Dobbies Garden Centre in Dacorum

While the restaurant looks brilliant after a lovely renovation, it was a really disappointing meal and service. Completely understanding of waiting times with COVID etc however both dishes came out very cold and had to be returned. Our drinks had still not arrived by this point (35 minutes from ordering) and when they did, the hot chocolate was also cold. It’s clear there isn’t enough staff here and they are being run to the ground. The staff were so lovely but very evident they are struggling with so few of them. Clearly very disappointing management at this place and will be reluctant to return! Hopefully things turn around soon!

Had only intended to pop in for some plants but my father and I ended up having a bite to eat in the cafe whilst we were there. All sorts of COVID precautions have been put in place and the staff were constantly ensuring everything was spotless. With a lot of places in hospitality just doing as they wish at the moment, it was nice to see the staff here at the cafe take all procedures seriously and all of which were carried out properly. Table service was great and the man who served us was extremely bubbly and friendly! Well done guys, you're smashing it!

We visited today ready to try the restaurant but it appeared full and we were surprised they we still operating without full table service, why is that allowed?

Tiendas se ve muy bien. Me encanta la adición de Sainsbury. Muy caro pero lo peor de todo, a pesar de gastar todo ese dinero en la actualización, presumiblemente para alentar a más clientes, había una persona en la caja. Cola que se extiende por la tienda. No es bueno en estos tiempos. Hombre en la caja pidiendo ayuda. Nadie vino. Ningún gerente a la vista. Sin organización. Los clientes se molestan. No volveré a comprar aquí. Es una pena.

Siempre disfruté ir a este lugar antes de que fueran dobbies, cuando solo era un centro de jardinería y una pequeña cafetería, pero parece que se ha convertido en un monstruo, diferentes tiendas en todas partes, incluso un supermercado ahora, clientes codiciosos llenando sus rostros en el restaurante, exigiendo Servicio 5 *, es como ir al zoológico pasando por el café, estas grandes empresas ciertamente saben cómo fastidiar las cosas, no he usado el café, porque (no lo creerán, fui a comprar algunas plantas) así que no voy a comentar sobre eso, hay un McDonald's a 3 minutos si estás hambriento, así que 3 estrellas solo para el jardín / plantas

DONT bother going,too expensive/staff not at all bothered about customers service is awful.Portions TOO small No response from phone Or emails waste of space

Service very slow,staff too busy talking to each other or to 1 customer. Won’t go there for lunch again.

Creo que Dobbies sacó a relucir una gran cantidad de centros de jardinería anteriores, incluido Wyevale. Creo que la alta dirección debe tener en cuenta los niveles de personal, o al menos cómo se asignan en la tienda.El servicio es muy lento y, a veces, insoportable. El restaurante es horrible en este sentido. Tener que esperar más de 20 minutos para tomar un café cuando la cola es de solo 4 personas no es correcto y en realidad arruina toda la experiencia. Incluso antes del covid había 4 o 5 personas trabajando detrás de las cajas pero gente esperando por todos lados.Ahora no me malinterpretes. Todos los miembros del personal con los que hemos interactuado son perfectamente agradables, pero algo no está bien en esta tienda.El Cirencester Dobbies es un contraste tan excelente como siempre. Estará sentado en una mesa limpia en 5 minutos con café y bollo en la mano.

Nicely decorated and done out. However poor quality cakes. The Victoria sponge tasted like the sponge fingers you put in a trifle. I queried are the home made and they said no we only make the scones.

Llegamos temprano a las 2:50 pm listos para nuestro té de la tarde reservado a las 3 pm. El personal se apresuró a despejar antes de sentarse a las 3: 05/10. Luego se sirvió té / café en masa, sin embargo, no fue hasta las 3:45 que nos sirvieron el té de la tarde que pedimos previamente, que no le cayó bien a nuestro hijo. Es una lástima porque cubrieron completamente nuestras intolerancias a los lácteos y al huevo.

He estado en el restaurante Dobbies muchas veces, pero esta visita es la primera desde el cierre. Llegué a desayunar y me recibió un anfitrión en la puerta que tomó mis datos y me explicó cómo funcionaban las cosas con el sistema unidireccional. Pido un desayuno y una bebida, la bebida fue seguida rápidamente por mi desayuno y la comida fue muy buena. Como estaba solo, tuve tiempo para observar a la gente, las medidas de limpieza implementadas fueron insuperables, noté que la mesa y las sillas se limpiaron dos veces. El pesebre estaba en el suelo, organizando y ayudando al personal. En general, me sentí muy cómodo y volveré. ¡Bueno, algunos dobbies!

