Dobbies Garden Centre in Suffolk Coastal

Bang up lunch with great portion size and service with a smile

Discover a fantastic gardening center that caters to all your gardening needs! While it might be slightly pricier than some online retailers, there's nothing quite like the experience of browsing in person—feeling the textures and inhaling the delightful scents of the products. I always enjoy my visits, especially exploring the wide selection of pet toys and unique finds. I may have indulged in a few too many bird feeders! Although I haven't tried the restaurant yet, it’s always bustling with customers, so I assume it must be excellent.

Took the grandkids to see father Christmas. He was lovely spoke as if he knew them. The elfs did a great job to well done. The centre its self was lovely just needed more staff on the floor to help.

Friendly staff, who helped us find the perfect Christmas tree for us, and with a great discount price. Always nice to have a wander around , and even spend a little time looking at the fish.

Bought some Xmas cards with dachshund looked just like our little darling we said goodbye to last year

Had a great festive afternoon tea today at Dobbies Grundisburgh Rd for our bruv & sis's xmas get together. Staff work very hard were very helpful and food was lovely.

Fantastic place great aquatic center within the garden center

Very limited range of fairies to go on top of Christmas trees! Think there was just two - the same but one white and the other cream. Expected more!

The Woodbridge restaurant run a very strange system, apparently according to staff you can receive a table without giving a time it's required, hence customers stand around waiting for a table to become vacant whilst the reserved tables remain empty. This is a ridiculous system, as when we eventually got a table had coffee a cake, the reserved tables were still unoccupied. (this has now happened several times) Please change this ridiculous system, its in your own interest as it will increase profit; so every ones a winner. Jack Clarke, a long standing customer.

Great selection of plants and Christmas trees.

I like it as a garden xentre but the slowest slowest queue I have ever seen. Avoid if possible.

Lovely to walk round and tea and cake after

A wide range of products available. A pet zone and aquarium as well as the expected range of plants. Other outlets such as Mountain Warehouse were also on site. Everything you would expect from a great Garden Centre. Now set up for the Christmas period with lots on offer.

Excellent range of plants, garden tools and chemicals. Pet store,tropical fish. Lovely csfe.

Great choice of plants with nice cafe 😀

I have just moved from the North of England to Woodbridge Suffolk and am always looking for Gluten free food. Here they have a lovely freedom breakfast, so lovely to enjoy.

Lots to choose from here and you can grab a coffee. Great selection or garden trinkets

Had a tasty free tea today as it was my birthday treat from them.🥮

Expensive but has a cafe there aswell

We stopped for a quick lunch and had scones, cake and drinks. Very pleasant, as usual. The scones are super.

Well worth joining the membership. We always try to come once a month for free drinks with our membership and always have a good look round. Something for everyone.

Perfect place for your garden needs, from plants to soil to crops. They also have a pet section, lovely crafts and a cafe! Being a member of the Dobby club has so much benefits too. Earn points and use it in the cafe, or have a free cup on your birthday! ❤️

This really could be such a lovely garden centre. The staff are lovely, friendly and helpful, the plants are beautiful with a good selection but everytime it rains the roof leaks and soaks the stock and flooring. The toilets are in serious need of a redec and a good clean. The water from the taps was a trickle, no soap and the hand dryers didn't really dry your hands. Time for some TLC.

A wide variety of plants on sale. Reasonably priced. The restaurant was clean and modern, and served good coffee by friendly staff.

First time I have been to Dobbies, had lots of the usual things garden centres have, but nothing special worth a visit if you happen to be passing.

Lovely garden shop. Nice gifts. Great food in restaurant with very friendly and helpful staff serving me.

Love all the souvenirs, the restaurant is the best too including the athsophear

This garden centre is first off bit on the pricey side. However there are good selections of products. Very interesting and unusual fishes to look at and buy. Worth a visit....

Good selection for all your indoor and outdoor gardening needs.

Lots to look at, great food in the restaurant.

Brilliant place, has friendly staff. Nice food and a nice soft play for the kids. All stock is reasonably priced and the cafe is brilliant.

