Dobbies Shepton Mallet in Mendip

Had a great experience today visiting Dobbies Shepton Mallet. We were helped by great members of staff and had a great lunch in the restaurant.

I came in to buy plants for clients, The garden centre is set out so that things are easy to find. The plants are in good shape. The food area is a canteen set up, and exactly what you'd expect in a chain. The staff have always been helpful when I've visited, and I normally come away with something. You can find good deals on clothing, which is good. Also, they stock the cook range which is great if I've had a long day 😊

cold food , no common sense , awful customer service.No effort put it to are breakfast , don't go here unless u wanna leave feeling sick

Tried this place again this week and yet again shown shocking customer service, lack of knowledge of hygiene & allergy awareness and just darn right rude, fed up staff. We won’t be returning here again, sorry. Here goes…3rd time giving this place a chance because I hear it ‘used’ to be a very good place to have a lunch, I be spending my money in much better cafè’s in town from now on. Although, it was admittedly busy so staff were busy and stressed, lots of tables left messy and food not quite what we expected. One particular lady on front of house is shockingly rude, clearly unhappy in her job or something, and kitchen staff appear unhappy when they bring the food out to the front. Blonde lady wearing glasses I must admit was ever so apologetic to everyone who waited for long periods of time, and is very friendly. Food is obviously left in a hot cupboard for a while therefore is lukewarm, not fresh, dry and not particularly enjoyable at the high expense for mediocre food that’s been left out for ages and cold by the time you get to actually paying. Perhaps more attention needs to be given to the food you are serving, and also the customer service and welcome could do with some enthusiasm and may be, appreciation, they are paying customers after all. From people who are also in the hospitality industry, we were disappointed with the lack of staff politeness and as stated above, the food which isn't cheap (£8) for thin, tasteless sandwiches an extra what £2/3 for cold chips. The actual garden centre is lovely, full of unique and lovely items, clothing and plants (some could do with some TLC), everything you can think of really. Cafe...very different.

Me and a friend stopped off here for an English Breakfast. The selection was good albeit already laid out in trays in a hot cabinet which is really a thing of the past now. Cook to order is people preferred choice these days. The man behind the counter was very quick to serve the food however we then had to wait behind 4 other customers as it was taking ages for the girl to make the drinks, completely useless. By the time we got to our table all the food was stone cold and my scrambled egg had dried out. Should have gone back to complain really but we were short of time. The review for this rubbish cafe have pretty much been the same, long waits and cold food. Remove the out of date buffet service for a start and bring it screaming into the modern age.

Had an afternoon tea and it was lovely - plenty of food and was all really nice. We were so full at end of it. Lady who made the tea was really nice friendly and helpful.

Visited Dobbies with our elderly residents who have dementia for a trip out. On arrival we needed wheelchairs and the staff were very helpful. We visited the cafe and the lady who served us went above and beyond to make our visit go very smoothly and very enjoyable so a big thank you! We will definitely be returning.

Really lovely kind calm service from everyone in the restaurant today. Delicious cooked breakfast too. X

Shown to a table by a curt and grumpy staff member. Not told we had to order at the till. Menu located on wall. Ordered Egg Mayonnaise sandwich with crisps and salad and Tuna Mayonnaise sandwich with crisps and salad.Both sandwiches were watery and tasteless. The texture of the filling was gooey and felt like it had been squeezed onto the bread as a very runny spread. The salad was tipped with black and inedible. It cost £15.70 which would not be unreasonable for decent food but this was very poor quality and our worst lunch ever! I don't know what has happened? It used to be very good pre lockdowns.

Waited 15 mins for to be seated, fair enough, waited 30mins to get food ordered fair enough. having to wait 50 mins to get food brought to table and then only after complaining Pathetic!Busy yes but restaurant only half capacity due to covid, some thing very wrong going on wont ever go back again

Overcharged AGAIN! Every time I go to this store I’m overcharged. Waited 10 mins for a refund whilst the ridiculously complicated refund system was envied. Unhelpful miserable staff. Sold out of seed trays, obelisks, propagators etc. After all the time they’ve had to get it ready for the growing season! Stupid single track queuing system at the tills with no signs wholly reliant on the the dippy staff making sure chancers don’t queue jump. AVOID this garden centre like the plague!!!

