Dobbies Garden World in Lisburn

Arrived for a coffee and my husband joined a long queue as we had the dog with us. I wandered around the store for quite some time then found the outside courtyard. It was busy with people sitting in the sun enjoying meals and coffee. Finally got an empty table only to be quickly evicted by a member of staff who said they were operating a one out/one in system due to Covid. So I headed back to the queue to find my husband where I had left him, albeit with many more behind him. There is loads of room for more tables outside and if is the system they have chosen then people should be limited as to how long they can stay. Totally unrealistic. Will continue to collect my free coffee and birthday treats - current count is 20 but will not be back until this changes. Take my advice. Unless you have a day to queue don’t bother going. Can’t rate food or value as we didn’t get that far.

I've probably visited 10 of Dobbies stores from Ayr to Preston and all have their particular faults, but Lisburn is badly run, its horticulture dept is badly set up, yes a lack of house keeping is noted in all departments. Food is miserable and lacks alot. An example is the scones, customers have objected to them as they are not scones but rock cakes as they are far too big for Northern Ireland. Outside areas need a spring clean, weeds everywhere, its supposed to be a garden center not a clothing store,. Suggest they get rid of Edinburgh Woolen Mill and bring in Rydale Clothing which is more suited to gardeners.

Found my Alisa Craig seeds and joined long queue which had no provision for fast purchasing - instead was in queue with people with trolleys packed with Christmas purchases.When it came to my turn the young man “shouted” to me “this is a queue which should really be in this next line - it got started by accident. Go to end of this next queue”. So, I set down the little packet which could have been paid for in two minutes by card tap. Walked out and ordered the seeds by card on Amazon, less expensive, arrived to my house next morning. Now growing nicely.Why doesn’t someone say to that young man “what you did is destroying your own job”. Poor attitude, time, discourteous.

Love dobbies large range of items I’ve always found staff pleasant and helpful ,The restaurant is always busy I must try is the scones beautiful ,The checkouts can be busy but go quickly ,Can’t say any thing negative about dobbies nice day out plenty to browse through They have seats outside and play area for children weather permitting

Dobbies great as usual. Lots of christmas gifts and plants great. Coping with the covid restrictions well and santas here. Scones and cream not a disappointment

Very disappointing. A lot of items not priced. No staff around to check. Quite expensive. One person on till, with around 8 in queue. After 5 minutes another 2 tills opened - after staff manning them had a chat!! Staff appeared completely interested and there was no “service with a smile”, or even acknowledgement. Will not return in a hurry!!

I don't go to Dobbies often because it's significantly more expensive than other garden centres but they sell some quality brand and items the others don't. However this is not a product review but one of how some of the staff conduct themselves. Having worked in retail many years ago I have an idea how to treat and act around customers.Firstly I went to a shelf and there were no labels or prices which is annoying so I asked a staff member if he knew or could find out the price. He went away and came back with a price for the wrong item, so away he went again. After a few minutes I looked down at the till which was about 50ft away and the individual was on the till serving another customer. Very rude.So I picked the item having guessed the price and headed to the checkout, the queue was about 6 deep and had two checkouts operational. When I got to the front of the queue I headed around to the far checkout to be met with " Where you in the queue?" I answered Yes, that is why I've been sanding in it for 5 minutes. That was met was a rude and dismissive remark as if I'd just ignored the queue and bunked it.I understand having worked in retail that people have bad days and the pay isn't great but if basic customer service is too much then perhaps it's time to find another job that doesn't involve in dealing with members of the public.

We stopped in the cafe for a cup of coffee after visiting the Garden Centre. The regular americano was a bit on the large side but nice enough nonetheless. Good adherance to covid regulations with clean tables and spacing.

