Dobbies Garden Centre Ayr in South Ayrshire

Absolutely awful, took my other half an age to be served so much so I was worried about him, I picked up my hot chocolate and it was stone cold, staff had a couldn't care less attitude but did replace it with something hot that almost resembled hot chocolate and the price was a shock, two drinks and two empire biscuits was £13!!!!! WON'T BE BACK

What a disappointment. The cakes are so over priced . The cafe is definitely in need of refurbishment. Not a pleasant experience.

The cafe is in a very sorry state, not just this visit but in general. There seems to be no one in charge as the cleanliness is non existent. Tables very rarely get cleaned or cleared. The self service coffee and tea was a disgrace, it was not working and there was milk, tea and water all over the counter plus half filled cups. Obviously the machine was not working but had just been left. Considering COVID 19 is still in existence, seems it is time for a Health Inspection.

Stopped here for a Bus Tour Break for Food etc - Was a good shop

Very poor service was terrible at the food salad consistant of tomato and cucumber cut in chunks no lettuce.

Nice open space, well laid out, it's got a waitrose, it sells clothes, garden furniture, pet food & equipment, novelty gifts, plants and vegetables at the nursery stage - ready to be transplanted - the cafe has vegan options with a large naturally lit eating area. It's a really nice space. I like it.

Second visit this month to enjoy afternoon tea, our server was Aileen, she was a wee gem. We have now managed to sample the child’s afternoon tea (boy aged 10yr), a gluten free AT, and the ordinary AT, plus today, we had the Savoury plate (it was Easter after all 🙂)! Everything was first class, the food selection, Aileen (of course), and the drinks, hot and plentiful! If there was to be a small criticism, my daughter (gf), adores scones, but nobody ever provides gf ones 🥺. We all had a lovely afternoon. Thank you 😊

Went here on 27th March 2024 to meet friends for lunch. While the food was ok although very expensive the sevice was awful. Was given a disc and told there would be a 10 min wait. 30 mins later I went back to the counter to find they hadn't even started to prepare the 2 dishes that had been ordered and paid for. After complaining the 2 dishes were literally thrown together in 2 min. It will certainly be a long time before I return to this establishment.

Staff were really nice and helpful

I went to buy some scottish produce biscuits sweets etc only 2 lots of shortbread nothing else so really disappointing 😞

Filled with lots of new plants and all at a reasonable price. Staff so helpful both in the gardening side and the young lady ("Angela) at the till. Cheered up a wet miserable day. This review was 2 years ago. Would like to update on Monday 18th March this year went to have a look round for more plants. Went for a coffee. No hot chocolate,no decaff coffee. So settled for a coffee. Decided to have a scone. Big mistake ; cherry for my granddaughter fruit for me. Theses scones were so dry they just crumbled what a mess. When using a scone mix the water needs to be measured not guessed and freezing does nothing for them. Went to pay . When the young lady stopped talking I got served. No knives. No teaspoon no napkins. I had to ask her to get me some . She told me there was some round the other side. At the cost that you charge I am looking for first class service. Also the toilets are not what they used to be. Toilet paper scattering the toilet floors. Thank goodness your garden staff are better trained and more helpful. If you were having a hot meal it would be cold by the time you sat down. I suggest you send a customer spy.

Had a lovely cooked meal and cake for £9.50, over 60's, Dogs are allowed in the cafe, and they also always get a biscuit at the till on the way out. Also, of course, some smashing plants and trees and lots of garden furniture.

A lovely cafe to stop for coffee and look around the garden centre. Lots to see and buy!

Nice pleasant shopping experience. Cafe is good.

Just cannot get through to the service desk!!

Very upmarket very expensive. Don't think it for me anymore and have been going there for over 20 years Getting dearer and dearer

Queued for 15 minutes for coffee. Chose a cherry scone the only scones available Huge so we hot one between us. 2 or 3 glace cherries in an under baked flat scone which was raw on the inside.

How they can sell those things they describe as scones is beyond belief. The treacle ones are always quite flat but today they weren't even half an inch deep - more like big flat cookies. The cherry ones are always burnt nowadays. We were there with an aunt for coffee and scone and the best of a bad lot seemed to be the fruit ones. However, that was short lived as when I cut into mine it exploded into a pile of crumbs and when my aunt started to try and spread butter on hers, it fell to pieces. They were returned as there's no way we were paying for that. I feel sorry for the staff having to actually sell this crap - they arent the ones who bake them after all. The cafe has really gone downhill since really as far back as they stopped having the proper farm shop and turned it into a supermarket - that was around the time they stopped selling a lot of the nice cheesecake/cakes and biscuits in the cafe.