No tables cleaned and the lady took her time cleaning them, so people were sitting on dirty tables. Also she wasnt very polite but food was good

We called at Dobbies this afternoon and were met with very friendly and efficient staff , obeying covid guidelines at all time . Lovely coffee and cakes ! Thank you

An interesting visit to Dobbies today. We went for breakfast and of course there was a queue, it is buy one get one free!A lady from behind the counter came around to advise everyone that they needed to spread out, to comply with current government guidance of 2m, I was under the impression that it was 1m with the appropriate face mask, I maybe wrong. I completely understand the request, however, the lady was not wearing a face mask herself and not only was she addressing the public but she was serving food, breathing all over it, that doesn’t seem right? Everyone in the queue was wearing a face mask. Dobbies is our local store and the restaurant always lets the store down. This you would think would be a lack of management, don’t point at the staff, question the system maybe. The lady appeared to be the one in charge, that’s the worst part! Food was ok, you get what you pay for I guess.

We motorbiked up to Shepton Mallet for brekkie at Dobbies last Sunday. A really nice bike run in the sunshine. Easily parked on a Sunday morning.The cafe was very busy for first thing in the morning, must be a Sunday treat for everyone else? Very organised and distancing in place including regular clearing and wiping or tables - well done. Had a breakfast bap with just bacon - lots of bacon, nicely prepared only problem - I don't do smoked bacon!!! Please could you say to customers or state on the menu that the bacon is smoked. It really is an acquired taste and alot of cafes and restaurants are using smoked bacon which not everybody likes. Other than that - great visit thanks.

I visited with my family today. We decided to have lunch. The lady in front asked for the fresh cream strawberry tart, the young blonde lady behind the counter dropped the tart upside on the plate yet still proceeded to serve it. Understandably this was refused by the lady and she was given a fresh one. I then also requested a fresh cream strawberry tart. The young blonde lady behind the counter then took the upside down tart previously served and with a spatula turned it over whilst holding it with her other hand and promptly offered it to me. When I said “no thank you, it is squashed and you have also touched It”, the lady replied “no I didn’t I used a spatula” ! Then went on to say “anyway that’s the last one what else do you want” !! Firstly, I watched her do it and secondly how did she expect me to believe she managed to flip over a fresh cream cake using one hand ?!! Superb flipping skills??!! In these troubling times this is greatly concerning!! Not Covid friendly to say the least and no apology. The jacket potatoes were dry and accompanied by a couple of wilted lettuce leaves with one slice of tomato. Hardly a side salad!! All of this was a pretty penny too !! First and last visit !! AVOID if you value your health !!

After shopping In Dobbies, my husband and I popped into the cafe for a coffee on bank holiday Monday at 2pm. Not at all busy with two ladies in front of us ordering food, we asked if we could go ahead as only ordering hot drinks- ok by them but not by a chap who ticked us off and told us in not too friendly terms that we had to wait. We both decided after that encounter to have takeaway- 2 Americanos. Staff behind counter helpful but a grumpy lady on the tills. Coffee not so good- as regulars we have noticed a total decline in both food and beverages- won’t be returning

Visited on Sunday 14th March at 2pm, it was not busy. Many tables were dirt littered with used crockery and not cleared. In the 30 minutes I was there none of the tables around me were cleared. Further, the man on the till was grumpy and unhelpful with zero customer service skills.

Haven't been to this Dobbies in about a year and having decided on the way to enjoy an afternoon tea in their onsite restaurant, we were looking forward to the visit. Sadly we were VERY disappointed in the food, service and staff. This was a far cry from the lovely place we visited 12 months ago and things have very obviously gone downhill.We arrived about 2pm - hardly late in the day - yet the cake selection was half empty/poor, hot food available was minimal and what was there was overcooked or sloppy. Staff seemed to have 'clocked-off'(despite a steady stream of customers still arriving), and the one girl serving - left to handle the front area on her own - seemed totally oblivious of the growing queue!

