Dobbies Garden World Restaurant in Ashford - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

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

Dobbies in Ashford is a vast space selling all things gardening (along with bits of homewear) that, to my mind is one of the pinnacles of middle-clas shopping. There is something incredibly satisfying about walking around a garden centre, even for people like me for whom gardening is something to be avoided at all costs. This is a spacious centre that you can peruse leisurely. The outdoor area has some beautiful plants and garden furniture, whilst the inside has some great homeware and a decent cafe. There is also an aquatic centre within the garden centre where you can buy marine fish (they don't sell tropical fish), and all things home-aquarium based. I believe that this is a seperate business though, and merely uses some of the space within Dobbies. Whether you are looking for bedding plants, Neon Tetras or little gift ideas for a friend - Dobbies is the place for you.

Called in for a coffee. The coffee was tasty enough, the staff were very friendly and helpful and the seating area was comfortable enough. The only trouble was, if you only wanted a drink you still had to queue behind all the people who wanted food and, as there was only one person serving (breakfasts at the time we called in), this meant you were queuing for quite a long time.

I’ve visited Dobbies a few times previously. The restaurant offers good coffee and some, what I would call, basic cafe options, like sandwiches and cakes. The shop is neatly presented and stocked with lovely gifting items, as well as all your gardening requirements. There are plenty of guest toilets; I did visit during lunch time so my opinion & what I saw I wouldn’t expect to be the usual standard. It’s a nice place to visit for an hour or 2.

I had a free cake and hot drink for two for my birthday. We had to wait 20 minutes in a queue to give our covid details. The badly managed staff were appalling, dithering and seemingly incompetent. The drinks were hard to identify as coffee and the cakes abysmal. Why anyone would eat here and pay for it I cannot fathom., Nil points on all fronts!.

Having read previous reviews I was a bit dubious when we arrived. However considering we are still in partial lockdown due to covid I was pleasantly surprised. We were greeted with smiling eyes ( masks on!) and logged in with track and trace. We chose our breakfasts and were served promptly and politely. We were able to sit at a safe distance from anyone else. The food was delicious, and hot - everything was clean and the toilets were spotless. I was able to have gluten free snd dairy free so I cannot complain at all. Well done Dobbies

Highly rate the wide variety of confectionery on offer on the shop floor. On the other hand, the eatery attachment was just monotonous. An extreme array of repetitious clocks surround the food dimension. The extent of meal alternatives were absolutely non-extentious.

Lovely Biscoff cheesecake. Nice under the parasols outside. Not too busy. Slow service. Not a lot of staff on.

I like this place. It’s easy to get to, easy to navigate around and it’s affordable. My last visit I went alone and had a coffee & a cream scone. Both very nice and good value. Took a little while to be served but it was pleasant.

Went for breakfast this morning (yes they are open for outside dining) and had such a lovely experience . Met by faith who completed our track and trace expertly and gave us a menu. Then she took our order at the serving space and was so friendly. Onto matt who was chatting to us and simultaneously making our lovely lattes .... and explaining how it was all working. The breakfast we ordered was then delivered to our table nice and hot and everything was delicious ... can’t recommend highly enough... actually preferred it to the normal service as felt like a more individual experience ... Thank you Matt and faith ..... and our server who I didn’t get the name of ❤️

Just returned from 2 Dine for £15 at Dobbies Restaurant Ashford. Choice of Main and either starter or pud off a limited menu. Fish and chips - Fish was awfully overcooked, batter that would not be out of place on a construction site. Took 40 mins to get served and hot pudding arrived with the main meal. Very disappointing even at the cost. Will not be doing that again.

