quality gifts and I’d certainly suggest that this is a worthwhile place to visit.

Having been 4 times in 6 weeks on a Sunday for the wee breakie each time there has been a problem with the order I understand they employ young staff but perhaps better training in taking orders and customer service service is slow food comes out at diff times I like to support local and have in the past recommended this place but no more when I addressed with the manageress she could not have cared less when I said To her have been here 4 times in 6 weeks she said I don’t recognise you as if accusing of lying then I explained order wrong again for example allergic to tomatoes and each time come out ! When said toast always cold drinks cold orders not right when I explained but young waitress what she said manageress tripped herself up by reconfirming what I had asked for when you go in as a couple you should be able to eat out food st same time !!!this normal practice breakfast is not cheap having now spoken to a lot of other locals they are all off same opinion. If you are going to employ young staff train properly read back orders etc and the old fashioned rule customer is always right would not go wrong in addressing not even offered a refund won’t be back but then as manageress said did not recognise to be fair young staff did so its one star from me and won’t be back

Have visited this place many times in fact been 4 times in 6 weeks each time saying not going to go back but as willing to give local business support but no more each time order is wrong bring out tea coffee then wait a age for your breakfast have given clear instructions of what I would like from wee brekkie menu get it wrong allergic to tomatoes so again each time get it wrong !! Same thing happened again today asked to speak to manageress was not in the least bit interested saud the young waitress had got it right then tripped herself up But saying she had got it wrong then had to cheek to say I don’t recognise you ! Well you won’t anymore as I won’t be back tge breakfast are not cheap so you do want to both eat at the same time have tea toast all together If you are going to employ young staff make sure they have correct customer service have now spoken to others who have said same issue

Didn’t actually get to taste the breakfast so can’t review the food, but the service was absolutely shocking! After giving our order our hot drinks came out within a few minutes, but 45 minutes later we still hadn’t been served our breakfast! Even after I questioned that people had been served their food that had arrived after us, they did nothing about it or give an explanation! We waited another 10 mins then left! To treat customers so badly is a clear result of poor management and working culture of complete disrespect for people! Won’t ever be back!

First class food and home baking

Found this by accident but pleased that we did. Good selection of food and friendly staff.

Think I've mentioned this before, as off yet have only come across one establishment I wouldn't frequent again. This place is no exception. Food albeit a scone was lovely as were the staff. Regards Oor Welly 🤗☕

Service very slow, Give you tea or coffees before you get your meal. Wrong items on plates which were told we didn't want. Grandson got his plate first 30 mins later we got ours when I completed the girl said it was made by mistake,so the decided to give my 11yr old grandson it.i said it should have been served as it was cold And we would have liked to be served all together. Didn't bother when we complained. Use to be a lovely place been going to it for years,but I can assure you we won't be back.hellish

Stopped here on Sunday morning in passing and had something to eat and drink. We both enjoyed an excellent breakfast; my wife’s coffee was very good and my tea, which was made correctly with boiling water and served in a pot, was lovely and far nicer than a lot of places. Really nice, welcoming staff as well and will definitely be back.

Was thrilled to see this wonderful place in a lovely village of Ballantrae and what a warm kind welcome I received from Fiona and her wonderful staff obviously the locals loved it here as there was so much chat and laughter the atmosphere brilliant, I'm currently walking the entire UK coast path solo for the RNLI with my Big agnes tent Aggie since July 4th 2020 over 7,600 walked and I wasn't treated like a stranger but was offered A couple of free meals and drinks and Fiona even dropped some goodies off to my tent where I was camped❤️😊 The food is delicious fresh and tasty, the cakes oh my goodness and the coffee hot and full of flavour. Honestly it felt like walking in your grandma's kitchen smelling all the tasty fresh smells of dabulous food. Thank you so so much ..love to visit again one day x Fully recommend ❤️

Really, really disappointed with our visit this time around. Let’s start with the shop- it’s been condensed considerably and not for the better. A lot of the stock has been for sale for many years and is past its best. We used to love a potter around the gifts and nearly always bought while we were in. The lunch was very poor. There seemed to be a lack of good quality ingredients and they are using cheaper variations. I do know that it changed hands a few years ago but it was better quality when we last visited. They forgot the add on soup- and never came near us after we were served our toastie and baked potato, despite there being plenty of staff. What we were served was nothing special, which is such a shame as we used to love our visits to here. I explained, when we paid that I didn’t get my soup however, nothing was said, no apology whatsoever. On our way out we popped through to see what was for sale in the “garden centre” but it was distinctly lacking. There was nothing but a few pots and some crumpled plants. Really very upsetting to be honest it was such a thriving wee business and it’s been allowed to decline dramatically . Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s doors are closed when we are next in the area. I really hope that they try to inject something back into the business and it doesn’t just disappear. I will keep my fingers crossed.

