Garden Cafe Lawford in Tendring

I always take my Nan here on a weekend when I visit her. She is in a care home just up the road with severe dementia and this is the only place I feel safe taking my Nan, as I know everyone is so lovely and understand the situation. They are patient whilst she decides what she'd like, friendly with her and chatty when she is in the mood and so so kind. It is the only place I will go now for lunch with Nan, I cannot thank the team here enough, incredible food, great value for money and the best customer service I've experienced I can honestly say. Thank You all so much x

Visited for a family birthday meal. Menu has a wide selection for every occasion, from baguettes, paninis and jacket potatoes to 'pub' food staples like pie, lasagne and burgers. There's also a display of cakes at the counter. Portion sizes were good value for money and believe all we had was freshly cooked. We certainly enjoyed our meals and would definitely visit again.

We ordered cheese scones. Waited an age for them to come. When they did they had been reheated to the point of being hot. I tried to cut it in half but it crumbled into pieces. I tried one piece and it had no cheese taste whatsoever. It was stodgy and awful. I left it. A waste of money. I won’t visit there again.

Visit most Sundays the food is absolutely lovely everything is freshly cooked.Adam the chef amazing young man.Always making sure the food is to everyone's liking.Tina and the girls waiting the tables always kind & helpful. Always look forward to Sunday lunch and the lovely welcome we receive.

We have eaten here on numerous occasions and the food and service has been spot on. We hadn't been for sometime so I wanted to check up to date reviews which were terrible! we still decided to go as alot of these reviews you will always get the negatives written but often the satisfied customers don't think to review!. SO HERES OURS! we had a lovely lunch the food portions were huge, perfectly cooked and very tasty. The staff were polite and accommodating. Definitely going again and not put off by a few peoples negative experiences. We sat outside in the shade under the wisteria as it was a very hot day .

Have been here many times over the last few years, both pre and post Covid. It has always been very enjoyable with great food and at a decent price. However, after a visit today we won't very going back. My wife ordered the quiche and when it came out it was not bigger than a small piece of pizza with four tiny new potatoes and some salad. £15 was the suggested price. On previous visit the quiche has been huge, homemade and very tasty. We complained and ended up having a sandwich which was far more substantial. I dont know if there are new owners but whatever the case is, things were not as before. I also noted the cake portions were significantly less than before but the same price. A 330ml bottle of beer for £4.00 is criminal. I appreciate Covid and the current economic climate has put pressure on such establishments, but cutting back portions sizes is a false economy as visitor's like us wont go back. I recommend the cafe needs to return to good quality home made food, with decent portions and sensible prices. If not then I give them a couple of years max.

Most unwelcoming to someone with a gluten dietary disability. The "welcome" I received from the counter staff was really negative and unkind and left me feeling very hurt. They said they don't do gluten free food and they couldn't guarantee no cross contamination as their kitchen was very small. When I said that I understood and accepted that limitation the answer was "Well, I suppose you had better sit down and see if you can find something you want then but I don't think we can help you" Gluten intolerance is not a choice but a disability. If the restaurant staff refused to help someone in a wheelchair in a similarly intolerant way they would be in contravention of the Disability Act.

I have been coming to this café for years, since it opened. Of late, it hasn't been nearly as good as it used to be. After yesterday's visit, I shan't be going ever again. When we asked for a second cup of coffee, we were told we couldn't as the machine had been cleaned out. Then an extremely rude member of staff cleared our table in a very abrupt and stroppy manner and announced they were closing and said "we have lives outside of this place too you know." Well just as well you do, because if you continue to speak to customers in this manner, there won't be a business left to work for.

Today myself and 4 of my friends visited the cafe for coffee and a chat . Unfortunately the the scones and Victoria Sandwich were inedible. The fruit scones were hard on the outside and doughy in the centre, the cheese scones were devoid of cheese except on the top. The only good thing about the food was that the tea cakes were okay. We had 5 Lattes 3 looked like coffee the other 2 looked like coloured milk This is not the first time we have been to the cafeteria. The last time we also had problems but we decided that perhaps things had changed. Unfortunately not. WILL NOT BE GOING AGAIN.

Booked a Sunday lunch for 3 - it was inedible. I went to the cash desk and quietly told the young member of staff that the meal was unacceptable and may I please just have a sandwich to replace it. It was obvious from the waitress's demeanour that she totally understood! Went back to my seat - a woman, wearing the filthiest overall, appeared at my shoulder and proceeded to harangue me, refused to replace the meal and barred us! Actually, barring us was a bit unnecessary as we would never go back. The irony is that there is a notice on the wall by the loos telling customers to let staff know if anything isn't up to scratch - BE WARNED - DON'T!!!!!

rock hard scones overly soft on the bottom and empty tops. Jacket potato very burnt. Service buy young waitress very fair

As always very nice food but unfortunately very few signs of COVID restrictions. Waitress not wearing a mask and very little ventilation

Used to go to this place pre covid a lot as the food and service were great and value for money. It used to be so busy. However it has gone downhill fast ! Order wrong but made to feel it was our fault, condiments have to ask even for basics salt and pepper , jacket with no butter . Food Luke warm and jacket overdone. Shan't be going back in a hurry

Had a few meals there and service / meals have been fine, however one afternoon that changed, a gristly piece of meat was complained about, wow! The cook came out like a rampant bear with a sore head , started to pick the meat out in front of us and with others looking on in horror at her ranting!, she explained she didn’t grow the meat ? I agreed !, but I had to pay for it madam and I’m sorry if that doesn’t suit you , but nonetheless your stupid rant didn’t serve you well, sorry Craft , nice venue etc and meals etc were fine previously, but if you advertise to keep you advised of anything your unhappy with but when you do and then presented with a cook in a bad mood who dictates to you with astonished onlookers. It doesn’t serve you well. Thx.

Used to come here regularly precovid and always enjoyed scones and coffee. Today’s cheese scone was a rock solid effort with no cheesy taste otherthe meagre amount sprinkled on the top. It was grey and stodgy inside and clearly undercooked. Coffee was good as was hubby’s cake. No one seems to be able to make light cheesy scone these days!!! Very hot so sat in garden but half the tables don’t have a parasol so people were actually leaving rather than sit in the sun. Surely a garden centre has access to sun umbrellas. Afraid I won’t be going again in a hurry.

