Howards Restaurant & Cafe in Powys

I recommend this place. It has a good variety of meals. The service is efficient, queuing style. Not a place for a romantic meal but great for families and all needing a quick bite to eat however be prepared to queue at certain times.

How can an organisation such as this consistently serve such awful meals. We thought we would try eating at this establishment again after an equally awful experience in the past. Cod and chips, more like batter and chips with hardly any fish. Vegetarian Burger, rock hard on the outside and a scuidgy green something or the other inside. Money down the drain. Music horrendous.

Poor experience, over priced food . Couldn’t have the scone deal as apparently the clotted cream was still frozen ( at midday ?) opted for Sunday roast which was bland and barely warm . Staff seemed very unprepared , lots.of banging and crashing around . Very disappointing

Second time had a Sunday roast and it was worse than I remembered. I had beef mrs had chicken wrapped in bacon. Lots of beef but no taste . Hole dinner was vile, roast potatoes were like bullets and gravy was like brown water so runny. And Mrs chicken was more like a dried up Robins breast it was that small . Won't be returning

Went for breakfast with the wife and daughter, me and the wife ordered Eggs benedict both our eggs where undercooked and snotty and the sauce was cold. The Daughter had scrambled eggs on toast which was nooked to rubber. No butter/spread on her toast and non was offered. When we mentioned this to the staff we observed the Chef coming out of the kitchen and the two of them obviously taking about our complaint, we got some awful looks from him and then he disappeared. An apology would have been nice. The table next to us sent their food back because it wasn't fit to eat. We won't be back.

Great place for coffee or lunch. Relaxing and comfortable. Bit pricey.

Cold chips, been under lamp too long. Burger was poor almost no cheese. Not worth the money

Brought a small service dog, front door says “service dogs welcome” Multiple staff approached us and made us wait until they asked other staff which were already fine with it. The food is really good, £8 for 2 cakes and a milkshake. Kids play place costs £2 for entry even though it was only a small kids cafe play place. A great view, nice outdoor seating which can only be accessed through the cafe. Overall it has amazing views, great food and a relaxed yet busy surroundings, the queues pass very fast. 5*

Lovely hot food, very friendly staff. My only negative is it is never very warm here, I appreciate it is difficult in the type of building and with lots of doors, but would make it much more pleasant if this could be overcome. Otherwise a great experience.

Always a bit of a wait for the food to come to your table, but there's always a line for service as it's a popular place! The food is never a let down and the staff are friendly.

Stopped for a coffee and was served quickly, nice atmosphere with lots of people around but doesnt feel cramped

We only had coffee which was nice with good service.

Order by counter to table number. Nice seats

It used to be great 10 years ago. These days they simply don’t have systems in place to manage the amount of people. Long wait for food, tables don’t get cleared, bad customer experience few healthy choices for kids. You’re very rushed at the counter to choose your food, you have to fight for a table before ordering, and some tables don’t have menus so you have to frantically pick your food at the counter with a giant queue behind you. The staff are obviously working incredibly hard and are under pressure. It’s clearly just very badly managed and they don’t seem to be reinvesting in customer experience. Such a shame for how popular it is. Without the shop this restaurant would go out of business in a matter of months.

Good restaurant serving good food at reasonable prices, all based in a lovely garden centre. The only negative is that food can sometimes take longer to arrive when the restaurant is busy.

Great choice on menu,staff are friendly and helpful, nice clean restaurant.

Service was slow but possibly due to an unexpected coach party. Food seemed expensive for what it was, though the GF ham sandwich was made specially for me and was tasty, with an enjoyable side salad. The bread both looked and had the texture of a standard Chorley Wood process wheat-based sliced loaf. I was however assured it was completely gluten free. (Sorry, we were in a rush so no photo of the sandwich, but menu pics included)

Good choice of meals both sandwiches and cooked food. Plenty of tables both large and small. Cakes and drinks available at the counter help yourself to cutlery and condiments. Ample sized portions.

Food is overpriced for the quality. I had a slice of coffee and walnut cake. I had one bite and it was so salty I couldn’t eat it. Goodness knows why it was salty. The layout is dreadful. The chairs and tables are so close together that it is difficult to manoeuvre from food counter to seating.