We had preordered an Afternoon tea for two and were not disappointed. Started with a lovely cup of home made soup followed by freshly made sandwiches, quiche, sausage roll, Cream scones and gorgeous homemade meringues. We couldn’t finish all our other goodies which we took home. Good service and no hassle. Would highly recommend and will definitely be back.

We called in here on way to ferry at Cairnryan. Home made soup with the option of gluten free bread. Tasted great. Best of all was the chance to take a gluten free bounty bar white chocolate cake away with me to enjoy on the boat. Such a difference to the pre packed mass Did you not give him a dose today? offerings in some cafes.. if you're lucky to be offered anything. The staff are just lovely and the fact that I was not charged extra for my gf bread which I know for sure is much more expensive was fantastic. Will definitely come in again when we do the Ireland trip again. Lovely gift shop too with lots of local goodies.

We stop on our way through every time for breakfast and are never disappointed. The breakfast is always piping hot with adequate portions. All served by friendly local staff.

Visited for lunch on Sunday. Really nice place, clean and tidy with good choice of tables inside and out. Service slightly hit and miss, perhaps some of the younger wait-people could do with customer service training, but overall satisfactory. Menu is good value for money though the soup portions could have been slightly bigger. Cakes delicious and good that they do teapots with separate hot water.

Nice tearoom with plenty of snacks and tray bakes. Good selection of plants. Next to coastal path.

We were getting the ferry back home to Ireland and really wanted a decent breakfast as our last meal in Scotland and Craigiemains didn’t disappoint. We were greeted with smiles and such friendly people. Being slightly early for breakfast, our order was nonetheless put in to the kitchen. We decided to have some treats while wailing. Such an array of treats, it was hard to choose! I had the shortbread, dining while my husband has the coffee cake, equally divine. The breakfast itself was the best we’ve had so far and so reasonable priced!! Fantastic value. This will be our first port of call when we return to Scotland !!

Great for teas or lunch. Plants etc for sale.

Waited 20 mins today and nobody came to take our order in the restaurant

First class garden center and coffee shop

Nice café - great vfm Good gift-shop

The premises are open to the public and are always pretty busy. They have a restaurant and its ran very smoothly. Food is good. Staff friendly. We'll used by senior citizens.

Stopped for lunch and a walk around .the meal was lovely.vwry helpful and friendly staff x

Always pop in here when visiting Ballantrae. Good coffee and food. Prices fair. Friendly but slow service.

This place is a hidden gem. The choice of cakes is amazing all made on the premises. They also make gluten free which are also amazing. Great prices. The staff are so friendly and make at ease with everything nothing is to difficult for them. Today we had burger chips and salad I had bacon egg and chips which was not on the menu as I am coeliac.

Great coffee shop. Very reasonable

Get your caffeine shot, sample the "Wee Brekkie", and take a wander around the local gift selection. Loved this place for breakfast and for a coffee stop. I picked up some nice Harris Tweed gifts, and Aarran Aromatics. Fiona, one of the owners also has a great Holiday Let - Auchenflower Cottage on her family's farm just out of Ballantrae, and the two together made for a memorable trip. Thanks Fiona!

Slow service and lady left my cakes out on the counter for fifteen minutes to make my coffee. Everyone leaning over them to get to order or pay their bills.

Very friendly staff and lovely fresh food

My friend picked me up and we travelled down to Ballantrae to Craigie Mains. This is the first I have been since it changed hands. The cafe has changed location, it is now in the main section of building, it looked lovely. We sat down and a lovely lady served us, we decided on toasties followed by cakes. Deeeeeeliscious. Toasty was lovely, but I had a Mars bar fudge brownie! Oh wow! It was the best I have tasted ever. I even brought one home for my son to try, as his favourite is chocolate fudge brownies. I think if all their cakes are as good, we will be back for more soon

Lovely bowl of soup and bacon & egg roll. Just the thing for a cold day! Friendly staff and good service.

Excellent service and food delicious 😀

Lovely cafe, with seated service including large variety of fresh made tray bakes. Small selection of good quality gift items in the shop and a section of farm produce

Had lunch here a few times and it was lovely, everything was freshly made and the home baking was amazing . They did a really nice coffee as well.

