Digby's Restaurant in Basildon

The Breakfast is absolutely amazing every time we go, we won’t go anywhere else as it can’t be beaten and we’ve tried most places, Well done All Seasons Restaurant in Alton garden centre.

I’ve just read the past few reviews and wonder if I’ve eaten in the wrong place, but no, this is the same restaurant. After ordering and food being served it seems there was a mix-up between my wife and myself - of course I’ll take the blame (that what happens after 50 years of marriage). For my good lady I ordered Eggs Royale, but I should have ordered Eggs Benedict, but what do I know, I’m a vegetarian of 30 years, but I’ll whisper this bit because I ordered what she asked for - so there! Our server heard our conversation, but my wife said that she’ll eat what she wanted and leave aside the rest - this was then passed on to the restaurant manager who insisted the correct meal be delivered, so a big thank you to the restaurant manager Karl, who went over and beyond his remit. That’s very good service.

Rebranded - All Seasons Restaurant A couple of tables taken when we arrived, including the one occupied by Peter Rabbit. Ordered our food at the counter; table sauces at one end of the counter, cutlery, sugar, napkins, salt and pepper at the opposite side of the area. We waited a long time for our food. Asked a member of staff to check on our order but he didn’t return. Food was warm, not hot. Potato ‘pops’ (small potato balls) aren’t a good substitute for hash browns! Maybe offer these on children’s plates, but I prefer a hash brown. There was no check back to make sure we were happy. On the plus side, they serve real tea!

Worst breakfast of all time Most of it was shrivelled up and luke warm Seems like cooked and left on the side Will not be returning

Ordered 2 X Ham Egg & Chips and Tea for 2 the food arrived in a reasonable time but as the tea was only lukewarm when it was served by now it was nearly cold. The Eggs were very nice and hot. The Ham was very nice and a good portion. Now we come to the Chips, lukewarm was being generous, the plate was hotter than the Chips. Even if it had been ok i think it was overpriced, compared with the price of the Breakfast that looked far better value. Such a shame it has gone downhill there, it used to be very good. I Hope somebody from there reads this and takes action to find out what is going wrong

Came here for a quick bite to eat, had to queue in a line, took a very long time to do so. Ordered a filter coffee, came cold. Also no orange juice, no slush but advertised on the menu. Food came, very average. Do not come here Full of old people

Just returned from breakfast at Digbys restaurant in Alton garden centre. Really enjoyed the well cooked breakfasts, we tried the normal and the veggie, vegetarian sausages very tasty, but what impressed us most was the team of friendly, polite and hard working youngsters, who went about their job quietly, efficiently and most of all pleasantly. They are all a credit to the business. Well done all of you, and keep it up!

Had visited the Garden centre to do a bit of shopping and decided to grab a bite to eat and coffee. Good range of cakes and snacks available. Would recommend the fish finger sandwich. Not the run of the mill fish fingers - chunky fish in what looked like panko crumb coating. Really fresh bread with salad and a few crisps - all nicely arranged not just thrown on the plate. Tasty coffee too - very enjoyable experience

Had lunch at the digby cafe yesterday often go there for lunch the food is good always hot and a good portion also very reasonable prices you often get vouchers for money of meals or two for one

Probably the worst breakfast I have ever had, Sent it back twice because of the egg yolk was pretty much white and it’s meant to be local produce the sausage tasted like it was cooked about a week ago

Worth visiting Alton's garden centre just for Digby's. Generous and good quality breakfast. Clean and efficient.

We found Digbys on a Sunday when visiting the garden centre, they had just started serving Sunday lunches, we took one look at what was being served up and thought count us in get in the queue!! It was lovely we both had beef,the veg is all fresh and there’s plenty of it along with veg I don’t usually bother with red cabbage and swede, gorgeous so much so that we come most sundays, they start serving at 12 and carry on till it’s all gone, I can’t rate it enough and can’t understand the negative reviews, the price is 9.95 each for adults very good value, I have paid double this for a Sunday roast before and it was nothing compared to this

Visited yesterday morning, and ordered Eggs Benedict with Americano Coffee. The sauce for the Eggs Benedict was out of a packet. Digbys please learn how to make holladaise sauce. The Americano was actually a filter coffee. Please note that Americano is an Espresso coffee with the addition of hot water. Your customers can taste the difference.

