Dobbies Garden Centre in South Northamptonshire

I popped in for a cup of tea and a hopeful piece of cake. Sadly due to a medical condition I can only have vegan cakes. I checked the menu and there are lots of vegetarian options here and gluten free options but only 1 vegan option which was a shame as I liked it there. Yes there is a doggie area and it was fairly early in the morning and the staff were really helpful. Its a shame the other reviews on here are so bad. Personally Iiked it and will be back. I can only speak as I find and compared to many others this one was pretty good despite no vegan cakes.

Absolutely awful. Food and drink tasted vile and the staff were SO miserable and rude, including the manager. The Cafe and chairs stank of dogs, tables and floor were filthy and the toilets were absolutely disgusting. The smell Of the gents toilets put my Teenage son off eating. Went to buy a Rose for my Father and the staff member I asked to point me in the direction of the roses looked at as if it has been a complete inconvenience, practically tutted at me and waved her arm in a general direction ~ she didn’t even speak! Went to pay and the queues at the only 2 tills open were ludicrous and building up further..the staff on the tills were just talking and barely serving. There were 2 staff members drifting around aimlessly so I asked one to jump on the tills and was met with a look of complete inconvenience. I have worked in retail and customer service for 25 years and I’m amazed this place operates at all . Just appalling.

Went today for brunch with the family. Arrived in plenty of time to order breakfast but the queues took so long we missed the cut off. Not perturbed, we ordered and I ordered a fish finger baguette. It came and was completely cold. I took it back up and spoke with the manager who did not apologise and just said they would get me another. So I had another one but this was only minutely warmer. My husband went and spoke to the same manager who was rude, intimidating and treated us with utter contempt. We had a refund and we were waiting to have the refund back on the card and he just gestured to my husband and said "go on then". No apology. Absolutely disgraceful. First of all serving uncooked food is a real health hazard, but to serve it like that twice is appalling. Also to be treated this way was very upsetting. Dobbies is not the cheapest place and we are all careful about where we spend our money right now, but the lack of customer service and total contempt was appalling. It ruined what was supposed to be a nice family day out having brunch and treating ourselves to some nice plants. We live locally to this one but will never return.

Popped in for coffee & cake, queues are always very long but always happy to wait. Unfortunately on my last occasion it was brought to a member of staffs attention that a dog was in the non dog section and the staff just shrugged their shoulders and ignored it. I do not have a problem with dogs being there in general, but why have specific areas if they do not use them. Not everyone wants to eat & drink next to a yapping dog who’s clambering over the chairs.

Went for a quick bite to eat with my son and ordered the quiche....it was the worst quiche I've ever tasted. Rock solid and lacked any type of flavour. Would not go back to this restaurant but the garden centre in general was nice.

Dobbies - Harlestone. Over prices, isolated with pets (sat with large partition and basically in the shopping area with your pets, staff/ shoppers walking past constantly from rear of store with distracts from relaxing area. :-( All whilst seeing everyone inside relaxed and having a calm area to enjoy. Overall, the staff have no interest in being friendly and helpful. 2 examples why. It was 11.45 and lunch starts from 12, tried to order and told had to wait until 12 to order. Went to order just before 12 to que up again, to find out orders had been take as food was already leaving the kitchen from the lunch menu. I mentioned and was basically told ‘well I don’t serve you’ like wow. Thanks for understanding and trying to understand. I wouldn’t mind but the previous visit when I was alone, I was escorted out of the ordering line as I had my tiny dog with me, told to put in a cage and then I could order. Not even interested in finding out if my dog would go in ok or try and assist to take an order. I walked out and didn’t order anything of course as my dog would not be ok in cage at the back of the store with no line of sight of me. Shocked by the service both times I’ve tried to visit and for the prices they charge… really should be more friendly and helpful. Dog friendly - ish. Update, food return, £10 refunded and had tinest jacket potato, 1 spoon of coleslaw, 4 bits of cucumber (side cucumber salad). Shocking.