Went for lunch today. Very disappointed. Cold toasties, stake crisps. No cutlery or condiments offered. Had to go back up and get them. Had to ask for a cloth and spray to clean my table - which I did by the way!!!!! Server didn’t even offer!!!!Such a shame as a nice garden centre, but staff seem to have a no care attitude. Wouldn’t mind but wasn’t even busy ☹️

Such a shame! This restaurant has really gone downhill since lockdown! The afternoon tea experience used to be such a lovely occasion! I took my elderly friend as a treat and unfortunately she got indigestion as the scones in the afternoon tea were full of bicarbonate of soda and they left a dreadful taste in the mouth. The sandwiches were very dry and the selection of cakes were the same as before but not very fresh. There is no table linen due to covid and the staff are unable to be attentive as they were before and bring you another cup of tea due to covid, so you only get one drink if you want any more you have to get up and queue with everyone else, it was extremely busy and the staff could not cope! We weren’t given any sugar with our tea and when we asked a member of staff to bring some over we were told they are not allowed to bring them to us due to covid! I really think that they are using the covid as an excuse to provide a poor service. Very disappointing we will not be returning.

I have been to many cafes and restaurants with my dog over the years and NEVER have I ever felt the need to write a bad review but today was the most appalling treatment by staff I have ever experienced. Prior to going to dobbies this morning, I called and checked whether the cafe was dog friendly. I was advised there is an outside seating area that is. I asked what the procedure is for ordering food as I was going with just my two year old daughter and dog. I was told that if I just get one of the members of staff to do the order for me or look after my dog so I can go in and make an order. The man on the phone made out it was a simple procedure and there would be no problem.....well that couldn’t be further from the truth. I went to the outside seating area and tried to wave down a member of staff from the restaurant area. They would look at me and then clearly pretend they hadn’t seen me and carry on working. I eventually after about ten minutes managed to get a lady over who was extremely unpleasant and straight away had an unfriendly demeanour. I explained the situation and she said very rudely can’t I just tie my dog up outside, I said no as she has separation anxiety and I don’t want anyone to steal her. If I had known that was what the process was I would never had gone. She seemed shocked that I was told that I could get someone to order or sit with my dog. She very reluctantly said she would sit with my dog. I went to order the food with my daughter who was so excited about getting some cake. There was a very large queue, I explained the situation to another member of staff and was able to go near the front of the queue. There was only a few people in front and I hadn’t even been waiting two minutes when another female member of staff came over and said the lady that had my dog had to clean tables so if I could hurry up, I said there was a queue and the lady just said well there’s nothing they can do about that but the other lady can’t look after my dog anymore (again, it had only been two minutes). So I said don’t worry and had to break the news to my daughter that we wasn’t getting cake, she absolutely burst into tears. I went back to get my dog while carrying my crying daughter and rather than get any kind of empathy from the member of staff holding my dog, she just held the lead out to the side and didn’t even look at me and then just walked off with a completely disgusting attitude. I have never EVER been made to feel so embarrassed in a cafe and will certainly never be going back.

I decided to go to Dobbies for the first time since lockdown. The staff who have been there a long time were lovely as always. It was quite odd seeing the empty fridges with no food and there was a one way system in operation. The selection of food and cakes appeared quite limited which was disappointing.Customers were wearing masks. Some staff in the garden centre were wearing them, while others demonstrated how to wear them on one ear. It would be good to see a consistent approach to mask wearing because it would be more reassuring.The lady serving breakfast was lovely, but all service was incredibly slow. We were given our food and gave up on waiting for a hot drink because it was so slow, and we went to the till where, holding our food, we were told that we would have to wait because the till wasn’t working. We had already waited fifteen minutes to get our food. We asked if we could eat our food and pay after eating. The manager was asked about this, but apparently customers can’t be trusted to pay so the answer was no. After another ten to fifteen minutes we said that our food was cold. because it was still on the trays we were still holding while we waited for some common sense. The cold food was put under the food warmer. We waited another few minutes and then gave up. I’d like to point out that had they let us take the food and return to pay they would have had two happy customers, who would have happily paid and the food would have been eaten instead of put in the bin after we left. Instead of that they have a poor review on here and wasted food that could have been enjoyed.We have decided that Dobbies is no longer our cafe of choice and that we won’t be going back until the pandemic is over in the hope that normality might improve the service offered.We are unable to comment on social distancing etc. within the restaurant because after 30 minutes we never made it that far.

breakfast served quite late in morning which was nice. Chice was brilliant ant portions vey good. Staff attentive and polite. Premises clean

Seriously how does this place keep going. There are never enough staff and even a cup of coffee takes a lifetime.