The food is more pricey than it should be and the portion sizes are small. The food tastes average. Won’t be coming back again.

Very expensive and small portions. Half of the group had almost finished their lunch before the the other half were served. Very disappointed.

Visited to meet up with family and ordered a luxury hot chocolate, very disappointed with the hot chocolate as very watery. For £3.25 expected more. Considering the cafe offers a wide variety of cakes and desserts the gluten free options were awful. A small fruit scone or dark chocolate tiffin is all that was there. I can go to small independent cafes and have more to choose from.

We have been regular visitors to Dobbies for many years and have always enjoyed our time there however today was not so pleasant. We decided to have lunch with our children, first we tried to order jacket potatoes and the woman behind the counter (older lady with red hair) rolled her eyes and said very bluntly ‘none left’ then wrenched the jacket potato menu off the wall. We then ordered a tuna melt panini to which we were told there were none left, again bluntly. She did say she would make a tuna melt toastie but I’m not to sure how she could make that and not a panini but a cheese and onion panini was ok to make? After finally finding something they did have I then asked if they did any hot meals for children to which she practically shouted at me that I need to order those at the next counter. The girl who took the children meal order also needed some training on her customer service and refused to give our son a Yorkshire pudding with his children’s roast dinner saying the children’s meals don’t include them but when I asked at the paying counter we were then told they do include them and the man serving who was much more pleasant went and got one. The only person who really redeemed the rest of the cafe staff was the lovely girl serving the coffee, she is a credit to Dobbies and the other ladies behind the food counters could learn a lot from her. The products and plants were, as usual, nice and I was very impressed with the amount of decent dog toys for sale. Very sad to say after our cafe experience today that I don’t think it will be somewhere we choose to go back to anytime soon.

My wife and I visited and decided to have lunch. A lady in front of us as well as us wanted a sandwich. The member of staff with coloured hair of all colours announced all the bread was frozen so nothing available. I pointed out a microwave to thaw the bread and was given a short sharp answer. Basically this woman could not be bothered, blamed the managers and sent us on our way. We ate elsewhere. So no one could take bread out of the freezer, no one could use the microwave to thaw the bread, what a dreadful way to run a "restaurant"

The garden centre is very well layed our the staff are very friendly and helpful. The centre is clean and tidy.

Enjoyed coffee and cake at Dobbies today, entered ladies toilets and omg each one was absolutely filthy, food and maintenance of clean toilets should be extremely important but NOT here!!!!

Visited about 10 days before Christmas, and of course was expecting the restaurant to be busy, but surprised despite the amount of people there was only one till open. Had to queue for ages to pay, with hot food which was cold by the time we got to eat. The food itself was ok (apart from having gone cold!) But staffing levels really need looking at.

The food as always is exceptional the only issue I have is that when ever I eat here the way the food is collected and then paid for is very slow luckily I had a something that didn’t matter if hot or cold so no issue we lay people who we’re eating hot food through first as there food was going cold and the queue tick a long time a only one till open please please please look at how things are done to make the queuing system easier

Dobbies is in a excellent location with plenty of parking. You could get your car cleaned while you pop in for lunch because it has car cleaning in the car park. But would you want lunch?

Took some friends for a visit to your centre, we have been many times in the past. Drove for 45 mins, so not exactly round the corner. Very disappointed that there was a huge area bare and Xmas stock seemed to be piled. Plus your restaurant was a total let down for the two vegans that wanted to have lunch. No main course options and even asked if they could just have chips with a salad they were informed that you did not even do salads only as a side order, which we are know is a very small salad. They did find a cake that was vegan but neither wanted a cake for lunch. Could not even have a jacket potato as you had no vegan butter. I feel I let them down as I had said how good your centre was. Disappointed shopper.

We popped in for breakfast whilst doing a little Christmas shopping. We ordered our items and both my husband and i had the wrong items so caused the lady to go into a bit of flap to remove and replace. With only 2 people in front of us to the hot drinks, the wait was very long and breakfast getting cold.

It’s great that dogs are allowed in the store but could we ask for more doggie friendly tables as it was a busy day and all the doggie friendly tables were taken by people without dogs!

