Howdens Garden Centre Restaurant in Highland

Went to the newly refurbished cafe with my young nephews and the interior lovely how food was not! My French toast was very soggy with a hair in it and when my 2 year old nephews kids pancakes came they were steaming hot….. untouchable even for me … we later found out they are microwaved pancakes. Was extremely dangerous to serve something that temperature to an adult let alone a child ! Was totally gutted that the food service was such a let down…. They did let me swap my meal after asking however they took ages to come over and actually take my food away.

Having cycled at some distance we placed our order at 11:32 to be told we’re were two minutes late to be accommodated for the breakfast menu despite it still being on display. I requested an alternative, to be told they were not serving that item today. This happened again. It was easier to ask, what do you have? It ended up being an egg sandwich when I was asked how it was! It’s an egg sandwich, hardly rocket science to make and present. None of us will be back! Shocking introduction to highland hospitality for guests. Two minutes, come on!!!

Fabulous food, excellent service and we can't wait to go back again. The cafe is absolutely gorgeous since it's make over and the food is of a very standard and equally delicious 😋

It looks freshly decorated, food is simple. It needs more choices. We had jacket potato it was hot but not fluffy and didn't get any butter, they were busy..but not enough staff to keep tables clean, the staff were friendly

One of my colleagues had her retirement 'party' in Howdens Cafe she wanted a low key celebration. The team went out of their way to accommodate us and were so friendly and helpful both beforehand and on the day. I would highly recommend the cafe for tea and cake for groups both small and large.

Friendly staff and howdens card well worth it. Reasonable prices in general.

the shop is big and has a wide variety of items the restaurant is like a canteen where for hot food they have a selection and serve it from hot plates in front of you. there is also cd options you can pick up yourself. there is also a dog friendly area

Since re-opening refurbished restaurant have not been imoressed wth drinks standard. Hot chocolate too strong, burning hot, sometimes cold. Latte cold Scones not good as they used to be.

Great staff and food was excellent

We went for mothers day lunch, it was a bit chaotic as it was new inexperienced staff on the tills, but once we were seated everything was great. The service was good,the food was so tasty and after the meal they gave all the mothers a lovely cupcake. The lady serving the meal was lovely making sure everything was alright for everyone.

Love the new refurbished restaurant. Great staff ..Fine Food always.

Great coffee, quality goods in the shop, worth a visit.

Lunch time plate of soup I'm afraid didn't taste like home made. More like package soup. Garden centre was really nice. Healthy plants. Well displayed nice to walk through.

I devoured the fish and chips in a matter minutes! when i first walked i was greeted by a great smile of the young blonde lady there. she was very welcoming and was cracking the jokes. overall a 8/10 experience and will be back.

Went to ‘new’ restaurant. Staff barely said a word or cracked a smile. Not very welcoming. Had a piece of shortbread which was so claggy that I’m glad I had a drink to wash it down. Not great sadly.

Restaurant and rest rooms newly refurbished. Great scones.

Lovely refurbished cafe/restaurant, great customer service and a wide selection of foods

The food was average but I had reserved a table the previous week in person but no table was booked when we arrived. They have recently refurbished the coffee shop and in fact it's just not user friendly

Good fish and chips, but soft drinks prices are a bit mental, £3.55 for a small bottle of Appeltise.

Visited the refurbished cafe today. Very nice seating and layout. Food was good but disappointed that there were no g/f or vegan cakes now. Would also like option of oatcakes with soup.

Great store friendly staff and lots of goodies

Staying close by thought we would try roast lunch ,was ok ,not chef standard ,scones were huge nice coffee ,and pleasant seating area .staff were very nice when bringing the meal to our table ,well worth the visit .

Visited in December, Garden centre with usual Christmas stock

I went to Howdens Cafe for a coffee yesterday (26/11/23) at lunchtime. It was busy as usual. Usually I have a delicious roast beef and all the trimmings, but seeing it was busy, I decided just to have a coffee and a piece of shortbread. By the time I was nearly finished my coffee and shortbread, I was thinking that I should have ordered a roast beef. One of the staff members, Audrey, noticed that I was not having my usual delicacy. Without further ado, Audrey went to the kitchen, and within a couple of minutes I had a huge dish of, (you guessed it), Delicious Roast Beef and all the trimmings. I could not get over Audrey's kindness!! The staff are excellent, including the chef, kitchen staff and all the other staff throughout the building. 10/10 Without a shadow of a doubt!! There is a warmth about the place, and that has to do with excellent staff there. Thank you all so much again. Kind Regards. Norman MacLeod. 👍 🙂

Lovely shop to go and look around, very seasonal and lots of parking. Nice cafe too

Good selection of gardening supplies, plants and Christmas decorations.

