Milton Ernest Garden Centre in Bedford

What a lovely place to visit. Great cafe, good coffee and staff. Lovely locally made cakes and a nice setting. The shop and plant area is well laid out and has local products too. First time we’ve visited, but we will be back.

Went specially today to get a water butt but when I unpacked it when reaching home I found that the two caps were missing which seal the T joint for the feed. I rang the garden centre expecting the missing items to be posted as I had driven 10 miles each way to collect it. Instead I was just told to return it with no apologies for having been sold a defective item. Poor customer service in my estimation and I shall be reluctant to deal with them again.

What a gem of a garden centre and café this is. A visit was suggested when we stayed nearby before Christmas and on the basis of what we found, we detoured and called in on our way back east from Cornwall. It was a nice break to a long journey with very nice food and refreshments on offer . The selection and quality of the food in such a small café was commendable. The young lad taking the orders couldn't have been more helpful. The garden centre itself was well stocked with many reasonably priced plants and the staff on hand for advice were extremely knowledgeable.

Visiting the Coffee Shop, we had an excellent experience. A good menu selection saw my wife choosing a Ham & Tomato Sandwich with myself selecting the Stilton, Bacon and Mango Chutney Panini with salad. Two drinks (Tea and Coffee) with a couple of bags of crisps set us back a very respectable £21. The food arrived pretty quickly and it was extremely tasty and frankly, we had just wasted the cost of two bags of crisps as a good sized portion was part of the meal. Certainly a good place to visit for a lunch time meal and no doubt we will be back again.

I hsve been coming here for many years and have made friends with most of the staff. There is always a terrific selection of plants for sale.

Disappointing and expensive ciabata cheese and tomato, one arrived with just cheese , limp salad and stale crisps, one half with no filling with tea.at least this was hot. £20 for 2. Will not be returning to cafe not impressed with disinterested staff. Such a pity as it used to be run well.

The garden centre is well stocked and have staff available to offer advice. It offers: Fresh bakes, gifts, interior lighting, clothing and art supplies s well as the garden centre side.

Over priced bacon bap..and poorly cooked..£5 for a bap..!!. Waitrose is only £3.75.and much much nicer!. When I go out to eat, I want to eat as good as I can cook..not much much worse. Terrible experience.. Way way too expensive.

Had really nice ploughman lunch. Tasty and beautifully presented. Staff can’t do too much for you. Consistently quick and efficient. Pleasant surroundings.

£6.... Absolutely ridiculous!! Take away. Waited ages and not even a serviette in the box!! Never again!!

I normally go for a coffee and a cake but decided to treat myself to a sandwich lunch. I ordered the ham and tomato which came with a small salad of crisp lettuce, cherry tomato, grated carrot, small chunks of beetroot and cucumber along with some crisps. So colourful to look at I wished I'd have taken a photo. I also had a latte which was piping hot. Delicious!

Dropped in for a quick lunch and wasn't disappointed. It's good to get to a independent garden center with a good café. Fresh food and home made cake, just what I was looking for with a good cup of coffee.

The best Cornish Pasties we have eaten and a hot sup of coffee, So many places serve up tepid lattes.

This morning myself and two friends paid a visit to Milton Ernest Garden Centre to treat ourselves to breakfast. Compared to other garden centres the breakfast menu was short. We all decided on the full English which included tea or coffee. There was also a bacon or sausage bap but at £4.50 we all felt that was a little steep. When breakfast arrived it consisted of a sausage, a fried egg, half a tomato, mushrooms, a piece of fatty bacon and a slice of buttered toast. Overall, we were quite disappointed with the selection and quality of the food.

Long time since we visited this garden centre and not a lot of changes. Expanded a little bit but nowhere near as large as the biggies. A good range of items in the gift departments and the normal pet and clothing areas were also well stocked. Very extensive range of garden items both indoors and out so clearly you can spend a reasonable time browsing. Their cafe has grown and now boasts an additional two areas. Covid protection was evident with tables and chairs ring given a good cleaning between users. Not a massive menu but adequate for most occasions which in our case was a mid morning snack. My wife had the mediterranean vegetable quiche and I settled for a cheese & ham ploughman's, both of which were very tasty. Add a couple of drinks and we had a very enjoyable meal. Well worth a visit.

Visited to get a few plants. Good selection. Reasonable prices. Nice shop to mooch in. Had a coffee and quiche in the cafe. Very polite and attentive service. Sat in the outside space. It is a bit green house like and very warm even on a cloudy day. Variety of chair styles diminishes the ambiance a tad. Still, good food, nice coffee and a variety of cakes. Plenty of parking. Would happily pop back for the garden centre or cafe.

I love visiting this garden centre! Much more authentic than Frosts or other places as the staff really know about gardening and what plants grow well in what conditions. I chat to Terry regularly as he is the resident expert! Love the variety of plants, and lovely down-to-earth coffee shop with courgette cake that's gluten-free so I can eat it! I sometimes have lunch, nice homely food. Yes service can be a little slow but why be in such a hurry? I love relaxing here and getting some unusual plants for the garden. Always a nice level of busyness. Not seen the cafe open since lockdown so can't answer the questions below. Visit for the plants regularly atm.