We have been visiting Dobbies in Shepton Mallet for years and have slowly watched as the restaurant choice, service and the way food is presented etc. deteriorates.

Quite busy for early afternoon, wife had the chicken curry which was nice but needed more chicken , my choice was Haddock and chips , which the fish was very nice but the chips seemed to have been lying about to long .

It used to be good but now the selection is poor, the quality is lacking in every respect and service is patchy. Many better places nearby

Called in today for lunch cost over eighteen pounds for two pannis and tea.Sorry to say this was such sub standard food. Salad was past it's best the pannini was tasteless and stale.

Easily the worst garden centre restaurant I have ever visited. We stopped off for lunch on the way to Street near Glastonbury .There was plenty of places to sit but virtually every table was covered with trays,plates cups and saucers.Coffee machine must be from the dark ages as it takes forever to get two cups of coffee. Food was ok. Best of luck if you visit.

Poor queue management, open food on display and the stalest scones you are ever likely to encounter.

Sadly most of shop was taped off as they were stocking up Christmas displays! Why this can't be done when they are closed as we couldn't see half the shop. The drinks were nice and hot and scone was lovely.

We stood waiting for service at the hot food counter whilst the staff ignored us and fiddled about. On complaining they were offhand and didn't seem to care.

We do not vist Dobbies very offten now. After having got our breakfast. Then queuing for our drinks, then waiting to pay, collecting our cutlery. at last finding a table, the food is not very hot. Even with those covers they use.

Each time we visit the cafe the food has not been up to standard. The service was slow as there was only one person serving. The panini I ordered was not a panini just a warmed up bagette. Food was cold by the time we got to the check out. We visit quite often and nothing seems to change. What a shame .

My experience of the cafe was positive, especially their breakfast, which went downhill some time ago. The price went up and the quality went down. consequently after three negative visits, I do not eat there now. Their jacket potatoes are probably still ok.

When did garden centres stop being garden centres?

Very good no complaints l got to Dobbies not feeling very good so l didn’t really appreciate the tea we had to bring a lot of it home with us.

Been before and wasn’t impressed but we were in the area. Drove past The Natterjack and wished we’d gone there instead. The whole food layout is just weird. We weren’t sure what to do. Eventually someone asked us what we wanted. Staff are plain rude. Quiche was on the menu so I asked what it came with, to which the reply was “what you like”! The quiche was horrid, soggy and just like a custard tart. To be fair my Mum enjoyed her fish but I am definitely put off and won’t be eating in the restaurant again.

The ambience is great and staff very friendly BUT you would think I was asking for an unheard of exotic dish. No choice for vegetarians only quiche so no good for vegans. When quiche was offered on three visits and apparently the only dish for special Sunday roast, I began to think it was like the spam song on Monty Python!

Go there quite often for coffee and scone at lunchtime. Always marvellous and great tasting. Staff are always polite and helpful.

Often visit Debbie’s at Shepton Mallet, the staff are friendly and helpful. A great selection of plants and alll things gardening. There is also a comprehensive gift department, and a very pleasant restaurant, which has a Dog Friendly section. The garden centre itself is also dog friendly. Excellent car park, which has a car wash (staffed).

Well, I’m gonna get straight to the point. I came to Dobbies for breakfast on Tuesday and the breakfast was god awful. I couldn’t believe it could be that bad and went back again on the Friday of the same week. I couldn’t believe the vast difference between the two days. It was like returning home for mums cooking. Not sure what made the difference but had to congratulate the chef. If I remember rightly her name was Kath. Thank you Kath, as a breakfast lover I can honestly say that was a great pleasure.

The three of us enjoyed a nice lunch on our recent visit. Lasagne was excellent as was the Cumberland sausage. Staff helpful and friendly. We didn't have a hot drink with our meal because queuing for these can allow food to go cold.

We are frequent visitors at Dobbies for lunch.

Arrived at the garden centre at lunch time and were soon drawn into the restaurant. The aroma from the food made us feel very hungry.

Called in to do some garden shopping on Tuesday 12th March 2019. Had never been before. The shop is spacious and well laid out with lots of parking outside.

