Dean's Garden Centre in York

We always go for the indoor plants and as someone who's got around 200 rare plants indoors, I'm always impressed by the things they have. Visited plenty of garden centres and plant shops throughout the years and plants you can find here you often can't find in any other shops.

Lots of space to display flowers, plants, trees and assorted niceties. A lovely cafe which, despite having lots of covers, still manages to be jam packed at busy times. Plenty of parking. Especially liked by the retired set, but good for all the family.

Very unwelcome visit from the staff we where then follewed by staff though the store also . Myself and colleagues combined, we then where served by staff and asked for a used cardboard box to carry out purchases in, we where then told we had to spend £50 to get a used cardboard box to carry our purchases we are all upset and put off by there behaviour we not return unfortunately

Great, I love the new layout for Christmas and some of the other changes. Prices of the plants seemed to have come down. It will be interesting to see what it looks like after Christmas.

Great little garden centre with a wonderful cafe. Popped in for lunch whilst visiting friends, and despite being incredibly busy, the staff found room for 6 of us. The food came out at "interesting" times (had almost finished lunch before the drinks arrived and had been finished for some time before my friend's food arrived!) but the quality was brilliant, the food was hot and delicious, and the staff couldn't have been more helpful. The garden centre itself stocks a wide variety of items, all at a reasonable price.

Good display of Christmas decorations, lights etc. Cafe very busy.

Best garden centre I’ve been to. Biggest houseplant selection I’ve ever seen, great Christmas selection, the prices are great, the cafe was also really good.

The staff are lovely. Very child friendly. Beautiful Christmas displays

Fantastic well laid out, lots to see for Christmas and all you need to replace the broken worn out garden tools. Even the plants are healthy which is going some this time of year. Helpful knowledgeable staff on gardening dection

Some great offers for members, and easy to join for this. Some great Christmas stock, definitely worth the visit!

Nice garden centre very aesthetic however food took an hour to come and the food given was the wrong order

Great garden centre, houseplant section is the best one I've seen at any garden centre! Such an amazing range of plants and they look amazing!

Always visit early as it tends to get busy.

Went today for a takeaway afternoon tea for 3 people to treat friends for a birthday , everything was well wrapped and in separate cartons, the scones were amazing with single pots of clotted cream and jam, sandwiches were so fresh and delicious, we had bottles of fresh orange instead of takeout tea/coffee, extremely pleased with the food and service would definitely recommend and I'll be using again 😋

Love going here at Christmas time. Such beautiful decorations. The staff are very friendly and their cafe has some lovely food.

Great place for gifts, cards, seeds, plants, bird food and feeding equipment. They have a range of garden furniture, ornaments, wind chimes, wind spinners and an extensive range of pots and gardening equipment. They have just put all their Christmas things out and it's lovely. One thing, whatever you do, don't miss a visit to the café which serves breakfast items and then full plated meal lunches, soup, small plates, sandwiches, toasties, but best of all, scones, cakes, apple pies, fruit crumbles, cheesecakes, toasted teacakes, all homemade I think. I usually have a scone (they are a meal in themselves) or toasted teacake and either a latte or a hot chocolate. If I'm feeling flush, I might also get a treat to take home with 😋 The café is open:- Saturday 9 am–4 pm Sunday 10 am–4 pm Monday 9 am–4 pm Tuesday 9 am–7 pm Wednesday 9 am–4 pm Thursday 9 am–4 pm Friday 9 am–4 pm

Excellent quality and service and the prices are affordable plus members points are a bonus, worth a visit and becoming a member is a plus.

Great garden centre, lots of choice, good quality plants, superb cafe with gorgeous cakes and great choice of meals, definitely recommend

Just joined the green cradle loyalty scheme, its good value throughout the garden centre and restaurant. Good varity of plants and gifts.

We got what we were looking for - and it was all half-price!

Full of Halloween and Christmas goods. Couldn't find the seeds I was looking for.