Popped in to have breakfast and a look around while staying in the area.On arrival the staff were friendly and welcoming. We sat down and completed the track and trace form requested. Our order was taken and were asked if we wanted the drinks when ready or to come with food. Decided to have them when they were ready. The food came out staggered. The toast came out well before the breakfasts and was nearly finished by the time the breakfasts arrived.Three breakfasts and a scrambled egg was ordered. Two breakfasts had arrived and there was another wait for the other breakfasts. By the time the scrambled eggs arrived the first two breakfasts were almost finished.On going to pay the woman at the till was slow and kept asking others how to put the order through the till. Despite the staggered food service and staff manning the till, the food was good and enjoyable. Would definitely go back next time I’m in the area. Hopefully it was jus me an off day the staff were having.

A bit different than I remember but an interesting place

Clearly new owners , staying near by and collected a lovely cake and coffee to take away. Really friendly staff, shop has some nice small local gifts too

Called in on route to Girvan but cut our trip short due to poor weather. We saw the sign and decided to stop for a snack before heading back. The car park was almost full and there was only 1 spare table in the cafe so we thought it must be really popular and a good choice. The menu was quite extensive with a large range of sandwiches, the usual burgers etc and the counter display of tray bakes looked really nice. We sat for ages before anyone came for our order and then waited at least 30mins for a BLT and cheeseburger and chips. When the food came we had to ask again for our drinks and the coffee had a horrible floater so we had to ask them to change it. The tea was fine, served in teapot with a separate pot of hot water which was good. The BLT was tasteless and mostly consisted of chopped up iceberg lettuce and the burger and fries was not much better. This is the worst service and food we have had so far on our holiday here. The setting and location here is amazing so I hope it was just an off day for them as it could do so much better.

Lovely little garden centre, nice cafe, good coffee, friendly staff.

Lovely little cafe, great cakes!

What a lovely lunch of fresh, homemade brocoli soup, the perfect way to start our break in Ballantrae. Fantastic fresh produce in the farm shop and lots of lovely gifts. Beautiful plants in the nursery. The staff are really helpful and friendly. We are already planning our next visit for breakfast.

Dropped by for breakfast, or 'brekkie' when there. Decent food and coffee, service good, pleasant staff and place!

Fresh and very tasty food. Home baking to die for! Friendly staff

Lovely for lunch , great staff but gift shop a tad pricey .

Food great, staff very friendly everywhere nice and clean

Lovely location, very pleasant and helpful staff and excellent value for money. 10 out of 10.

Great place for a snack and you can take the dog

Lovely fruit cake, hot chocolate and coffee. Nice gift ship too, due to being on motorbikes we could not purchase, but there were lots I could have bought had I had the room.

Well worth a visit. Good service, lovely fresh food. Lots of parking and room to look around safely.

Very nice place, lots of seating outside and in the main building, nice staff, and a lovely location

Last opportunity to stop for a coffee before reaching Stranraer if you’re travelling south. Great value and friendly staff.

Very nice lunch.went with my friends from the rural.nice gifts to buy.nice place to wander around.

Good choices on the menu. They have gluten free bread and cakes, very nice indeed. They have good systems in place for Covid and the staff are most helpful. Closed Mondays.

A little disappointing. Not much in the garden centre, just a few plants. Farm shop is a little lacklustre. Cafe looked nice enough but we didn't eat there so can't comment.

Very good service & food.. A very pleasant experience Thankyou Also GF food avaliable. 🍽️

Great garden centre to visit staff very good and also the food good choice to pick from hope to be back soon

Friendly staff, well organised, pleasant surroundings, superb location on Coastal Path.

Five star experience. Food, staff, ambience all great .Old fashioned courteous service!

Staff, service, food and cleanliness were all great, couldn't fault anything. Excellent value. Staff were friendly without being intrusive, service was good, restaurant and toilets were spotless. Lovely shop too.

New management in place ! Inside/outside dining, good food, prices are ok ! Specials daily. Get your plants with your coffee/tea..

Ideal place to stop for a coffee or a snack. Well stocked garden centre and clean toilets

We spent the week in a cottage in Ballantrae and visited the garden centre coffe shop several times. They really do have an outstanding selection of tray bakes.

I had lovely home made cheese and onion quiche and I thoroughly enjoyed it. So good to see the garden centre open again.

Went to have a ride on the miniature railway but alas not running so 2nd best was lunch. Excellent coffee excellent simple food - delivered fast. Staff really nice and all working hard. At the moment it must be such a difficult time. Nice to see them survivng and people going there.Return next year for the train - I hope

Lovely drive down with hubby and mum and enjoyed a great lunch x

Nice small garden centre and café

Lovely meal in cafe beautiful gifts in shop and stunning plants in centre

Excellent food great coffee friendly staff glad to see them open again will defo be back

Much changed from last year inside and out.. its in new ownership, still good place to visit 😊.