Amazing Christmas 🎄 display really made me smile 😃 😊 so much bird feeding seeds and feeders and different ones. Will be back to get a selection. Lots of Christmas decorations and gardening tools additional materials and plants. Definitely recommend that you visit you find something that makes you happy

Very nice shop, good selection of... everything, extremely nice/friendly staff and brilliant coffee and food.

Very nice garden centre with lots of choices

Good place to go for plants for the garden also have good quality

Find its getting harder to find a place for lunch that still does quality food for less than a tenner a person, even a pretty basic sandwich. Tried Howdens not really expecting much but real pleasant surprise. First up a great menu (including my fave fishfinger sandwich while my better half had a baked potato, both £9) . Then it passed test 2 where many seem to fail these days - quality ingredients, decent potions, well prepared. But the bonus was really great staff - very friendly and efficient chap with a beard and an equally excellent young man making coffees and taking the order. Will be back.

We went for lunch with our granddaughter. It was very nice and the staff were very friendly. Their soup is always very tasty. Lots of gift ideas and Christmas decorations in their shop to choose from too

Best garden centre for value and healthy plants in Inverness, the restaurant is also well worth a look.

Great lunch good value the staff were very helpful all in a lovely lunch

Great range of plants and other products including a fab range of coloured pots, plenty parking and a cade - what's not to love!

Nice garden but quite expensive

Lovely food & staff.Great Soup!

So expensive place and coffee shop more like elder people place. But staff was so friendly.

Hidden gem. We had been to other garden centres and spent nothing. Howden had lots of items that captured my imagination. I found everything I was looking for here.

Very helpful staff. And loads of choice

Had the breakfast, waited ages for it but it was extremely busy. Enjoyed it when it came. Great range of outdoor plants. And gift ideas.

Couldnt place order for food kitchen too busy doing breakfast

Had a great morning staff are very polite

Lovely garden centre. Nice staff, good range of tasty food and selection of indoor and outdoor home/garden items.

Lovely and friendly staff and layout

Nice cafe in this garden centre. We has a tasty Lorne sausage bun, French toast with real blueberries and a yummy lemon curd, tasty fruit scone. We also had nice tasting coffee but large cup was on the small side compared with other cafes. Order at counter, they give you an order number and they then bring food to your table. Good disabled access with a mixture of sofa/coffee tables and standard tables. Menu on boards at counter. Bright lighting. Level access.

Been members now for over a year. Love the member benefits like the 2 drinks per month and the points built up against purchases. But it seems the food has become a bit hit and miss (hence a lost star). Not sure what it is but some food like to toasties and roasts are great, but things like the chicken tikka baked potatoes are not great - potato is good, the filling was, putting it politely, chewy which is not good for chicken. Is it bought in Vs cooked on site?

Nice place lots of choice. Was only a quick pop in gor bird food but ended up buying a new coat lol.

Lovely food but very expensive. Gorgeous flowers and lovely people.

Good selection of plants (and sundries)

Love Howdens but some of the food is below par. Had a cheese scone which was bright orange, reminiscent of cheesy puff crisps.....despite being a light and fluffy scone it was tasteless and certainly not cheesy. My husband had a very pleasant chocolate slice. Staff very helpful, restaurant pleasant but today in 24 degree heat it was unbearable..... I think all shops and restaurants are going to have to invest in air conditioning or at least big fans as this heat seems to be the norm now

Great selection of plants 🪴 love it 😀

Nice plenty of room to move about well stocked.

Stanning garden center with wonderful cakes and helthy plants :-)

Nice place helpful staff just didn’t have what we wanted.

Nice garden centre and food in cafe was very good.

A good garden centre with plenty of stock plus a good cafe

Enjoyed our trip to garden centre, beautiful healthy plants. Worth a visit.

We used to go here every single day for our breakfast and sometimes for lunch but everything changed when the covid hit and they made a massive change in the cafe specially in the menu , we used to have early bird and its all changed now and its more expensive. We still like the garden but not the cafè anymore. Such a shame.

Great place for fantastic plants and service

Lovely garden centre for plants and planters and all things garden. Also great for greeting cards. Has a gift section, clothes shop. There is a coffee shop, but I've not been there. Managed to get gardening gloves for 2 small grandchildren as well

I normally go to the other large garden centre just up the road so this was the first time I've been to Howden in quite a while and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. A pleasant shopping experience and I thought the cafe was nice and not as noisy as its larger rival. Pleasant staff and a good cup of coffee. I will certainly return.