Visited about 10am on Saturday morning. Lovely young man doing track and trace details at coffee shop but lack of staff led to a good wait to get coffee and tray bakes! Building was cold and staff disinterested! Was going to buy some plants but couldn’t face the long queue!This place needs to step up and offer service with pleasant surroundings. Was always a fan but will go elsewhere from now on

Went to Dobbies for breakfast on Thursday morning ,one guy plateing up your breakfast then he had to go get you your tea and then dash across to the till for the payment.My breakfast was one sausage one hash brown 5mushrooms a slice of bacon baked beans and one piece of soda bread My husband had similar breakfast .I could have used the bacon for a piece of leather it was uneatable sausage was cold ,soda bread under fried and roughly got a teaspoon of beans.this cost just over £12.00 including 2 teas.Went to Witherspoons this morning hash brown ,beans ,egg ,bacon and as many cups of tea or coffee as we wanted all served piping hot just over £6.00

Visited here yesterday - poor selection of treats for a cuppa in the afternoon - staff were far from helpful or pleasant - I was asked what I wanted a knife and napkin for !Service very slow.Expensive for two Rice Krispie buns and two hot drinks!

I visited dobbies yesterday with my husband didn't see any sanitation in the restaurant young man took a cloth out of his apron pocket and wiped dirty tables put the cloth back into his apron and moved to the next table and did the same no sanitation whatsoever was used customers sat at unsanitised tables to be honest i didn't feel very safe don't no how they got A A approved for covid 19

My wife,her friend and myself visited Dobbies in lisburn today, Thursday 30th July and to our horror we and about 5% of shoppers were the only persons wearing face masks. We had the respect not to spread any possible virus droplets to others but at least well over 100 people had not the same thoughts.We were also disappointed that there was no security at the entrance doors to check on the amount of people entering.We were going to have a meal but after standing in the queue with maskless people all around us we decided enough was enough and left. We are all Dobbies card holders and unfortunately we all decided not to visit again in the foreseeable future.

I visited Dobbies in Lisburn about 6months ago (mid 2019). I'd been several times in the past and the food was fine. This time, it was terrible. The food was supposed to be hot but it was unpleasantly cool. It was offputtingly bland. The chips had yesterday's texture. Nothing on our two plates was worthy of cafe food.This is a pity because the shop is otherwise excellent... well, quite a bit overpriced to be honest.

I called here with my pensioner Mother for lunch on 18th March. My Mum insisted on paying and when we ordered two shallow bowls of Irish stew, a glass of milk and a glass of water from the food counter, I agreed, thinking it won't cost too much. We were charged £16.90 and had to ask for cutlery and sauce from an unfriendly cashier. I liked looking around the rest of the shop and garden centre but some of the prices were very high.

Called for a quick lunch with family. Food is fine for a garden centre cafe. Feels like a nursing home dining hall though, no music or atmosphere. Our primary concern was the poster stating that the hand washing facilities in the toilets were marked as being out of order. Dreadful particularly with the current government advice on the importance of hand washing.

Hi, We (5 of us)On a recent visit to "Dobbies" went into cafe for a well earned break on Saturday (22/02/20),we were under no elusion that it may not be busy, however we proceeded to pick up coffee/tea at the self serve station provided, only to discover a lack of availability of cutlery/napkins etc as we had purchased pastries that required forks to eat with and what do you know there wasnt a fork ,proper mugs for coffee or fresh water in the dispensary had not been refilled at all on demand ,this was very disappointing and off putting to say the least ,the staff were friendly enough that wasn't the issue, as someone who works in the food industry I was gob smacked by lack of good management, we have used this establishment on several occasions before this and standards were below average then as a few minor issues were present then ! But nothing too much so hence give them the benefit of the doubt on Saturday thinking they would not rest on their laurels, sadly they have !!! My recommendation is a floor manager distinguishable by a manager badge (maybe wearing a suit!!) So that any disputes can be dealt with quickly and efficiently, until then we will give it a miss!!!!

Without doubt the worst fry I have ever had.zero taste and had to send both back to be reheated. Nearly £21 for 2 with one tea and one pure orange! I got a hair on my toast and was offered fresh toast and a hot drink if I would like it, I declined the drink as I don’t like hot drinks. The place itself was absolutely freezing we had to sit with our coats on it actually was warmer outside.Definitely won’t be recommending and won’t be in restaurant again.So disappointing!