Long queue ,cold food , expensive , had sandwiches before and that was better than hot food,I don't understand why you have to queue for coffee after picking up the hot food badly organised ,not impressed

We visited as a group of twelve for a meal in the restaurant. Over 60's meals priced at £7.95 for two course and a drink was excellent. Must go back.

Me and my other half went for a spot of lunch at the restaurant. We ordered the 'Hand battered cod and chips' which came to £9.95 each (about £20 for the both of us) for that price you expect the most delicious fish and chips ever, how wrong were we , the food was ready so we picked it up and disappointed doesn't even cover it, we get a small piece of fish which looks barley battered and a small handful of chips. The 'cod' tasted like cardboard and and was just watery and flavourless and the chips were soggy and obviously microwaved. We wished we'd have gone to the fish and chip shop because at least there you can expect crispy chips, good battered fish and better value for money. Would not recommend to anyone, just go to your local chippy!

Visited for the first time this morning for coffee and cake. You queue for food, queue again for hot drinks, and queue again to pay - only one till open so a queue quickly builds up. By the time you sit down, your coffee is lukewarm. Food is ok, but overpriced. Not enough staff serving, and they seem disorganised. The floor in the restaurant was very dirty, goodness knows when it was last washed. The women's toilets were also grubby, bag hook had come off the door and all the basins had limescale marks round the plugs - it looks like they are just given a quick wipe instead of a proper clean. I wouldn't bother to go back.

I came here for breakfast last week and the breakfast was hugely disappointing. I have always enjoyed Dobbies breakfast but the last few visits the food has been a let down and the service has been awful. The staff have been rude and the food was mediocre at best. It’s such a shame because Dobbies as a place is lovely, but the cafe has definitely gone downhill.

Had the Full English. Really not very nice. Smoked bacon only; not properly cooked and greasy. Black pudding was like a fossil; obviously been sitting for a while. Mushrooms were undercooked and lukewarm. Shame really; the staff were very friendly and helpful. Probably a bad idea to go at 1100 because they were getting ready to stop serving breakfast.

Good breakfast, and good value, very helpful staff, served by Tracey who is good at her job, enjoyed it and will return, pity the wait for coffee, but popular so expect to wait.

Appalling: no food at 1245 and a could not care less attitude. Sad that modern management has destroyed the original customrrcarr base

Had a fabulous afternoon tea with a friend this week- sarnies, scones with cream and jam and cakes. Excellent service with a smile - continuous refills of tea and coffee and very good value for money. Highly recommended

I had a lovely afternoon tea today. The standard was much better than I have had at hotels for less money. Good value and lovely presented. Well done Anita!

Thought would be nice for me and my daughter to meet with my Dad after his oncology app at hospital and have a pastry ....scone and cuppa. So got our tray and scones went along the counter to ask for a sausage roll ...we waited and waited....one staff member was chatting to another at far end of counter and gave me eye contact but continued to stay and chat......another was tidying and saw us then turned her back and carried on ....so seeing this I went round the counter and helped myself to two sausage rolls put them on a plate and walked down to the chatting lady for our hot drinks .....casually she asked if I had got what I needed !!!!! We got our drinks and went to till and again waited ...we were just going to sit down when we were served ! Did mention a a manger re rude staff and lack of service and she was really not bothered.

17 family of all ages sat down for 60th celebration meal. Excellent for catering for all ages and also disabilities as well. Staff especially Anita and Jo were so helpful polite patient helping to serve us. Nothing was too much trouble.

We went, as a couple, on Monday 2nd December 2019. Around 2pm. The food prep service is OK, one lady working herself hard and efficient. The presentation, service, guy at the till, seating, cleanliness were all great. But the food (one of the main ingredients of a restaurant) was awful. Tasteless scones (contrary to other reviewers that have clearly never HAD a real scone) where the cheese lacked cheese/flavour and the fruit had texture but flavourless too. The Brie, bacon cranberry baguette was just dull and non-registering. The coronation chicken was Booker chicken and Own-Lale spices at best. Cheap ingredients, tasteless and devoid of anything! The accompanying crisps and salad were great. With so many branded fooderies within 100 yards we'll still shop the wicked and wonderful Dobbies Garden Centre but the "Restaurant"? Not a chance. ps Pricing, we felt, was unreal for the food-type.