Stopped for a breakfast, Cappuccino was served like a souffle, needed a spade to dig down to the coffee which was weak and tasteless. Scrambled eggs runny, toast burnt on one side not cooked on the other. Bacon could do with more cooking as it as chewy. For the price paid it was not value for money. Will not return there for breakfast again.

Popped in for a cuppa, what an experience. Tackling the queue, only to witness an older female member of staff serving roasts, abusing a younger Male member of staff with, ' not that way, you DIV' was quiet unbelievable with all thos in queue also astounded at dhst they were hearing. No room to move having to squeeze between tables. Shanti return, beware at all costs!!!

Have not been here for 30 years. Visited the Garden center and stopped at Digby's for some lunch. The menu has lots to offer. We chose The Fish Friday Cod and chips which was fantastic, nice light crispy batter and piping hot. Nice size portions. Very reasonably priced too. The Staff were very nice and friendly. Plus the restaurant was nice and clean with plenty of room. Well worth a visit and a real oasis in the middle of the Garden center. Good old fashion service with a smile, well done everyone. It was great! We will be back.

Staff were very helpful and friendly. Plus the food was great! I had carrot cake and my friend had lemon meringue. Good choice of hot drinks too. Plus the special offer made it even better value.

We come here every Saturday morning for breakfast and the food is allways brilliant. The staff are so friendly , allways friendly and make you feel like your having breakfast at home...

I needed a break so stopped at Digby's for a light lunch. I was pleased whitebait was offered on the menu so ordered it which was accompanied with chips and salad. It was good, nice and crispy and no grease from either the whitebait or chips. Also, the "proper" chips weren't salted, an added bonus. I had to wait a little while which was fine for me and appreciated having freshly cooked food.

Located inside Altons Garden Centre which is west bound on the A127. Good choice of food much of which is freshly cooked. Children's menu available. Varied choice of food from sausage rolls, jacket potatoes with choice of fillings and choice of hot meals at reasonable prices. The restaurant is airy, with al fresco facilities during summer months.

Been visiting Digby’s on a regular basis for some time now and find The atmosphere welcoming, bright and clean. There are no lingering smells of frying and the tables and chairs are kept clean . The garden centre loans out wheelchairs for people with walking difficulties (leave a driving licence as a ‘deposit’) and the tables accommodate the wheelchairs ok. All the staff we have encountered are polite and friendly.

Came here for breakfast, was really tasty and good value for money. Had the veggie breakfasts and you can double up for an extra pound. We went very early so it was quiet but usually too busy to get a seat. Staff were kind and gave us all tap waters along with our coffees. Would go again .

A little slow but the food was well worth waiting for. Panko Chicken and sweet chilli sauce with chips and salad. Great food!

Just happened to be in the garden centre as the roast was served, perfectly cooked - loads of fresh vegetables and all the staff so friendly and helpful - will definitely go again soon, better than any pub lunch for sure.

We’ve just had an excellent Sunday roast - one of us had the gammon and the other chicken. Vegetables accompanying the roast also great.

Seems 12 is lunch time as the queues start then. However it was only a few mins to get the order in, and about 10 mins for the rolls and hot food to be prepared and delivered to the table. All four of us enjoyed the food. Tip get in the queue before 12:30. Plenty of seats.

Situated within Alton's garden centre the restaurant does lack atmosphere. The staff were polite but not very Inviting, we had a choice of seats which was handy as the tables we looked at were not clean. The food was just okay and expensive for what it was so we will not be returning.

