Gardeners Rest Tearooms in Blaby

Lovely garden centre & shop. The food in the restaurant is delicious home made. Plenty of choice food wise as well as drinks selection. Has become my new go to.

Nice place were dog lovers but blimey the place is always full of them

Terrible customer service, very rude manager in the cafe. Must have been having a bad day!!!! No stars. This is the 3rd time she has been rude. Such a shame!!

Very good setting and great food and service

Had a lovely time at Santa's grotto yesterday! Poppy the ELF was especially great as she took photos for us and then , we found out at home, she did a video of talking to santa...so grateful for that!!! Nice coffee break in the restaurant and will definitely be back soon.

Very nice place a the food brilliant a the people who work there are really nice people

We had breakfast which was really excellent apart from the sausage which was tasteless, we were in the doggy section and were a bit tight for space.

Been here several times and always had a good experience. Food and service always excellent and prices reasonable

Came here for breakfast today, very windy day so sat in the dog friendly zone inside. Was greated buy a lovely server and our order was taken quickly. As for the food it's was OK but that's about it. The bacon was lovely and thick but the sausage was average quality and like it had been dried out under a heat lamp. The side portion of black pudding was very over done, it's was crispy nearly all the way through so very dry. The salmon and poached eggs were lovely. One thing was that the seating area was freezing so the coffee and food didn't stay warm very long so felt let we had to eat it quickly rather than enjoy it.

Not just a garden centre! It's more like a mini shopping centre with some great stores... Will be even better soon as there's going to be a awesome dog grooming salon in the new year!

I attended as a stall holder today (Christmas Market) whilst they could potentially have improved visual marketing of the event, the cate and attention of staff during the day was exceptionally good. Polite, friendly and accommodating. I didn't eat at the cafe, but I did take a look and the food being served looked yummy, and the desert selection looked delicious...and it was busy throughout the day. So thank you. Will visit as a regular customer in the summer!

The Gardener's Rest Tea Room at Thurlaston Garden Centre kindly hosted a wake recently for my Grandmother, who was a regular there for lunch on a Friday and we felt it was the perfect location for the event. Danny, Carly and the team were really accommodating and put on an amazing spread, catering for around 50 friends and family. Throughout, they were really attentive, helpful and kind to all guests and we're very grateful for all of their help during a tough time. Thanks so much!

Lovely garden centre and the cafe was lovely brilliant food will be back

Lovely place. Went for a funeral wake meal. Food was superb and setting very pleasant indeed. Garden centre was extensive and very well stocked. Lovely atmosphere and nice staff there too. A homely atmosphere about the whole place. Will visit again when we can. We'll done everyone there. Thurlaston Garden Centre is an asset to the community.

Had a snack in the cafe, long wait for soup !? Music too loud to enjoy conversation.

Wow...not visited for a while...car park much bigger....lovely seating 💺area for the kids a play area....lovely...value for money regarding everything...👍

Lovely garden center in a beautiful part of the county. Big car park and good sized disabled spaces. Tea room has a dog friendly area tucked away so main area is dog free. Reasonably priced food and drinks. Vegan, vegetarian Nd gluten free food available 😋

Great place for something to eat, as well as the shopping.

Not been for sometime. Don't know whether it's the time of year but seemed a little under-whelming and neglected.

Fantastic selection of plants and gifts from local artists and creators, as well as branded items at great prices!

We've just had warm fruit scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam and they were absolutely delicious. The young staff are so friendly and organised, a well oiled machine. Thank you for a lovely Pitstop.

Food was really good and reasonably priced.

I booked a themed afternoon tea for 12 of us today. It was beautiful. We all enjoyed. Warning though, No cash payments excepted and Don't ask anyone who is cleaning a table for a refill of coffee/ tea as the table cleaning is more important.

Really delicious food and clothes shop amazing.

Nice place to meet for a coffee or even afternoon cream tea

Wrong man in the wrong job running it .not at all welcoming. didn't expect red carpet treatment but would have thought a _is everything OK and a thank you and goodbye at the least but no ,it was got your money now piss off .