The place was upside down but there was visible apologies for this. We had coffee and a scone in the restaurant and the scone was inedible, we told the waitress but there was little apology although she said it wasn't the first complaint that morning about them. The restaurant is very expensive too.

Had lunch....staff friendly Food fantastic

The best range of interesting houseplants in any garden centre I've been to!

Expensive but good range complimented a nice cafe with indoor and outdoor seating available.

Very helpful when we needed to choose which plants we required

Lovely food, great service, lovely clean well run Cafe. will be back 10 out of 10.

Update - There's a lot of changes, hope it's not to the detriment of good old Dean's. Lovely coffee and teacake. Lovely place for coffee and catchup with friends, especially sitting outside in the sun.

Good range of paraphernalia and even plants. Good cafe The Bothy. Remember your table number

Great place great people Manos, Billy,Claire,and Sky.

Great location with reasonable prices and excellent staff. The Café is the highlight, amazing food 👍

My daughter and I have been using this as a reward for our hard work on our own business for years. It was always reliable, friendly, with good portions and a great selection to choose from. No longer the case. My daughter got a cheese sandwich with two thinly sliced small pieces of cheese that didn’t even cover the bread. Presentation was awful… just old leaves for a salad. You used to get a real salad with slaw- no longer. Dreadful experience and we won’t be back. It felt like we were robbed! What a shame!!!

Excellent portions great staff a the cafe obviously

Been numerous times, but just been on there website to search for wooden planters 🤔 The website is a total waste of time if you’re looking for something that I know that they sell, wanted to check before making a 26 mile round trip. Looks like I might have to look closer to home ☹️

Excellent mini breakfast but appalling service vat the till and a bad experience trying to set up the new app. The first server asked me my order then totally ignored me to respond to a request from another customer that hadn’t received their drink. Just turned away to deal with him and try and resolve his issue. Meanwhile at the other toll people who had been behind me were served. When I gave up and asked the second server she also commented on it. Then when I tried to set up the new app it wouldn’t set up as Deans had my email address incorrectly formatted on their system . It seems this is happening to multiple customers so may be a data transfer issue but it wasted a lot of time for me and then the guy at the service counter .

Pleasantly surprised by this lovely cafe. Large and airy with nice outdoor seating. There was quite a queue to order but it was a sunny Saturday lunchtime and the staff seem efficient and polite. The one thing I feel they should do is take the leek & celeriac soup off the menu - honestly it was horrible. Otherwise would recommend.

I come here one or twice a week with my mother. She is in a wheelchair, access is very easy. The staff are most helpful frequently going out of their way to make things easy both in the coffee shop and the garden centre. The food is great.

Great lunches and beautiful houseplants

Best house plant selection in York area. Great for general outdoor and garden bits and pieces. Nice café / restaurant attached.

We regularly visit this garden centre and often find it convenient to stay for lunch. One of the meals is invariably Steak and Ale pie and chips. Some time ago I commented on Tripadvisor that the vegetables served with our meals at Deans were of a poor standard. The company responded that they recognised the issue and were working to resolve it. Well today the whole meal was disappointing. The vegetables were, as usual, served in a small bowl. The carrots appear to have stood for some time and were hard, dry and discoloured. The broccoli stems were so hard as to be inedible. Now we come to the pie crust. This appears to have been made by a builder. It proved impossible to cut through it and was clearly constructed from concrete. Very unpleasant. Having suggested previously that there would be improvements I regret to say that, from our experience, the company has failed. I have no doubt we will continue to patronise this restaurant but by commenting here for a second time we hope that the commitment to improve is realised.

There were 10 of us for my grandaughters 13th birthday. The staff could not have been more friendly or obliging. The chefs and kitchen staff made us amazing food which everyone enjoyed! Can't recommend highly enough.

Popped in on way home ordered drinks and two bacon sandwiches one being gluten free. Wasn’t the best gluten free bread I’ve had very dry and crumbled into bits on the first bite,wasn’t great could do with a rethink on a different make there’s loads of better options out there.