Plants, bulbs etc all great, if rather pricey. The cafe was not great at all! We shared a massive fruit scone- it was dry and rather stale, the cream was over-whipped, and a strawberry within the cake still had its leaves on! The sitting area was scuffed on the walls, seats burst and very sad! You must do better than this, Dobbies, or people simply will not return.

Garden Centre worth a visit. Try not to be distracted by the piped 'music'...you can't escape it. Tea, coffee and fruit scone to follow. Be warned. Scone should carry a health warning for its dry crumbliness. Failed the challenge to get the butter to stick to the scone and spread without the whole thing disintegrating. Not been made with love in my opinion. If there is scone expert around to test will you back me up?

By far the worst Dobbies cafe I have ever been to. No money has been spent on this for what looks like a decade. All the tables and chairs are in disrepair. All the soft seating is cracked and in such poor condition. Waiting for tea and coffee, they must got to China and hand pick the tea leafs for how long it takes. And then you have to que for 10-15 mins before you can sit down on oftern dirty tables, with food all over the floor. The Dobbies in Edinburgh was amazing used it so much more when we lived there. The store manager should vist their to see how they can make improvements.

Sadly the cafe is badly in need of a good clean up , some walls require a fresh coat of paint and I was very surprised not to find “ free from “ confectionery. Excellent flat whites

All the furnishings poor and badly in need of a refurb. Cakes are expensive at £3.99. Won't hurry back.

Two surly girls serving. No pleasantries. Flat white had a frothy top that looked as if it had been dumped on top. We had our granddaughter with us and nether girl even smiled when she said thank you which is more than can be said about their manners. Coffee was ok and scone was dry……… also extortionate and overpriced bill. I gave this place a poor review some years ago and it most certainly has not changed. Why does the management do something about this? Won’t be back.

Bit pricy but nice. Food was nice but overpriced for what it was.

Avoid the Cafe overpriced everything frozen food and my food wasn’t even warm told staff about it and they said I’ll change it got it changed and it was still cold. Avoid avoid avoid

Was in Dobbies for a browse and thought I would go to the cafe for a cappuccino and a cake, big mistake! Have not been in the cafe for a long time but it has totally gone downhill. Just had a cappuccino due to the excessive price of the cakes. The girl serving managed to spill it all over the saucer and the chocolate as well. Went to find a table but it was hard to find one that didn't have uncleared dirty dishes on it. Eventually sat at one that wasnt cleared and I moved all the debris to make a space. Other people were doing the same. I counted ten uncleared tables around me. Looked like they were short of staff. All in all a bad experience and I won't be back!

Booked as a birthday treat and our first Christmas meal and very pleased we did. Selection and food was excellent and we had a lovely server who was extremely helpful . In short a lovely experience

Love Dobbies, go all year round but love it at Christmas

We visited here for my daughter to meet Santa which was lovely. Santa and elfs were very friendly and it was smooth and timely service. We then went for lunch in cafe. Slow service, no obvious menus or signage to state what was on offer, extremely over priced, seating area very run down and not what I remember it being and during eating our lunch my daughter was getting rained on was water was just dripping from the roof extremely poor experience of cafe which in turn has caused me not to be keen to return unless upgraded.

Christmas at Dobbies is so magical but …. the food was terrible , slow to be served and poor quality. They desperately need more staff on the check outs - big queues at the two tills in operation . Food department not as good as it use to be. Overall not a great experience .

Took my puppy to see Santa at grotto and was lovely Christmassy and santa and elves were great with roxy highly recommended 👌 👍

This cafe/restaurant is way past its sell by date. Staff looked as if they didn’t want to be there, and the service was very slow. If you do visit do not order the scones. They were dry and very crumbly and just too difficult to spread butter on them It used to be a pleasure to visit but I will definitely give it a miss from now on.

Was taken to the cafe by a friend for her birthday. What slow service! Our hot food was no longer even warm by the time we'd queued for coffee and paid. Panini and toastie could have done with being browned more. Cafe was freezing, don't even think the heating was on. Love the fact that dogs are allowed.