Visited the garden centre today and as it was lunch time we thought we'd combine it with a spot of lunch. Although busy we were prepared to wait. However whilst waiting in the queue I witnessed the young lady doing the drinks sneeze into her hands, and then without washing them proceeded to carry on putting her now germ laden mitts on the cups and teapots. If the VERY BASIC hygiene rules are ignored what else are they doing? I did speak to the manager but no real apology was forth coming and she didn't try to save our custom. Poor show all round.

Have been here a few times and the food is great value for money and always tasty would highly recommend the roast on a Sunday, not been let down by this little cafe, surprised by some of the reviews.

We ordered bacon rolls for our breakfast at 9 am today. We received bacon sandwiches with salad and crisps. Disappointed as it was a strange combination for the time of day. We weren't told anything about this, why would salad be served with breakfast!!!

Me paré en mi camino de regreso a trabajar para comer. Me visto con ensalada y patatas fritas quiché en el menú y pensé que justo en mi calle.

Pregunté si el pan con mi desayuno podría ser tostado y me dijeron que me costaria un extra de 55 peniques por porción!

Had Lunch here a couple of weeks ago,first time i have been here,would definately go again,Food is Lovely,Friendly quick service.Very good price too.

Me encanta este lugar la comida es siempre bueno, nunca esperar mucho si voy a Basildon se conductor a Digby's por mi almuerzo. Fui con mi esposo hasta el jardín el domingo pasado y necesitaba algo de comer iba a tener un sándwich pero ver la cena con asado de mi dios era buena, no hay que comer para el resto del día muy bueno volveremos pronto.

En la cafetería de Digby Centro de alton's Garden puede llegar a estar muy concurrida en horas, y cuando lo hace el servicio de comida a un ridículo nivel despacio. Esperamos 45 minutos por sólo dos platos principales, un bocadillo tostado y un pollo masala. Parecieron muy caro para comida de la cafetería básica. Si tienes prisa y está ocupado quédate con té y un pastel.

Los precios de la comida agradable razonable buena selección. Sin embargo, personal un poco gruñón. Y si quiero una bolsita extra en mi olla no necesita ser un drama. 40 libras en un almuerzo ligero pero personal conseguir sobre una bolsita extra mental realmente! !...

El servicio fue tan rápido teniendo en cuenta lo lleno que estaba, la comida era adorable mi atún y queso sandwichera era la mejor que he probado y el té era agradable y caliente. Es bueno ver a todas las edades y es lo suficientemente grande para absorber cualquier ruido así niño etc. amable eran totalmente para un grupo de necesidades adultos especial que fue bueno ver. Mis dos amigos también estaban muy contentos con sus paquetes.

Two of us went here on a weekday afternoon just to visit the restaurant, we weren't even going to the garden centre for anything. Digby's is really handy if you're already in the garden centre but the food is so good, we come here just to eat.It was busy but there was plenty of seating. All the tables are kept clean and your food is brought out quickly. I had one of their specials: a piri piri marinated chicken breast burger which came with chips, salad and coleslaw. The chicken breast was HUGE, it overhung the burger roll. It was cooked and seasoned perfectly. It was really tender and delicious. The roll was soft and fresh and there were lots of lovely big fat chips. The salad as fresh and tasty as was the coleslaw. The other order was the lasagne which comes with garlic bread, chips and salad. The lasagne is tasty and cooked well. The garlic bread is really good and the portions are again, really large.This is really good quality food which you wouldn't expect from a garden centre cafe. I'd recommend Digby's to anyone who's hungry.

Cafe at Altons Garden Centre.We regularly visit for full English Sunday breakfast. Great food but service can be a bit hit and miss.Has a nice patio area when the weather is fine.

Ordered 2 decaf teas and was charged an extra 90p for the privilege. Disgusting. The price wasn't displayed...wonder why? When challenged was told 'that's how it is'.If you need decaf don't order it here.

Had a nice meal at Digbys restaurant. Quick service good portion size. I had the chicken and mushroom pie chips and bean. It was all lovely.

We were looking for some plants and needed something to eat on the quick so stopped here. We had jacket potatoes with coronation chicken which came with a mixed leaf salad, some diced peppers and cucumber and home made coleslaw. The jacket potato was cooked to perfection, crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle. The filling was really tasty. The food was reasonably priced and service was quick and friendly so just what we needed.