Best food and drinks! Lovely staff

Very disappointed with this only fools and horses afternoon tea! The staff were like zombies! No personality at all, the only thing going for them was they were slagging us off after we told them they over charged us and we found hair in our cakes! (Which they were doing in the kitchen and behind the counter) They forget drinks… They were eating behind the counter and stuffing their faces in the kitchen! We had to ask several times for milk for our cups of tea…. At one point two girls had phones out behind the till sorting their hair and makeup out…. As a regular customer we are doubting about coming back for anything now. Mini fish and chips were okay.., that’s about it….

We have been to the cafe several times before and been pleased with service and food. Very disappointed this time. No cheesecakes on offer just a small portion of Keylime Pie and a Banoffee Waffle that was served with banana chips (too hard to eat) and very hard fudge cake toppings..... where was the fresh banana ???? Neither value for money.

Large garden centre with great tea rooms.

Had a amazing toasted bacon 🥓 and Stilton amazing food 😋 served there

Cakes in the cafe are amazing, the gifts and plants are excellent. Enjoyable visit. There are some good bargains to be had with end of season plants.

This Garden Centre was recommended to us so we decided to go & have a look around. I think the website makes it look nicer than actually going there. The plants that were there were half dead due to the sun being on them, there was not much choice of plants etc & it felt a bit deflated when we got there. It appears that there is not much that looks good, to be honest. Decided to have lunch, which is probably what brings people in because there are afternoon teas available in different themes like Lilo & Stitch, etc & they do look really nice. Lunch was nice & a decent variety available on the menu & they do cater for dogs as well. Unfortunately it is probably not somewhere we'd go back to as a garden centre it seems to have lost it's way a bit.

Harry Potter Afternoon Tea was delicious. Very good value for money. Staff were friendly too. Thank you for a lovely experience.

Good price for outdoor planters

Went for afternoon tea, party of 7. Great food and nice atmosphere

I used to come here when it was Hilltop and witnessed many changes. It went from quite a small local garden Center to a popular afternoon out , with the new tea room, added shops etc . Around 3 -4 years ago it was well cared for , a massive selection of really reasonably priced plants ,but for some reason over the last year , it’s soulless . Empty shelves , plants knocked over , under watered over priced plants that have seen better days . Go sapcote or hawgrips much better quality and atmosphere

Food in gardeners rest very good,plants very good condition help and advice from staff very good all in all very pleasant visit today.Thank you.

Gem of a place, great advice on plants and very good range plants, shrubs etc. We also bought a garden bench at a price better than some other garden centers. Very popular cafe. There is also a florist and clothing shop. Ample parking area.

Nice garden centre. The cafe has a good selection of food and cakes although I felt like more of an inconvenience to the cafe staff than a paying customer. They would probably benefit from some customer service training. The lady in the shop was extremely friendly.

Excellent place spoiled by lack of employees at till. After waiting and ringing the bell I had to go looking for someone.

This was my first visit to this garden centre even though I've lived in Leicestershire since 1985! I didn't venture into the tea room but it looked popular, I was there to buy plants and I'm glad I did, they've got an amazing range at fantastic prices. All the plants I bought were in great condition and clearly cared for perfectly, I'll most definitely be going back in the very near future

Fab breakfast as usual, friendly service

Always a delight to visit Thurlaston garden centre and cafe. The plants always seem to be well looked after with a good range inside and out. The cafe always serves fresh delicious food and there is a nice area for dogs and owners.

Great selection of plants and best place to buy compost and gardening needs. Always had great service too.

Booked an afternoon tea for a friends birthday as a treat..the food was nice, but the experience was marred slightly by having a surly waitress who made everything seem like hard work instead of being friendly. We were told we could have top ups of our allotted drinks, for instance, but when I asked for a green tea for my friend, it was a huge problem, and we were left having tap water instead which felt rather mean spirited. I wouldn't go back for another 'treat' meal. It's ok I guess if you are just there anyway. The second time I have eaten there and felt the experience was marred by the waiting staff. In fairness the young lady at the till was friendly and gave good customer service as far as it was possible with our short interaction.