Served by the manager who was very unfriendly and no customer service whatsoever. Visited toilets before leaving which had not been cleaned all day - floor all wet and filthy. Will not be returning - was far better as Wyevale. Also very expensive for average food

Visited one afternoon for a quick coffee and cake. Staff were helpful and polite but unfortunately the whole place looks grubby and tired. Dirty skirting boards and the floor behind the counter was also dirty with spills and marks down many of the appliances. The food and staff were good, its just a real shame as it could all be sorted with a good clean.

Called in for a family lunch. The queue to order was quite long and when it was my turn to order they had run out of many main meals. We left without eating. Also, the children’s soft play area was closed

The worst Sunday lunch ever Frozen roast potatoes Slivers of beef Just dreadful Not helped by the place being over run by dogs Continuous barking !

Excellent service & very helpful after slight misunderstanding over gluten free fish issue. Cannot fault service & such helpful staff. Food was lovely & would definitely recommend & will go again.

Disappointed, it is ages since we visited, mainly full of Waitrose food and left over Christmas items. Plants looked expensive at the indoor section. Visited Cotton traders, which felt very cramped and mostly sale items. Then went into the cafe for coffee. This we felt was also expensive, and although she was very efficient it was a long wait with only one person serving. The seating area was also not very warm, in one section it was so draughty we had to move. We used to love going there but will not be returning, sorry.

Fish and chips with garden peas hot to the table. Followed by carrot cake. Plenty of seating in a large area. Tables spaced well with plenty of room.

Not impressed, half empty shelves, not much to buy. Restaurant freezing cold, had to sit with our coats on. Toilets were awful, not clean at all. First time I've been and I won't be returning

The service was very very slow. Ordered lunch for just 3 mains and 2 children's at 12.04. it's now 12.30 and still not got our food. The place is not busy and surely by now we should have got it. I would think that ordering just after 12, when the lunch menu goes live they would have had the food ready to go. I am sitting here and very little people have been served. Very poor service . This is out first visit. And will not be coming again. . Went up and asked about the food delay at 12.35 and was told that is just being made now.... what ut takes over 30 mons to start making out food. Why why why if I ordered at 12.04 and the food it just being MADE now

Popped in to Wootton Dobbies on a Saturday morning. Restaurant fairly quiet so decided to grab a coffee and a tea cake. Having negotiated the daft queueing system our tea cakes duly arrived about 40 minutes later. In a prime spot with big potential but really needs to be a lot better

Arrived here at 14.55 and joined the very long slow queue at the cafe. Eventually got served and asked for a toasted sandwich, not available atfer 3 even though we were in the queue before 3. Nowhere on menu did it indicate that snacks were not available after 3, just said they started at 11.30. Extremely rude staff too.

Came for afternoon tea 3:adults and 1 child,highly recommend fantastic service ,afternoon tea was amazing daughter loved the child's one,will definitely do again soon

Had lovely food for a late lunch, we were served by Sarah G who had a good understanding of the menu and our needs , what a great asset to the company she is 5 star service

This is for the cafe only - Popped in for a coffee, I won’t again. The staff were very impatient to the point of being rude. The coffee is very bland machine coffee, comes with one shot as standard unlike most other places and is very weak. The place is quite dirty, the chairs are very stained and aren’t cleaned regularly. On the plus side it’s nice and light and there is plenty of seating. If you are vegetarian or gluten free expect very limited options.

I was meeting old friends otherwise would have walked out. Ludicrous wait for one Americano! Almost FIFTEEN MINUTES! Never again.

What a great improvement from the last visit well before covid. The restaurant is great , with a nice menu to choose from . All meals and drinks served to the table which is good especially for older people who can't always carry a tray . Very good food served at a nice price . The staff are do friendly and helpful. Well done on the efficiency from ordering to serving.

The seats were grubby, the wait once ordered was long and one of the kitchen staff was serving with extremely dirty clothes on. No good for serving and definitely appalling in a kitchen. Won’t be going again.