Very good visit. Shop well laid out. Some bargains in the clothes area. Restaurant was only OK. Breakfast had finished but there was no hot dinners. So a snack it was, panini was great but salad had no dressing so was dry.

Visited Dobies today music was deafening when we entered the store, had tea and scones that was alright,girl on the till was rude. Then I decided to use your baby changing room the smell was unbearable the bins were overflowing with dirty nappies we couldn’t stay in there it was hazardous to our health. I then decided to change the baby back at the car, but I still needed to use the toilets OMG it was all so dirty the floor was wet there was toilet paper everywhere, toilet seat broken, no loo paper it was so disgusting won’t be going back

Don't: At 1245 little food available and told by unhelpful staff to wait 30 minutes. Email to Dobbies not responded to after 5 hours. Suggest someone gets a grip or they forget about serving lunch.

Came here today with friends for afternoon tea. We were greeted by Liz who was very friendly. Our table was reserved and our food and drinks were brought straight out. The whole selection was lovely! The mini cakes in particular were delicious. Really lovely and relaxed afternoon and great value for money too!!

11 of us had cream tea on tues 15th october it was delicous one of the best we have had the waiter i do not know his name was really attentive plenty of teas and coffee the sandwiches were really fresh,salmon,cucumber,ham,egg mayo, lovely light scones plain and fruit clotted cream,jams and nice cakes strawberry tarts sponge cake chocolate cake and eclair really good cream tea what made the diffrence was the exceptional service from our waiter thank you very much we will visit again

Had a lovely cream tea at Dobbies, Ashford today with my man, thoroughly enjoyed it. Thankyou so much Lucy for looking after us so well and all your help.

Celebrated my birthday by having afternoon tea with my family today at Dobbies. Anita our waitress was very polite and accomadating especially as we were a bit early and she was needed elsewhere in the restaurant.

Have come here for a coffee with my parents on several occasions- nice drinks and e n o r m o u s cakes (be prepared for a sweet showdown...) Young staff though and can be very busy however

Enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea recently at Dobbies Ashford with 3 friends, everything was perfect, and Anita who served us was very friendly and attentive, the only diappointment was, we were unable to give Anita a much deserved tip, as she said management wouldn't allow it - WHY NOT??

Had my son’s 4th bday party here and they couldn’t have cared less. Hardly saw a member of staff let alone any interaction or entertainment with the children. We did everything ourselves and had to try and hunt down a staff member for everything such as a knife to cut the cake and everything was too much trouble. Biscuit making equipment was dumped on one little table for us to sort out. Conflicting information from initial phone call to actual party time. Were told basically to hurry up at 540pm as the restaurant was closed now when we were trying to pack up and had managed to say goodbye to 15 children and parents. Start the party earlier then Dobbies! Not a mention of how was the party or a chat with the birthday boy, bitterly disappointing for £200. The cafe is poorly run with staff that aren’t clued up on anything gluten free and look at you as if you’re mad. If you do manage to get food it’s always cold due to long wait. Staff don’t seem happy.

Had an excellent afternoon tea recently at Dobbies, Ashford. There was a good choice of sandwiches, fruit and plain scones, topped off with light tasty patisseries. The service by the waitresses was attentive and immaculate. Refills of pots of tea and coffee, and checking a few times that everything was to our satisfaction. However, upon leaving we wished to tip them only to be informed that they had been told from Head Office a few months previous that they are no-longer able to accept tips from customers! This decision probably came from Directors who are on extremely inflated wages, and NOT minimal hourly wages! Totally unbelievable, and unacceptable. Who are they to tell customers that if they wish to tip good service they are now allowed to do so. I urge them to rethink this dictatorial, mealy minded decision!