We have visited the Garden Cafe twice for coffee and cake . The coffe & tea is excellent and a variety of cakes ,lovely . At the present time all the rules are being adhered to . The garden and shop are worth a visit .

Very family friendly, and you can take in your dog! Food was lovely, but a wee bit expensive for what we got.

My wife's car was in for a service at a garage a few miles down the road and as it was a grey damp day decided we would have a cooked breakfast whilst waiting. The cafe entrance was via the garden centre...No issue but at 09.12 the doors were still locked and lights off as if no one home...we would have left had not the faint smell of cooking food indicated there was life somewhere....as we turned to leave a man appeared inside and unlocked the doors and turned the lights on...No apology no jokes about timekeeping...poor customer service! Onto the traditional cooked breakfast which included a decent cup of coffee...there was a sufficient quantity of food but all average taste other than the sausages ( we were told when asked from Proctors! ) ...square plates made the presentation different but nothing special.... We were first customers in the cafe and only a couple of others tables became occupied whilst we were there...but it was a cold dull november saturday! For a tenner each I expect either more food or much tastier food...so it served it's purpose but although the garden centre looks inviting for a good wander around we didn't today. The lady that served us was helpful friendly and efficient...can't fault that aspect of things.

Oh dear oh dear, I’ve just read the reviews and I wish I had read them before eating there again. Last time was a month ago and I went with family and was shocked that all of our dinners were covered in chopped parsley, our son has autism and sensory issues and wouldn’t touch the fish and chips covered in green stuff. My husbands dinner and mine were fairly good. We went back today and although my husband eats anything, I sadly can’t. I have Crohn’s disease and need to be careful what I eat. I chose cheese and ham panini, I can’t eat the side salad but that’s not their fault, I’m just not allowed fibre. The panini tasted strange, kind of vinegary, then I looked inside and the ham was grey, awful stale grey where meat gets that vinegary taste. So I discarded the ham and ate a few mouthfuls of cheese panini that I was left with. Hardly a meal!! This meal was also ruined by a dog yappy barking in the centre of the restaurant, we go out to get away from our neighbours yappy dog and had to put up with it whilst dining out as well. Wasn’t impressed at all. I’m now feeling quite ill, just been sick and have stomach cramps. I shall not be eating there again sadly. I hope they read the reviews and do something about it.

I am happy to give our visit 5*..we came a couple of weeks and I marked it down but this visit was a totally better experience. Peaceful and the food was excellent Breakfast was extremely good value, fish and chips excellent and our friend who had an omelette was very impressed,We all had large portions and very tasty we could not fault it. It just shows you cant make an overall judgement on one visit. We will certainly be making Craft Nursery frequent visits based on our last experience. Well done.

We came here when it first changed hands a long time ago and were so disappointed we didnt return but seeing cars outside on several occasions we thought we would try again as staff change and it could have improved. Having sat down we were told there would be a half hour wait as only one chef on, seemed longer but the food arrived, jacket potato was average, suet pudding was satisfactory and the beef casserole was a plate bowl of gravy with 3 small potatoes bits of meat and carrots our friend had to ask for a soup spoon to eat it. Two dogs, one barking and we were surprised they were there in the middle of the room, we didn't come to listen to dogs and that also spoilt our meal, it was supposed to be a peaceful lunch with a friend I can understand that they want to get trade from dog owners but they could have a section set aside like Haarts Delight where the dogs aren't disturbing and intruding on customers who want to talk and eat eat peacefully with friends. Further a woman breast feeding her child in full view caused embarrassment to my husband as he wouldn't look over to the special board in case people thought he was looking at her. I have breast fed 3 children but always considered other peoples feeling and that some people might not be comfortable with seeing a child being naturally fed..but perhaps its a generation thing. I hope they are open to negative comments as the setting is nice it could be good perhaps we had one of their bad days and if we went again it could be a totally different experience. Third time lucky???

What a waste of time! Place seemed lovely set in a lovely part of the world, with a nice garden centre.......however! We went in and was told to take a seat someone would be over, that we did. Sat for 20 minutes or so checking over menu and waiting for service, that didn’t come. I then went up to the counter where the 3 Ladies were talking and asked to order, to be told take a seat we’ll come over. Sat back down and when 10 minutes later still no service we just left. The ladies there seemed far too busy talking amongst themselves they didn’t even notice us leave. Waste of time pulling in and won’t ever bother again!

Unfortunately come here today with my family. Ordered 3 of the £10.95 burgers that come with a limp side salad, a generous portion of chips and a teaspoon of coleslaw. The burgers; two patty’s which were pink and cold in the middle sandwiches between a plain low end bun. The burger was plain. We helped ourselves to sachets of sauces, and then found no cheese in the burger. We asked for a pot of cheese which we were charged a further £1.50 for. Main waitress with blonde hair very rude and blunt, could tell she didn’t want to be there. All in all, a waste of £50. The fish and chips my mother had was reportedly ok, it looked like the better choice for sure.

We have had lunch at Craft nurseries before but we think they must have changed the chef, or the owners. We were a party of 4 and all of us ordered main meals. Mine was 'Woodland Chicken'. It looked nice enough when it arrived - although it was just luke warm. I had a lump of something on my plate which looked like a piece of meat, but unfortunately I couldn't cut through it, although I tried. I ate part of the meal and when we finished, the waitress who seemed to be in charge that day came to collect our plates. When I pointed to the piece of 'food' on my plate and asked if she knew what it was, she said it was a mushroom. I told her that I would only give 1 out of 10 for the meal as the mushroom sauce consisted of dried mushroom that didn't re-hydrate properly before they were used for cooking. They were like pieces of leather, including the large piece I couldn't identify. I would have expected an apology at least but all I got was a parting comment telling me I should have said something at the beginning of my meal. There was a notice on the wall saying: If you like us, tell your friends. If you find something wrong, then tell us. - I thought that's what I did! So guess what? We won't be coming back for lunch again and we will be telling our friends.