This is a beautiful spot with a great big restaurant/ cafe. The cakes and sandwiches are always fabulous but am afraid once again your scones are such a let down..Very dry, very crumbly. Hard to butter and not anything great to taste. Need to speak to Hayes bakery. We are also not the only ones talking about this let down. So yes recommend for for anything but scones.

Christmas display really wonderful

Dobbies Garden centre has a great selection of plants as well as house decorations. If you want to have a beautiful garden you can find all your luxurious needs here. The clothing shop inside also has good quality items. The restaurant looks very cosy inside with a lot of plants around it. The waitress was outstanding, and the food was exactly what I was looking for. We had our breakfast here. We were so pleased with the service. We were very impressed with the quality of the food and desserts we received. The restaurant also has a great cake selection. If you are passing by this beautiful town in Scotland, called Ayr make sure that you have a drink and food here. I can highly recommend The Dobbies Garden centre.

They were busy changing things around for Christmas popped in to cafe service was good however cafe itself looked a bit run down maybe needs a bit of a make over not changed much over the years

Excellent range of products and great service from staff. Prices are above average.

Good food and pleasant service. We had a great time. Free coffee as well.

Poor today. No Caramel Latte . But even worse at cutlery counter, not 1 knife available. Apparently every knife in the place was in dishwasher, even though abundance of all other cutlery. Over 30 minutes before any appeared. Unacceptable!!!

Love Dobbies Ayr , very friendly and knowledgeable staff always willing to help with top quality products throughout the store and it's very close by which is convenient.😁

Came for lunch while waiting by crematorium. Selection was poor and customer service was shocking. Asked for a tuna panini, the server grabbed a cold baguette and cut in half. Was looking forward to a toasted panini and side salad but nothing. It tasted ok but this sad baguette cost almost £9 (no salad, crisps or drink, just the cold baguette)

Think their cafeteria survives due to the custom it enjoys having Ayr Crematorium within spitting distance [ bumped into some of the cast of Two Doors Down a couple of weeks ago who met there before attending the script writer's funeral in the late morning] Dobbies needs to get its act together. For a good few years the time taken to be served has become increasingly annoying. Hot food is cold/luke warm by the time you get to the hot drinks counter and/or the checkout. Today we only wanted two flat white coffees plus one Empire Biscuit to share. The British Empire has shrunk decidedly as have Dobbie's biscuits. At the checkout, manned on-and-off by a young man, I asked him to take the two coffees off our Dobbies Club Plus card. [ two being free every calendar month] When I was paying £3.25 for the less than 4 inch diameter biscuit I commented that this was a ridiculous price to which he replied "You're getting your coffees for nothing". Resisted telling him that we are close friends of the Dobbies Regional Manager. Our supposedly Flat White coffee was weak, verging on anaemic and my wife didn't finish it.

Excellent service and comfort seating. Will be back.

Went into Debbie's Ayr today, toilets disgusting, lights flashing, queued for food and coffee, no cups, milk, insufficient staff. Walked out as I got fed up with waiting. Went to Gemmels, great service, great food and they welcomed me on arrival, Dobbies, you need to learn from your competitors!

Dobbies always good for a rummage. Got dome good discounted plants for the garden and a cracking windmill! Some of the shelves/areas empty and a bit sad looking 😔 Also, a drip coming from the ceiling being "fixed" with a big plastic plant pot catching the water 💧 The cafe was mobbed, and this on a Monday late morning. Very dog friendly.

As a Dobbies club plus member I was in with my friend to enjoy my FREE birthday cake and coffee for two which we thoroughly enjoyed . That alone would pay for my year's membership.Thank you Dobbies

Sad to see the decline in the once great garden centre. Food expensive for what it is. Tea pot half the size, portions of good poor. The seating areas are so worn I didn't sit on them The stock of everything is sadly lacking I think this store has really gone downhill. Been a Dobbies card holder for many a long year. So we have just decided to cancel it as there are better garden centres nearby that produce quality food and beverages in their centres, along side lots of gardening products. We have just left the store to go elsewhere. Loss of sales from us. Another centres gain.

Wanted soup and a sandwich but they had no soup... sandwiches were fine but were better value when added to the soup and sandwich deal

Lovely, nice tea, reasonably priced, clean loos, nice kids play area.