Not great. I wouldn't explicitly choose to eat here if I didn't need to go to the garden centre itself. The last two times I've been, I had a chicken caesar salad where the chicken tasted of "frozen", and a steak pie that had pretty good filling, but the gravy on the rest of the food was really horrible. If you're just getting coffee and a cake, it's fine.

Had lunch whilst shopping. Staff polite and efficient. I had BLT sandwich, fresh and full of flavour although bacon was slightly overdone and crispy for my liking. Wife had coronation chicken, which was amazing! Overall fantastic food and service.

Good food reasonabley price. Chicken mayo sandwich extremely full of chicken, grandson ate all of his kiddies meal (that's a first), my daughter's jacket potato looked yummy and she enjoyed it.

Howards at Charlies Coed y Dinas, Welahpool. Always Great food, Great prices and a good place to visit. Christmas 🤶 stuff on display soooon 👍

Realy good value for money. Well cooked fresh food. Find a table with a menu and table number pick what you fancy and order at the counter. The food is then delivered piping hot to your table. We had the Steak & Ale pie with new potatoes which was delicious but there is a wide choice of food and cakes to die for. Well worth a divert from your journey. It's a yes from me.

Good value for money and nice food

Stopped for coffee and a cake. Nice filter coffee, cakes good too , but slightly on expensive side

Always visit here when we're in the area, which is every couple of weeks. Breakfast, cakes and lunch are always fresh, never had a bad one yet.

Superb beef & ale pie, with loads of meat. Very pleased.

I had the chargrilled veg salad and it was easily the best salad I’ve ever had. It’s hard to find vegetarian food not layered in cheese and this was just fantastic. It’s also incredibly reasonable at just £17 for two mains a side and two drinks. I will be returning.

Good to come back and enjoy a birthday lunch.

Had tea and a scone, in lovely surroundings, nice and clean and plenty of room between tables, staff Friendly, and nice choices of cake and meals

All in all nothing special, had a curry meal and it was nice. Service was OK.

Had fish and chips. Really good, especially as I'm gluten free and could eat it . Brilliant 😊😊

Visited around 1345 on a weekday, it was reasonably busy, ordered soup and cajun chicken, girl behind till seemed very disinterested, sat for 20 minutes and no food appeared so asked a waitress where our food was she went off to check then came back to ask us what our order was, it looked like they had "misplaced" it !! The lady apologised and said that it would be 10minutes, however, it was 20 minutes before our food finally appeared, judging by the amount of confusion at the servery we were not the only ones who had issues.

Food isn't great, my burger was burnt, i wasn't impressed. The drinks are really expensive, all the soft drinks are in bottles and cost a fortune.

Had coffee and cake. Service was self service. Atmosphere was busy and noisy

Simple, unfussy, very nice food and good value for money.

Stopped for lunch service was very quick everywhere was clean and tidy food was OK I think I just picked the wrong item my fault really friend had a Jacket potato which looked lovely

Lovely food. Prompt service but a but 'echo-ey'

I had steak and ale pie with vegetables and new potatoes, very nice, and a lovely big portion 😋

Only had coffee and cake. Both very nice.

We ordered sandwiches for my wife and I, plus the gluten free option for our daughter after being assured by staff that all the fillings were gluten free. Shortly after leaving this restaurant my daughter experienced a severe reaction following eating at this establishment, which was symptomatic of eating gluten. Violent stomach pains, sickness and diarrhoea.

My absolute favourite local go to to meet with friends or family for a relaxed and delicious lunch. I am never disappointed and the menu always has something on it I want to try next! Beautiful food, great service and lovely surroundings, I highly recommended a visit 😊

45 minutes waiting for food,barely warm ,and not at all nice, very disappointed 😒

Great fish and chips at £9.99. Staff very polite and restaurant/ toilets spotless. Well done.

Limited menu. No smaller portions, no mushy peas. Took dad for his birthday who only wanted a small portion ,not available very disappointed

Staff friendly, quality of food not great.

Lovley oat latte and amazing garlic and cheese pizza 😍👌 Staff were lovley and friendly and the place was clean and tidy 😀

Brilliant restaurant food excellent and good service

Coffee and cake reasonably priced

Plenty of seating, allways being cleaned, good choice of food.

Lovely place for a nice coffee and cake.

Great place to refuel with a cup of tea and slice of cake! The main meals on offer are also good value and freshly prepared.

Cannot fault the breakfast. Top quality food for decent price

Could be worth four stars, but dreadfully slow, so slow perhaps two is generous.