I know we have been in lockdown but this place is a joke , I have a Dobbies Gold card and last month the drinks were served outside and it was closed at 4 pm .I was there today and the drinks were being served inside .I thought after we had shopped in the centre I would get a coffee for myself and my wife with my gold card that entitles you to 2 free coffees a month , I was horrified at 3.10 pm I went for a drinks to be told they were shut .So outside it’s 4 o’clock inside it’s 3 o clock , as I said it’s a joke so you folks out there hold a gold card get your drinks ordered before 3 o’clock as it shuts .I think with this garden centre lockdown still exists or is it the old chess nut it’s due to restrictions .(One unhappy card holder)

Excellent garden centre. Ample parking. Very spacious store. Lots of indoor plants also. Lots of other household items sold as well. Cafe small but plenty of seating.

Dropped in the center and decide to have a cheese scone - a lot of money for a small scone and wouldn't pay that again!

Nothing has changed since it was called Blooms. Service is still painfully slow and the food is way overpriced for what it is. The only redeeming feature is the soft play area for children which, again, is overpriced for what is there. If Highfields Garden Centre were to introduce a soft play area I think there would be a mass exodus from Dobbie’s!

The service in the cafe is slow, the staff are rude and the tea tastes like pond water. There was no food being served after 2.30 today and despite it being quiet it still took 20 mins to get served - there is something not right with the set up it’s been bad for years but since Dobbies took over it’s got worse

Popped into the restaurant while at the garden centre, waited quite a while to be acknowledged because the two girls behind the counter decided to have a conversation between themselves and even one turned around and saw me standing at the till she turned her back and carried on with her conversation When she eventually came to the till to take my order there was no apologies When making my coffees she wiped her nose with the side of her hand and then carried on making the coffees do they not teach the staff about hygiene When it came two payment she never even asked if I had anything else to pay for, so pleased I’m an honest person So goodness knows how much stock she has lost the company to dishonest customers I definitely will not be going back

We come here every morning for coffee & refreshments and are very satisfied with the food and the service received. Staff are freindly and helpful .

The restaurant at Dobies, previously blooms has not changed much. At least when the service was poor at Blooms it was because it was for sale. The length of time to get a coffee is appalling, we had a scone which had the texture of a defrosted piece of bread. It was entertaining watching people taking back cold food though. One couple who had their drinks before us had their toasted tea cakes only after we had finished, and even that required the gent to go up and chase it. Next time we won’t bother and drive the extra 5 minutes to Highfields where at the very least the food is hot and home made.

After a mix up with our on line food order the problem was sorted out promptly and the food we decided on was delicious and ample portions. Thanks to Darren for being so helpful and serving a lovely meal.

We ordered soup and sandwiches, and waited. After 20 minutes I asked how long our lunch would be. No-one came back to us. Five minutes later I asked again. After over half an hour, I went to ask for my money back and then miraculously our food arrived. The cafe wasn't busy, there were plenty of staff. In fact, the (unused) table next to us was cleaned 3 times whilst we waited.When our food arrived, there was no apology. Do NOT go here if you are hungry, the service is appalling.

Came to see and shop in the amazing Christmas store but there is nothing here. A few displays are scattered but it is nothing like what it used to be! Still have a lovely butchers though

The restaurant was always had poor service and a shabby environment but when Debbie’s took over I had big expectations this would improve which for a couple of months food and service did improve slightly. My mum visited a couple of weeks ago and said service was very slow and food cold when it arrived a long time after being ordered. Trying to remain optimistic I visited the restaurant on Saturday after waiting over 20 mins to be served I was told it would be an hour wait at least for bowel of chips and sandwich. I left and as I was so annoyed that the restaurant has gone back to old I did not look or spend money in the garden centre. It will be a long time before I visit again.