After getting stuck in traffic we were getting desperate for a loo break, food and a drink. Knew Altons was coming up and did not fancy a McDs or kfc further up the 127.Had not been to Altons garden centre for years so did not know what to expect. I vaguely recall the cafe being in a shed out the back. What a difference. Light and airy with a nice outside seating area, shame it was raining.Short queue to order and with one taking orders and money and a young lady doing the drinks it soon moved. (A little point here, ask if people want any sauces at this time please.)Short wait for the food to arrive. All day breakfast was enormous. Looking around though we could see people leaving some of the dish, which is a waste of food. If only they did the other breakfast menu all day instead of stopping at 11 then that would solve the problem, those wanting a late, late breakfast would have more choice. Not my hubby though, he ate it all and said the sausages were very nice.The lasagne was very nice, not sure if it was home made.Value for money? Well I think so. The portions were a very good size and I reckon you got what you paid for.

Clean restaurant friendly staff plenty of tables inside and outside food is well presentednice pot of tea all day breakfast is first class

Visited for breakfast as a family. Wanted to know what was in the breakfasts as menu doesn't tell you, just says Digby's breakfast or big breakfast which isn't much use. The young girl serving was none the wiser either and she was serving. A queue formed while she found out. We had our older parents with us who only wanted a small meal but these weren't available, we felt under pressure because of the queue so gave our order and waited. Will say we thought it overpriced but food was nice even though bacon for me could have been cooked more & the sausages less so, we wouldn't have got the all day breakfast if we had known how big so if you go to eat here ask exactly what you get and hope the staff know.

with all the lovely places you can get breakfast don't know why you would go here, i won't again, cost 14 quid for 2 breakfasts and accompanying drinks, plus they buttered both side of the bread, who does that? if you can go harvester or toby carvery costs less money and you get more food and its a lot nicer

Four of us had lunch here last Sunday and all of us were surprised by the quality and portion sizes that you get from a garden centre resturant/cafe.One person had the carvery with chicken. It's all brought to the table and when this came we all almost fell out of our chairs. It was HUGE! The chicken took up a third of the plate and was tasty and tender. There was a nice yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, and other veg that was all tasty and well cooked. The rest of us had scampi and chips, pulled pork & mozzerella panini with chips and a sweet potato, chickpea & spinach curry with rice and naan bread. It was all tasty, well cooked, good and hot and there was lots of it.The highlight for me was the mellow choccy float which is hot chocolate with marshmellows. It's delicious. It's the tastiest hot chocolate I've had. The car park, garden centre and cafe is all wheelchair accessible. The cafe is spacious, clean and has a nice atmosphere. The staff were polite and very helpful. It was all very good value for money.If you're going to the garden centre or just in the area, Digby's restaurant is a lovely place to go to for just a drink and snack or a proper meal. There's plenty of variety on their menu. I'll be back :-)

If you visit Altons Garden Centre to buy something for your garden, then I suggest you visit this restaurant while you are there for some very good refreshments.They do some great breakfasts & lunches, as well as tea & cake etc.etc. all at a very reasonable price.

My husband had ham,egg and chips and I had a curry both meals were excellent value , especially as it's a small cafe. I would encourage people to use it.

Took my grandson to see Father Christmas and dropped in for lunch, nicely surprised. My wife had scampi, grandson sausages and I had the best veggie burger I've ever had. All the meals were very good, freshly cooked. The restaurant was very clean, fast service and reasonable prices. Will definitely return

Great service really good food very well presented , had to pinch myself to remind myself I was in a garden centre. Very impressed well done Digbys

If you just fancy some nice food with good service and then a look around one of the best garden centers, then you cant go wrong with this place.

My wife and I, took our grandaughter to lunch on a recent shopping trip to the Alton Garden Centre. Whilst we did not go to this cafe for excellance it was convieniant whilst there. Two teas, a soft drink, scampi and chips, Chilli con carne, apple danish and a sandwich cost us £34 with the chilli luke warm and a swimming in oil. Will not be back.