Walking around the garden centre looking for some plants I wanted not one member of staff in sight . Went to the pay desk and ask there no staff around His reply was I’m here ain’t I . Said that someone would be out soon. So I thought we would grab a cuppa and breakfast. Shocking prices for cold food . I will not return . Still not seen any members of garden staff

My wife and I were passing at lunchtime and decided to drop in here. The cafe is part of the Craft Nurseries and has an outside garden eating area. The staff were very friendly but despite most of the tables being empty and there being quite a few staff we had to wait a while for our food. We both had a jacket potato with cheese and coleslaw which was very nice but could have done with more cheese.We then both had a tart each (mine was bananoffee and hers lemon) these were a little disappointing as not much filling.I could visit here again if I were passing but I would not make a special journey.

My cousin and I booked an afternoon tea as a treat for our 89 year old spritely aunt's birthday and my mothers but have never had such a disappointing offering. The scones were rock hard and definitely not cooked today, totally inedible. There were two small scones each 1 cheese and 1 fruit with jam and cream. When we complained about the quality, the waitresses went away and came back to say they didn't have any more, we said we would take the large scones instead. Expected two of each to share, she came back with one of each which would have meant a quarter each!!! When challenged, they had no more fruit scones so my aunt and mother had to forgo their Sweet one with jam and cream....an integral part of an afternoon tea, no? Having tried the small cakes, they were not much better, small pieces that had been cut off, some dry. By this time, we just wanted to leave. The waitresses told us that we would have to pay in full and sort it with the manager in the main shop...well...no apology from him....some customer care training required there! Having explained...he said.. Oh well I will refund you the £13.50...I said I was not happy to pay £13.50 x 3 for something that was only half edible...and that was stretching the positive! I said we would pay half, which he begrudgingly agreed. Not a great treat all round. Won't be visiting again.

I went with a friend this morning for a coffee and a chat. The restaurant far exceeded my expectations, the staff were friendly, polite and efficient and provided excellent service. The cheese scone was so delicious, very cheesy and obviously home baked. I really enjoyed the whole experience and will certainly go again.

My husband and I find ourselves heading over on a weekly basis for lunch. The staff welcome is warm and friendly on arrival. Service great and when busy keep us informed of should there be a waiting time. The food is freshly cooked, good coffee and a nice atmosphere throughout. Hayley and Ellie, are a first class edition to a fab team of hard working staff. It's a lovely experience, but the title says it all.

Went to this café/nursery yesterday to collect hanging baskets I had ordered. As we were going to go on for lunch somewhere I asked one of the male owners who served us if the same person was running their café. He said yes. I replied she must have cost you a lot of business.. He dismissed what I said but then said to my husband the worst part is getting the staff and keeping them. Well the answer is right under your nose. Surely they read their reviews.

the meal today was very low standard, No gluten free fish and chips anymore. I had ham egg and chips, the ham wasn't nice at all and very salty. The chips tasted as if they had been kept warm. My husband had fish and chips, had to ask for the tartare sauce, The fish didn't taste of fish, think it was a frozen piece. The prices are quite high for the quality. Been there before, had gluten free fish and chips which was excellent. Won't ever eat there again

My husband and I visited this restaurant today and had the worst cheese scones we have ever tasted. They were so dry and stodgy and had no cheese taste at all. To make matters worse the so called butter was a very unpleasant tasting margarine. When we came to pay we told the young boy on the till how horrible the scones were because if they are paying someone to make them for them they need to be informed. The only response we got was oh! On returning home I looked at the reviews for the restaurant and it appears they know the scones are horrible because other people have complained before. We love the garden centre but will not bother with the restaurant again.

I have never worked in a more unprofessional working environment as this café, I wouldn't call this a restaurant. I totally agree with the customers, there is NO customer care at all. I wouldn't recommend this as a nice place to work either, the manager is a bully towards customers and staff, its no wonder they have such a high turn over of staff.

Really horrible experience. Won't be coming back to the cafe again. I have never met such rude staff - really let themselves down.

Before I start I would like to mention that the nursery shop itself is great with a huge range of things and lovely staff. The restaurant however is a different story...

I just want to say the shop itself is very good and the staff in the shop are very kind, although the cafe was very different.

Have decided we are never going here again. In every menu book at the back is a form for you to fill in regarding your experience. Well have come to the conclusion these forms are put there to fool the customer into thinking the owner Jane really cares what her customers think , I have filled in now about five asking different questions and have yet to receive a reply. On our last visit my husband and I both had the all day breakfast. The sausages were awful hence asked the girl what had happened to the regular sausages, She went away came back and said the sausages are the same ones. Never in a million years were they the same. Do they think customers are stupid? Nobody from the kitchen came to our table to speak to us. Signs in there clearly state if you like what we do tell others. If not tell us. It is obvious customers are treated with contempt here. So no more visits from us.

After going here in August saw on the menu sausage either in a baguette or in a sandwich with salad and coleslaw. To me salad with hot sausage is alien so ordered it with onion which is what is the normal. Hence the salad on my plate was wasted yet I had been charged £I,00 extra for the onion. Hence next time I visited here I asked to speak to who was in charge . I asked could I not have onion instead of the salad at no extra cost? was told yes. Would have thought by now something would have printed on the menus telling all potential customers if they want onion they can have it at no extra cost in lieu of the salad. Yet nothing on the menu about this at all. But they have managed to reprint the menu page this is on as it states onion now is an extra £1.10

It was busy the day we went as some tables were reserved.Even though it was busy we received our food within a decent time.The food itself was really good and first class produce. Thought it was a bit overpriced, and any extras you may want are expensive.

We like it here and the food is nice. However fancied an extra slice of bread and butter with my order of a Prawn Cocktail and was charged 95 pence for the one slice of bread. And upon reading the list of extras you can order the prices are a rip off. I notice their Christmas dinner this year is £39.95 per person. Well on average all year round here a dinner lets say £15.00 being generous then a £5.00 for a desert and forgot a starter £5.00 that comes to me at a cost of £25.00 in total. What on earth is on the Christmas dinner menu that warrants £39.95? nothing at all warrants another £14.95. This is why I personally never leave a tip as if they are charging what they do for extras they have more than enough money coming in to pay their staff a fair wage.