Brilliant very nice helpful staff good food and friendly x

Poor service..left after waiting 15min and people who came in after us were served before us

Nice friendly staff with a range of plants, pots etc. A good cafe too.

Nice friendly garden centre with café

Slow service. Not very clear where to enter food area.

Lovely afternoon. Had a light lunch in the cafe. Really enjoyed and very reasonable. Some good quality plants at reasonable prices. Bought some lovely gifts. Staff very friendly and all Covid regulations adhered to.

Very Covid friendly. Good choice of meals,well presented and reasonably priced. Great variety of lovely ‘Trae’ bakes,though feel a tad pricey. Would prefer table service.

Well done for all your hard work in getting the place up and running.

First cup of restaurant/cafe coffee since December. Sat outside and revelled in the novelty. Home made cakes available and very edible. Will be back.

New owners, slowly building stock, but not a lot in at moment due to covid

Excellent service and home baking. one of my favourite places ❤

Fantastic staff, great food, generous portion size and lovely all round experience. And lovely as it was the first time we had been out to eat in a long time.

Superb service , top quality plants , food A1, and all reasonably priced in a beautiful setting by the sea.

Under new owners. As we are locals thought we would give their takeaway afternoon tea a try. Have to say it was a great selection and extremely tasty - plenty of food for two and all for twenty pounds. It means we we will be visiting when we eventually get back to normality (whenever that may be).

was angry to see the review given by a person calling themselves as 'Bin raider'. i have been to both coffee shops/restaurants mentioned and have to say that Dowhill is ok but extremely expensive whilst you can enjoy a lovely meal at Craigiemains which is available at reasonable prices. It is a no brainer as to which one I will be visiting everytime with my friends and family the children love it. Well done to Craigiemains.

Very small garden centre, shop OK and guy at counter helpful. Limited selection. Cafe was quite full with dirty dishes on a few tables; had to ask staff to clean up. Also had to ask staff to place order; training needed! Very slow service and food only OK. Will give it a miss from now on; sorry!!i

I visited the garden centre to get something to eat...I also visit cafes to get gardening equipment...and the young staff were great. My dish of choice was the local delicacy of pie, chips, beans and cheese. This dish was actually created in this area before potatoes were invented and the natives are very proud of this. The young waitress served my dish just the way I asked...cheese over the chips with the beans topping it off. This creates a chemical reaction in the cheese called “ moltenliquidification” which sees the cheese melted properly.

Welcoming garden centre with a good selection of Christmasy gifts and a tasty tearoom with well priced specials.

Delightful place to stop off and stretch your legs. A lovely garden centre overlooking the wonderful Ailsa Craig and the Irish sea. Plenty of parking, there are plants! but as with all garden centres these days there is also a lovely gift shop with some interesting gifts, candles, and other bits and bobs. Lovely cafe too with home baking hubby recommends the giant custard cream! I just recommend it all personally. There is also a lovely outdoor kids area and a cute little railway - wonder if I'm too big to have a go??

On a visit to area we stopped off here for a browse around shop and coffee! Great tasting cuppa ,good service. Lots of interesting items in gift shop too. There were signs for train ride but it’s seasonal.

We stopped here to to have a look around and we were tempted to try the cafe. The food we had was very nice and good value for money. It all appears to be made fresh and home baking. The outside space is also very good and dogs are welcome around the back of the cafe on the outside tables. A very pleasant visit and will def be back again.

Decent breakfast had outside in the sun. Nice mild coffee, excellent scrambled egg. Making their own cakes as was leaving. Dog friendly grounds with outside seating that can be accessed from the coast path. Grounds nicely looked after.

Reasonable coffee at a good price. Range of good cakes available. Light lunches available too. Comfy seats. Pleasant views over the lawn and playarea. Reasonable service, Quite small. Some outdoor seating

The food is pretty good however the sight of dirty dishes pilled on counter top at entrance next to cash register in full sight of customers dinning is horrible. The carpet is ripped at some places and quite dirty. It's needing a little updating. Thought I say so to help your business do better. All the best.

Nice local place to call for a bite to eat and a coffee. Friendly staff

Food was ok, but nothing special. Have stopped here a couple of times whilst travelling up the coast, and it provides a comfortable stopping off place - there is little by way of competition nearby.

So poor plants wilted and coming to the end of shelf life decided not to buy Azilas looked ok but didn’t want to chance as may not grow as care not taken to look after that was only healthy plant,