Dolly's Tea Room and Restaurant in Blackburn with Darwen

Amazing food, friendly staff nice cosy place to eat

Booked for 19 of us couple of weeks ago, small deposit needed (understandable) Great communication after booking, Service and food was excellent Thank you 😊

Lunch with wife daughter and niece and little Dan

Lovely breakfast Friendly staff Quick and efficient

Very good visit food excellent and nice to see lovely gifts they have on sale

First time in visiting Dolly's & it won't be the last. The service, food & surroundings were excellent. My partner had the All Day Breakfast whilst I tried the Eggs Benedict Royale, which I will definitely be ordering again.

I've been wanting to try this place got ages. It's such a lovely little treasure of a place. Quirky decor in a very interesting and pleasant way. Food was delicious and the staff were friendly and accommodating. 5 stars for sure.

First time coming, instantly met with a warm welcome and smiling faces. The food is amazing with quick service and great value for money. Would definitely recommend, we will be coming again.

Lovely place to eat and drink in great shop with antiques and furniture and all sorts well worth a visit.

Not been before but it was very nice. Will go again

Lovely tea room delicious food and very helpful and pleasant staff .

Tasty food, good range of choice, nice atmosphere, clean. Staff were excellent, attentive, efficient and friendly. Dog and child friendly as well as adult friendly.

Good food and good helpings. Friendly staff. Could do with beer on tap but we'll worth a visit.

We only stayed for a coffee but we will be back to eat as very spacious a great menu and reasonable prices for a family

Food was very good and value for money.

WARNING - BEWARE OF BELLIGERENT OWNER!!! Extremely rude and arrogant owner. I rang to cancel 2 1/2 hours before our booking because we couldn't make it (we've got 3 young children, s*** happens, that's just life, etc.). She got extremely annoyed and hung up (for all she knew, I might have wanted to rebook on another day). I rang back to complain about her rudeness, she said 'I lost her a table on a busy day' and hung up again! Unfortunately for her, it's lost her our custom. ONLY BOOK IF YOU CAN GUARANTEE YOU WON'T DROP DEAD OR FALL ILL! ---------------------------------------------------- #EDIT IN RESPONSE TO REPLY FROM DOLLY'S# I wish I was able to downgrade my review further to zero stars after reading your reply. You twist the truth in an attempt to mitigate the situation. Just to clarify a few things: 1. I rang at 12.26pm, over two and a half hours before my booking time of 3pm, not 'minutes before' like you falsely claim. I'd be more than happy to post a screenshot of my call log, but perhaps I should spare you the embarrassment. 2. In the morning you said the available slot would get snapped up. Surely the same assertion would have still applied when I cancelled, as it was still well in advance of the time of the booking. The point is that your reaction to my cancellation request was unwarranted and you can't really justify it. 3. I wouldn't have phoned if I didn't really want to come (my wife was looking forward to it). I didn't resort to (or should ever need to) 'insisting' that I would turn up as a way to persuade you to grant me a booking. However, this is besides the point as I reserved the right to cancel nonetheless. I'm happy for your customers' good experience and I don't really hold anything against you. However, I am entitled to share my experience and honest opinion. You've had opportunities but have failed to acknowledge and apologise for your rudeness. I wonder if the person who cancelled before us received the same treatment.

Just had a lovely afternoon tea at Dolly’s for Mother’s Day, with fantastic service and a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Thank you x

Went for afternoon tea today for Mother’s Day. An absolutely amazing gluten free afternoon tea, Suzanne came and spoke to me about my meal so I was happy with my options. This filled me with confidence as all the waitresses showed an excellent understanding of cross contamination and my dietary needs. All tasted absolutely amazing. Thankyou dolly’s!

My nan came for lunch the other day, she absolutely raved about the food - she brought her sister (in her 80’s), who’d driven from near Chester prior - loved it! (On recommendation). Great place for an eat out of all ages, and all appetites

Lovely food and atmosphere .x. Staff were super friendly and helpful .x. Will definitely go again, and recommend to others .x.

Amzing quality food really tastey. The prices are unbeatable for the quality of food, everything is made with love and is fresh and flavourful. We have tried the roast beef dinner, cod burger, chicken burger(this was huge and so tender), cod burger(light and fresh batter). Starters we have tried French onion soup, cheese and chorizo toast and fish cake all of which were very delicious. Great venue for celebrations while we were having dinner a family were celebrating a baby shower with afternoon tea which look amazing. (You have to book in advance for afternoon tea tho).