Rather partial to a sausage baguette but why does it come with salad. coleslaw. and crisps? To me it is rather alien to have the above named food all cold items with a hot sausage baguette, Hence I asked the lady in charge if I forgo the cold items can I have onions instead and she agreed. She said all extra items are a £1.00 and she can see it seems a lot for a small portion of onions. I replied personally think £1.00 for a small portion of onions is greedy even allowing for cooking 50p would be more than enough to charge. I buy three onions each week for 85p in Sainsburys. This lady said we are running a business. Yes I know but every extra item costing a pound is a bit over the top even for running a business. You have to be fair with people. Food still very nice there though.

I really enjoyed my light lunch here. There was plenty of it and the jacket potato was soft and buttery - not microwave hard! The cake was delicious, a large slice (2 forks brought automatically) and a hot, proper cup of tea with the pot full enough for top ups! The service was excellent; quick, polite and friendly.

Popped in here as a road was closed nearby so we couldn’t go to our normal eatery.

The garden cafe is run by very friendly staff. I arrived there one day very late in the afternoon and thought it might be too late to get served, but the hard working staff were as welcoming as ever and I duly got my scone and pot of tea.

Visiting the garden centre with family including 7yr old grandson . Decided to visit the restaurant mid morning for a brunch pitstop.

Just popped in for a coffee and scone with my husband today. I saw a waitress cut 2 pieces chocolate cream sponge to be served to customer. In so doing she got cream on one of her fingers. Instead of cleaning it off with a cloth or washing her hands she put her finger in mouth and sucked it off and then proceeded to pick another piece of sponge. Disgusting.

Husband is rather fond of a cooked breakfast and most places have finished serving by the time we leave home. However whilst here for lunch noticed it said cooked breakfast available all day. Have now been there three times for the breakfast and have to say very good. Sausages we asked where they get them as so tasty told they are by Procters in Colchester. All the other items bacon. mushrooms. tomatoes, beans, fried potatoes. lovely. plus toast. Only grumble would like thicker bread for toast and fresh cream for the coffee instead of that awful UHT CREAM which taints the coffee. In fact have put this about the cream in their suggestion box. So will see what happens.

My husband & I used to visit the garden cafe often before it changed management. Food was always good, generous portions & well priced. Staff smiley, approachable etc. Today we decided to call in & have some lunch. Both decided to have something from the specials board. My husband chose Sweet & Sour Pork. As it was a warm day, I chose the Cold Turkey Salad. When the meals arrived the sweet & sour looked generous & appetising, smelt good too. Husband said it was tasty & filling. However, my salad consisted of a bowl of lettuce, cucumber, tomato, peppers & red onion with sliced turkey on top. That was it! I thought I might be getting some new potatoes or a nice chunk of fresh bread ....but no!!!! would even have been nice to have had some coleslaw! Some additions of maybe beetroot, celery, sweet corn, cress, grapes etc would have boosted the salad & not cost the earth!!! The turkey itself was dry & tasteless. Definately not worth the £10.50 paid. And that was £1 dearer than the sweet and sour!!! What justifies that! I would have been better & felt fuller to have ordered a turkey & salad sandwich! At least I would have got coleslaw & crisps with it & it would have been cheaper !!! No one asked us at any time if our meals were ok. I was ready to give my views. When we left staff were busy dealing with paying customers ( we had already paid) . If it hadn’t been busy I would have spoken to someone there. We had to be somewhere else so couldn’t hang around. As we left not one member of staff lifted there heads to say thank you & goodbye. I’m sorry to leave such a negative review of what used to be a lovely eating place.

Have not been here since last review in 2016. When prices were rising up and portions getting smaller in order to pay for decorating the tea room one suspects. However wanted to go to the nursery for bedding plants as nursery near us rather expensive for bedding this year. We actually ended up buying four already done hanging baskets. Daft as it seems cheaper than doing our own, Anyway after shopping felt hungry so said to husband let us try the café here again. After reading all the reviews since new people took over felt rather reluctant to try it again but if not nice

We visited on a Saturday lunchtime. The quiche was far too small for the price and the pastry was so hard that it could not be cut. It looked like it had been reheated several times, tasted vaguely OK. The beef lasagne was oily and not nice to eat at all with large lumps of congealed meat and the garlic bread was soft pap. Chips and salad were fine. The pricing is ridiculous for food of that standard. It was entirely staffed by teenagers who were polite enough but obviously had received no training in customer service. Will not be returning.

First visit here with my mother and daughter. Thought the setting was lovely. Looked at the menu and was spoilt for choice. Food came out in good time and tasted delicious. Staff were lovely to my 9yr old daughter. Would definitely go back.

We hadn't been here for a while and we won't be going again. 'Chef in training' was the excuse but the orders both came out wrong, the salad was drowning in vinaigrette and there was no crisps (as was stated on menu). This used to be one of our favourite places to visit but not anymore

We have eaten here many times under the old & new management, though I must say the old regime was better. We came as a family group of 5 including of senior citizens. The food was fine, but the whole visit was ruined by the freezing temperatures in the cafe leaving us unable to enjoy the food.

Terrible meal, very disappointed. Coffee tasted like hot water no coffee taste at all, when we complained and a further two cups were produced that tasted slightly better but all in all a terrible experience.

My friend and I used to visit the cafe here regularly until the change of management at the beginning of 2017. We noticed a big difference afterwards. I used to love their fruit scones but every time we visited we we were told they'd run out or the batch they'd made had gone wrong. We waited to be served at our table for ages, eventually having to get up and approach them ourselves. Staff are not as friendly as the old team and the redecorated interior is now bland and generic, unlike the previous cosy, homely atmosphere. We now go to Fillpots nursery in Boxted, much much nicer.