Having been to many afternoon teas around Kent, Dobbies has certainly topped them all! Service from Matt was professional and he was extremely attentive. The afternoon tea includes a selection of freshly made sandwiches, scones with cream and jam and a wide range of delicious cakes.

I have recently had an ankle operation and so my friend and I decided to venture out which me in a wheel chair. We’d heard Dobbies was disabled friendly so this was our choice of venue and we weren’t disappointed. Firstly the shop is laid out so I didn’t have to be pushed through rows of clothes and manoeuvred through the smallest of gaps. After a good browse we thought we’d get some lunch. Everyone was very accommodating and I managed to carry the tray in my lap until Tonia appeared. She took the tray off of my and found us a nice cool table to sit at. She moved chairs so I could sit comfortably and have a chair with arms. We had a lovely lunch and she came back to check on us and clear our tray away. We couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome and not a hindrance at all. It was incredibly hot in there today and the staff didn’t stop. Clean toilets, disabled friendly also. Totally recommend for everyone. Thank you Dobbies for making my first trip out so easy. Also to management, Tonia is a credit to you, thank you.

The food quality has drastically fallen in quality since the menu changed. Portion sizes have decreased too. Would recommend finding another place for breakfast.

Called in for a Full English breakfast whilst waiting for our car to be cleaned. Food was not cooked to order and so by 10.30 had obviously been sitting around under a hot light for a few hours and consisted of congealed baked beans, tough chewy bacon, greasy hash brown, luke warm scrambled egg, half a mushy tomato and one slice of warm bread which I assume was toast! The fried eggs on display looked hard and rubbery so the lady behind the counter kindly offered to cook 2 more, however when my 'Full English' arrived it was missing 1 egg, mushrooms, tomato and toast! We also had tea which was served in a dirty stained cracked teapot.

We had booked a Downton Abbey afternoon tea for two to celebrate our wedding anniversary and having eaten these special teas previously, we were not disappointed. The young lady who served us, Lucy, was lovely, very attentive and helpful and the tea was delicious with a super selection of dainty sandwiches, scrumptious cakes, scones and cream and jam. First class, all with a pot of tea each. It could not have been better.

Understaffed and a long wait for a hot drink, the scone was pretty good but the empire biscuit rather bland and mediocre.

Perfect afternoon tea - fresh sandwiches, tasty scones with clotted cream and a variety of miniature cakes. Anita was the perfect hostess, checking all was ok and refilling the tea pot. We couldn't eat all the cakes so a box was provided for us to take them home. A great place to have a relaxing tea - there is not hurry to vacate the table. Will certainly visit again and I hope Anita is in charge again as she was a star. Thank you Anita.

Two coffees and two baggets over £17. That was bad enough but the bread was awful. We won't eat there again.

Very enjoyable afternoon the Tea was excellent and good value, Anita who served us was very pleasant and helpful.

Went here for afternoon tea and was pleasantly surprised. For £17 for two you get a selection of sandwiches, 2 x scones with jam and cream, a selection of mini cakes and tea or coffee which they happily refilled

We both had breakfast. Frankly awful. And I mean awful! I’ve never eaten a worse breakfast, not even in some tuppence greasy spoon. For a start, the woman serving seemed to have no idea of what was included in what breakfast menu, had to keep looking, kept getting it wrong. The food had quite obviously been cooked some hours beforehand and kept warm. The egg was the most disgusting thing ever, hardened yolk with a thick clear film on top. I didn’t know that was even possible. The toast was was cold. The black pudding could have been used as an ice hockey puck. How can catering professionals serve food in this state? I go there for gardening stuff but I will never, ever eat there again, and wouldn’t advise anyone else to do so either.

We have been long term customers of Dobbies for breakfast at either Ashford or Gillingham (Kent). On Saturday we found the menu had been changed to be set rather than free choice of items. What was worse was that the vegetarian option was £5 ie, £1.50 more than the plain menu.

Met up with a friend for late breakfast catch up time. So easy to be there. Easy to park. Familiar lay out. Uncrowded.