Sent for tea and scones to find the plates wet on telling staff was told.to.look.through them to find dry ones? On eating our scones and drinking tea we had only just eaten and a member of staff started clearing our table? She was very grumpy knocking my walking stick to the floor, there was no need to clear the tableware we where not finished and the place was not busy we felt pushed out and left! The scones were firm and not fresh and the pastry sickinly sweet.. If your looking for a friendly place to chat don't go here you wontfell welcomed food not great either.

How poor is this restaurant. It is going down. Today there were no knives, no plates no forks staff were fitting with each other and I had to use the end of a spoon to butter my scone. People with hot food I’m sure it was cold

We decided to visit the Santa Grotto at Dobbies this year with our new baby. I had seen it was nearly booked so thought that was a good sign it must be good. Yes it was perfectly adequate for our baby the elf was lovely and friendly, just Santa didn’t look very authentic. We went to get food and understandably as it’s so close to Christmas the queue was very long and slow. I had ordered a panini which was cold by the time we had waited in the queue to order hot good as well and pay. The tables were not cleared. The ladies toilets were out of order which was really inconvenient, a lot of people where giving off about this. A positive note is good sized baby changing area.

Chris and Carolyn at the hamper counter were superb and went far above the call of duty to help out yesterday. They could not have been more supportive and understanding when my son went into melt down and totally eased my shopping experience. A big thanks to both of them.

Very disappointed from the get go, as I asked in the door holding the hand of my toddler someone came barging past me to get in the door and almost tripped me up, I actually apologised as a knee jerk reaction although it wasn’t my mistake and then realised it was a member of staff and she didn’t even acknowledge me or the toddler!! We began looking around and there was what I assume a manager telling two members of staff what they had to do, they had shelves on the floor, empty boxes also all of which we had to dodge and the staff just watched us trying to navigate our way round, it was ignorant and ridiculous! We carried on as I have always loved coming here in the past and just put it down to them being busy?!! We then went into the restaurant to get hot chocs and scones all round, the latte wasn’t filled to the top and the syrup just settled at the bottom, I had to ask for more milk and to be honest it took ages and there was not one smile from any of the staff serving, they honestly look like they are serving some kind of prison sentence!!! The lady who worked the till was really lovely and offered the children in our group colouring which was lovely of her! The scone was delicious also and the desserts were fab too! We then browsed some more and we went to the food court and the gentleman working there was very friendly. I had picked up several items to purchase and off I went to pay, the cashiers were all lacking in happiness and the lady that served me was actually ignorant, it annoyed me so much that I actually wished her a good day as I left, surely they should be wishing us a nice day?!!! I will never go back here, I don’t wish to shop somewhere that I feel an inconvenience, a smile costs nothing and as previously working years as a manager in the retail business I would be devastated if my staff behaved this way!! If you don’t like the job you are in then choose another career!!! Maybe Dobbies you could take the lady on the food till and the gentleman in the food court to give the rest of your staff some lessons in good customer service!! I never put up bad reviews but I was absolutely disgusted today and also devastated that what was once a lovely place to walk into is now such a miserable environment!!!

Got served raw fish. the batter was still runny. and the chips were lukewarm and not cooked at all (very raw potato) spoke to staff who then gave me. burnt fish and burnt chips. would not eat here again.

Stopped here for a bite of lunch as I'd seen the cafe on previous visits to the garden centre, but never used it.

Having had people recommend this place, I thought I'd take the opportunity to come for breakfast as I had a free morning! This was my first mistake!!! The food was so under cooked, I'll put money on it I'm Ill later, from the tiny bit I tasted You order your food first and then your drinks, the coffee took so long to make, that even if the food was cooked and edible, it was cold by the time your drink was ready and you got sat down Coffee was lovely, and if that's all I was coming for, it'd be great, but I was hoping for a nice sit down breakfast, instead I'll probably get a bout of tummy problems, would never return, not even for the sake of the coffee!