Lovely breakfast, but bacon a little dry, and my piece of black pudding was 1/3 the size of my brother's 😔

Called into Deans garden centre today ,with my little dog sat on a cushion in a trolly .its the only garden centre to refuse a little dog ,I got ask to leave that animals aren’t allowed .yet they sell pet food & dog clothing .the Range BQ B&M all let little dogs in, wots so special about Deans apart from being overpriced

Rather pleasant place! Me and my children decided to have a nibble to eat and a little spending trip! I must say after my breakfast, mini bothy breakfast as I’m watching my waist 😜, I was very ready to empty my wallets to this beauty of a garden centre. Not once in my life have a seen an egg like the egg I had on my breakfast! A double yolk! This on its own brightened my entire experience and my children were just as happy to see something as exciting as a double yolk egg! The small things this cafe like purchasing good eggs, make their Customers delighted! Would recommend 😊!

Change of ownership made a bad experience today. Prolonged wait time as they had to seat a table of 8 before a table of 3 or even 1; when there were LOTS of tables available. Just bad management. Then when seated - food didn’t arrive together and took 3 complaints to receive the full order. Just poor.

We travel from Wakefield to this garden centre it is so good the food and service in the cafe is excellent with a top class menu of varied meals please don't ever change as a result of the takeover.

Good garden centre, lots of choice and friendly and helpful staff

Excellent place to visit for indoor and outdoor plants with expert advice on hand if you need it

HBH and friends lunch and spend. Garden Centre Cafe, The Bothy, very busy but minimal wait, staff very efficient at clearing tables. Order at the counter and food is brought out to your table. Very helpful regarding allergies, consulting the backroom chefs for clarity. My chicken goujons were just slightly overcooked for my taste, but did not change my enjoyment of the meal. Salad and hand cut chips, vegetables, homemade Steak and Ale pie with a large portion of gravy, all lovely. A gigantic vanilla slice for my friend to finish off his meal.

Good range of products and staff were helpful and friendly

Interesting changes are taking place presumably under new ownership. However, the café, as always, is very pleasant - well designed, airy and quiet. The service is speedy and excellent and payment is easy. The coffee today was good but, unfortunately, the scones were over-baked and the sultanas were like bullets. The exit from the car park onto the main road seems hazardous. Maybe it's possible to cut back the hedges?

Good food.and good service. Enjoyed

As good as a visit to some botanical gardens. Immaculate plants.

First time here they had a few issues with card machine and a fryer down, but will go back lovely food and realy lovely restaurant.

In the midst of an exciting refurbishment! Hope the café is also upgraded...the coffee was not to my liking, sorry, but the scone was lovely

My wife, daughter and myself visiting Dean's Garden Centre decided to have lunch at the onsite 'Bothy' restaurant. At the entrance to the restaurant there is a sign that clearly advises that customers should fund a table and then order. There was a queue when we went in but it was not clear what this queue was for so my wife daughter, following the instruction on the sign outside the restaurant, went to look for a table. My daughter who suffers from PTSD message me to say that having found a table they were approached by the manager who demanded to know who had given them the table. My wife and daughter found this engagement to be very rude and somewhat intimidating. My wife offered to mov but the manager told her to sit there. I was at this point still in the queue and it was only when someone ahead moved that I saw another sign advising customers to wait to be seated. So two signs that say the opposite of each other! When I joined them, after the same manager, pointing to my wife and daughter saying is "that them" and when I confirmed he replied "well they helped themselves to a table". My daughter particularly was still very upset and wanted to leave but we persuaded her to stay. The scampi ordered was ok but the three portions of chips was clearly overcooked and greasy. The omelette that I had was also partly overcooked. When I raised the issue with the Manager about the chips , his reply was " The chips are always darker than usual at this time of year because we have to use new season potatoes which have more starch in them. It is the same every summer I'm afraid"! Other reviews on Tripadvisor also complaining about the chips were posted in November so not sure how starch point makes sense? Not wanting to engage in a confrontation with the manager (at my daughter's request) we agreed to eat what we could. The meal was not the best and the customer service experienced was very poor. I would not recommend this establishment given the customer service and the overall service. The serving staff though were excellent.