I have never been massive on the service and meals here. However i thought i would give it a chance (everywhere else was closed). The time it takes to queue and order food makes you wonder if there was ever any point stopping off in the first place. Something so simple as a hot dog cant even be trusted. It’s to big for the terrible quality buns they provide and it will just fall out and leave you nibbling on bread. Food in general is disappointing and will not be returning. P.s Coffee comes cold but the bottled coke is lovely.

What on earth has happened to Howard's restaurant ? Prior to the refurb it used to be excellent. Dinners could either queue up for snack/cake in the one section or move to the hot food section for main meals to be served to you right away and then you could get your hot /cold drinks after that. The process was quick and easy and the quality and portions were brilliant always great value for money. The system now is you get a table no and then wait in the very lengthy queue to place your order and get drinks. After waiting approx 15 mins in the queue I placed my order and then waited for my drinks to be prepared. The lady behind me started to place her order but couldn't because she also had picked the same table number so she then had to go and find another table. I then took my drink to my table to await my food to find another person sitting there so I had to explain to him what had happened and he kindly moved. When the meal came after 25 mins it was the most pitiful watery chicken curry I have ever seen. I should have taken it back but didn't fancy going to the back of the waiting queue which by now had trebled in size ! As I sat and ate my slop I could hear every single person around me complaining about the ordering system, the long queues and the meals!. To the restaurant manager if you don't care about your customers then do the right thing and leave this cafe (restaurant it is not) is appalling just look at your recent reviews. I will definitely not be returning here again there are far better pubs/cafes nearby. To the owners of this place please get a new manager and chef ASAP.

Arrived for breakfast but they had stopped serving 5 minutes earlier. I was told that I was too late and furthermore they were running short on supplies. Ordered coffee and cake and then sat and watched them serve up five full breakfasts (presumably to those lucky enough to order before the curfew) and then to my disgust, watched them clear away loads of spare food from the hot plates. I would have liked them to be more accommodating, particularly in this current financial climate. We live locally and have frequented Howards Restaurant and Cafe on many occasions. However we will not be making much of an effort to come back again, particularly when there are many more welcoming and accommodating establishments nearby. Having read some of the other low star comments I feel the management need to re-think their customer strategies and people skills.

Stopped by for a nice coffee & a slice of delicious carrot cake.

Went on a Sunday for a coffee and cake, both were very nice. Both the lady at the till and the lady serving the tables were very friendly, even on a rainy Sunday morning. I think the bad reviews are just a bit exaggerate...

Last Sunday we experienced the worst Sunday lunches ever. These were the single most appalling excuses for a roast dinner we have ever seen or tasted. We really should have taken them back but were travelling and had to eat. The photos will show a chicken breast, boiled I think accompanied by frozen beans, boiled potatoes, cabbage and carrots. There were a couple of potatoes pretending to be roasties and not succeeding. To be absolutely fair the boiled potatoes and stuffing were acceptable but look at the water on the plate that is supposed to be gravy! Awful! To add insult to injury, as well as this terrible meal you have to sit in a gale force wind which gets worse every time the automatic doors open. There is no escape, we tried three different tables and the wind was everywhere. This place is not fit to eat in comfort and the Sunday lunch is not fit for sale. I will never eat here again and if this is how Coed Y Dinas treats customers I wonder if I will bother shopping here at all in future.

Really love coming here for lunch after looking around the store. Wonderful friendly staff and delicious food. You sometimes have to wait to get served at the counter, usually because its so busy, we've seen it full on a few visits, the staff work as quick as can and it's always worth the wait.

Excellent food and service, nice surroundings

Should do toasties like they used to, limited food choice, dont do food past 2.15 and staff arent the nicest.

Yes there were delays during Covid. Even so the breakfasts are really very good. Lovely Bacon and tasty sausages. In fact heading back there now for another Breakfast.

Very disappointing. Limited menu. Jacket potato was very over-cooked, poor presentation, hot chocolate was tepid. Won't be returning!

I can respect long waits during busy periods but there looked to be plenty of staff on hand. This is my second time in a row where I've had issues with overcharging. ! Look at the receipt before you pay. ! There were only 2 adults yet 3 main meals were added on the bill. Thankfully I got refunded swiftly however it was a 40 minute wait for the food with an increasingly agitated 2 year old