This is only a review of the garden centre itself and very nice it is too. Xmas display looked really cheery and there appeared to be a very good selection of items.

I don't like having to be negative, so this is review should be read as one from a critical friend. The positive first: the restaurant provides a spacious meeting place. However, while the garden centre is excellent, and the variety of goods in the shop is extensive, the restaurant disappoints. The pricing is broadly equivalent to that for table service, yet the food provided does not match the price being paid. My latest gripe relates to yesterday's coffee: a cappochina which was slightly above stone cold and marginally less than tepid. Not good enough. Staff need to be sharper in serving and at the paypoint. I'll continue to use the garden centre, but there are other options for satisfying coffee.

Stephen in the garden centre really helped me out with 34 trees that needed to be planted in my yard. He had great advice and was a big help.

Eat here twice recently, once a main meal, it was very ordinary. Then at a later date coffee and scones rev for a small group of friends. Very dear for what it is. I mean who charges 35 pence for a small pat of butter. I think they would charge for air if they could. Disappointing.

First impression was the size of the building complimented by a well laid out carpark with plenty of space between cars and good access and easy exit routes.

The garden centre is always full of good gardening tools and garden products, but this time it was a quick stop for tea and snacks.

Had cappuccino coffee and scones at 4pm . Also had a browse round the garden centre and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, in store . Large range of plants and other gifts.

Stopped in for a coffee on way to Belfast, which then morphed into a lunch!

We go regularly to Dobbies and now are greeted by name and guided to offers etc in particular by Jenny. Stephen is great at recommending plants and another member of staff, Dermot has expert knowledge of indoor plants and has been very helpful. The cafe is let down by tables not being cleared and this tends to always be the case. A pleasant place to visit.

Called in here to try for 2nd time, 1st time wasn’t good for food, so gave it another go, just wanted a sandwich, asked for salad creme instead of butter, and No, waitress couldn’t give me salad creme, that I would have to go and buy a sachet for her to make my sandwich, such a load of nonsense, staff would need to smile a bit more, if they don’t want the job give it to someone who does, definitely won’t eat here again, over rated

Had lunch here with my 2 children and it was so expensive. Cost £25 and my son only had a scone. Very overpriced and nothing special. Wont be back for food.

Very pleasant surroundings and excellent parking facilities. Easily accessible as a short distance from M1. Plenty to choose from whether shopping or eating. Only downside is that both shop and restaurant are a bit on the expensive side. Otherwise worth a visit.

Even though it was near closing time the staff were very friendly and most accommodating. As I am unable to cope with a lot of fat in my diet the chef suggested she would steam the fish and I enjoyed a very substantial meal on a beautiful summer evening in the outside area of the restaurant. Everything was very clean and tidy even though it was at the end of a very busy day. I was very impressed and would recommend it.

7th August - visited for lunch at 1pm. Self-service, all a bit chaotic. As it's in a long line of different sections, it's confusing to know if you can move up the queue and join in further on. Staff seemed to be chasing their tails but not being really helpful. Had run out of chicken & leek pie...at 1pm?! Next choice was fish and chips only to be told there was 15min wait. We gave up and got 2 soup!I Lady beside me summed things up 'They really make you work hard here to get your food, I won't be back!' Another lady told her grandson 'I think we will give it a miss and just go home!'

Grand if you are in Dobbies anyway but I wouldn't make a trip just to visit the restaurant. Quality and service can be hit and miss and tends to be slow at lunchtime.

I called into Dobbies following a long wait of weeks for an item bought and paid for. The atmosphere was hostile and what seemed like a newish member of staff was fitting right in. Snotty and rude. Never once an apology and twice more or less called us liars. Avoid Dobbies

After choosing to give Dobbies a second chance after a previous bad experience, we had lunch as a family again. Good was cold, beef stroganoff had next to no meat in it, food was cold and fairy cake was rock hard. Not worth the money.