Just want start this review by saying the garden centre and staff are lovely but the cafe experience was awful. At the front of the cafe is a sign saying to take a table, then check the menus get your table number and go up and order. Simple and logical. We couldn’t find a small table so settled for a bigger one hoping to move when another became free. The older gentleman working came over after about 5 minutes and asked us who had seated us, we explained we followed the instructions and he got very irate and said there was another sign saying wait to be served (which in fairness there was but we hadn’t seen this as it was near the tills and we had left someone else to go order whilst we grabbed a table, we saw it as we left though) we quickly apologised but he refused to accept our apology, loudly and very aggressively saying we had pushed in, stolen a table and there were lots of people waiting ahead of us. To be clear people were queuing to pay for food but no one was waiting to be seated as we just walked in and sat down, as did another party of 3 who sat down without anyone seating them (if someone had been I would obviously have realised the protocol at that point and asked for a table too) Again we apologised for not seeing the different instructions and said we’d happily move or go back and he demanded to know if we were going to order, we said someone else was queuing and he was even more irate about this demanding to know their position in the queue which we obviously didn’t know, to try and defuse the situation we made to get up and go join them in the queue and he waved his hand at us dismissively and said ‘no, you might as well stay now you’ve just taken the table’. Honestly it was really upsetting and embarrassing, I have PTSD and having an older man leaning over our table aggressively telling us off over and over left me close to tears, it may seem like a little thing to someone people but for me it was very triggering. The other person in our party had already ordered by this point or we would have left, he then came over and told us the man came over to him and asked if he was with the two ladies and he said yes and the man said he should join us as we’d just helped ourselves to a table. It just seems completely unnecessary to be so aggressive over a garden centre cafe seat, especially as it was a simple mistake we were more than happy to rectify. Then the food arrived and the omelette was so overcooked it looked like a pie and the chips were burnt and oily. The staff were lovely aside from this man but did seem quite flat and the atmosphere just felt absolutely dead. Not wanting another scene we quickly ate what we could and left. We would definitely visit the garden centre again but not the cafe. We didn’t let this incident ruin our visit and went and got some amazing flowers and plants for our garden, the staff were great and helped us organise a delivery. Such a shame this one person lets down the overall garden centre experience! We complained and did ask for a refund after and the older gentleman denied this whole experience happened (inferring we were lying) and said the chips weren't burnt but were darker due to the type of potatoes which is bizarre and clearly not true as they were clearly just….burnt. (Pictures of the sign we saw at the entrance, the omelette and the chips for reference)

Good variety of house and outdoor plants. Incredibly kind and helpful staff. Even had a member of staff help with an issue with my bike.

Nice garden centre, with a good selection of plants and equipment.

Well laid out, a great selection of plants and equipment

Loved the food Went for lunch Helpful staff for the friend I went with taking bags of grit to the car

Amazing service and stock of plants. The food is amazing and the service an awesome bacon sandwich

Great layout decent price and good quality products also recommend having a pot of tea/coffee too this something to eat all in all a good day out .

Disappointed !! Standards in the quality of food are definitely slipping. I’m truly reluctant to leave a negative review for the Bothy given that from staff comments, they are under a lot of pressure due to staff shortages and the introduction of new tills. The staff are wonderful - 5*s - , we’ve been coming for years, and have always been delighted with the menu, service and quality of both. The staff continue to smile through obviously difficult times and always happy to go the extra mile. However, money is money and to be fair, the Bothy isn’t the cheapest of places to eat. On the last 2 occasions (gave them benefit of doubt) the Chicken Goujons were “burnt”, overcooked and dry whilst the bacon in the Bacon Sandwich and Bothy Rarebit had been overcooked, obviously warmed up and were like pieces of cardboard. Needless to say on both occasions food was left, something our family just doesn’t do. We’ll definitely think twice before visiting again. Such a shame, the Dean’s family had certainly created a jewel in the crown but it’s not the same now.