Food nice not much room on table once food and drinks are served .

Lovely lady watering plants,offered assistance, so nice being spoken too and not ignored 😀, great variety of plants

Went for lunch with the family, great for parking, and had a mosey through the garden centre and gift/clothes shop. Little gem of a place really. Food was great and children friendly. Plenty of seating, high chairs for the babies, colouring and puzzles come with the kids meals. Taken to our seats and table service, always a plus point when you have the little ones. Would visit again.

Amazing afternoon tea in the dog friendly garden room. Our pooch even enjoyed a bone shaped cheese sandwich. Will definitely be visiting again.

We had a really lovely lunch. The staff were charming and helpful. We saw people having afternoon tea - it looked awesome! A little disappointed with the shopping experience - a bit messy, not too thrilled with the products but, each to their own, I guess.

A Lovely Garden Centre The first time visiting the garden centre, you'll find it to be a lovely place with reasonable prices. It offers a wide range of products, including garden supplies, plants, flowers, fruits, and gorgeous gifts and home items. They also have a selection of clothing, footwear, and gifts for children . The cafe at the garden centre is beautifully decorated and offers a nice menu. They even have treats for dogs! One highly recommended item is their scones. Card payment only. The garden centre provides plenty of free parking spaces, including disabled parking spaces. It's a great place to visit for all your gardening needs and more!

Decent if small garden centre and nice Café. Cheerful staff, good food and lovely cakes! ...oh, and lovely beef chilli & cheese chips!

What a fantastic place to visit, very helpful staff, lots of lovely and reasonably priced plants, and wow what a fantastic restaurant and please try lemon meringue milk shake yummy

Met a friend for lunch which was very good

Nice ambiance. Food servings are big. Definitely coming back.

Great garden centre and lovely tea room

This is a lovely place to eat and the cakes are beautiful but the place should be called pot luck tea room due to the fact they tell you the time open on Web site but on three occasions we have been told we are closed Not good enough

Nipped in for a quick lunch. Very popular for a Monday, but plenty of room. Staff friendly, good good. We had the chilli cheesy chips, listed as a side but plenty large enough for lunch. Tempting range of cakes, so we had ours to take home as we were full. The plant range looked extensive and in good quality but more expensive than where I normally get mine.

Our first visit to this garden centre. We really liked the variety of products on sale as well as plants. The prices of the plants were very reasonable. We ate in the cafe and the food was delicious. We'll definitely be visiting again.

We went for an afternoon tea today, 3 of us but I was very disappointed, the sandwiches were dry, the veggie option was just cheese, though there was a veggie roll & told that I was tasteless! £45 not cheap but sorry will not go back

Garden centre great, downside is the cafe. Felt very unwelcome, and it was over priced. Seems to have gone downhill from previous visits, always happy to support small businesses but next time I will give this a miss and just stick to the garden centre

Ok, the café does decent food but wasn't keen on the wait to be seated idea. After all it is a garden centre cafe not a west end restaurant with a Michelin star.

Had the Harry potter afternoon tea. Great selection of food and everything was delicious. Would definitely go again.

Afternoon tea was so nice ,reasonably price lovely set out

Early Mothers Day from my daughter she knows me too well, Harry Potter theme 👍❤️

**update** Went back again 2024 and the service was slow, food was poor and the coffee was honestly weak, super expensive for the quality and they had building work on which was so loud during open hours which I get but would have been nice to be warned** We went there on Sunday when the cafe opened, it was quite busy which is understandable and the staff got us a table which was lovely. Once everyone was sat down we where served fast, where we felt let down only slightly was we could hear staff being reprimanded in the kitchen, and could visually see them stressed which made us slightly uncomfortable

Service wasn’t great. Had to go up to the counter to ask if we could order. Went here for a themed afternoon tea and it was diabolical. Nothing was fresh! For vegetarians, there was only jam sandwiches, had to ask for a cheese one. Scones were freezing cold and not fresh. All the dishes were dirty, even after they swopped the dishes, still received coffee in a dirty mug. Wouldn’t recommend coming here at all, not worth the money at all

Good place. Doesn't have the most number of plants but we went in Feb. There's a cafe with a dog friendly area. Lots of trinkets to buy in general like a motorway services area.