Visiting Dobbies for 30 minutes just to look around took about 3 hours as Hubby & I wandered in and out of areas of interest including a BBQ area; the room candle/diffuser etc area, which has an amazing selection. Around every corner there was something to cause us to stop, linger and inevitably buy. Clean, attractive & very friendly staff means that we have already recommended a visit to friends heading North on holiday.

There is not enough staff onthe coffee counter when you get your warm lunch it is cold by the time you get coffee and sit down . And the staff are busy talking not interested in the customers

Our small group all wanted something different and all were satisfied. But tea and coffee queue meant that some dishes were cold by the time we sat down. A tip would be to pay and get seated and delegate hot drinks collection.

Took my mum to Dobbies yesterday for the first time, don't think we'll be back. EVERYTHING overpriced. Garden centre section most things we lifted to purchase we set back. As for the restaurant, someone seriously needs to look at the pricing, prices of everything way above average prices in cafe's etc. Wasn't very appealing looking at first glance either. So much room for improvement. Very disappointed. Staff could be more happy looking as well, most of them looked like they didn't want to be there .

Following a recent visit to Dobbies, I have decided to never return and only give my custom to smaller independent garden centres/nurseries. I went to Dobbies looking for a watering can, container compost and a scarifying rake. All of these items were shockingly overpriced so I left to go elsewhere. Instead of buying an ugly plastic watering can priced at £26 in Dobbies I got a beautiful maroon tin watering can and container compost in Maryland Nurseries, Moneyreagh for less than half the price. Scarifying rakes are cheaper on amazon!

First visit to Dobbies which I had been looking forward to. What a disappointment.

Good garden centre but v poor cafe. Dirty cups, saucers, teapots and no teaspoons.

Day out with hubby, wanted new water feature and treat ourselves to hot lunch. Choice limited, queues for ordering food, queue for hot drinks then queue to pay, whilst waiting for our order. 12.30pm on a Saturday, 20% off voucher weekend and one person on till, unbelievable. By the time we sat to eat food was lukewarm at best. We don't eat out often, it's a treat when we do, this was such a disappointment and quite expensive.

We simply wanted a coffee and a toasted sandwich.

Carrying a full tray towards the 4 dog friendly tables, I noted that all but one was dirty and laden heavily with uncleared trays and debris. The one clean table was being occupied by a phone-focused Dobbie's employee who looked up but made no attempt to move the 5 feet or so to a table in the non-dog section. Nor did he assist. When we asked might there be someone working who could clear a table, he said he was on a break, and continued as before while we set down our tray, and removed the 4 dirty trays from the least cluttered table. When we commented on his lack of assistance he told us we didn't ask for help. We won't be back.

Went to buy some items in this store but as soon as the staff see you are looking help they walk away. Never have I encountered such a poor attitude to customers. I will not be back!!

We recently had lunch at Dobbies restaurant. This was the second time and although the first visit had been dissapointing we were prepared to give it a second go. Unfortunately the service was just as bad if not worse. The lady staff worked very hard but not enough of them to cope with a busy lunchtime. We then had to clear a table for us to sit at as the boys doing that job seem to have disappeared. We shall not be going back.

It’s just a job- no eye contact, they take your money- too much for the ‘middle of the road’ menu. No ambience at att in this huge open plan, stuff as many as you can restaurant. Disappointing!

Went to the restaurant several times and the selection was poor. Ordered a sandwich and told they had no cheese, so ordered a second only to be told they had no bacon. Who runs out of cheese!

Visited restaurant for amazing afternoon tea for 3 adults today. Staff were very friendly efficient and couldn’t have been more helpful. Food was terrific and included assorted sandwiches scones cakes desserts etc Such a lovely treat and we definitely will return again soon.

Called for lunch, Pleasantly surprised at variety of food on offer. All the food looked really well cooked and inviting. You have choice of snack or full cooked meal. Really light airy eating area which was spotlessly clean. An assistant was constantly brushing up around tables once vacated, without being obtrusive to other diners. A pleasant change as so many places wipe/clear tables but leave the floor area messy.