Visited this cafe for lunch with friends and totally disappointed. I ordered Beef Stew and Dumplings with Mash Potatoe. Was told it would all be freshly cooked. Came out mash Potatoe had been microwaved, when I cut into the dumpling it was not even cooked, it was disgusting. I complained to waitress, who apologised and asked if I would like something else instead, so I suggested an omelette and waitress said it would take another 20 minutes to arrive, so said I would have the quiche, when that arrived after another 15 minutes later it had been microwaved as bottom was soggy and the new potatoes were dry and had no butter on them the only part that was ok was the salad, that was not freshly cooked!! One of my other friends had the skewered prawns, all she got was 2 skewers with 3 prawns on each skewer and little bit of salad all servers on a plate the size of a tea plate cost being £8-95. Certainly will not return. Food is not cooked freshly.

I ordered mushrooms in garlic with crostini. ( Italian toasted bread). My bread came clearly not toasted nut rock hard. I called the waitress and a lady chef came out. I said I thought it was crostini. I said in Italy crostini is toasted bread. She replied 'well this is Colchester, it has been baked in the oven. All other food was fine but please teach your staff some manners.

We visited last Monday for lunch, it was excellent my husband had liver and onions I had the fish, we enjoyed it very much so today Tuesday 8 days later we returned for lunch as we has seen someone having 4 nice lamb cutlets on mash and we quite fancied it. Looking at the specials board I saw pork belly with crackling apple jus Stilton mash, my husband had the lamb chop, we waited 20 mins ( that's ok as if it's freshly cooked we expect that) when mine arrived the pork looked very dry! A thin slice of hard too hard to cut crackling covered with a thin layer of dry pork then a layer of soft white fat! Dry mash with blue cheese slice on the bottom running into the gravy,with some tiny apple cubes, not jus! I had to send it back and had the turkey pie which was again dry. My husband expectations of the lovely lamb cutlets turned into 1leg chop, a few sliced fried potatoes and a small amount of lettuce and cucumber, not what was being served the previous Monday? and at £12.95 not value for money. I can only presume the chef has left I'm so sorry as we thought we had found a gem locally to have lunch.

We had a fantastic roast dinner today,as always food was extremely good,piping hot and fresh. Staff pleasant and attentive, desert was piping hot, I had the apple crumble and custard. Really good value for an excellent meal.

The food and service were brilliant, prices were very reasonable. There were four of us and we could only find nice things to say about every aspect of our meal.

The interior has been enlarged by removing sales items, this has lead to more tables.

My Mother and her friend met up for coffee and scones but unfortunately had to complain as the scones were stale. The lady in charge refused to deduct the price of the scones from the bill, even though these two ladies, who regularly used the cafe, had complained. This cafe, needs to remember in order to run a successful business, the customer must leave happy in order to return, it's not rocket science.Also my Daughter had applied for a job there, and the man pays an absolute pittance, with no proper breaks, so that's probably why people arnt happy with the service!!So Craft Nurseries, remember, happy staff, happy customers = successful business.

Very disappointed on last visit but as heard about change of management decided to meet a friend for lunch and give it another go. My £6 Sandwich came with crsips (not even a handful, stale & soft) a very mean salad garnish, couldn't find coleslaw. Bread lovely as always, but to be honest most people can make a sandwich. My friend's Panini came with same crisps & salad for nearly £8 which I would suggest is way above the local average, sorry to say a table was easy to find, which previously would not have been possible at lunch. Staff ok although I only got one of the two drinks I asked for, and when reminded to be fair I got an apology. I regret that I probably won't return and I suspect I will not be the only one.

1st time since cafe change of staff, will not be going again, poor service, prices up and dead fly mixed in the cappuccino topping!!!but the range of products and the garden side of things seems to have improved,so buy plants here but don't eat here.

I stopped here for my lunch break. The menu was very good but decided to go for a cream tea, didn't want to be too full. The home made fruit scone was delicious. The dishes being delivered to the tables looked good and the smells mmmmmm.I have visited here many times and have never been disappointed.

Have been customers here for years. Home made cakes to die for - great tasty food beautifully presented and lovely staff.Returned yesterday for sandwiches tea and coffee to find the cafe had had a makeover plus a change of ownership. No longer has the same delightful menu - no longer the lovely cakes ( award winning) and definitely no longer friendly and polite staff.The place is now more a chips with everything Cafe and if u sit inside u will suffer the aroma of chip oil. We waited 35 mins after being served our tea/coffee for two sandwiches to arrive. I asked for hot water (my tea by now was stone cold) which I got, grudgingly. My husband asked for a complimentary coffee given the length of time we waited for our food. The world nearly came to an end! You would have thought he'd asked for the moon. First one lady(not the server) arrived - told him couldn't be done and became quite argumentative so my husband asked to speak to the manager. Ten mins later someone who purported to be manager arrived ( we later discovered from an equally unpleasant and unhelpful owner this person was simply a cook) who basically said no complimentary coffee because it was my husband's fault for drinking it! If he'd just let it go cold he could have had another. She then explained the delay was due to a mistake in her kitchen! Our fault? She made it seem so. Food was ok - nothing special - hated the salad dressing ( previous type was delicious). The nice outside area to sit in remains and we shall miss this on warm days. However, after being loyal customers of both this cafe and the nursery, we shall never return due to the disrespect afforded us by the staff their and the downmarket food.I suspect that other loyal customers will desert this place. It's not classy, friendly nor does it serve lovely food nicely presented any more. But if it's chips with everything you are after - you'll enjoy it here.By the way prices have risen quite a bit! I suspect to pay for the makeover.We won't be back!

I was disappointed to read reviews which suggested that since renovations etc had been carried out the place was not as good as before.My daughter and I had loved the place last year and felt we had to go back to see what was different. Today we had a wonderful lunch there my granddaughter dame with us and I had to write this review.The only changes are that the seating areas have increased. We love to eat outside in the arbour area and we found this just as relaxing and pleasant as before. The food also was great - we all ordered different dishes and we were all very pleased with what we received. We each finished off with a slice of delicious cake - again three different types and they were delicious! The staff are friendly as always and happily changed my daughter's order to gluten free and we were very impressed. Make up your own minds - I will be very surprised if many people find cause for complaint!!

Used this cafe lots before it changed, wasn't disappointed lovely menu, great food, wonderful service with a smile.Few hiccups but swiftly managed, and all was well.Will return Bryan, Beverley and Christopher

The cafe looked nice and bright with new tables and chairs. I have been before under the old management and really enjoyed it. This was my first visit under new management and went with an open mind. I am afraid I was a bit dissapointed overall.