Just confusing with prices,as one finds out on the check-out-till EXPENSIVE

Great, new club,now you can grow rewards just like dobbies, somewhere else to have a cuppa.

Awful food, awful service, says it all really.

Very nice garden centre the plants and flowers are great quality easy parking very nice cafe too

Lovely selection. Helpful guidance and nice cafe.

First visit whilst on holiday. Wonderful centre. Definitely come back again.

Staying at Travelodge nearby. So we went twice for breakfasts. Wonderful welcoming staff. Excellent breakfast. Plus some purchases from the lovely store.

Lovely garden centre Nice coffee and cake

Lovely garden centre, clean and tidy and variety of different items for Sale. Staff were very helpful and polite

Really good garden centre with very helpful staff. The coffee shop is a gem and the staff there are lovely, nothing is a bother and you get humour with your soup!

Lovely place, lots of Christmas decorations.

I love the shop and the little cafe is great to stop and rest and have a coffee! I had an egg sandwich which I specifically asked for no salad but it came with rocket on it! I just picked it off so no big deal! It was a lovely and very filling egg sandwich! It came with Cole slaw and side salad which my friend ate!

Had lunch many times here always good food and really nice staff. Big recommend also good selection of cakes.

Lovely staff and great selection of outdoor plants.

Nice little garden centre with sufficient parking to while away some time with my 86yr old mum. Not too busy but lots to browse around with Christmas coming up. Great bargains as we ended up buying a fleece lined waterproof coat for half price and a Xmas bauble. There's also a light airy coffee shop to try next time we go

Fantastic staff in the restaurant. So helpful, nothing was a problem for then. The two young lads who served me couldn't have been more helpful and it was very much appreciated. Lattes were spot on and scones beautiful, light and tasty.

Good soup ...although a bit pricey!!

Enjoyed Howdens, I arrived close to closing time, so only had a quick look round. The staff were in the middle of setting up the Christmas displays, so looking forward to goin back soon to see the full range

Ordered 2 of the smaller breakfasts, and 2 teas. Food came really quick, not surprising considering how empty it was. Sausage, egg and toast all okay. Egg was a little undercooked on top and the bacon was practically raw, was actually disgusting.

We often go to Bowden's food in cafe freshly prepared Good selection for those with allergies Staff always helpful. Also great clothing boutique and selection of books for grandchildren Great parking too!

Very well laid out, good selection of plants, pleasant atmosphere, helpful staff with a place to have a bite to eat and drink . Plenty of parking.

Topper scone coffe cups could be bigger though

A small garden centre handy for Inverness.

Helpful and knowledgeable staff

Great garden centre with well looked after plants, nice coffee shop, plenty of parking.

Had a quick lunch with family and friends, good sandwiches and chips, great pot of tea and coffee, eating here is a good choice.

Coffee shop is hidden away at the back of the garden centre, staff took time to serve customers as individuals and interest. Food was rather expensive but was very tasty. Our food took a while to be prepared and delivered, however staff were apologetic and gave us extra hot drinks as a way of an apology and this was very thoughtful.

For some stupid reason they provide disable parking, which is good of course, but then expect you to walk all around the place to get to the cafe, oddly the way out is much shorter, could that be because we'd spent money by then, I had to complain about the ridiculous coffee cups the handles are like a massive Polo mint, you cannot lift it with one hand it slips round burns your fingers and spills the coffee highly dangerous for disabled people, mind you @£3.30 i had to think twice anyway.

Delicious lunch , BLT wrap with fries and salad , very tasty, quick service and friendly staff. Great coffee , Lovely garden centre too ,

Have had occasion to visit a few times now for breakfast (as well as plant buying) and have not been disappointed. Quality of food excellent as is the service. Staff were attentive and helpful (especially Audrey and Charlie) when we went slightly off piste with the menu. OK, It's not meant to be "fine dining" but it's a nice relaxing restaurant in which to have a coffee/bun or something more substantial. We won't hesitate to return.

Some things are a little expensive, pets allowed, just not allowed in the restaurant (indoors) but can sit outdoors.

Great selection of plants at reasonable prices. Nice restaurant too.

Good but getting pricey,best to shop around

Cold plates,not many chips food not that hot pie was ok

Nice but a little on the costly side for plants. Couldn't afford what I wanted to buy.

Really enjoyed my day there with my friends, and my husband another day had a very good clothes sale on got some nice things for my holidays. Resurant nice had coffee and strawberry tart yum.

Best Garden Centre in town I think. Excellent staff.

Nice garden centre, doggy friendly! 🐕🐶🐾