Im a regular here. Staff always cheerfull & friendly. Food homemade on hotplate, cakes not so but still yummy. Breakfast filling but if yr late can be warm not hot. But alround this place is a GOOD EGG.

One lunch was cold due to the amount of time queuing to pay my chips were cold .Not enough staff on duty .those that were there were run off their feet.

We popped in for lunch but had to queue for a long time, I'm not sure why it took so long to make the drinks but omg they are slow. Food is OK but not worth the money.

We stopped off for coffees. Great range of cakes, we had a fruit scone & a cheese scone- both tasted good, not too crumbley. We also got 2 lattes which were ok too. The restaurant was clean & tidy, used plates/mugs removed within a reasonable time.

I have used this place a few times before today and its been fine; good coffee a nice selection of cakes/ treats and a decent well priced breakfast and/ or lunch. But its being going gradually down hill for a while and has now reached a new low. Today the coffee was weak and lacked taste, I had to go and get someone to take my money and lost all enthusiasm for any food. In future I will find somewhere else to meet people.

What's happened to the Dobbies at Shepton Mallet? It used to be such a lovely place to visit, my grandson loved it. We would have a coffee when we arrived and very often would stay for their "soup and a sandwich" lunch. but now, well, the café has got very expensive for what you get, there does not seem to be any offers for lunch. Very few people were in there when we visited, and it was just before Christmas when I expected it to be heaving. The whole store seem to be concentrated on Christmas items and very little else. The conservatory furniture used to be a lovely area to visit, but now, there are just a few bits of furniture there. The fish have all gone, my grandson loved them, and there used to be a load to fish that you could feed yourselves. All gone. The clothing has been cut down by half. Just a couple of people around the store, not what you would expect at Christmas time. I think the word has got round that it is now NOT worth visiting. Such a shame. O dear, I don't think we shall ever be visiting the store again.

I love to go to Dobbies and so does my granchildren such a good variety of goods plus inspirational ideas. Fantastic restaurant value for money plus you pay for a discount card for a year and get 25% off everything! This is a regular outing on a weekly basis.staff are very helpful

We have visited the cafe on quite a few occasions over the last couple of years and sadly it seems to get worse every time to the extent we won’t be visiting again.

What a decline in the breakfast

Joining the Dobbies club for a mere £10 a year is fantastic value for money.

Good choice of food, fantastic soup and the cakes are always fresh and tasty especially the scones. The staff are always friendly

I have eaten in Dobbies on several occasions and this evening I have to say was exceptional...the food was great the staff were friendly and the new restaurant management is amazing and it was a lovely touch for Nicky to introduce herself to us...will definitely be returning ...well done

Too many meals displayed on menu board unavailable. Side salad consisted of a couple of slices of cucumber and a few bits of soggy lettuce. Had to clear and clean the table before we could sit down to eat - other customers were doing the same. Spilt milk was on restaurant floor but took some time before a staff member came to clean it. Poor show Dobbies, we expect better.

Our first visit whilst in the area. The restaurant staff were all very helpful and friendly. The food was good and good value.

I visited this Garden Centre restaurant this afternoon at 2.45p.m. I wanted to sit in the front area to enjoy my drink but this was closed off. I asked the cashier why this space was closed off so early, she said that they had been very busy and needed to control access so that the staff could clear the tables and finish work on time.

It’s bigger than I thought but I enjoyed my visit there’s lots to see apart from flowers gardening items you get pet area for dogs and cats, Aquarium centre, clothes area, Xmas items Halloween items, Yankee Candles, and more I can’t get round everything but would love to go back. I can’t comment on eating area I didn’t use it.

I took my elderly parents here thinking it would be accessible and pleasant. The toilets were filthy. There seemed to be lots of flies around the food area. The lunch was ok. I had a bacon and Brie toastie. Cheap white bread and undressed salad leaves. I wouldn’t go there again. I had a similar lunch the day before at another garden centre for the same price that was much better.