Went here breakfast on Saturday morning . Now I work with coffee and I know I don't need hair Net, But anybody that works with food needs to wear a hairnet! 2 girls making sandwiches both had long hair in a ponytail but their hair was swinging around their shoulders and they were making a sandwich for the guy in front of me I actually felt sorry for him because the girl making the sandwiches had 2 loose hairs on her work shirt and I thought I would not be eaten anything in here that didn't come in a packet! I passed the guy and went and had coffee and I felt sick thinking about the thought of them hairs going in somebody's food I won't be back until I see visible hair nets and no hairs on clothes! absolutely disgusting!

My wife and I called in this morning for breakfast , we had a 7 piece fry, the girl serving said they were under staffed, worse fry I ever had. Cold Cold Cold.

We have just returned from my daughter's 5th birthday party in the new soft play. I couldn't recommend it more for a party. The staff were brilliant. We had the whole soft play to ourselves for the majority of the party. The children had afternoon tea, which was very cute served on proper stands. There was so much food we took several boxes home! The children also were able to decorate gingerbread men, and were given a party bag and cupcakes and balloons to take home. We had a visit from Dobby the reindeer which was a big hit with the children. There was even a gift for the birthday girl. For less than £10 a head it was an absolute bargain. Thank you Dobbies!

I don’t know why I keep going back here as is it getting worse and worse. The restaurant is awful and is nothing like what it used to be in their early days of opening. Some of the staff in the restaurant are rude and offhand; others are lovely and engage well with customers.

Hubby and I were headed to Phillips showroom next door so we stopped here for some lunch. Sample Fish and chips looked good and being cooked to order we thought it would be good. Was ready very quickly and fish batter looked anaemic and soggy. Chips were chunky but grey and watery inside. Just about cooked and no more Worst fish and chips we have ever had. At almost a tenner per portion this was daylight robbery. Don’t mind paying for good quality food but this was awful. Only thing to recommend visit was the very helpful and friendly young girl on the till. Won’t be eating here again with Ashvale just a few minutes along the road !!!

The garden club membership offers 2 free coffees each month, so usually call in a few times, love the gardening displays and the tropical fish hall. The spacious restaurant always has free seats and staff are quick at clearing and cleaning tables. The new soft play hall seems popular, and adults with small children are able to enjoy the space. Queue at food moves quickly and flow through of customers seems to have improved, staff are helpful and glad to see teaspoons for the coffee are plentiful, used to have to seek them out. Overall, feel service has improved sonewhat.

My friends took a family group here for their Father's Birthday treat. We had The Luxury Afternoon Tea,absolutely delicious. An amazing choice of sandwiches,hot food and a number of choices of pastries. Staff were very friendly and the service was superb. We had some food left over and we we're given boxes to take it home with us. Would highly recommend Dobbies for Afternoon Tea,looking forward to going back very soon.

Stopped on the way to airport for late breakfast / early lunch. To be honest, we would have been better waiting and eating at the airport cause even that would have been better!!

A friend and I went to Dobbies for breakfast. Extremely disappointed by the poor layout of the breakfast. We were handed our plates which were not heated, and had to wait for coffees to be made. By the time we got our coffees, paid the bill and sat down, the food was stone cold!! This in my opinion is completely unsatisfactory, especially when charging nearly £16!! The method in which cooked breakfasts are served really needs to be looked at. Unless changes are made will not be back.

Good selection of plants and ornaments but I thought it was really expensive. Cafe was poor, someone really needs to take control of the quality of the food. There is much better value and quality to be had in Lisburn

Dobbies has lovely items for sale and delicious food but a major let down is the staff. They could do with being a bit more cheerful, especially the staff at the front counter when leaving the store. Just about got a thank you from the blonde lady at the till, no polite talk or smile. This isnt the first time its happened either. Not a good look for Dobbies when your staff dont seem motivated or pleasant. The food hall has a nice selection and there is a good variety of items for sale throughout the store

We visited Dobbies for breakfast with a group of friends and the whole experience was in a word...grim. We ordered 3 cooked breakfasts and apparently there was some delay with the scrambled egg but while waiting for it to come out the staff member plated up out breakfasts and handed them to me. I had to ask if perhaps they could stay on the hot plate to keep warm while waiting as they were obviously going to be cold. We had to wait so long to be served that by the time we queued for coffee, queued to pay and finally got to our table all 3 were stone cold. I had to use the microwave provided for heating baby food to reheat them! The staff seemed oblivious and weren’t overly helpful at all. If you have a look at my other reviews I’m not generally one to be critical and tend to take the view that if you’re not going to say something nice then say nothing at all, but on this occasion I was so disappointed by the whole thing that I felt it worth posting a review.