Well had a lovely meal here. The presentation of the food was excellent. A warm welcome and chat with the owner. We were sat at a great table and the waitress looked after us all night. lt was delicious food and nothing was to much trouble. Will be back highly recommended. Returned it was even better recommend the rack of ribs

We were served very quickly and the food was hot. I had fish chips and peas, my companion had macahana curry and trimmings. Both were delicious. We then ordered a sticky toffee pudding each, I can say honestly it was the best I had ever eaten. Soft sponge, plenty of toffee sauce and a good portion of custard.

Had Christmas dinner and was fantastic both food and service

Not as good as it used to be. Food was ok but not as exciting and unique as previous visits. Menu is very run of the mill

Had a lovely afternoon tea. The staff were very helpful and friendly. There is plenty to eat.

A 'hidden in plain sight' gem. The tearoom is next door (but part of the same building) as Darwen Antiques and Gifts, or, if you're the same age as me, the old Bowling Green pub. We visited midweek lunch, and there were several people in, but there were plenty of free tables. Orders were taken and served quickly. Very nicely presented. Staff were polite. Good value too. Can't fault it! Apparently, they also provide event catering services too.

Staff completely ignored us and served other customs that came in after before us. Had to ask for a menu whilst staff stood around doing nothing. Menu options were very poor so gave up and went somewhere else.

Great and best of all they do walk ins. No more bookings for 1.00 and yet table empty and it's 10.00. More tables now. Little bit more than average to pay for food, i.e., sandwiches. But worth it

It was nice food, was reasonably priced too. Friendly staff, toilets clean. We had a nice time :) can see it being a nice place for a baby shower or ladies tea party.

Love visiting here for business meetings and/or lunch. Always a fabulous menu with great choices to suit the fussiest of needs. Lovely coffee too and I just love how tea is served in a lovely teapot and china cup. Highly recommended.

had a 10/10 experience at dollys, i think the staff are lovely and attentive, the atmosphere was great, and the beef barm was genuinely one of the best beef barms i’ve ever had. i would honestly go back for a trillion beef barms they were that good, and the chips were really nice aswell that came as part of the meal. overall great, the portion size was brill for the money. thoroughly enjoyed, was a good place to go for lunch with a friend 👌🏻

Sadly disappointing Pre ordered lunch for a special retirement Toddler sized portions mine was like warm and tasteless should have had Pickles but none appeared Sadly will not return Used to be an amazing lunch venue but definately standards have slipped?

Just had lunch with an organised group, potato pie and peas.(preordered) The portions were child sized tasted good but not worth the extravagant price for such a small amount. All the portions were the same size. Not good. Service was ok. The place is very nice, but won’t be going again.

Can’t comment on much as we were turned away an hour and 10 minutes before closing time as they’d stopped serving food?

Had our little boys christening here today and the staff were lovely and helpful. Food was amazing and lots spare. Everyone had a brilliant day and we will definitely be using them again for an event. Thank you 😊

Really nice experience here. Affordable price and had a lovely lunch.

Lovely coffee and cake at dolly's, staff were friendly and efficient, had the outside courtyard to ourselves as it was quiet but staff couldn't do enough for us! Thank you

Great place to meet with friends for a meal! The boss of the restaurant it's a very nice guy. just had my gender reveal there and I'm really happy that we choose that place!

Had a lovely lunch here this week. We didn't book a table but managed to get seated quickly. Staff are very friendly and menu has a good choice. Lovely atmosphere.

Sandwich and a very small cup of soup £8.50. Too expensive for what we revived, wouldn’t visit again.

Beautiful family run cafe and stunning furnature shop. Lovely service.... 💕 ☕

What a great place. For a business in a tourist area I could not fault the place. Great food, friendly people. Other businesses should look at them and take a leaf out of their book.

Quaint , unique, perfect for a mooch

We will be coming again 🙂 Highly recommend both sandwich and wrap dinners options washed down with a variety of hot drinks - if it's good enough for us ... Also complimented with excellent staff service ! Make sure you book in advance as they are justifiably constantly busy 👏

Lovely place and we will be back.

Lovely fish. Nice coffee. Friendly staff.

This place was recommended but the food was barely warm, the beef fatty and inedible and I left the majority of my meal. First and last visit.

We had a really good time and will be coming again soon

The menu was very limited, but what we had was hot and eatable.

Never been before but a friend recommended trying the Sunday roast and it was nice enough but they were a bit stingy with the meat.

Lovely environment, food great. Nicest Eggs Royal I'd had for a while. Reasonably priced.