I used to go to Dobbies in Shepton Mallet for a really good breakfast, for a very cheap price. The price went up some time ago, but the quality went down. Did not go for months, then decided to try again. Wished I had not. The food was luke warm. Instead of 7 choices for £3.95, it was 5 choices. The tomato changed from being a whole large fresh tomato to a small half of fresh tomato, or one tinned tomato. The black pudding was dry and rubbery. Never again. Will go back to The Hive - more expensive, but definitely worth it. And the coffee is great. The owner's are great.

Came here with my family. We all ordered a toastie, which was £5.50. It was displayed that it was served with a salad garnish. But you CANNOT call it that. All we got was a heap of salad leaves dumped on a plate. Some of the lettuce was days, maybe even weeks old, and was going brown. The ham in our toastie was all broken apart and fatty. To finish it off, after we spoke to the manager he wasn’t at all apologetic and decided to argue about how old the lettuce was. Will not be returning and definitely do not recommend.

Have been shopping at Dobbies for many years now, but recently the quality of plants has gone down hill and the food is very expensive.

Sandwich for £4.50. Nothing special about it just a plain egg and mayonnaise sandwich. Had to pay an extra £1 for chips. Even the staff said it was expensive

Now offer reduced rates to Senior Citizens from Monday to Wednesday. Good quality simple food [breakfast, lunch, and tea] with pleasant helpful staff in a spacious dining area. Plenty of parking.

Been for lunch a couple of times & if all you want is cake & a hot drink this is the place for you as that is excellent, cooked food on the other hand is awful, veg is undercooked & flavourless, won't eat in here any more

We were treated to a nice cup of tea and a scone and it was a lovely relaxing, airy cafe. The plants were on good form and we took plenty home with us so it was a successful trip, to be repeated when we need a refuelling stop.

Toller Gartenmarkt ...mit großer Auswahl an Garten- und Haus-Artikeln. Nettes SB-Restaurant. Schön zum Stöbern

Recently my husband and I went to Dobbies Garden Centre to look at their plants. We wanted a cup of tea ( good choice of alternative teas and coffees too) and we were delighted by the variety and selection of cakes on display.

Nice garden centre very tidy good variety of plants especially the roses . Lots of gift ideas inside

Overall I had a pleasurable experience at dobbies thanks to the restaurant team who greeted me in a friendly manner, they were polit and helpful with allergy advice you could tell they knew there products well.

Riesen Auswahl in allen Bereichen, qualitativ hochwertig, eher teure Qualität. Tolles Pflanzensortiment.

We visit here at least once a month, for our Sunday Breakfast.

Dispite advertising breakfast till 11.30 we were turned away.at 11.26. There was still plenty of breakfast food there. If you advertise till 11.30 please serve till 11.30

I do not know how Dobbies can get it so wrong. Most restaurants cook orders individually to avoid the problem that continues to haunt Dobbies. Dobbies continue to cook far too much which then goes stone cold which then goes greasy.

Come here often, usually for coffee, but the food is nice & the cakes, but they are quite expensive.

A very busy cafe but it's understaffed so rather slow service and the food is only warm not pipping hot.

As members, we were invited to enjoy an early Christmas dinner at a reduced cost

I have had several lunches at Dobbies and have always enjoyed the meal, but unfortunately this was the breakfast from hell. Sausages cheap and tasteless, bacon smoked (not everyone's cup of tea) cold. The mushrooms were watery and also tasteless, congealed eggs (did not bother) tasteless tomatoes and beans. For £4.99 is a rip off. Do not think I will be rushing back.

We have just joined the rewards club, & visited for our free drink on Sunday. We were overwhelmed by the choice of cakes, but in the end opted for scones with jam & clotted cream. We chose hot chocolate, but it wasn't very hot, although they don't skimp on the marshmallows! The service we received was ok, but it could be better; the staff are friendly and clearly work hard, but there was no real enthusiasm or happy vibe coming across. The restaurant itself is quite spacious, and is obviously popular if our visit was anything to go by. The rewards club is a really good idea, we will definitely go back for more cake or scones, and we do also spend money in - store. With a bit more care & attention, the restaurant could be really special.