Amazing afternoon tea. So much yummy food, we all had to take the leftovers home.

Great garden centre, highly recommend

I hadn't ever been here till the other day, and all I can say is, wow! I picked up all the things I needed, and the flowers are just amazing and the aquatic part is just full of fishes definitely where I'll be going to get my fish for my pond and my little one absolutely loved seeing all the different kind of fish ❤️ 100% recommend

Great place to go for a few hours, nice café for breakfast, coffee or lunch. Soft play area for younger children. Amazing tropical fish area with a huge selection of fish and aquariums to suit all pockets and experience. Lots of gardening paraphernalia that you didn't know you wanted :)

Great shopping centre. Spent a lot longer here than planned due to being bigger than expected but was great. Can’t fault it.

Very interesting products and nice food in the restaurant 🙂

Went here yesterday with a coach party Sandwiches ..bread not nice Everything very Expensive Staff not very helpful ..no cutlery available .

Always enjoy a visit here, as the garden part is extensive and the staff are knowledgeable. Shop also has homeware, garden ware, toys, books, etc, plus a soft play area (book in advance), and restaurant. Meals are good quality, and dogs are allowed.

Only popped in as 2 year old granddaughter needed the toilet. Place looked lovely. I'll be back solo!

A long wait for mediocre coffee. Very busy. Another day a different experience. Service was polite and speedy

Nice cafe area, friendly staff, lovely selection of cakes, but it's cold in the Cafe itself especially in winter time.

Nice large clean store, plenty of staff about to give help and advice.

Although we have a great time having coffee in the restaurant and a great selection of cakes, today's visit was somewhat of an eye opener. A busy time with a massive queue three times the order taker disappeared to serve food-there were plenty doing this-then to discuss something with the chef, and then to take some refuse out. My wife wondered where the hell I had got to. Come on guy's let's have a bit more organisation and emptying refuse isn't that hygienic when in a food environment.

We visited the cafe as we have many times before, sadly it will probably be the last time we will visit there for anything to eat. There is a new menu where the prices have risen substantially, a prawn sandwich at £9.49 is way to expensive, the bread is not particularly good, everything appears to have got up but the standards definitely have not. No tables were being cleaned after people had left, the table we were on I cleaned with wipes I had in my handbag. We have been to other garden centre cafes where they have a separate area for customers with dogs, at times at Dobbies it has seemed like we were sitting in a kennel, we like dogs and have had them in the past but would not have thought to take them into a place where people are eating. We have seen dogs on knees and being given food at the tables and when left the tables have not been cleaned before someone else has sat at them. Not sure if this is due to staff shortages or that the staff on duty are just too busy to clear and clean tables.

I'm afraid to say that I would advise avoiding this place, and won't be going back. We're used to the wrong food coming out, cold food, long queues, etc. But those aren't major problems and staff usually do their best to help. Today, two breakfasts came out wrong and staff didn't know which one was gluten free (a problem for coeliacs). The member of staff did not listen to what the problem was and wandered off with one of the breakfasts and not the other. Came back and it was still wrong (probably because the didn't stay to listen to what was wrong). Still didn't know if it was gluten free or not. After trying to speak to her again, she raised her voice and told us to speak to the kitchen staff instead. After 40 minutes, and everybody else in our group having eaten, we finally got the two breakfasts. Not exactly what we'd ordered and cold but near enough. Mistakes happen, it's how we deal with them that's important, and this fell very short of the mark.

Great selection of plants and pots and everything you could need

It's a lovely garden centre haven't used the cafe but it looks nice and clean

Lovely selection of plants and gifts, easy parking and a varied choice on the menu in the restaurant

Love going to Dobbies and spend lots of time going round. The restaurant is lovely with plenty of food choices.

Great garden centre with restaurant

Great visit staff friendly and helpful.

Very nice garden centre, good choice of plants at reasonable prices. Indoor selection of goods could do with an overhaul as when we visited it was looking a little tired (leaky roof).

Bought loads of lovely plants, plus a few extra things I couldn't resist.

Nice garden centre, lot's of different things to see and buy. Downside very expensive compaired to others in the area.