My wife and I went to the restaurant for lunch at 1230, after looking through the menu, decided on some hot food, my wife had a macaroni cheese with no cheese inside only on the top and the contents was very dry, I myself had a chicken, ham and leak pie, which was over cooked as the pastry was very hard and dry, moth dishes were a waste of money and very disappointed will definitely NOT eat here again. It also seemed they were under staffed, as the couple in front of us asked for a jacket potato (which was two counters back in the queue) the lady behind the counter said that she was not allowed to leave the station she was on, so the couple had to queue up again for the potato, this was no mean feat as the queue was very long due to the inefficient staff. our (Meal) was a senior which included main, desert and a cup of tea, there was no deserts to choose from as they were all gone.

Popped into our local Dobbies today for our first afternoon tea, our hostess Anita was very warm and welcoming, at £17 per couple I was impressed with what we got for our money, even a refill pot of tea, I would highly recommend this, very relaxed with the added bonus of a little shopping for the garden.

great selection of cakes - good value for money. Everyone was getting little boxes to take home as there was soooo much

We always remark on the pleasant service we receive from Tonia, a member of the restaurant staff. She always works so efficiently is good humoured and kind to customers even when the restaurant is particularly busy. We wanted to bring this to the notice of Dobbies management and to say that as a member of staff she is a great credit to your organisation.

A lovely spacious garden centre with free parking adjacent, lots to buy for all your gardening needs, plus a food hall & nice large restaurant with a beautiful woodland view that do a good range of sandwiches & baguettes, cakes & scones, hot meals as well as hot & cold beverages.

I was staying at the local Travelodge and decided to go to Dobbies for breakfast and I'm glad I did! 1) It was far superior to the Travelodge breakfast and; 2) it was cheaper and thus much better value 10 items for £6.50 Brilliant value.

I recently had afternoon tea at Dobbies and to be honest my expectations were not that high . I was pleasantly surprised though . Obviously being in a garden centre restaurant isn’t the best surroundings but they made the most of it . There was plenty of food , all nice and fresh and a good variation , it represented good value for money . My only complaint is there isn’t unlimited tea and coffee and fruit teas incur a small charge . The service was very good and overall if you want a reasonably priced afternoon tea then Dobbies is worth a visit .

Disgusting service asked for manager and was told she's sitting in her office again!!!! Food was cold by the time I sat down . Young girl on hotplate was so rude

Sadly the last three times Ive been here I’ve been really disappointed. The restaurant seems permanently short staffed. The food is not hot and the queue for hot drinks takes so long that by the time you get to pay for the food it’s even colder. The hot food buffet looks dry where the food has been out too long. There’s only been one till open so it just takes forever. The staff are friendly enough there’s just not enough of them. Very disappointing as it used to be a real treat.

Really lovely afternoon tea for ten of us. The sandwiches and cakes were lovely and fresh. The drinks were topped up and the staff were attentive and helpful. A lot nicer than we've had in two of our finer local hotels.

I've been here several times and every time I think the bad service is a one off however it's the same every time.

I received a gift card for afternoon tea for two. Booked here for myself and a friend. We arrived early but the table was free. To be honest I’ve had better. The sandwiches were nothing special, definitely not luxury just cheese, cream cheese and cucumber, ham and egg mayo. No smoked salmon. The scones were small, one I thought was cheese and had to ask but it was a plain one. The cakes were ok more than enough. Because this was a luxury tea we also had vol au vents, they were awful, the coronation chicken was over powered by tarragon and we couldn’t work out what the other one was do we asked and it was mushroom. There was also a handful of crisps. Certainly not work the extra cost.

We recently visited Dobbies to treat ourselves to a breakfast. We opted for the 5 item breakfast. However choosing the items was difficult, should it be the fried eggs sitting in oil looking rather dejected, no , so we moved along and settled for sausages, scrambled egg, tomatoes, baked beans for me, hash browns for my husband and bacon. Well I was given part of a bacon rasher, not the complete piece, a very small helping of scrambled eggs, we had one half of a tomato, my beans had obviously been kept hot for too long and had that boiled taste, and my mushrooms really were past their best. By the time we had paid and sat down, our food was tepid verging on cold.