Not a great cafe, plenty of choice with huge cakes etc, the hot meals are a complete let down. Breakfasts are okay, bit expensive and can be a bit cool in temperature

Restaurant is Severely over priced 2 soups, 2 baguettes and a can £28 pound. Bit of a rip off

Love this garden centre, stock a wide range of plants, garden pots, in fact everything for the garden. Pet food as well restaurant has a variety of foods, cakes and scones are excellent

Waited 15mts in queue. Only to find out no soup. Service was horrible and the serving staff didn't seem to care. Service needs seriously looked at. I'll never be back.

Under staffed Long queues, had to wait in line for cakes as staff were making up sandwiches and salads etc, husband stood in separate queue for coffees and got served after a while I had to leave the queue without cakes to have with our drinks or the coffees would have been cold otherwise. Seriously need to get more staff or a better work system in place . Everyone was complaining.

Expensive place. BUT the food is good. IT WOULD ALSO PAY DOBBIES TO REMEMBER MOST PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING, BECAUSE OF THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS. REDUCE YOUR PRICES , ITS NICE TO BE NICE, AND THIS WILL MAKE YOUR SHOP EVEN MORE PROFITABLE 📈 😀

Not the garden centre it used to be more of a furniture and home decoration store

Love Dobbies, never come out of there without buying something☺️

Does not have vegan meals and refuses to make a simple sandwich cos it has gone 3pm even though the stuff to do it had not been put away

Visited on 25th June. Companions say the scones were very nice and enjoyed their drinks. I had an oat milk flat white but there was nothing at all vegan on offer for me to eat. Surely in 2023 you can make some scone or bake that's suitable for vegans and for everyone! This was my fourth visit and fourth time mentioning it to staff but no improvement.

Nice garden centre, just had a quick stop for tea and refreshments, toilet facilities are good here.

Awful experience, never again! As follows: - Massive queue with very little staff. Only one person serving on hot food. Food was cold by the time we sat down. It was a weekend and on Father's Day so could not understand the understaffing situation. -...

Took my family to Dobbies in Ayr today for lunch. It was absolutely awful. No baguettes and limited fillings. We had to ask for salad with our sandwiches and the coleslaw tasted off. All drinks were warm and the ice bucket was empty. No water in the jugs. Tables were free of dishes but not wiped properly and sticky. No sandwiches in the children’s section so my grandson only had quavers and an apple for lunch. Total cost of lunch £23. Don’t think we’ll be back. Over priced and poor quality.

I visit Dobbies regularly, usually for coffee or lunch. Hot meals are available for breakfast, lunch together with toasties and panninis. A car or bus is required to get there as it is outside of town.

What on earth has happened to this place, it's used to be fun and vibrant, with descent food and toilets that didn't stick, Yuck. All the staff looked as miserable as sin, apart from the two giggling girls on checkout who were more interest in...

Really enjoy going into dobbies like walking around and the restaurant has a good choice food

This has gone way down hill! Lemon meringue pie with pouring cream £4.95…and they had run out of pouring cream at 2pm! When I challenged the till person why I was charged the same price she stated that it was the same price and we...

Massive garden centre. Lovely garden stock. Cafe is great, can be very busy.

I visited this garden centre with a friend and enjoyed a nice lunch in the cafe. The kind young man who prepared our jacket potatoes carried our food to the table for us despite him being so busy, which we really appreciated. The food was delicious, and the Neopolitan cake was to die for! There was ample seating in the conservatory, and it is also dog-friendly. The garden centre is huge with every type of flower and plant imaginable and we spent a couple of hours looking around. All the staff were friendly and helpful when we asked questions. Everything was displayed beautifully and I particularly liked the pet section.

An excellent garden centre and also a brilliant restaurant and excellent customer services

Very well stocked with plants, cuttings seeds etc and a very spacious cafe/ restaurant

Went in for breakfast. Very disappointing. Eggs looked like they had been left over from yesterday, toast brick hard, the standard of the old motorway services. They could learn from excellent garden centres like Hays and Gemmells

Plenty of choice but unfortunately their prices are just too excessive in general terms in comparison to other online retailers.

This was a very poor experience, at 1.30 pm they had no baguettes left and offered us a very poor white bread sandwich as an alternative. This was served on pan bread and the cheese and pickle filling was so thin, definately not worth £6.75....