My Wife and I live not too far away from Milton Ernest, and we have in the past made it part of a days outing to stop off at the Garden Centre for tea and a walkabout. Our last visit will be just that. The cafe is not what it was, with a marked loss of several things essential to any such business; Cleanliness, Quality food, Clean air, and Attractive costings. The tables were sticky, with crumbs etc., the cakes and sandwiches available were not up to the high prices being charged, and the air itself felt heavy.

Have eaten here on many occasions. Food is usually very good. Prices are now expensive for the current offerings of food. Menu is quite limited. Our food arrived and I was disappointed by the portion size and the food did not look that appetising. My friend ordered a special southern fried chicken and wedges, very disappointing. I had a jacket potato with mushrooms, cheese and bacon, mushrooms were cut so thin and fried too much, hardly any cheese either. Disappointing, will be going elsewhere now.

A pleasant little eating area with the garden centre. There is an acceptable choice of menu which it is obviously not very large I have always managed to find something I like here though. The service is cheerful and efficient. After eating is is nice to go into the garden centre which has a wide selection of plants to choose from. Well worth a visit

My friend and I have been meeting here every couple of months for coffee, lunch, a wander around the garden centre, followed by tea and cake in the afternoon. However, we have decided to look for somewhere else to meet due to the fact that I am vegan and am just not catered for. If I want to eat, my only real option is a jacket potato with fried mushrooms and side salad. This is OK, but becomes boring after a while. The last couple of times we've met, we've had coffee at the Garden Centre and then wandered up to the Queen's Head for lunch, as they provide several vegan options. Today, on returning to the Garden Centre for our tea and cake, there was absolutely nothing I could eat. Several gluten-free options are provided, but all contain egg. In this day and age, one would expect even a limited offering for those of us with specific dietary requirements. Time for MEGC to enter into the 21st century!

Quite large garden centre with good quallity plants a pets /fish area and a large selection on art and craft materials also ladies clothes/ the cafe caters lunches and even afternoon teas

Cannot fault the knowledge and helpfulness of the garden and pet store staff. Plant stock is varied and of good quality. Sadly the cafe is not much to write home about and is very expensive. Small portions and unimaginative menu.

My husband and I are from Germany for visiting friends here in Bedford. We only wanted to buy some plants and decided to have afternoon tea. BEST EVER!!! DELICIOUS!!! We will return when we visit our friends again! Thank you and kind regardsWolf & BeaWiesbaden / Germany

Went today to the Milton Ernest Garden Centre for lunch. We must have arrived just before it got busy but what a poor slow service. Though the food is great and of a high standard the service is so slow that at one point 15 people were waiting to be served in a long queue which stretched outside the door and about 6 people actually gave up and left. We watched two young lads who only wanted drinks patiently waiting for 25 minutes to pay. One girl taking orders who was so slow that it took her on average up to 5 minutes just to take one order. There were elderly people standing in the queue as well this is totally unacceptable. The garden centre if it really wants to expand and attract more customers needs a major staff overall. There should be at least 3 staff serving in busy times with another allocated staff member doing the drinks. Avoid between 12.15pm and 1.30pm as the term lunch hour will mean being in a queue for 50% of your time. Even though the food is very good the service is very very bad.

My wife and I use Milton Ernest Garden Centre restaurant regularly at least once a month for Sunday lunch. Although the menu is not as extensive as some places it suits us and is a very acceptable quality. We have never had any complaints with either food or service and our favourite dish is the Chicken Pie with Roast Potatoes and other seasonable veg and gravy. The pie is home made with large chunks of chicken and a wonderful short crust pastry top and is a good size helping, even for me with a good appetite. I am just hoping that me recommending the Chicken Pie, I have not just shot myself in the foot meaning they will be sold out next time.

Not a bad breakfast but not a good size for me for the price. The staff do need a little more customer care training I did say that I felt the coffee was brewed too hot. I was told by the lady that was how she liked it!!!

Such lovely service . I was being so fussy about how I wanted my toast bacon & egg done but it didn’t faze the staff at all. So I enjoyed my breakfast & would recommend a visit .

Standard garden centre cafe with a limited menu . Cakes tend to be very nice and staff helpful. Avoid in hot weather as no proper outside area and it becomesunbearable.

We recently had afternoon tea at the garden centre. Have experienced similar teas at various garden centres in the area this was without a doubt the best one. We were offered a very good choice of sandwiches and decided on the brie which was delicious and then had an amazing assortment of cakes & scones - too much for us to get through. We were offered a top up of tea and had excellent service. Will definitely repeat the experience.