Lovely place to look at gifts and a bite to eat.

Slow service, attitude of staff needs to greatly improve, not friendly Management. Food, when it arrived, was nice but..overall not a good experience.

Having taken our little dog for a long walk around Bagworth Heath woods and Bagworth Park, we were looking for somewhere dog friendly for lunch and found this place. It was our first visit, but certainly won't be our last. A lot of garden centres claim to be dog friendly, but insist you have to sit outside of the cafe to eat. Not great in the winter! Plus they usually trot out the old 'Health and Safety' rubbish.....which IS rubbish. Health and Safety only prohibits dogs in food preparation areas, not food eating areas. I digress. This lovely place has its own Dog Room, which was great. The food was very good, and very reasonably priced, and Wookie got what was, for her, a suitable amount of fuss from other customers! We didn't browse round the rest of the centre but we certainly will next time. And there will be a next time.

Found this great garden centre at the weekend! Lunch in the restaurant was delicious, friendly staff and great range of products to peruse, some of which we bought 😁 we will definitely visit again and try one of the afternoon teas we saw many people enjoying!

Popped in for coffee and cake, all very good.

lovely homemade food tastes lovely and a few good shops.

We went on the 2nd January during the heavy rain, decent food and service, only problem was the flooded roads on our journey home, which added abit of adventure

Very busy but squeezed us in with two dogs. Yummy milkshakes and gluten free cakes!

Very friendly and helpful staff. Yes I would return again.

We attended the santa visit. This was a wonderful experience. The elf and santa were brilliant with the children, and it was lovely inside. Very thoughtful. We then went into the restaurant and had some lovely cakes and coffee. The restaurant was very busy, but they still managed to attend to us and ensure we enjoyed our experience. It was a lovely experience 🎄

It's a loverly garden centre well stocked with loverly gifts good cafe loverly food very clean

2nd visit food and drink really good, only downside taken to the table then forgot about. Had to remind the staff we were there.

Tea room disappointing…I come here often…bad experience yesterday 6/12/23…seated in the dog area…x3 more tables came in after us & all served/orders taken before us…owner didn’t handle the situation professionally but instead tried to make an excuse…obviously the other customers were regulars from how the owner was talking with them…I read the reviews & a lot of the negative ones I have to agree with but the staff really need to take note & act upon them…the shop etc I cannot fault but it does put me off returning again quickly!

Visited the cafe today extremely poor service, the table had not been cleaned from the previous customers, had to fetch the menu as we had not been given one, waited over 20 minutes before I found someone to take our order, no apology for the wait or the unclean table, then waited another 15 minutes for our 2 drinks and a very small piece of cake to arrive, which is overpriced for the size. Used to be very well run, but seems to have gone down hill, unfortunately I would not recommend this tea room.

Very disappointed in the Grinch afternoon tea 2/12/23 plus the waitress (think she was the manager) completely ignored our 4 young grandchildren she was miserable from the start and rude, very unprofessional. Completely spoilt what should have been a lovely Christmas treat with them, no wonder there was no others having it. Not child friendly! They wanted us to order a grinch afternoon adult tea for 2, for our 2 little under 3 years old?!!! Crazy! ** EDIT 3/12/23** The woman that served us was the manager and after reading this review she called me at home at 9pm later that evening to have a go at me for adding this review and was very rude, so unprofessional never experienced anything like this before!! never going back. We used to love this place.

