Dobbies Garden Centre in Suffolk Coastal

As far as Garden centres go this one has a huge variety of plants and other bits. It is a bit pricey though, you'd expect more competitive pricing from a chain but you are definitely better off at most of the independents.

Shop is good, but the restaurant is a sad disappointment. As others have pointed out, ordering at the one till that is open creates lengthy queues. Food service is then quick, but the quality is not good. Dull and unappealing is the best that can be said for it. One to avoid I am afraid.

To be fair, this is my "pit stop" between home in E London and visiting Damily in Suffolk. There is a huge amount of parking with lots of 'blue badge' availability right outside the entrance. Beautifully laid out with wide spaces to allow disabled/wheelchair customers to manoeuvre around. Rest rooms are clean and functional. Doors are hard to open for wherl chair users though as very heavy! Cafe is good- menu is excellent but service at the till us beyond slow. Like if you stood on a piece of turf it would be around yr ankles by time you get to place yr order!! However, you grab a table with a number, place your order (eventually) and they bring it all out to you. That is my only critique if I am honest.

Good garden centre with lots of choice, cafe is great but cream tea is a bit odd with squirty cream not rhodas! Usual very expensive prices on garden centre items. Fish and oet shops are good

I came here hoping to buy some local food produce, but ended up in Nottcutts which has a more inviting shopping experience in my opinion.

Garden Centre with cotten traders mountain warehouse and cafe. Good selection of plants and gardening products.

Well stocked garden centre with plenty of parking spaces . Also has a pet shop and tropical fish shop . Good clean toilets and a nice cafe’

Great selection of plants, flowers, shrubs and other garden paraphernalia as well as gifts and food. Never seem to be able to find a member of staff to help when needed. The pet shop area is incredily well stocked and the staff are friendly and helpful. Also enjoy looking at the fish. Lots of parking. Nice outside cafe area but the cafe is a bit more canteen style and offerings are limited. It's dog friendly. Love that there is a Cotton Trader and Mountain Warehouse next door.

Very helpful staff and the layout is easy to find your way around to browse.

Good range of stuff and carers for all busgets

Nice big garden shop, lots of choice, little pricey but hopefully they'll last! The checkout was painfully slow. The dog section is nice and the gentleman paid our dog lots of attention and made us feel welcome, it's nice that Dobbies is fully dog friendly.

I went here for breakfast with colleagues from work. Even though there were a number of us (10+) at the start of the day, the service was great. The menu is also varied and it's all reasonably priced . We all thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast and some at least will undoubtedly be returning again soon.

Nice garden centre, the restaurant is also lovely, plenty of seating and good choice on menu. Staff are friendly

The cafe restaurant is excellent . Gets busy but good service and quality

My colleagues and I had a fab lunch meeting this afternoon. Plenty of space to work, not overcrowded with tables too close to each other, very clean and welcoming with lovely efficient and friendly staff. We shall be back for our next meeting soon, and I'm bringing my mum over in the next cpl weeks. A big thumbs up.

Good selection of.plants but a little expensive for some. The restaurant has good quality and reasonably priced food.

Love going to Dobbies, great lunch.

Always a great place to go. As a member I get 2 hot drinks per month and 2 hotdrinks and 2 pieces of cake for my birthday for about £12 per year. Plus 10% off plants, seeds and bulbs throughout the year. Love it at Dobbies

I don’t go here often , and today tells me the reason why , book for an hour in the play area, for 10.30 . But by the time you’ve qeuded you’ve missed 15 mins of your hour 🤷🏼‍♀️ Then they come dead on the hour and say the session has ended . But was gonna have my hour full thank you very much . The lady on the till and serving is so miserable and rude . If I hadn’t had the children . I would go and get refund and left . Will not be returning I shall stick to the lovely nottcutts ! Thank you very much .😡

Really disappointed in dobbies. Took my toddler to the santa grotto. The 'elf' that greeted us was lovely. That's where the positives ended. The staff were miserable and couldn't have cared less. Informed a staff member that part of the experience was missing (the snowballs) and he literally shrugged his shoulders at us. Wouldn't have been as bothered if the previous elf hadn't told my toddler there were snowballs... To be greeted with none. I was not given the opportunity to add the photo as the same elf wandered off. Even santa shouted over my child's head to the staff member to check. Then the gift my toddler was given was one meant for babies. I emailed dobbies customer service to let them know the experience failed to deliver, that the activities were either missing or not as advertised, neither was I given an opportunity to pay for a photo on site, and the below is part of their reply. " The cost of the event covers the entire experience, not just the gift. It includes participating in interactive activities, and, of course, spending time with Santa to share Christmas wishes and capture memorable photos. " They said a customer service representative would be in touch... haven't heard back from them since. Failed in every way. Thanks dobbies 👍

Had lunch today, with my other half, and ended up very disappointed. Staff were extremely slow slow serving a long queue at the till. The veg served with my sausage and mash was dreadful - carrots and broccoli almost raw, and inedible, and mash dried up! Staff response to my complaint was simply ‘we cook it properly’, and no offer of any kind to correct the problem! Other half’s coronation chicken filling of a jacket potato was also well short of the mark. Guess it’s Notcutts in future!

I had sausage and mash at woodbridge Dobbies recently and it was dreadful . The carrots and brocoli were inedible . The mash was disgusting . This is not the first time either. The staff were not interested in my complaint. So here we are. I will be going elsewhere locally.

Donnie’s Woodbridge is a vast garden centre store with much more Tropical and marine fish Clothing Plants galore Fabulous cafe restaurant with freshly cooked meals All staff are helpful and friendly Would recommend

Did a delivery there. No problems Top man Harry

Nice modern looking Garden Centre with an aquatic centre attached always a plus

The friendly staff creates an enjoyable shopping experience. With our Dobbies card, we often receive a complimentary pot of tea. The food is fresh and tasty.

Good play centre for kids lovely food

Food here has been good each time I have been, shop and restaurant clean and staff friendly. Last visited 29/12 when going to the toilet it would have been warmer to wee outside.

Very good pre Christmas deals, coffee and cake was very nice

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.

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

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

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

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

Expensive but has a cafe there aswell

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.