Today we visited Dobbies at Shepton Mallet & it was a complete shambles. We arrived for breakfast and as normal found a long queue. We ordered a breakfast bap only to be told they had run out & were serving 2x toast instead. We received one toasted sandwich slightly toasted and one burnt on one side. The assistant saw the burnt toast and turned it over to conceal it. Presentation was appalling. We then had coffee- skinny latte - not sure if it had coffee in it- warm milk. Filled to the brim it spilled everywhere. The staff seemed unhappy in their work and one poor serving girl was asking for assistance and was ignored . She stood there embarrassed un sure what to do. The chef came out and asked her to pass a dish and then rushed past to get it blanking her in the process. Her fellow staff were ignorant and unhelpful ...what ever the circumstances. It was bordering on the verge of bullying & harassment. We will not return in a hurry.

such a shame what have you done too the menu choice of toasted sandwiches ! there isnt a choice whats...

Opted for a breakfast on Friday morning to tick us over for our journey to Devon Had a coach party...

what has happened! this used to be such a nice cafe with a big choice of freshly prepared food that you could see being made choosing component parts to suit your taste. Now there are not enough staff to provide decent service even though the sandwiches are prepared with take it or live it fillings. The hot food looked ok although the beef looked hard to carve

We visited this restaurant as we are monthly visitors and on this occasion we found our experience to be easy and pleasant we picked up a cream scone and was told it was buy one get one free which was a surprise as there was no notices up the place was clean and tidy the prices have gone up a bit but if the service continues to be as good as this I would have to recommend giving this place a go

What a damn shame !! Now dobbies has been taking over it is not patch on how the store was before. Where all the stock gone !! What stock that is left , has tripled in price, some of the staff are rude ! Especially the manager ! My advices go to Cheddar Garden Centre instead.

Food is always cold when we have visited. Service appalling as too few staff and staff not interested in serving customers. Of late a fishy horrid smell drifts from here across the building.Tonight there was a special event on. Staff were rude and totally unprepared for the amount of customers drummed up. At no point in the literature did it say you had to book online to attend the resteraunt tonight and most garden centre customers are of an age that dont use the internet so many hungry customers were rudely turned away by ill prepared staff.Music was far too loud so many customers went home. They couldn't hear any announcements made about talks, offers etc.Two food producers did not constitute a farm shop and were poor. The drinks stand position also was in such a position that people were coming in the exit causing more chaos. Perhaps it was a ploy to slow the crowds of angry customers leaving!I do not know why Dobbie's bother with events they clearly can't organise properly. There is very little point in going to them. The garden centre is increasingly expensive and very little to do with gardening and there is never anything that can't be seen at another occasion. Dobbie's sent out a set number of invites yet failed to expect the number to turn up and ensure enough staff worked, enough food was in and plan everythingWhitstones resteraunt up the road picked up a lot of your turned away customers.

Am a monthly regular to this site as am a member and on this occasion I was dissapointed as when I walked in the store looked like it was closing down and the restaurant prices had incresed with a sign saying that your experience is trying to be improved well u have a good way to go yet.As soon as I had decided on the food I ordered a jacket and a soup and sandwich now normally the jacket is brought out fresh and nice but this occasion it was made up there and then and gave to us wile we were in a queue no lid or anything to keep it warm and the salad had seen better days I had to wait in the queue for about 4 minutes because there were only 2 people serving drinks and a lady working the till who looked like it was her first day as she was changing things left right and centre so by the time I got to Sat down the jacket was barely warm but I could not be fussed to ask for a replacement as didn't want wait any further overall disappointing as I do like the place but the staff like headless chickens I've worked in a restaurant myself and those staff needed a firm leader

I am a regular user of this restaurant and have given it a good rating previously. This visit was a let down. According to the sign the menu has been updated, but I am not sure how. It was only one pm when we arrived but the fish and chips had run out. Our second choice was the macaroni cheese but this didn't seem to have much cheese in it. We were given only a small portion of vegetables being told that it was needed for previous orders. We know that getting drinks can be slow which can result in the food getting cold so don't get the drinks until after eating. However the food was cold despite this. It is a 60 mile drive to Dobbies at Shepton Mallet for us but we go for the garden centre and lunch. Not sure if we will be so keen to go next time but will probably give it one more try in the hope that this is a one off experience.