Nice chilled lunch with my husband food was lovely and staff was friendly

Lovely place They have some stunning unique items Will definitely be going back

What a quaint place. Lovely and tasty varied menu. Staff friendly. Great to have somewhere to browse too.

I went for lunch with a friend we arrived early so had to wait a little while before they were serving lunch. Food was good and service good 👍

Whats not to like. 1st visit. Definitely won't be the last.

Dolly’s tea room hosted my baby shower for me yesterday and all I can say is wow absolutely amazing the afternoon tea was absolutely beautiful, the decor was beautiful and different and the staff are very hardworking and amazing and did everything correct especially with allergies and medical conditions they really did work really hard, you get so much for your money even took some home! Me and my family had a lovely time and just want to say a massive thank you for making my baby showers extra special and going extra mile for me I’ll definitely be returning 💙

Clean and friendly but they brought me the wrong order, I then had to wait while everyone in our group was eating for my food to arrive.

Fabulous food, great atmosphere lived the courtyard area..maybe another toilet would be a good addition. Made a wedding reception very special thanks.

Food was nice but brought the wrong order, I was forced to watch the others in my group eat whilst I had to wait for the correct order.

Full English Breakfast was brilliant, the staff were absolutely lovely and the venue was really nice. Had a promotion on too so we got a free coffee and tea. Bonus!

Nice atmosphere. Had breakfast which was well worth the money. Good service.

Knew this venue before it changed hands and our recent visit was for the first time since then. We found it to be lacking in atmosphere and the food seemed mediocre and missing the previous home-baked quality. Not like it used to be and the white sheet draped across the service area was intriguing and puzzling. Room for improvement I feel.

Didn't seem to be as much choice as our last visit. Food was ok and service friendly.

Lovely tea room and pleasant outdoor (shady) eating area. We all enjoyed the food and various drinks. Thank you.

Lovely ciabattas at Dolly's. Service was great

Great food and friendly staff. Will visit again soon

Visited Dolly's tea rooms and loved the afternoon tea excellent and friendly staff who couldn't do enough for us. I will definitely visit again when I am in the area.

Very pleasant place, helpful friendly staff and tasty food.

Fantastic food Excellent service Friendly staff Value for food Enjoyed by all Thank you so much

Lovely building, home of the golden Sausage dog, they do a decent brekkie and great coffee. We will definitely come here again.

Fabulous breakfast will definitely be going again. Very unique place as well.

Lovely place for food and shopping for furniture.

Very nice food and friendly staff, dog friendly as well.

Not enough cakes on display more of a café Nice staff!

Absolutely love this place been a couple of times with the girls from work .. took mum for a treat today and she loved it too. I had chicken and bacon salad which was very well presented and very tasty. I must admit I had forgotten how big the salads are. Mum had soup of the day which was chunky vegetable soup today this came in an oversized tea cup with a choice of brown or white bloomer. Mum really enjoyed it said the soup was tasty and the bloomer was a nice one.

Booking amendment hadn't gone through but the staff managed to squeeze us in anyway. Food and service was very good.

My daughter, two grandsons and myself had Mothers Day lunch today at Dolly’s Tearooms. It was excellent. All the staff were friendly and welcoming. The food was superb. The roast dinner was delicious and the vegetables were really well cooked. The boys had the afternoon tea and one commented that the scones were the best he had ever had. Thoroughly recommend

The atmosphere & service is wonderful. The staff are efficient, friendly and welcoming. The menu is okay, my favourite by far is the All Day Breakfast which is delicious and great value, the coffee hot and flavoursome. The bonus to this Tea Room is that it is also licensed and they do a delightful Pinot. Definitely will be having a return visit, I consider this one of the best establishments in Darwen for anyone who prefers a more relaxed lunch or afternoon tea but wants a change from the numerous bars of Darwen. Plus if you enjoy a little refined shopping there is a fabulous fancy goods/furniture shop adjoining.

Absolute diamond of a place ; food amazing very fresh and generous .Cocktails the absolute best service was superb .and price was just right .will definitely recommend and return .well done dollys

Couldn't be happier with the pie that I ordered. Really really tasty and I left with a smile

I spoke to staff when I paid our bill. A member of your staff unsmiling, blunt and rude. Unnecessary with customers despite her own personal problems.

Comment was meant to be posted a while ago but whilst I was trying to enjoy my meal there was a member of the waiting staff who was repeatedly being yelled at for the smallest of things, I believed the way the owner treated her staff was absolutely appalling, other than the food is great but this cannot go unnoticed

A little disappointing. Service was fair, but food was only average, and quite expensive for what it was.