Vast selection of potted plants, soils etc. Good quality trays for window boxes and the like. Well laid out store but with premium price.Cafe overpriced for average food.

Staff are friendly, food well prepared and tasty. A welcome break from shopping or just a different place for lunch of elevenses.

We called in here for a coffee and scone and whilst both were very good we thought that £2.50 for a coffee and £2.15 for a scone was just a little overpriced for what is essentially a canteen style café in a garden centre/gift shop. It's easy enough to get to as it's situated just off the motorway at the junction for Lisburn Town and Saintfield. You need to take the turn for Saintfield and you'll find it on the right next to the VW car dealer.

Lovely lunch - well priced and tasty at the same time. Would recommend but can get very crowded during lunch

Ordered soup and slice of bread £4.75

Attend charity event last week samples and demos around the store and 2 mains for £12 on offer but to be honest main course was awful tough chicken cheap cuts like leg and thighs on offer it was inedible will not be returning had previously popped in for coffee but machine on right hand side horrible and cold had to ask for fresh cups noticed this was not working on the charity night ( seemed bits of matching were soaking and being cleaned)so perhaps staff have had complaints and addressed them. nice setting but food left a lot to be desired deli and bakery looks good but sadly hot food in cafe was very dissappointing.

Catriona and I plus Malcolm had lunch here today. The food was excellent and the serving staff were all very busy and attentive to detail, BUT there were too few of them and so a lengthy queue built up. This cannot be blamed on the staff as they were very industrious. It is simply a fact that there should be more of them.

This is a large garden centre which contains a food shop with a large range of unusual and different foods, cakes, desserts, nuts, chutney, pickles and so much more. Also within the garden centre is the Edinburgh Wool shop, another clothes shop, a bedding shop.

I visited the store to shop and the delight of having home made scones with fresh cream and jam and a pot of tea.

Arrived on a Saturday lunchtime to a very busy restaurant. Chaotic, short staffed, no organisation to the long queue, with people jumping ahead and no staff offering guidance. Only two tills, and one took only cash!! Went to the ladies toilet and only 4 of the 8 were working. The one I used had a broken door! Worse and worse. To top it all I found a hair in my food. Not happy. Spoke to the manager who refunded me, and said she herself had complained about the toilets 1.5 weeks ago and still nothing done. I won’t be back

I got the gardening club card so they sent me an invite to an evening event. It was great! Free prosecco (big queue) food sampling and all. The houseplant gardener Dermitt did a good talk very interesting about air filter plants. I wish I knew as much about plants. I will be back soon

I really regret having to post a bad review but I feel the need to warn any potential diners. After a visit to dobbies on 24th July, my husband was stricken by campilobactera food poisoning. We are certain it came from here as the fried egg was the only difference in diet for our family. Be warned and be careful of anything you may choose to eat in this cafe.

We had my dads 90th birthday party here on 26th August. There were 20 of us in total and I must say we were all very impressed with the selection and quantity of the food served to us. Indeed a lot of us had boxes of leftovers to take home. The service was first class and we never felt rushed to leave as it was getting near closing time before everyone realised. I would not hesitate to do this again and I would definitely recommend the afternoon tea to anyone thinking about it.

Went to dobbies for breakfast with my womens group. We all went for dobbies breakfast fry. £3.95 for 5 pieces or £5.95 for 7 pieces. Was lovely, service was quick and staff very helpful and pleasant. Very reasonably priced menu.