Great breakfast at a great price.

A pleasant garden centre and food outlet (why we visited). Food hall and toilets were clean. There was a good selection of cakes.

Good selection of plants. Great fry up too.

Beautiful plants and flowers. A couple of shops. Lovely cafe. Cheese scones were delicious.

Good garden centre and a very generous restaurant

Very expensive and slightly grubby.

Lovely garden centre and dog friendly as well, which is very helpful 😀

Very helpful all my questions answered now have a happy fish pond

Our brunch stop on the way to Southwold every year. Food is good, staff are pleasant however the prices have gotten higher of late.

Overpriced child standard roast dinners. Asked one of the servers for the sauces that were supposed to come with them, saw girl telling lady who prepared our food, but more disappointingly we never had our sauces or any acknowledgement. Won’t be ordering roast again and we could see why not many people were having the roast either.

This is about the cafe. Had to queue for over 30 mins just to get order taken. Really need to sort the ordering out, as they have to take bookings for the soft play area as well, which slows down everyone wanting food. Menu could be more transparent too for example I wanted soup and sandwich, with sandwich being 'selected fillings' but no idea what that means. It actually means stripped down versions of the normal sandwiches, so cheese only not cheese and pickle like the menu or tuna without the cucumber. Only one till operating too but stop the playroom bookings it makes for a horrendous experience

Dobbies is a good value garden centre for everyday gardening essentials and is conveniently situated off the Grundisburgh Hasketon roundabout on the A12. It also offers good accessibility in and around the site with blue badge spaces and toilet facilities although some areas such as the non-gardening and retail areas could benefit from being wider and less cramped. The plant range is basic, well cared for and aimed toward the customer who is just starting out in gardening or the no frills traditional gardener. It is not a place for the plantsperson or seeker of the more unusual varieties. The site also offers a cafe with outdoor seating, for those rare dry and sunny days. An added incentive is Dobbies loyalty card plus that rewards with a free hot drink every month and in addition a birthday drink and cake! Overall, Dobbies is a good basic value garden centre.

New name but same as when it was Wyevale. Can be bit pricey!!

Quick stop for lunch, it was tasty and reasonably quick!

You need it, they have it , great range, great service. Food is amazing plus your great membership

Very poor service. Could do with a couple more staff.

Thankyou to the brilliant first aider who helped my wife after she fell over this morning. Nothing was too much trouble. Thanks again

You can buy everything you need

We called in to Dobbies for a cuppa & cake after a fairly long journey. First call was the loo. Every cubicle in-the ladies had loo paper strewn on the floor. Whilst drying my hands under the very slow drier, I could see from the rota on the wall, it stated that the last time the toilets were checked was at 10am. It was now 14.15. The queue in the restaurant was really long & slow. Finally, I ordered 2 fruit scones & tea. Our order was brought to us very quickly ( but sadly, with no smile or interaction with us!!) We had great difficulty slicing the scones as they were the flattest scones I’ve ever seen! On trying to slice them,they both disintegrated & fell apart. We buttered & ate them with great difficulty!! Very annoying & it really felt like a mission to try & eat a simple scone!!! Our tea,however, was good, hot & strong. Unfortunately, not a good visit. .

Great quality flowers and plants with a very clean Café

A huge range of products that didn't include what I wanted.

Loads of different types of plants, plugs shrubs etc. But... not the ones I wanted, maybe it's a bit early in the year!!

The shop was nice but the food in the café was a let down.

First, I asked for a pot of tea. This was the only good thing that had happened as the waiter who gave it to me was lovely and it was enjoyable to speak to him. Then, I asked for a mini breakfast. This consists of pork sausage, bacon, hash brown, baked beans, and a free range egg. Didn’t get the hash brown. There was no sausage, so they gave me extra bacon. It was salty and cold. My mother told a waiter that my breakfast came without a hash brown, and she didn’t really seem to care. 10 minutes later, still no hash brown. All of the food was cold, and the bacon was tough. If I could rate it a 0, I would. Overall, horrible experience and won’t be coming back.

Love Dobbies! We're club members and visit at least once a month to enjoy our free coffee/drinks and buy a new plant/herb for our garden.

