Garden Restaurant in Test Valley

visied the garden resturant at what is now Dobbies garden centre and took breakfast etc with my wife , daughter and her mindees...we all very much enjoyed the whole experience from staff to food and coffee...grea place to visit as well wih lots to see and look at...the little ones loved he Christmas decorations and lovely gifs on display.

Stopped here after meeting a friend. Long queue for service, which I put down to inexperienced staff. Had coffee and fresh scones, which were very good. This seems to be a popular restaurant.

The setting was nice for a light lunch but the food wasn't great. My chicken was dry and even partly burnt. Chips undercooked. The staff seemed uninterested and for the amount there were they did very little. Won't be eating here again unfortunately.

Never been to the restaurant at the Garden Centre at Andover before. It was a Saturday lunchtime, a long queue to the tills with lots of young servers doing nothing but watch - I assumed that they were undergoing training. It was a long wait - BUT it was worth it as the food was very fresh and of high quality; the Fish and Chips were excellent. If it had not been for the long wait I would have given 5 Stars. We will visit again and perhaps next time the servers will be more operationally efficient.

We did manage to have afternoon tea here with our grandchildren, service was good, cake expensive but so so noisy.

The quality of the food was poor when we visited several weeks ago. we popped back to see if it had improved. In our experience it hasn't. Someone told us the whole place was up for sale, so that could explain everything.

My friend and I went for breakfast with our young children on a Friday. Staff were friendly and accommodating. The food was brought out in good time and was hot and as expected. I've been several times and will go again.

Unhelpful, rude, bullying style staff. Didn't have any jacket potatoes at lunch time because I was told it takes 2 hours to make a jacket potatoe and if they make too many they would have to throw them out...most idiotic excuse I have ever heard. Scone was huge but not that nice. In the ordering process we were told NO so many times I just wanted to walk out. I have a dislocated shoulder and couldn't reach for menu. The teen staff would not help me until I asked her to hand it over to me. Then she gave me a glass with lipstick all over it. Sadly I noticed it half way through pouring my drink. When went to get a new glass and drink I was told there is nothing wrong with my glass and I wont get any new drink. Just disgusting service... You are in business of serving people. Not bullying them. How come management allows that to happen? Appalled. Someone like that should never work there at first place.

We've eaten here 3 times now, and, for a garden centre cafe, we really like it. On our visits I've had a BLT sandwich, a Prawn mayo sandwich, and beef lasagne. All good and tasty meals. It wouldn't be top of our choice of places to eat, but it does the job and it's a nice place to be!

Popped in here with my Mum whilst on a shopping spree. I often eat at the cafe at the Wyvale in Wootton Northampton, which doesn't disappoint. What a difference. A stale egg and cress sandwich, shoved on a plate still in it's plastic wrapper, just short of £6? Unwrapped, with a salad garnish and a few crisps might justify such silly prices but the utter indifference to service and presentation was poles apart from what I expected. Avoid.

The food on the whole looked ok. Unfortunately I was not able to try any of it as there were no plates available. When asked the server said they should be by the food and then ignored me from that point on. Prices were very high for a basic cafe too. Avoid at all costs

We thought we would give this restaurant another try as we had been for tea with the Easter Bunny and had been given food for our son which contained allergens. My husband and I ordered a cheese scone each and a drink and a milkshake for my daughter. The cheese scones were dry and tasted of flour and not cheese. On top of that we waited 25 mins for our daughters milkshake despite asking for it twice. By the time it arrived we had finished our scones and tea and our three year old was no longer interested. The milkshake itself was very runny and not like a thick milkshake we expected. We brought our boy with allergies a fruit shoot and packet of crisps as we knew they could not mess up packaged stuff.

This garden centre restaurant is quite outstanding in respect of food and atmosphere. Very pleasant dining area with a wide menu range for all tastes and occasions. Pleasant service staff, friendly with happy smiles and pleasant greetings for all. If you are a fish and chips connoisseur then this is the place to try, fish is white, fresh and moist, chips perfectly cooked, mushy peas or garden peas whatever your preference. There are no cons just pros in this restaurant, just gets better at every visit, they have offers and discounts at various times. Jacket potatoes lots of fillings and all very reasonably priced. Breakfasts are a delight. Afternoon tea and scones with with wonderful selection of cakes, pastries and sandwiches to take out if desired.