Although the title implies it has just a coffee shop, it is actually a very good cafe/restaurant situated in this lovely garden centre. On a short break in the area we decided to try the lunch, after previously just visiting the garden centre, which sells everything you could possibly need for you garden, including the most excellent healthy plants, tree and shrubs. The restaurant was very busy with people queuing for tables, however we were quickly found a seat. I chose from the Specials board salmon with hollandaise sauce, new potatoes and asparagus which was perfectly cooked, and my husband had the fish and chips which he enjoyed. The only disappointment is the wine they sell is non alcoholic such a shame as a nice glass of rose with the meal would have gone down a treat !!

A lovely garden centre with plenty of choice & variety. Very helpful staff & a great airy cafe too. The coffee & cake are delicious!

Excellent location with the best houseplant selection going. Reasonable prices and excellent staff. Great cafe too!

First time we have been excellent food lovely service nothing overpriced will definitely be going back

We had lunch in the restaurant at Deans Garden centre and it did not fail to disappoint. Plenty of choice on the menu. Certainly well worth a trip to eat out and also have a look around the well stocked Garden centre which has great selection of healthy plants and shrubs

Busy with lunch but a nice place to visit.

My wife and I have been enjoying lunch at Deans Garden Centre Bothy for many years but unfortunately this is the first time in many years we feel we have to write this negative review as we want to remain loyal customers for many more years to come. It seems like since erarlier this year (2024) the standard has been slowly deteriorating. Staff are still always wonderful. Always very polite, helpful and doing their best during busy times. Finding enough staff to run such a busy place must be difficult, and the change to the tills system is not helping. Using this as an excuse is running a bit thin now ! We often order a cheese and ham toastie on brown bread. The new till system lists it on the receipt as just a cheese toastie and sometimes we have got just that - no record of the ham or brown request ! Not sure what instruction gets sent to the kitchen but mistakes are being made. The quality of the food has gone downhill. Our latest cheese and ham toastie was burnt on the underside and not very hot. The chips were horrible. They looked brown and cooked but were in fact raw and soggy inside. The wrong sort of potatoes are being used for making chips. We don't want to stop coming to Deans, but it is very disappointing to be served such poor quality food. Cutting corners is not the way retain your regular customers who will start to think about going somewhere else. We note also that in the garden centre - this years offerings of bedding plants is not as good and varied as in previous years. There are reduced types on offer and there is NO incentive to buy more quantiy - with anythink like previous 3 for £10 or similar offers. We have now bought our bedding plants elsewhere this year ! Bring back the "old family firm" approach and attitude - it is already being sadly missed.

Very good food in the Cafe and a great selection of plants.

Well maintained plants etc and food was excellent too thanks dean's garden centre

Really popular cafe at the garden centre. The service was quick and food was hot! We sat outside in the sunshine which was like being on holiday! Love the range at the centre and feel inspired by the ideas!!

Found everything we were looking for. Great garden centre with lots to offer. Great cafe too!

Love Deans, been going for years even before it was extended. Came with my dear mum and dad who have sadly passed in the last year. So many lovely memories. Food lovely too.

A selection of different products, from plants, seeds (for indoor and outdoor) plant care products, outdoor cooking and outdoor furniture and really nice cafe Etc. The staff are very helpful and knowledgeable.

