Dobbies Garden Centre Ashford in Ashford

Came here August 2023 and a lovely young man helped me and my elderly mother purchase furniture. He then helped dismantle it and get it to my car. I came back recently to found out he no longer works here which is a shame as he was very friendly and helpful. His name was james or jacob I think. The staff now weren't as helpful and I could hear them talking loudly about another staff member which I thought was rude and unprofessional.

It's much better now that the coffee shop is open which means that you don't have to spend as much time standing in a queue as you did before. The staff are friendly and the coffee is good but the cleanliness of the toilets leaves a lot to be desired, which spoils all the enjoyment of the coffee shop. The garden centre itself is well stocked and dog friendly.

Stopped here whilst on a coach trip yesterday. Very expensive in the cafe, couldn't see any gluten free options for a slice of cake. I then visited the toilets which weren't very clean and slipped over in front of the basins resulting in a damage knee and hand. The floor was covered in water and soap and the yellow warning sign was folded up against the wall. I spoke to a member of staff in the cafe advising the floor should be mopped incase someone else ended up doing the same thing but she didn't seem that bothered. Having read previous reviews it looks like there have been many complaints about the cafe which result in the same repetitive responses from the company. A couple of complaints clearly haven't been read properly as the replies have said thank you for the compliment! Don't bother with the same reply to this review just get your floors mopped before someone has a serious accident and sort your cafe staff out!

Quite possibly the worst breakfast I have had. I ordered the breakfast stack, which included roasted cherry tomatoes with a balsamic glaze and was just given half a fried tomato. When I queried it I was told "oh we don't do it like that!". The bacon on the cooked breakfast looked like it still oinked, the fried egg was forgotten and hash browns greasy and overcooked. I'll be sticking to cakes and scones in future, which are lovely.

They catered for my children that have both wheat, egg and milk allergies. The service was great and my children enjoyed

Everything dirty plates cups trays tables chairs floor has gone downhill - not much food from menu available - ended up having cream scone quite salty but ok

My friend & I went for breakfast today. We waited 55 mins to get served then was told that they stop serving breakfast at 11.30 (breakfast starts at 10.30) They don’t replenish the food so we were told we would have to have what was left. The food warmer was broken & there were only 4 staff on duty, 3 of whom were very apologetic & said it was due to staff cuts. When we eventually got our food it was luke warm but if they hadn’t offered to keep it on the hot plate until we eventually got our drinks, it would have been cold. I appreciate that it was Mother’s Day but they should have been arrangements for more staff. I spoke to the manager who was in the kitchen on her own! We were served by a very conscientious young man called Tristan who was very apologetic & adjusted the price as we hadn’t had a full breakfast. I would not recommend this establishment.

This is more than just a garden centre. OK, you can get everything you need to keep your garden looking good but there is also a supermarket, and you can also buy books, cards and gifts. There ism also a restaurant. Dogs are allowed inside the garden centre and also at the tables on the patio outside the restaurant but I'm not sure about inside the restaurant.