Our first visit and we booked seperate soft play and afternoon tea sessions not realising these could overlap. The staff were so friendly and helpful, they set us aside a big table with plenty of pram space and a view of the soft play. We...

Rather on the expensive side and very disappointing food. Bread is cut VERY thick for sandwiches, toasted sandwiches of poor quality with sparse filling. Salad consisted of a large amount of browning lettuce and half a tomato with two slices of cucumber hidden underneath. Requests...

It was very basic food and extremely expensive for the quality and quantity of food you got. The hunter's chicken had minimal cheese and no bacon as described. A few chips and veg accompanied it. I don't think I would return again for a hot...

I visited here today with my mum and sister. My sister is visiting from Jersey and wanted to treat us to lunch. We decided to visit here so we could have a wonder around the garden centre as well. We found a table outside and...

My husband and I had a visit to the cafe @ Wotton Northampton. Couldn't of been helped more by George today. Assisted with all needed and knew all about allergens to assist us well. Thank you George!!

Have to say I was very impressed with the service and food today. The staff were really buzzing around. So much improved from my previous visits.

Visited on Sunday 13th Feb. Met by George who provided us with instructions Bought 3 x coffees & 1 tea which were fab We also enjoyed 2 Cheese & Ham toasties & fries which were served to us within 5 mins of ordering Despite being...

Fish&chips and jacket potatoes. Although there was quite a queue to be served, our meal was lovely. The staff were friendly and our waitress was funny!! So thank you!!!

I brought my 90yr old brother to this restaurant last week. As my brother is Blind and carries a white stick,we struggled to get passed the 17 people queuing to be served by the one person on the till.They have a row of heavy potted...

Having gone in for lunch at 1pm today, we were told by the waitress that there were no main meals left,no jacket potatoes or toasties.Surely on a Monday they would have had deliveries and 1pm was hardly late for lunch. We thought it seemed quiet...

Just home from meeting a friend for lunch at Dobbies. It was a terrible experience. We waited an age to have our order taken. A simple sandwich & fries. The fries were cold and the sandwich was awful. Cheap bread & very cheap coleslaw with...

Service is soooo slooooow. Already drunk our hot drinks and waiting for a sandwich. Just terrible!!! People waiting to be seated, people giving up queuing wish I had now!!!

Sat here for 1 hour cleaned my own table and still waiting for a toastie that was ordered 50 mins ago. Sort it out dobbies it’s not rocket science

Wonderful staff at Dobbies (N'hampton) cafe providing refreshments to a very hungry cyclist - Correy (age 10) going to Leicester as part of Chief scout Silver award, raising money for Guide Dogs. Incredibly friendly staff took the time to chat and took a genuine interest...

Average service and food - Suzanne tried her best but not enough staff and the rest were clearly lacking training. Even though we arrived for lunch at 12.50 quite a few items were unavailable.

Went to have lunch and didn't know until we arrived that the restaurant wasn't open for meals, only snacks, staff were very good but the company needs to update their website with this information, poor service from Dobbies, good service from staff.

Very poor slow service in the coffee shop. Very disappointed as not had this experience in other Dobbie Coffee shops. Had to queue for a good ten minutes for a table( there were quite a few empty ones as well!) Then when seated , it...

Went back to the cafe at Dobbies last week after they finally got a chef! Pleased to say the whole experience from start to finish was so much better than previous visits. Not only a new chef but also a new manager who seemed to...

I pop in here for a coffee when I get bits for the garden and every time I witness poor service and terrible people management. As I sit here now there are 6 members of staff doing nothing and chatting and two young girls who...

Terrible service. We’ve been waiting for over an hour and no sign of food arriving. Avoid! I’m starting to go weak with hunger.

As usual in the garden centre spending a fortune of gardening stiuff, dying for a coffee. went in and it was lovely - friendly helpful people, lovely coffee, and a great selection of eats to go with them. The place was light bright and airy....