My daughter and I have been here on several occasions as she really enjoys the indoor soft play area, which is good value for money (£3 for 1.5 hrs) and is safe, clean and well maintained. The overall store is nice, and there is lots of variety. It’s not just plants, they have a food court, a good selection of wine including local chapel down wines, a small aquarium with lots of nice fish and a restaurant/cafeteria. This is pretty expensive, I purchased a can of Coke Zero (330ml) - £1.85! I purchased some pork belly for our dinner from the butchers and it was atrocious. Of the piece I received I cut off and discarded over half, which was inedible cartilage, sinew and bone! Very disappointing quality, I know it’s a cheap cut of meat, but Tesco’s own is infinitely superior.

Called about 2pm on a Saturday. Wanted a jacket potato, but were told it was too late for one as if it was our fault they had run out. They could have put a sign up saying they had run out as I have seen other restaurants do, but no. So we decided on a toasted sandwich each. The service was appalling, everything was terribly slow. When we got our meals and drinks (a queue for drinks as well as food) and sat down we found our sandwiches were only toasted on one side and were soggy on the other. The side salad was just dry.

Had afternoon tea here twice and won't be going again. Unfortunately the ingredients are just average and you can create something nicer at home. The sarnies are pretty bland and I don't think decent butter was used. The puddings were a bit too sweet and they should just leave the attempt of a cheese cake out entirely. The staff on the first visit a couple of months earlier were really nice but the second visit was absolute havoc maybe because it was a bit closer to Christmas and you got to sit near the kids play area and close to the normal noisy restaurant eating area. I don't recommend having afternoon tea here.

I was at the paying till when a lanky 16 year old boy just refused to serve me and told me to stop breathing

We don't go that often, however, the lat two visits, the last one yesterday, 20 March 2019, t about 1.30 pm, was not up to the standard of previous visits.

Went in for a look around, on the plus side it is pretty large and caters for nearly everything! so if you have time on your hands it is worth a visit, but watch those prices, a bit on the expensive side but that may be just the area we live in but to be honest any garden centre is pricey these days but the staff appear helpful and there is plenty of free parking but it just boils down to another garden centre in another town!

As well as staples such as bacon 'butties' there are set offers for 5,7 or 10 items plus toast.I alwaysgo at the 9.00 opening time and sometimes have to wait a few minutes until all the items are available but at you know they are freshly cooked.

Sunday lunch time - it was busy. Queue seemed worse for sandwiches etc. so we joined the hot food counter queue. The offer was buy an adult meal get a kids meal free. Great we thought! I looked at the kids menu as displayed on their counter. Firstly, no pasta, at all. So i ordered the kids jacket potato. Was told i could only order the jacket potato from the other counter and would have to join the back of the queue - what?!

Very disappointing lunch. Mother in law had ham egg and chips which was ok. My wife and I had the Cumberland ring sausage, potatoes and vegetables. I am afraid this was very poor and the sausage skins really tough. Although it was one of the meals that was ready to be served we then had to wait for the gravy to be made. Wish we had not bothered as it tasted like it had a bucket of salt had been put in it. There were not enough staff behind the counter and hold ups where people were waiting to pay. They must be satisfying some customers as it was fairly busy but did not appear to be many people having dinners at the time we were there. Sorry Dobbies we will not go back.

A friend and I went for the luxury afternoon tea as a birthday treat. We were very disappointed with the quality of the food. The sandwiches were okay but the vol au vents were inedible. The scones were small and came without butter. The cheese cake was some loose biscuit with synthetic cream on top, not good!

Went for afternoon tea, only two people serving right down the far end. It just takes far too long from start to finish, especially if you have children or the elderly with you. Plates and cutlery were not clean. Expensive.

We booked in last minute for afternoon tea for my daughters fourth birthday for 8 of us. We were greeted by Anita who was very welcoming and accommodating, and looked after us throughout. The table was decorated with balloons and arrival chocolates. The afternoon tea was delicious and due to it being Valentine’s Day we were also given extra cakes. We will definitely be going again and would definitely advise others to do the same!