This always used too be a really nice place to go for food and drink but has gone downhill massively over last few months, I have had very poor service the last 3 times I have been but thought would give it another chance. A mistake that was, shown to a table, which still had the last customers plates and cups on, we then sat for 20 minutes while he went about seating other customers and taking there orders. In the end we had to flag down another waitress too clear the table and take our order. The drinks and cake then arrived 15 minutes later and what used to be value for money is certainly not anymore. The cake was very small for £4.45 and the hot chocolate was only half full. The only reason I have scored it 1 was the milkshake,which I had ,which was great. Will not be using the tea rooms anymore and would recommend others not too bother!

We have visited quite a few times and it's been OK, today unfortunately it was terrible. I took my son for a treat as he loved the fish finger sandwich he had previously from here. My food was great, but on my sons white bread crust I noticed a squished dried looking half moon shaped thing. I picked it off to look closer, to me it looked like a dried up grub or very small larvae. It was flat and stuck to the crust so I assumed it had come in on the bread. I showed the waitress and suggested that they check the rest of the bread. She went away and spoke to the chef, she came back and told me it definitely was not a seed and they don't know what it is. Then she went to walk away. I stopped her and asked what are they going to do about it and she replyed with 'what would you like us to do?' I was shocked, at this point I wish I'd taken a photo of the grub, asked for my money back and left but I didn't want to cause a scene. So, I asked her again to check the other bread, if this is a larvae then it's serious. She then went to fetch the manager who asked 'what's the problem', shocked again I told her what I found and how the waitress asked what I wanted them to do. The lady replied with, 'they are just young staff, the bread is brought in and sealed, implying it wasnt her problem or infact I'd made it up. She then said, I'll go to the kitchen and see for myself. We waited and waited, she never returned. We needed to go to collect my daughter so we went to the counter. This is what annoyed me the most. I asked if th manager is coming out, I don't want to just leave if she's expecting to talk to me and resolve the issue. The girl at the counter came back out from the kitchen to tell me, "Sorry, she's too busy to come out, they have a whole list of orders to get through." I was fuming I had already told the manager before she disappeared that I don't want to make a scene but, now I'm left there after finding a highly suspicious grub looking thing on my sons food feeling like I'm an inconvenience and if she ignores me I'll go away. No apologies, no offer of refund, nothing but rudeness and terrible customer service. I will never return! Customer care does matter, read your reviews! Disgusting!

We visited the cafe yesterday after visiting the Christmas Market and what a mistake that was. Firstly we waited 20 minutes for 1 latte and 2 teas! We also ordered food (sandwich and 2 cheesy chips) and waited 45 minutes for these to arrive! After complaining multiple times, the manager was so rude and arrogant and asked if we wanted it in a take away box... how that would have made the food arrive quicker, I really don't know!! We also overheard a customer commenting how the size of cake has dramatically reduced, to which the staff member said we've had to cut down on the portions because we aren't making any money! When we left, the manager made a sarcastic comment saying thank you for your patience and a pat on the back for good measure!! Avoid this cafe, the service is terrible!!

Really surprised at all the lovely things to choose from. It's not just a garden centre for plants there's dresses coats handbags shoes oh everything that we love....and a fabulous cafe really enjoyed our visit and we will return 😀

I visited this place yesterday for the Christmas Market and the Market itself was great but the cafe not so great. All we wanted was a hot drink to warm up and this was not possible without queing behind those who were waiting for a table to eat in. The manager had an awful attitude and it was clear that he couldn't cope with the demand for the cafe. They had empty tables reserved for afternoon teas but only had 4-5 tables in use which people had to stand and wait for people to finish eating so a 40 - 60 min wait! They really need to get more organised.

Lovely place, friendly staff and a nice Christmas Market yesterday. Made the whole experience even better. Unfortunately we didn't have the best experience in the cafe. Smallest piece of cake for over £5 and waited so long for my hot drink, I had to it with as we needed to leave.