Visited on mothers' day for brunch. It looked like most tables were already booked for lunch, but at 10.30 we were ok for a table. We had teas coffees, scones and a bacon roll. The scones were warm and fresh and huge! These came either with jam and butter or as a cream tea. We also had a bacon roll, which was a large baguette with a fair portion of bacon. All food and drink was great and the staff were friendly and professional Probably worth booking if planning to go for lunch on a Sunday.

Have used this café for years and always been more than happy with the food and service, but a change of owners has changed the quality, would you believe a Vegetarian cook that can't even cook a decent gravy let alone a pie and a manager that had the cheek to run down the old owners, have they got a lot to learn or what.

This is a great garden centre and they have upgraded the entrance and the cafe ,Plants all very good and pots and garden ornaments and lots of lovely craft items the staff very helpful and full of plant knowledge etc , the cafe is lovely you can sit inside or out lovely court yard style outside and very relaxing layout inside food is very good and staff on the ball , this place has it all .

I arranged to meet a friend for an overdue catch up today at the Garden Cafe and having read the latest reviews we were dreading it, but in all honesty the experience was very pleasant. We were greeted by a very smiley lady who showed us to a table when we arrived, she then returned a few minutes later to take our order, as it was quite late in the day we only ordered a toasted tea cake and a cuppa but the cakes looked very yummy. We only had to wait a few minutes for our order, nothing seemed too much trouble for them.The new furniture looks good and the chairs were very comfortable, looks like they are trying to go with the minimilistic look and personally i think it looks much better than cluttered wall units.My friend and I will return, hopefully next time we will have time for lunch. I can only comment on my own experience which today was good.

New people, new environs, new menu, and this repeat offender at the previous cafe will not return.Bland, bland, bland.Main menu akin to a motorway cafe. Large uninviting space completely lacking in ambience.Cakes on display reduced in capacity and pretty standard looking. Some shades of its former glory - I suspect that at least one cook/chef from the previous business is still working in the kitchen.All in all disappointing even accounting for the fact that it is a new business.The garden centre itself has enlarged, but again there is nothing that has changed within in to tempt me back to visit just the nursery.This is a retrograde step....

Having been to the Garden Cafe on numerous occasions before and thoroughly enjoying it, we were looking forward to a nice lunch. It has changed, and not for the better. We arrived and on our way to the table were told that everything on the menu with chicken in was unavailable. This was quite a sizable part of the menu. We thought ok and ordered 2 dishes with prawns. We also fancied a glass of wine with our food, it was on the menu and in the display cabinet by the till, but was told we could not buy it because the licence had not come through .... why display something you cannot sell? Why not put a note in the Menu's to say it is currently not available? A mix up at the till doubled our bill, but to be fair the young lady was inexperienced. Ok, so now food is ordered and we are sitting drinking a cup of tea and a glass of water, instead of wine. The head waitress walked over and said "do you think your day can get any worse?" it turned out that there was not enough prawns to do 2 dishes, so we could either have a refund of choose 1 non prawn dish. By now we had been there sometime and it was too late to go anywhere else, so another non prawn dish was chosen. After eating our food we went up to the counter to order coffees .... ah no, we would have to pay a charge to use our debit card for the coffees, so we had to pull the cash together. Considering the embarrassment in front of other diners due to a loud explanation of no prawns, wine and more, and the poor service, would it have been gracious to say the coffee's are on the house? Whilst there, another customer asked if her children could have their food because they had been waiting so long "they had lost the will to live". The experience was so poor that sadly it merited this review. We will not be returning.

We were introduced to this restsurant by friends and have always enjoyed the service, food and ambiance every time we visited. You had to book, as it was a popular place to eat. We had heard that it had under gone a refurbishment and you no longer had to book, so we did wonder if we would be able to get in. We did get a table, as more tables have been put in, you now have to order and pay for your food at the counter, where as before it was waitress service, so it's gone from a cosy little restaurant to a clinical cafe. The food choices aren't as good and the specials board hasn't the same variety. Our food took forty five minutes to arrive and it wasn't at the same high standard as before. It was such a disappointment today, that we won't be coming back.

This restaurant has recently reopened with a restaurant manager Ricky who is personable and experienced. I had a fantastic Latte and a cake and it was thoroughly delicious! The owners have plans to improve the interior of the cafe and are working towards this in the next few months, the new staff are helpful and the new furniture is more comfortable with the restaurant is much less cluttered than it was before, a thorough improvement. The improved menu has increased the number of dishes available and I'm looking forward to coming back again for fish and chips! Thank you all the staff at Craft nursery restaurant for an excellent job!

I have been twice to this restaurant since it re-opened last week. On both occasions the meals were beautifully presented and tasted very good. My friends were equally impressed. The staff were helpful and the prices are very competitive. I shall certainly recommend this place for a lovely well cooked meal. There is plenty choice for everyone.I wish them all the best in their new venture.