Lovely people great place to grab a bite to eat a slice of cake and sit and chat or ring and order a take out book and enjoy your food at home great cakes and food prepared on site x

We sampled the new menu last night and the food was delicious. Such good value. Suzanne and her team were so welcoming. Excellent service and a lovely atmosphere. Can't wait to return.

AMAZING new menu. I'm a very fussy eater but tried everything on the menu and I can honestly say I will be back. The only problem I will have is what to order as it was all lovley. Very friendly staff lovley atmosphere. You won't be disappointed. 😍😍

I was going to review back in December when we visited with 8 of us spending quite a lot of money. The Afternoon Tea was not worth the money for what we were given and one of us didn't get their cooked meal until we all had finished. After some time we were asked if we wanted more drinks to which we said yes but 15 minutes later while we still had drinks the bill was dumped on our table by the owner who did nothing to help us split the costs. She informed us her staff wanted to get home and they were closing but had still offered us drinks. She was quite rude and the staff miserable. Been before but won't be back, you would expect more effort to keep customers if they've struggled the past two years. Disappointing both food and staff.

Have had several meals here - the food is fantastic & staff have always been lovely

Lovely staff and great service really enjoy the food and love the family environment!

Food used to be very good here but definitely gone downhill! Had the £22.50 'festive afternoon tea' which was: 3 small turkey sandwiches dry enough to choke a camel, supermarket coleslaw, a huge undercooked sausage supposed to be a pigs in blanket, a mini pie thing that was alright, two bland cakes and a cup of mashed carrots and water which was supposedly soup. Didn't even get a scone! My friend asked the waitress if the soup was Vegan to receive the reply, 'um, it should be.' Asked her to check and and she never came back. She then tried to bring out all normal afternoon teas and we said we had ordered a vegan and gluten free one. Same waitress bluntly replied '...does it have to be vegan?' lol. She then tutted at me when she brought an extra tea by accident. We were then offered cranberry juice and mulled wine; when I politely declined the manager said I could have another juice. I said no thanks I'm OK to which she replied, 'oh, so you don't do health then.' Mortifying! We've had much cheaper and delicious afternoon teas and this was by far the worst I've ever had unfortunately! Completely overpriced; the whole meal was so bad it was funny. The only reason we didn't complain was due to thinking the manager would be aggressive with us as she looked to have an attitude (and by reading the replies to reviews on here and TripAdv, we were right!)

The place itself was lovely. Very busy. There were seven of us on a festive afternoon tea. 2 head. We were disappointed with the food we got which consisted of 4 small squares of turkey and stuffing, a teacup of carrot and coriander soup, homemade carrot coleslaw, 3 tiny cakes and a cup of coffee or tea. One of our party didn't like stuffing and asked for just turkey, everyone else had finished and the replacement sandwiches had not arrived. There were no staff on the floor at all. When the owner was told about this by one of our party. Her attitude changed. She was very rude, she kept saying that the last two years had been terrible for small businesses. I agree it has been tough, but if you treat our speak to your customers like that, it will be a very slow recovery. I know the owner will come on here to belittle my view and ridicule my point of view. But I will not reply to any comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this review.

We had a fabulous Christmas Dinner in here with friends and it was delicious.

Beautiful things in wonderful setting. Friendly and helpful.

Christmas santa breakfast , brilliant the kiddies loved it .

Looks like it has a very rude new owner. Her behaviour was absolutely shocking. Ordered a egg benedict not know there would be bacon on it as when I've ordered in other places it's come without, plus it was next to vegetarian options. When she came out with it I kindly said oh sorry I'm vegetarian I can't eat that...Well she the manager was extremely rude and belittled me in front of everyone saying it took me ages to make this and that I better pay for it!! After her rant she then came came threw a plate on my table with two dried pieces of toast as a replacement Wow just wow. I think it needs a visit by Gordon Ramsey or even better shutting down..appalling behavior!!!!

I've been going to Dolly's for a few years now. They have changed the layout of the dining area and it seems much better. Meals are always good but luncheon portion sizes seem a lot smaller than previously, hence only 4 stars .

Lovely setting and shop however food was very basic which was a shame.

This was the first time since I'd been back since covid. The service was a little slow bearing in mind we'd pre-booked food. The tearoom has now changed hands and the vibe and look of the place is totally different. It has a lot of evening food that would appeal, such as tapas nights, which I'd go to try out in the future.