Popped in for breakfast on the way past; the restaurant area is very good, reasonably priced, and the food is very tasty. Garden centre area is light & airy, and very well stocked.

Went to dobbies at ayr today they seem to be so short staffed in every dept . Dont think the prices in the cafe are warranted for food on offer . The toilets werent clean no toilet paper in 3 of the ladies toilets and floor looked liked it hadn't been washed in days . The garden centre isnt any better so many dead or dying plants through lack of water some of them were lying on ground and out of pots .really needs looking at in every dept

We love visiting the restaurant here and go regularly. The food is very good and the cakes wonderful. We visit whether or not we need to buy something for the garden or a gift.

Breakfast choice poor. Not enough items for the traditional breakfast. Worst part was , after getting served our drinks,we stood at till for well over 5 mins. We were 1st customers. We had to ask if anyone was going to take our payment as our food was getting cold. This appeared to be an inconvenience. The coordination from getting food, drinks and paying is slow, poor and whats the point in ordering hot food that is stone cold by the time you get to your table.

First time in this place.Brilliant got everything you need.Very impressed even prices are very good.

Dog friendly restaurant. Very tasty fish and chips. Very nice service

Just went into Dobbies for coffee and cake. Excellent service and pleasant enough for meeting up with a friend.

Very expensive and slow moving long queues at busy times in the cafe.

Asked about the kids eat free to be told its a kids 4 item breakfast but I only wanted a roll on square sausage..remember it's 3 items less but charged as an extra meal ??? Sorry not be back...and also there were MANY tables needing attention...nothing to with the STAFF. ... BUT MANAGEMENT!!!

Bacon rolls and coffee for breakfast were lovely.....the rest of the shoo looking a bit sparse and uninteresting.

Great place for plants and a coffee with friends

Firstly - short staffed short of plates. Queued for coffee by which time soup and toastie was cold. Vastly overpriced. Cheaper places nearby and a lot cleaner. Seating torn and very worn / tired. Will not be back. Will not be renewing discount card as...

Take a flask if you're waiting for a coffee in the cafeteria. A ridiculous length of time waiting to get served and very disorganised when we eventually got served.

Treated my Mum to an afternoon tea for Mother's Day, a day early due to work commitments. Taken through to a separate room that was all decorated lovely, attentive service from ladies and lovely selection of sandwiches and cakes and a lovely gift at the end. Was a lovely visit and we were made to feel really special. Thank you Dobbies

Love the food at dobbies friendly staff a good selection of seeds for the avid gardener

Well stocked with indoor plants today treatedmyself to a new plant and a coffee of course

ALWAYS enjoy a coffee at dobbies but the last few times I've been the service has been very very slow.

Shop looking a bit low in stock and household items very tired and boring

Had a nice lunch with hubby today. Not enough staff as usual. Feel so sorry for the staff, run off their feet 😥

Great selection of indoor and outdoor plants.very good restaurant for meals or just coffee.

Disappointed here. Breakfast stack was 'made to order' they said 5mins but it took over 15mins and was just two hash browns with mushrooms which were all out already so not sure why it had to get made to order. There were no knives left, no ice to go with the water and everything is over priced. The two hash browns with mushrooms were £5.20 not sure if I'm paying the extra for 'quality' or the service but both were missing regardless.

Had a lovely breakfast this morning at Dobbies Ayr, very pleasant hardworking staff,very busy too.

Really disappointing visit to Dobbies cafe in Ayr today. We arrived at the cafe for lunch at 1pm. There were no baked potatoes ready, no paninis, only selected toasted sandwiches and a very small selection of cakes, the shelves were empty?! Even the choice of cold drinks was limited to irn bru or water? My sister ended up with a stale roll and my mum had to drink tea out of a pint glass as they didn't have any cups? Not adequately staffed and very poor value considering the price. Will not be back.

Went in for coffee and scone with the kids.... poor service. others chose hot food which then mustve gone cold due to the wait for a simple coffee. our plate was dirty for our scone, my wife struggled to find a clean spoon, the floor...

Friendly Staff. Every time i cone to restaurant the tables have trays on them i gladly clear on tray and ask for table to be cleaned. On my visit dirty tray in front of me staff clesred tables where no one was sitting wiped down i was waiting they then left the area im still sitting with dirty tray. I had to call staff to clean table this happens ...