Craft Nursary's Restaurant (formerly the Garden Cafe).Here we have an interesting problem. When an indifferent garden centre that used to rent out its cafe to a private firm, for whatever reason ends up having to run the cafe itself, and the cafe is now well-renowned, how does it follow that lead ?This, of course, is exactly what happened here. The Garden Cafe has recently been taken over by the nursary itself and rebranded as the Craft Nursaries Restaurant.I don't want to overegg my criticism, and, fully aware that I tend to be a harsh critic, I have given the 'restaurant' three stars, because it is probably average at worst. But I think this place is likely to see its customer base halve in the next fortnight because it has a hard act to follow, and it isn't following it. In fairness, this place only re-opened this week, but I think the issues are embedded in the fact that the nursary has taken over this cafe - further explanation in my conclusion.Good points.1. The staff were bending over backwards to make the best of what must be a difficult situation.2. The cakes seemed to be home made, with skill, and some were gluten-free. They were better than might be expected of a nursary cafe.Bad points.Let's start with the decor. The place looks like it was refurbished by a man who didn't have a girlfriend. The flowers on the table as used by the old management have gone, the paper napkins were tiny affairs like you would expect to find in Burger King, and while the place seemed clean, the only items of purely aesthetic value were a few ornaments behind the counter and some plastic (I kid you not) plants by the entrance door. To be honest, all I noticed of the refurbishement was that there may have been new tables and chairs.The food menu is standard for this sort of cafe and included quiches, potatoes, sandwiches, burgers, lasagna. The specials menu was a tad limited, and included scampi and chips, which I thought was frankly bizarre. The trouble was that staff did not seem to have the experience of working together to run a cafe that the previous management had, or that there were not enough staff. My meal, for instance, was edible if bland, and took a while to arrive. I tried the lasagna - while it wasn't bad, I could have made a better job of it myself, starting with the raw ingredients. There was beef, there were lasagne, and there was cheese, but whoever made it didn't know how to make a proper ragout. Having lived in Italy I'm spoiled, but I've had lasagna made from tinned sauce that had more flavour than this.Similarly the cakes appeared to have been made by someone who was good at making cakes, but they were not _quite_ as good as the cakes here pre-takeover, and the portions were smaller. It's almost as if they are being made by the same person but with cheaper ingredients, and they just can't achieve the same standards with inferior ingredients.The table service that had accompanied the old Garden Cafe has been replaced with an order-at-the-counter-and get-your-own-cultary regime, which I imagine is not going to prove popular with the pensioners who eat here practically every day. And, at this point, it is now probably as expensive as a decent pub lunch in Colchester, despite being a cafe with counter service in the middle of nowhere.Now I'm about to speculate massively and imagine it went something like this. The following is my speculation only. Craft Nursaries has not got a massive range of plants, its seed packets lack the most reputable brands, and it probably doesn't make a killing on garden ornaments either. In fact, the main reason it gets its custom at all is that the Cafe was an attraction in itself and led to walk-in business for the nursary. Envious of the success the cafe had, the nursary decided to end the tenancy and manage the cafe in its own right thinking, wrongly, that the location, not the food, was attracting custom. Sadly, it hasn't been able to understand why the cafe was so successful and is now running it in a lacklustre way: keeping costs to a minimum on the assumption that the customers won't know the difference. If staff keep their morale up, this place still has potential to re-grow from the inevitable slump: what is sad is that this 'restaurant' (no table service = cafe, in my book) came with a thriving existing customer base and won't be able to retain it.Hopefully Craft Nursaries owners will read my review and change things massively before it is too late.

visited many times for lunch, coffee and afternoon tea and cake. Lovely place to eat and meet friends

Lunched with a friend who is vegetarian. ..really appreciated the creative and imaginative veg menu.

Knowing how busy the Garden Cafe gets, we booked a table in advance. Just a well as it was very busy. Our orders were quickly taken. We ordered two chicken dishes, both different, a rabbit pie and a pasta dish. They were all delicious and hot. We also ordered four desserts, two sticky toffee puddings and two bakewell tarts, all piping hot, had no problem with having dairy free icecream with my dessert. A thoroughly enjoyable lunch served by a charming waitress. Will definitely return.

Called in here recently, when we entered café, we waited ages to be to be asked HAVE YOU BOOKED! in a grumpy tone, we said no, we had looked around Garden Centre and decided to have something to eat and drink, they then went off again,which seemed like an age and came back and told us they did have a table free. there were lots of free tables. we then waited another 15 minutes before someone came and took our order. Our food then arrived after another 15minutes.Do not call here if you are feeling down, and need to see a cheery face, and also allow loads of time. will not rush back.

My wife has been using the Garden Cafe on and off for years and she always spoke vey highly of the food; good portion sizes and quality. So we went today, my first time. Waitress service was a refreshing change and a choice of tables despite being busy. So far so good.We ordered a heated sausage roll, which I was assured was oven heated NOT microwaved, 2x Tomato Soup, both with granary bread and a fruit scone with jam.The sausage roll arrived promptly as did the fruit scone, odd timing but never mind. The scone was lovely but IMHO the sausage roll was microwaved and was of poor quality. I ate it as I was starving.The soup followed but in very small bowls with what I believed to be supermarket brown bread, tasteless and at £4.95, way over-priced, although the soup was good.On queuing to pay the lady in front of me complained about portion sizes and the poor value for money it represented which when my turn to pay came I echoed. The young lady taking my payment was vey polite and said to me as she did to the lady before me, that she'd report this info. Back to the manager. Not good enough in my view, they should have a procedure in place to get these matters sorted there and then for the benefit of the customer stood there unhappy, not just suggesting the situation would be discussed for future customers.On way out of the garden centre I ran in to the lady would complained before me and she and her family had been disappointed by the high price and small portion sizes in the past.I won't be going back and I was dead sure that I wasn't going to give the business any of my money for garden products having felt mugged in their restaurant.So to recap. Small portions but very nice soup. Tasty fresh fruit scone, tasteless granary bread. Good service apart from being robbed off at payment. Ample parking, clean restaurant, nice loos.

Popped in at 11:15 and just court the end of there breakfast serving (11:30) place was pretty much empty. Excellent service and excellent breakfast. With good quality meats used. Noticed most tables are reserved for lunch so booking maybe a good idea!

Have been here a few times it's always busy so you need to book a table. The food has always been good and the staff are always friendly would recommend this place to friends and family. Prices are reasonable to.

I attended here with my mother for a midday meal on bank holiday mionday.On arrival we waited excessively long to wait to be seated. There was then a long wait until someone came to take the order. The girl taking the order was not experienced and did not know nhow to effectively take the order. There were often other tables having the worng food delivered to the table. The food took a long time to arrive --but was ok but the prices have gone up....I could speculate that this is to fund the new 'monday closing' thats due to start.?. Overall it was hard work to get served and interaction with staff was like extrcting teeth and the long wait times ruined the pleasure associate with a meal out.I however do not blame any staff mentioned. They seemed young and inexperienced and it is unforgivable of management to put untrained or inexperienced staff in sitautions that they can't handle.It is undermining of thier confidence and it was uncomfortable to witness. Staff are you assets and they need toi be VALUED.The young satff did thier best in working conditions that were not effectivelly correlated to workload and thier experience. Managemetn should be ashamed as this not only affected the taff but the cunstomer expereince.I have been in the apst and it was excellent--It need a review of proceses and or management personell to bring it back into line.If you want a 'carrying on catering' experience this is at the moment the place.I could not recommend it but would have done in the past.