Scones and cakes were underwhelming. Cheap leather chairs worn out, needs a refresh. Poor compared with Highfield garden centre nearby

Usually it's good in here but today after waiting at a till for ages to be then told its closed and join another queue. When ask why no sign on the till she was very rude and said there was .One till had a sign but not the one I was standing at,then my my wife heard the staff member moaning .Do not expect this type of service

called in to enquire about santa visit and had 5 yr old granddaughter with us after coffee and cake walked around the lay out of the christmas stuff was very good and had a 5yr old very excited lovely clean and lots to see well worth a vist on a rainy day

Excellent garden centre Be mindful if you want to use the restaurant part because the queue is quite slow to move. Tea and a muffin cost me £5:10. Expensive as it was one tea bag in the small pot. I would say more staff is needed. Place was clean as the same to be said for the rest room. On the way back I walked around the garden centre. Stocked with Christmas gifts so if you like shopping early this is the place. Outlet The Works. Very pleasant member of staff who served me.

A massive garden centre with so many departments and separate shopping areas. Brilliant cafe service hot meals, drinks and snacks. Ample parking.

We have been to Dobbies a few times, the food has been very good in the past - for a Garden Centre restaurant . We started going after Dobbies took it over, Ive had excellent food there a few times......However sadly its gone downhill, i really do hope this is a temporary hiccup. I had Aberdeen Angus Burger with onion rings, which i have had before, this time I had no Onion rings, but coleslaw?? The notice board said Onion rings, i queried this and got told they weren't doing onion rings no more! Also my burger had no relish, and no Gerkin ??? Sort it out, or you will loose a regular visiting family. The staff are always very polite and courteous which is a plus

We thought that Dobies would have had time to turn this place around but it was not the case. To be honest they are now making Wyevale/Blooms look 5 star. The decor is faded with the brown chairs looking as if they have suffered shrapnel damage. The service at the counter is still slow, having to wait 6/7 minutes just to place an order is a bit off putting considering the 20 plus minutes you are waiting for the food to actually reach your table. Hasn’t anyone told them that it IS possible to have two staff on the coffee machine. The scones are bland/doughy and quite flat. Iced coffee is a no no, at least they have had the decency to actually take the iced drinks/milk shakes off the board. A great marketing effort on the hottest days of the year.

My brother in law wanted to treat his sister and me to lunch. We could not order lunch until 12:00am because they were still doing breakfast. We waited not having a problem with this. We ordered two Angus beef burgers chips and coleslaw and one fish and chips for my wife no peas. Approximately, 35 minutes later two meals showed up only after asking a waiter. The third meal showed up after about 10 minutes. My wife's fish and chips has peas and no tartare sauce, had to ask for that, I noticed that their was no coleslaw and had to ask for that. The waiter did offer a free drink but we had enough to drink just waiting for our meals. The fish and chips were good but I will give the burgers a miss, I could have got a better burger from a van in a layby, for a lot less money. The waitress was polite and the place was clean. My one regret is I did not take notice to what others in trip advisor said. Shame on me.

Very poor customer relations - very rude. Will not shop here again. Plus dog friendly. Ample parking.

Went to dobbies to have a slow day with my toddler. Went to Mountain warehouse, then tire my toddler out at soft play inside the garden centre (£3 if you're a member) also kids eat free at lunch time if adult purchase a main meal (1 child for 1 adult main purchased for member).By lunchtime son is so tired from playing he fell asleep so I got the chance to browse around the shop. It has Fat face, Cotton traders, The Works, some other clothing brand and of course the garden centre main store.Not a big place but definitely filled the time if you only have 4 hours spare in the day.Restaurant have choices of cakes and always have food deals (Check out the board)

The restaurant wasn’t too busy. We sat by the Soft play as I had my two children with me soft play as I had my two children with me. We ordered sausage and chips with beans for my son and I had fish and chips. Both were freshly cooked, the fish had crispy batter and the chips were delicious despite being chunky chips but that is just my personal preference! I had to leave my things at the table to go to the toilet slipped out the other side of the restaurant with the children but it felt perfectly safe to do so. My son ate some of his lunch and then went in the soft play and came back out to eat some more and it was nice that the staff were not constantly coming over trying to clear plates as they do in many restaurants. This meant we didn’t feel rushed and he could eat at his own pace. The staff I encountered with very friendly and helpful and a massive improvement on the garden centre cafe it was before, where they couldn’t even manage to do coffee and cake properly! We will definitely be visiting again it was worth a visit.