Always a good selection of plants available, especially as spring time approaches.

Went here for breakfast on mother's Day. And due to it being dog friendly. We apparently had a customer complain. But the thing that was disappointing was that all the booked tables for the mother's day lunch were all set. So people where being turned away. Or being forced from there tables by other customers. Considering breakfast only lasts an hour. There would have been plenty of time to set the tables properly for the mother's day lunch Rush. Poor servery and poor hosting of this company. This was recommended by other family members. Was our the first time there, we will not be coming back.

Polite knowledgeable staff and a nice cafe - perfect way to kill 3 hours

Great place to wander around with many beautiful gifts, greeting cards, and books. The cafe is basic, but offers vegan and gluten free options. The fish and chips were gluten free and delicious!!

Was given a £20 voucher so used in the cafe for lunch today March 5th 2024 and not impressed table was dirty floor dirty cobwebs hanging from walls and ceiling dogs allowed to occupy seating in dining area the menu cards are shabby and dirty my husband and I won't be dining here again.

This is OK and there was one member of staff who was very knowledgeable about the products they stocked. However, we felt that although all plants looked in very good condition, they were very expensive and the selection wasn't that great. Like so many garden centres nowadays, they seem to be concentrating more on the side products as opposed to the plants themselves. Personally, I don't go to a garden centre to buy clothes which you can get from the manufacturers website much cheaper. At the till, the woman who served us really didn't seem to know what she was doing all the time. Wanting to sell us their loyalty card, but not explaining the benefits until asked and didn't bother to explain that when she asked for me to insert my payment card, it wasn't in payment but rather to verify my card for their loyalty card. So I was then surprised when she asked me to insert my card again. So, there is supposed to be a 30 day trial of their loyalty card but I have no idea if verifying my debit card has now registered it to take payments for the privilege of having said loyalty card. The woman serving us really didn't seem to know exactly what she was doing and certainly not in informing the customer what she was doing, and she was taking so long in NOT doing so, we just wanted to get out of there.

Ordered food from here today, I saw two mice run across the cafe which really put me off after paying for overpriced food which is pretty standard. Staff seem pretty miserable and lots of leaks in the roof! There was buckets of water all around the shop which is a hazard

Can get very busy around lumch time

Everything you need for the garden

Great garden centre with great restaurant

Not the best Dobbies we have been to. The main building has plenty of leaks in the roof. Decent selection of plants etc. Decent parking.

A nicely stocked garden centre with restaurant and pet shop attached. Aim to visit start to mid February for small plugs of summer bedding plants. It's not the cheapest but great if you want to pick out specific varieties or keep to a colour scheme. Lots of houseplants are kept in good condition with lots of accessories for sale. Light and airy with lots of free parking. Wheelchair accessible and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

Overpriced and poor quality food. I ordered a fish finger sandwich, the fish was brown not white as a fishfinger sandwwich should be, I said I cannot eat this and they didn't seem to care. Made me wait until I had to remind them that I was waiting. Then was given a soggy Croque Monsieur. AT over £8.00 for a sandwich. Avoid.

Food was awful and service was rubbish. Had sold out of alot by 1pm! Don't understand why the restaurant was so busy!

Plenty on offer gardening wise great cafe friendly helpful staff nice and relaxed

Disappointed and cross! Something needs to be done about wait to order food! Arrived at Cafe at 10:55 and joined queue of ~5 people to order breakfast. Finally got to till, placed order and paid at 11:20 but then guy from kitchen shouted 'no more breakfasts'! Left store hungry!!! What was more annoying, as queuing, a member of staff walked past with 2 breakfasts and took into main shop!

Great east little place to take your kid to soft play and have a coffee

Great to get a bit of everything there

We have been regulars here for ten years and despite moving to Harwich from Ipswich we still return. Excellent stock, good quality, well layed out, friendly staff and superb restaurant with wonderful service. Yep, we're big fans.

Lovely to wander around the gardens some things are pricey The shop laid out beautifully was a pleasure to see The restaurant very busy at times..but food and service good I will beck 2024