We attended tea with the Easter Bunny. It was fairly busy we had preordered via the website. My son has allergies so I had put this under dietary requirements when booking and on arrival I made staff aware of his allergies and they assured me this had been taken into consideration. Then told me the batter on the chicken nuggets was gluten free. (Not to sure why this was relevant as gluten isn't one of his allergies) We were seated the staff were helpful and polite. The drinks came quickly as did the children's dinner it was piping hot and a generous portion. As other tables were served our adult food hadn't arrived so we asked a lovely waitress and she said she would get back to us. We waited another 10 mins and all other tables had been served my husband went to the counter and asked again. A few minutes later our adult afternoon tea turned up. They said our number had been lost in the kitchen. The children had all but finished by the time ours arrived. The afternoon tea was ok the scones were lovely the little cakes were the brought in frozen type. The children loved meeting the Easter Bunny and Alice who were both amazing with the children. We had a good afternoon. The reasons I have only given three stars is because: Service was slow Our food did not materialise until we asked several times. My son with allergies was given biscuits and chocolate on the table as part of the Easter pack which contained things he was allergic to. Very disappointed about this if he had eaten these it could have proven fatal.

after waiting 30 mins in the short queue to then be told breakfast had just finished and the cook would not do any more now, I said I would have beans on toast, to be told they do not do beans on toast, even tho they had toast and beans, she again asked the cook to be told they had no beans, so we had coffee only. we then tried to find a table that was not stacked high with dirty dishes or dirty floor. I counted at least 8 staff out front I don't know how many were in the kitchen, but the ones out front all looked in a daze, were just hanging about doing nothing. they took out orders but never collected any dishes on their way back to the kitchen. the lady who was served before me was given a cup with stains running down the outside of the cup, when she complained the staff member told her.... its only coffee, don't worry about it !!! disgraceful in my opinion. before i left I spoke to the staff and insisted that they move themselves and get the place cleaned up ! it was a complete mess, the team leader came out of the kitchen if you can call her that... as she does not lead that team in any way and I told her it was a mess, as I was leaving two staff members started to clear dirty dishes from tables, but in such a pathetic manor it was unreal, one staff member picked up a cup and passed it to the other staff member to put on the tray............really ?? do you pay these people to work or not ? another customer ran after me and said to me how pleased she was I spoke up, and how she agreed what a mess it was. I vowed never to come back to this garden centre there and then, but called into the yankie candle shop on my way out and was refreshingly served by two delightful ladies, who could not have helped me more or served me any better, so I will return to wyvale but only to shop at the candle shop. someone needs to sort this restaurant out, new staff and a new team leader I say, Ive never seen a cafe in such a dirty state, and if thats out front where the customers can see, what the hell is the kitchen like where customers cannot see ???? A very angry customer, one of many I think

Han tenido su desayuno en ocasiones y ha sido genial. Especialmente cuando estás realmente sensación la resaca. Recientemente, es un lugar para disfrutar de una taza rápida de té y una tarta mientras que siendo arrastrado del jardín (mucho a mi desesperación).

Hemos usado este café varias veces y es una experiencia agradable.

I've visited the Andover garden centre cafe many times and when it first opened ( having been completed refurbished) it was lovely. However, over time it seems to have begun a slow decline. The food is good, that's never been a problem. The service is what lets the place down. I see others have had similar experiences and so it's time to stop making allowances. I've given the place the benefit of the doubt because I enjoy the venue and often meet friends for tea and cake, but my last experience has made me despair that I should potentially find another cafe. The service was so slow ( nobody ordering large amounts of food just light snacks and drinks) that it seemed that the staff had decided it wasn't worth the effort. No-one seemed to be concerned about the increasing queue apart from the customers. It gave a very poor impression, especially to anyone visiting for the first time. During my previous visit, a few weeks before, a couple left in disgust as their order was talking so long. Clearly something needs to improve or people with abandon the garden centre cafe in droves, which would really be a great shame. It used to be lovely and I'd like to see it improve to previous standards. Overall, a gem that's become a little tarnished and dull.

What a shame this place isn't being managed properly. The food is good but it just takes absolutely ages to be served. I see the previous review had the same experience I had although our visit was on a Saturday afternoon. Whilst stood in the queue for about 15 minutes I counted 14 tables piled high with plates, cups and saucers whilst a surly teen slowly cleared them one by one. Typical of mismanagement and lack of staff training. Girls would walk across the restaurant floor to deliver customers food and then walk back to the kitchen without bothering to think 'I will save someone a job and clear that table as I'm going back'. Older and I am therefore assuming more senior staff came out every now and then to cast their eye over the girls slowly making teas and coffees and then disappeared again. Such a pity as the decor and setting are good and as I said before the food; when you eventually get it; is good.

We visited this "Restaurant" for a mid-morning coffee. Admittedly it was a Sunday, a week before Christmas and the same day as they were trying to push their "Breakfast with Santa" in a separate room. However, this place needs shaking up. There were four people behind the counter but it still took an age just to order an over-priced coffee - with only one customer in front of me in the queue. The service was surly and "typical teenager". That could have been forgiven but the tables and floor were disgustingly dirty. Crumbs, drink stains and no cleaner in sight. Smarten up, Wyvale or stick to being a Garden Centre.