I had been here a couple of years ago and loved the food which, although a little pricier than at some other garden centres, was well worth it. On this occasion, a large group of us had a pre-booked afternoon tea. Food was just average really. Sandwiches and cakes were OK but nothing special. Scones were quite small and a bit on the dry side. Tea and coffee were on the weak side. I suppose I expected more for the rather hefty £12 per head that we were charged! Staff were friendly and helpful. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g503776-d8404736-r405241501-Floral_Days_Cafe-Clacton_on_Sea_Essex_England.html#

Partner and I were on the way to the gym on Saturday and I remarked as we passed here that I'd never been in to Craft Nurseries even after living in the area for many years. So decided to pop in on our way back. On a warm afternoon we sat in the outside area and had a sausage roll each and a drink. Well we had worked hard at the gym. The food was tasty the service good and the surroundings most pleasant. Will return.

We called in here whilst visiting Craft Nurseries, we was impressed by the range of home made cakes on offer (they also offer hot food and snacks)I chose the lemon cake and my husband the apricot and coconut, both were delicious and very fresh, we chose to eat outside in the spacious patio area which was very pleasant.Our drink of choice was a latte and this was served nice and hot Will definitely visit again when in the area

This is a good garden centre cafe with excellent tea and a great selection of tasty homemade cake. The service is okay but not great the times I have been there.

have been going here on/off for 2years. I personally gave up on the dinners due to them always being luke warm. Husband nearly always had dinner, However last week first visit for a while Husband ordered sausage/red onion/potatoes/veg and he said the sausages were tasteless. Hence today Husband said I am just having a sandwich. In the past he always when he had a sandwich enjoyed the sausage/tomato sandwich. So today ordered that for himself. He asked the waitress when did they change the sausages? as he said these are now small and tasteless and in fact that small that you end up with bread with nothing in it. She feigned knew nothing. As for the prices now yes we know about the minimum wage but it appears here the prices have risen enough to give the owners a nice pay rise after covering it, I would say the prices have risen far in excess of what is needed to pay the new pay rates. We will not be going back again.

A friend took me here for lunch last week and I found it to be very good. I had not heard of it before but have since recommended it to other friends, There is a very good, large choice of food on the menu. from sandwiches to full meals that certainly look homemade. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Its a hidden Gem in a garden centre but I'm told not part of the garden centre. My advise would be to book as it was very busy.

Wonderful home cooked food served up by helpful lovely staff.It's part of a garden center but don't let that put you off its as good as any restaurant in the area,and a decent price as wellWould highly recommend it,cream teas are great also.

Recently had lunch here with Mum & Hubby. We had booked, luckily, as this little gem of a Restaurant can get very busy - and when you have tasted their food you will know why!The home-made steak and kidney pie was stunning - the pastry was probably the best Hubby and I have ever tasted - it literally melted in the mouth and was an absolute pleasure to eat - lovely filling, perfectly cooked & plenty of veggies - YUM!The desserts are gorgeous - plenty of choice, but if you don't fancy any of those the cakes are delicious also (Hubby had Carrot Cake).The staff here are lovely, attentive, friendly and always ready with a smile - which makes all the difference!We 100% recommend this Café/Restaurant - having been a few times and ALWAYS impressed! We come back because we know we will genuinely be made welcome (Mum is disabled) and we will enjoy an excellent meal!

Been here a few times always good service good food in summer a great 'courtyard ' area to sit in Indoors several tables with gifts to buy around the restaurant. Fantastic cakes. Coffee cups too small...but we are used to v large cups these days

Went there 8/9/2015 two of at lunchtime. Husband had Liver /Bacon I had usual sandwich and also ordered coffee. Husband when placing order requested that the coffee came out at the same time as the food. The young man brought the food and suddenly as if on roller skates a young girl appeared at his elbow with the coffee. As I went to pour out my cup noticed it looked flat as if been standing so felt the metal coffee pot which was barely warm. I went back to the counter and told the young girl but instead of bringing over another pot of coffee she brought over one cup of coffee which looked black. Husband said about we ordered a pot for two off she went and came back with another pot of coffee. In the single cup she had brought me I put two cream pots and it was still bitter and black looking so had the coffee from the coffee pot. Our guess is that the order to bring the coffee with the food was forgotten and it had been made and left standing there until the food was ready then realised about the coffee sitting there hence why she rushed over with it, The older staff are really pleasant but the new youngsters definitely need more supervision from the owner who was not seen until we were leaving.

I have eaten at this cafe so many times, but it's always busy and so they recommend that you book. A group of us turn up most Thursday mornings and we are happy to sit outside so get away without booking but it could be a problem in the winter when all the tables are booked up. I love their food, it's always fresh and looks so appetising and everything is made on the premises too. I can recommend the cheese scones which are enormous and the quiches with salad are always good too. I wouldn't say their coffee is really good, but if you like it weak and milky then you'll probably like it.

We have been visiting the Garden Cafe on a weekend morning now for about 2 years. For us, this is the perfect place for Coffee and a Cheese Scone (or cake if we are feeling naughty!) The Staff and Owner are always very friendly and efficient and this all makes for a lovely start to the day :)The Cheese scones really are the best we have tasted, but don't tell anyone or there will be none left for us!

My husband and I are frequent visitors to this establishment and have never been disappointed until today. On arrival there were many empty tables that hadn't been cleared. When we ordered our food it was barely edible. My husband had a cheese and onion granary bread sandwich. The bread was stale and the crust was hard. I had a rock bun which was also stale and inedible. I brought it to the attention of our waitress who apologised and offered me something else, so I opted for a fruit scone and was told that this was frozen but could be defrosted and served warm. On arrival the scone was cold on the top and very hot underneath. I ate some of it and within 5 minutes it was completely cold and rock hard. So overall a very disappointing visit and a waste of £10. It will be a while before we visit again.