We visited with my parents. I have been a number of times for coffee & their excellent cakes. This was the first time that I'd eaten a meal there. My partner & parents had never been before. The hot drinks were really hot (I know that sounds odd but the list of cafes that we have visited where the coffees are tepid is long). I had the quiche with fries & salad. The quiche was tasty but rather a small portion. My parents had sandwiches & cheesy chips & enjoyed them. After lunch we toured the shop before heading back for another coffee & cake. Delicious!! The only downside of our visit was that there didn't seem to be enough staff to cover the amount of tables. It wasn't a long wait & the lady who served us was lovely. I will be visiting again, with friends, this weekend for coffee & cake.

Lovely lunch in the cafe. Gift shop and clothing all superb

Lovely friendly staff at the garden centre its self 5 stars BUT the cafe was an upsetting experience Monday afternoon .Waited so long for a cuppa and a scone & there was a table with two customers to be served before myself .I Politely asked for money back to be RUDELY spoken to by what he decribed himself as The manager.WHY ? It was So uncalled for .

My friend and I went this afternoon for a cream tea and were told it was not available, just cake, two varieties, which was dry. We saw another customer being served with a cream tea after us! We get the feeling after two disappointing visits to the cafe that the staff have their favourite customers. We won't be returning again.

Appaulling. Owners/staff very condescending when I complained. Waited 23 mins for a single coffee and cake. Only 6 people in. NEVER WILL I GO THEIR AGAIN

Came here today 12 November 2023 .stood waiting for a table staff all on phones not taking any notice .had to ask for a table only wanted a drink . Had to flag someone down for an order. Shame nice little place.

Fantastic cafe. A bit limited on plants ( might be time of year!) and need more Xmas gifts but most enjoyable.

We have visited quite a few times and it's been OK, today unfortunately it was terrible. I took my son for a treat as he loved the fish finger sandwich he had previously from here. My food was great, but on my sons white bread crust I noticed a squished dried looking half moon shaped thing. I picked it off to look closer, to me it looked like a dried up grub or very small larvae. It was flat and stuck to the crust so I assumed it had come in on the bread. I showed the waitress and suggested that they check the rest of the bread. She went away and spoke to the chef, she came back and told me it definitely was not a seed and they don't know what it is. Then she went to walk away. I stopped her and asked what are they going to do about it and she replyed with 'what would you like us to do?' I was shocked, at this point I wish I'd taken a photo of the grub, asked for my money back and left but I didn't want to cause a scene. So, I asked her again to check the other bread, if this is a larvae then it's serious. She then whet to fetch the manager who asked 'what's the problem', shocked again I told her what I found and how the waitress asked what I wanted them to do. The lady replied with, 'they are just young staff, the bread is brought in and sealed, implying it wasnt her problem or infact I'd made it up. She then said, I'll go to the kitchen and see for myself. We waited and waited, she never returned. We needed to go to collect my daughter so we went to the counter. This is what annoyed me the most. I asked if the lady in the kitchen (assumed she is the manager, she never said) is coming out, I don't want to just leave if she's expecting to talk to me and resolve the issue. The girl at the counter came back out from the kitchen to tell me, "Sorry, she's too busy to come out, they have a whole list of orders to get through." I was fuming I had already told the mamager before she disappeared that I don't want to make a scene but, now I'm left there after finding a highly suspicious grub looking thing on my sons food feeling like I'm an inconvenience and if she ignores me I'll go away. No apologies, no offer of refund, nothing but rudeness and terrible customer service. I will never return! Customer care does matter, read your reviews! Disgusting!

Very disappointing. Waited an hour for food, I ordered jacket potato with cheese and chilli, came with no cheese and chilli was dry. Also ordered a peanut butter sandwich for the dog, cheese sandwich was served! Other 2 meals were luke warm. Just terrible quality and wait times. Really not worth the drive there. Garden centre was also rubbish, unless you want pansies.

Caled there but cafe CLOSED . Disappointed ...