Gardeners Rest Tearooms in Blaby

Well worth a visit. Like a good garden centre should be. Great plants, great prices and a huge selection. There is more than just flowers, I just need to go back to check it out as spent all of my time in the spring/bedding flowers. Loved it. Will be back.

We went in for a snack in the cafe - told it would be a 30 minute wait - 55 minutes later after drinking all the tea the panini’s arrived. The bacon in my partners panini wasn’t fully cooked despite the 55 minute wait. Obviously forward planning staff wise wasn’t undertaken.

Went today for the first time,had a good look around,then decided what we required.Actual spend would have been approximately 85 pounds.We then went to find a trolley,we tried 3 and all had problems with their wheels,the trolleys were obviously old (like us) and impossible to navigate.So we left and sadly went to another garden centre.For that reason only,we would not visit again.

Got there for just after 2 and a sign says that the kitchen is closed even though online it says open until 4pm. Slow service and average food.

Food was lovely. Like that you can take dogs as there is a section to sit with them. They also do a doggy menu.

Lovely garden centre - popped over today. Had a lovely breakfast in the tea rooms - fast and friendly service. Nice and hot coffee. Eggs Benedict were cooked to perfection. Lovely selection of plants and reasonable prices. Probably the best garden centre in the area.

Lovely garden centre the cafe is lovely

Called in for some plants and tea and cake. The cafe stops serving at 4. We arrived at 3.45, only to be told we would get our cake in a takeaway box. We then waited 5 minutes to be served. The young ladies running the place were too interested in setting out places for the next day. Perhaps online it should be made clear regarding cafe opening hours. It was only the man in the garden centre who told us else we'd have missed out completely. Bedding plants were good quality. Won't be rushing back.

The Staff in the cafe were friendly, food was good and the atmosphere was relaxing. The quality of the plants are excellent.

Garden centre is great but the tea rooms are not. Service incredibly slow. Had been seated for half an hour waiting for drinks and snacks (tea, sausage roll - warm, and a scone). Then told us we'd need to move outside in 20 minutes because they needed the table for afternoon tea. We hadn't even got our order at this point! Won't be going back.

Lovely garden centre plenty of variety in plants and very well kept at a great price. Plenty of advise given by staff and very helpful. There is a cafe here but it's always extremely busy, bit overpriced for somethings but overall pleasant staff and food/drinks are very nice. Garden section runs into a clothes department and other items. This little gem is well worth a visit 💐🌸🌹🏵🪷🪻🌷🌼🌻🌳🌾🌵🌴🌿🌾

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.

Amazing food! Would definitely recommend and will be coming back soon.

This was a great find, recommended by someone I chatted to in another garden centre. I've been there 3 times so far and it has now become my go to garden centre. Lovely cafe that has a dog friendly area. I'll be back again this weekend probably.

Lovely little garden centre, quality of the plants was great, really good cafe serving lovely food, will definitely be back

Great owners and good value food. Always have the Soup picnic board. All the different soups are home made and very tasty, you also get a choice of sandwiches and chips. If you have room afterwards the cakes are outstanding.

A nice tea room at the back of the garden center. I am only dropping a star as the fish fingers in my sandwich were cold.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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 🎄

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!

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.

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.