Visited Dobbies and their restaurant.

What a great day last Sunday as a family we went to Dobbies for lunch. Chicken curry/Sunday dinner. Such great food! We will definitely be back soon. Good value for money also

The food was lovely. We had freshly made mixed fruit tartlets. Homemade vegetable soup and wheaten bread. yum!

Went for lunch with my wife and mum in July 2018. All in all a very pleasant experience. Staff were very friendly and attentive. I was given some good recommendations for lunch by the staff and we were even allowed to sit in an area normally reserved for high tea customers thanks to a very amenable and considerate manageress. Food on the whole was good but not great but still worth going back for. Going somewhere with nice friendly staff is sometimes taken as a given but rare enough alot of the time so well done Dobbies.

Have had food here, what i call food, certainly not here. All right for a coffee. No food tables not cleaned

A birthday present voucher saw us in Dobbies for afternoon tea. An assortment of sandwiches, creamed scones, cakes and cheesecake were served with tea. All was freshly made and sandwiches were well filled.

I visit Dobbies restaurant reasonably regularly as it is convenient but I never fail to be unimpressed by the quality and high price of food, slowness of service and disappointing lack of cleanliness of tables. Today I had potato and leek soup which was ok but it was served with one slice of rock-hard bread!! Having sat down to begin my lunch outside, I had to return to exchange the piece of bread for yet another stale piece which was as hard as a brick!! Fortunately the girl cut me a new fresh piece from a baguette which was lovely and soft. This situation should be checked regularly as it is unacceptable to serve stale bread. I also had to wait on napkins being replenished and, very often, cutlery is absent and you have to ask for it. It is as if no one is coordinating things or keeping an eye on staff or what is happening. It could be a great café but it is mediocre at best. However, some of the staff are very friendly and I did have an afternoon tea once which was an altogether much better experience. I always come away wishing I hadn't bothered going but I keep hoping they will get their act together one of these days! Dobbies management - please sort this out or you will be losing many of your customers.

Disappointing visit to Dobbies restaurant. All trays dirty with what looked like tea stains or ground in dirt on them. Glasses had lip stick stains still on them. Baked potato nice but basic cleanliness poor when spending hard earned money.

Stopped in for ice cream cone for daughter and latte for myself early afternoon. After 15 minute wait finally got to pay. And no it wasn't busy.

Just back from afternoon tea with a friend. Sandwiches were all freshly made, scones were lovely and the victoria sponge cake was my favourite. The girl who looked after us was lovely! Would definitely return.

Have to say, read some reviews on Dobbies restaurant and was a bit dubious...all fears allayed! It was an extremely busy day and I hadn't booked but was told if I could come back in 30mins it would be no problem.

Scones was okay. Butter was free but jams had to charge to pay. Tea pot was cold at quickly. Slow waitress.

Went here with my other half and firstly the server tried to give my other half rubber looking fried eggs and brown bread half toasted she insisted in better pieces and better eggs and she got that. I however got a 10 piece and as u see by the photo i could not finish it it was stone cold. The server was very rude and abrubt and it reflected to me. I am very disappointed in the food and will be hesitant in coming back. The general cleaning is still not up to standard as the young guy is slow and shows no interest in doing the job.

Driving past Dobbie's Fri 20 Apr to find large green banners, signs, posters in car park, entrance, shelves, ceilings etc advertising "20% off EVERYTHING in store today." Went in as others in car needed plants, pots etc. At checkout, told offer only for club members. Staff pointed out small print on each sign which stated "Members only." 1st person with me had too much in trolley to return. I refused to purchase anything. 2nd person in party asked to become a member, was told £10 charge so she told them to forget it. VERY UNHAPPY at time wasted. Advertising = LARGE HIGHLIGHTED LETTERS ON TOP, small lettering at bottom re members only. But what a great marketing ploy, Dobbies. We were truly caught - over £80 spent.

Visited the restaurant on Tuesday for penioners lunch,could'nt believe it when we saw the custard it was so runny infact know better than water. Very disappointed .