I love to go to deans every week particularly for a cherry scone and a coffee before browsing the garden centre. Unfortunately of late I have to mention the cherry scones have almost become 'a scone,'. Lately there have been less and less cherries in them but todays really was the worst ever. If I added the chopped slithers together there might have been in total 'half a cherry'. Not good Deans at all. It’ll try another but if it’s the same it’ll be going back with words. It’s taken me all week to get around to this but again it has to be said… I really do love Deans garden centre, it’s a really nice place to visit for all out bird foods a plants throughout the season but most of all I make a special journey of 30 miles round trip to simply enjoy a cherry scone with a coffee in a nice relaxing cafe. I was informed the kitchen would hear about the serious lack of cherries in their cherry scones of late but sadly last Sunday… nothing had improved at all. When I cut into my latest purchase, the cherry scone I expect to discover at least one cherry but, it just doesn’t happen these days. On opening the sliced scone it is simply 'BLANK', not even a hint of a cherry. So on making an effort myself I feel so let down and all pleasure is gone. It may seem trivial to most but for me it is so disappointing not to get what was expected after I made an effort to go there. UPDATE 05 May 2024 After all of the above, I have since and only recently complained again about their RUBBISH cherry scones to the floor manager and some staff, all agreed they are not worthy of their name. They are so bad I would be surprised if there was even ONE cherry cut into about six even smaller pieces in the whole scone. I have pictures of this taken on the last two visits. They have become worse rather than better. I’ve a good mind to report them to Trade Descriptions. Today I crumbled the scone and left it to be collected, maybe they might wonder what it was too… ABSOLUTEY DISGRACEFUL.

Went for lunch. Good sized portions. Staff friendly

Came here for TeaTime Tuesday and the food was incredible and the staff were LOVELY. 100% recommend!

I come here a lot and the staff are lovely and the service is quick but today I tried the sausage and mash. The sausage and mash was good but the accompanying carrots peas and broccoli were over-cooked and mushy. That was disappointing.

Been coming here for years and can only congratulate the staff on their commitment to cooking and serving their varied menu. A couple of occasions I have had a discreet word with them over something not quite to satisfaction. Both times the matter was dealt with professionally and efficiently. It definitely didn't put me off returning. The staff are always cheerful no matter how busy they are and serve you with a smile and go the extra mile. Prices have gone up a little but then so has everywhere else. I hope the group who have taken over will bear in mind the popularity of the Garden Centre and the Cafe if they consider any changes. To the Dean Family well done and thankyou for so many years of exemplary dedicated hard work.

Lovely place but quite expensive

We went for Brunch at the Bothy. Wonderful service. Staff are really friendly, welcoming and polite. Food was absolutely great. I am vegan, except for a egg accidentally added to my Vegan Breakfast, it was great! My family really enjoyed their food also! Would definitely visit again and recommend.

Well organised displays. Good selection of healthy plants. Plenty of other items too.

Visited York and called in at Deans for lunch. Lunch excellent and all staff pleasant to speak to. Had a good afternoon. Nice garden centre to walk round

Not as an extensive range as it used to have.

Great cafe large portions good food. Plenty of choice in garden section. Recently bought out but standards still high.

This place has got everything you need, but it's all top price.

It wasn't as good as we were expecting, sadly. However, they did have a fantastic range of unusual mini house plants.

Lovely lunch. Lots of homemade food.

Recently moved to the area and today discovered this place. It is brilliant. We started off in the restaurant which was busy but the staff were amazing at getting tables cleared and cleaned quickly. Our food was delicious and I have never seen a better selection of cakes in any garden centre before and we plan to sample them on our next trip very soon. The plant selection is also great. We cant wait to return

Lovely garden centre lots of variety of plants and lovely cafe/restaurant

An outstanding garden centre, I’ve been going for years now and am sad to hear it is changing hands, but wish the retiring owners well. The variety and quality of plants is excellent. The Bothy restaurant is amazing with a great choice of homemade dishes - please don’t change a thing!

Great garden centre loads of choice, well priced 👍🏻

I have just heard on the grape vine, that Deans Garden Centre has been sold to another Company, Very sad news as Deans must have been going for many years, possibly 80 to 90 years. All the staff are great, very knowledgeable and friendly. I hope the new owners keep it much the same, me and my wife use it at least twice a week and most Tuesday nights to get "triple points", which I redeem to buy plants and flowers and fertilizer.

Excellent always a great experience

Good choice of plant's lovely staff to

We decided to go here to try out The Bothy café - as it had been described as kid friendly with a play area. However, the play area wasn't there. The café itself though is nice, and the garden centre has a large variety of plants and gifts.