Took kids here for a treat over half term and we joined a very long que wasn't a problem ordered lunch for me, my mum, son (3) and daughter (13) kids ribenà cartons £1 each and chips small bowl for £2.50 just ordinary oven chips. Paninis were lovely yet cold by the time they arrived yet my sons sausage and chips was piping hot. The wait in food was the worse at 45 minutes this was terrible. No apology or anything for the wait staff didn't seem to care. In total our lunch came to £49.50 for kids sausage and chips - 2 Paninis - 1 jacket potato, three coffees and 2 ribenà - won't be back in a hurry

I popped here today for a browse and decided to have a coffee. Digbys looked nice and quite and very clean. I was served straight away as no queue and plenty of staff.While sitting. Enjoying my coffee a young girl was now working on the till it was clear she was new and training, unfortunately some customers were impatient as the young girl had to ask for help. Customers were walking past me moaning as a very small queue had formed.I felt the staff were friendly and dining area clean and tidy. We all have to start somewhere when training and I would certainly go back again for coffee, cake, breakfast or lunch.

Me my mum and my sister fancied a lunch out whilst looking round the garden centre. We were greeted by a long line that soon went down after 10 minutes of standing around. We ordered chicken burger with no lettuce. ( the burger came with lettuce ) My mum ordered ham eggs and chips ( We had to send the meal back as the chips were cold, then to discover that the eggs were also luke warm. I ordered the Chicken caeser salad which was very nice. However, I cannot get my head around how you can charge £7.95 for ham eggs and chips and then charge the same price of £7.95 for a small bowl of lettuce,chicken,cheese and croutons. The fact that you pay these prices and then have to buy a single sachet of sauce. I find that disgusting and agree that others will also! Overall all I do think DIgby's should definitely rethink their pricing. I do believe in getting what you pay for however considering how much they charge I do not thing the food reflects.

Visited Digbys on Sunday and must say the flood was absolutely delicious, the restaurant was serving BBQ food and all was home made, portions were generous and the service professional and friendly , this mismatched second time of eating here in the last few weeks, before we had the roast Beef and this too was delicious and good value, will definately be returning .

Arrived at one minute past 11 -told no breakfast - have to order off main menu.That's fine as breakfast is on main menu....Asked for poached eggs and told 'no' - couln't even be bothered to check with chef.Nothing on menu therefore for someone who cannot eat fat (for medical reasons)Went round corner and found lovely cafe in garden centre on Pound Lane - a fraction of the price, nicer setting and nothing too much trouble. Poached eggs no problem - this will be the last time we visit Digby's after ten years of going there.

YES, wholeheartedly agree with the first reviewer.Food was coated in fat. I ate ONE mouthful of sausageand a piece of mushroom and got a mouthful of grease.The second forkful the grease was actually dripping backonto the plate.This restaurants cook needs quite a few more Lessons.GwenM

I decided to try this restaurant for breakfast and unfortunately it was a very bad choice. The food arrived fairly quickly but had obviously been sitting around in the kitchen as it was only slightly warm. It was served on a cold plate which did not help.The fried eggs had the yokes dried up and the sausages were nearly cold. By the time I had finished eating everything was cold>

We went to the cafe at Altons on Sunday 21/4/13. Two weak tasteless cups of tea, one bowl of cold no flavour chips, one burnt toastie and a sad piece of cake £12.45. The girls on the service counter were slow and not too bright...to be honest.They charged £2.50 for a bowl of chips...no offer of tomato sauce/vinegar etc. This cafe is about making money without any regard to service or quality. It's over priced and taking advantage of the customers using the garden center. Never again....

ordered stew and dumplings and recieved stew with mash no dumplings, veggie sausages were over cooked, think mash was out of a packet and not made with fresh potatoes, service was slow wich we wouldn't mind if the food was good, we have been before and enjoyed the breakfasts but will not be going for lunch again.