We called in here for breakfast.

Here the staff are fantastic and helpful, the garden centre is well kept and there are always sales. The food here is hearty and good too, great for lunch or afternoon tea.

Pleasantly surprised at how good the food, presentation and service were, Lovely scones cream and jam and plenty of sandwiches. Waitress very amenable and pleasant

Received as a gift and thoroughly enjoyed it today.The afternoon tea was fab and service from Anita and team was excellent. I would rate it 10/10 and definitely recommend it.

First time to Dobbies, excellent steak and mushroom pie aswell as my partners mac and cheese! Deserts are yummy too, will return again if down that way!

The cheese scones were delicious, fresh and tasty we had some really good earl grey tea which went down well. A good airy restaurant seating area with a view over the garden centre.

Absolutely lovely afternoon celebrating my daughter’s 8th birthday with a few of her friends. Anita looked after us and was very attentive and helpful. The girls had a great time and we’re treated to some lovely cakes. So were the adults! Anita was also so good with my 4 year old little boy who was probably too little to stay ‘afternoon tea civil’ for very long.

We were treated at Christmas to a voucher for luxury afternoon tea for 2. The sandwiches and cakes were delightful and our waitress, Anita, was superb, she was very pleasant and helpful. We would definately do it again.

Met two friends for coffee. Sat and chatted. No one hassled us. Left us to ourselves. Very convivial. As we left we spent money in the shop.

Staff very attentive, always asking if we needed anything. Great service and great food! Would recommend!

Such a helpful friendly lady, Caroline. She went above and beyond to help us, very polite and courteous. Such a lovely change as Dobbies has gone downhill tremendously. It would be such a shame to lose staff like her!

A few months ago I attended a baby shower at Dobbies in a ashford for the afternoon tea. I was part of a large group (20+) and was served by Anita. She was brilliant, extremely knowledgable, nothing was too much trouble and she made sure everything went smoothly. As such, when organising my sister in laws baby shower, I decided to book again.

We visited for breakfast for a change from beefeater whilst staying at premier inn. We wandered through the shop which was quite nice but the food on offer was t the cafe was quite average.

Took my mum to Dobbies today for lunch, I was quite embarrassed as the food quality was really poor, especially the cauliflower cheese it was still raw and undercooked

For Christmas my mother had purchased Pauline and I a luxury afternoon tea at Dobbies based on the Eureka Leisure Park in Ashford Kent. Previously we had tried afternoon tea at Patisserie Valarie but was disappointed. Surprised and pleased this experience was so much more.

I took my boyfriend, mum and sister for afternoon tea for my mums birthday treat and was served by the lovely Anita! She was very attentive and had a list of all our allergies (all four of us have separate allergies so it can be difficult!) she explained that especially with the nut allergy, the items are made in a factory that make nuts but they will not be in and explained which each of the food items we all had. She made sure we were all satisfied and I’d we needed any tea/coffee top ups and it was only her inside the restaurant. She really did do a great job!!!!!! This visit was complimentary following a terrible experience we had previously at Dobbies but Anita helped make this afternoon tea the best one we have ever had. A real asset to Dobbies!

Absolutely brilliant, breakfast was really nice, all the staff (elves) were interactive and fab, Father Christmas was also great.

No cream available to go with their scones and jam yesterday morning as they had to save it for afternoon teas. Hence we put our purchases back and left. Last time no saucers to go with our pot of tea end cups. Not very nice trying to enjoy a cuppa while out putting our cups into a table top, not a saucer. No plates on a previous occasion. When we asked for plates they took ages to come and were really hot. My husbands chilled cake started to melt. The management at this cafe is just terrible. We only go there as we like the shop. My elderly parents visited the nearby McDonald's instead of the cafe this week as they just are so fed up with substandard service. I can't understand why the never gets any better.

I booked afternoon tea online for 6 people to celebrate my birthday website was very easy to use, the staff during the afternoon tea were very helpful and friendly made sure our tea, coffee and squash were topped up and that everything was ok, they were fully booked and very busy but the staff were brilliant and at £11 pp great value even bought a doggie bag home.