I visited here with my husband and we both thoroughly enjoyed a slice of tasty homemade cake. I had the gluten and dairy free courgette and avocado cake which was amazing! The portion size was great for the price and the cake was so well made that you wouldn't know it was gluten and dairy free, it was so moist which is often not the case with gluten free cakes! My husband had a triple chocolate cheesecake which he really enjoyed and didn't find it sickly at all.

Took family for afternoon tea and booked us In at 2.30. The website states they close at 4.30 but I think they started packing up at 3.30! This meant when I went to pay at 4.10 they were worried about how to process it as they had already closed the till! I was made to feel more like an inconvenience than a paying customer.

Lunch was pricey but nice. Service was competent but a little slow. Choice of food was good however. Variety of plants was limited, not a lot of imagination with many garden favourites missing. I won't rush to return.

Lovely little garden centre. Some great prices. The food is good.and a reasonable price. Staff are very helpful.

Went with a friend and it wasn't too busy . Everything freshly made . Lots of choice of snacks meals and drinks . We had latte. Hot chocolate and 1 cheese scone . It was nice but pricey . Service is slow as all freshly made to order. Very clean and warm. Lots of people by time we left and noisy. Garden centre is overly expensive . Wouldn't rush to go back

Pretty bog standard serve and food quality but at a premium price. The garden centre obviously does not see the customer as a cash cow to be exploited not only in gardening prices but also in their dreary, predictable restaurant.

The food here is always good as it is made fresh - hence when busy there is a bit of a wait but worth it. They make my bacon sandwich to perfection, and my son enjoyed his full English. Love the décor of art, staff very friendly and prices reasonable. There is not a huge amount of choice but the food is good quality.

We had lunch on a Saturday. Service at the counter was slow and the food was slow to arrive. More a case of under-staffing in my view than “all our food is freshly prepared”. Cakes underwhelming at around £3 a portion. Altogether OK.

One of the better garden centers I have visited.

Popped in on Sunday morning, for a cooked breakfast treat. A few people at tables and 2 in front of me in queue, only one lady doing drinks, serving, and till, but several youngsters in food prep area, staff all very relaxed no rush not very welcoming, took ages to get served, my tea tasted of greasy lemon, returned it to be told "yes a few people mentioned it's off" no apology or concern, after I got up noticed others taking theirs back too! Breakfast took ages to arrive, a table that came in after me got served sooner with their fried breakfast, so asked where mine was! when it arrived it looked and tasted ok except for the egg which was solid and overcooked, I had not asked for it like that as wanted a runny egg. Very disappointed with the whole experience. Will not go again, shame though as the cakes looked nice with lots of choice, the place has the potential to be lovely, but is let down.

This is not a proper garden centre, there are a few plants for sale as an after thought for people to browse after lunch, there is some knitting paraphernalia, a few toys, a bit of cleaning stuff, some pet food..

Comimos lasaña caseras comida bien presentada. También casero tarta de limón era divina. El servicio era un poco lento, pero la comida se hace al orden, así no se puede tener todo. Zona de estar cómoda y estaba limpia y el perro estaba permitido a unirse a nosotros en el exterior (cubierto) para sentarse, lo cual fue maravilloso. El personal parecía subpresión como había una avalancha de negocios pero eran amables y serviciales. Bien hecho para mantener su fresco durante este tiempo caliente demasiado :) Nuestro grupo de 4 tenía un encantador almuerzo gracias

El jardín es independiente y conocen a sus plantas y están dispuestos a responder preguntas. El café es amable y la comida, cada vez que he estado allí (que es mucho) es preciosa y bien de precio. Pasteles de julie es increíble. No aspirar a...

Pequeño y encantador jardín. Salón de té vende deliciosos pasteles y el centro siempre tiene artículos a un precio razonable

Llamé, y reservamos una merienda para mi madre para celebrar el día de la madre. Hablaba con una mujer servicial que reservó para la tarde siguiente y tomó una pre-orden para sándwiches. Ella era amable y servicial.

As always a lovely healthy selection of plants. Helpful nurserymen and good prices. We had coffee and a scone at the cafeteria which was spotlessly clean. It's not a gourmet restaurant but adequate for a snack or basic lunch and the staff very pleasant too!

I was very surprised to be told that the coffee shop doesn't have a dairy alternative in this day and age as 'no one asks for it', well I was asking for it. I was also told that they didn't do chips every day, only on two days a week, as they didn't have the fryer on, this was after reading the specials board advertising hoisin duck in a baguette with salad and chips. I ordered this because the lady said it should of read crisps instead, mine arrived without crisps! The filling was stone cold rather than room temp or hot, which would of been preferable. I ordered gluten free lemon drizzle cake and was served a 2" share of cake and was charged a hefty £3 for that, which was dry and not particularly nice. There's a miserable sort of attitude there to match the miserable food, won't be returning!

This tea shop at the garden centre is clean and presentable, but the tables and chairs create an atmosphere of a cafe and the service, whilst quite polite, is not prompt. The walls are covered in framed pictures for sale, and they have pretty curtains up at the Windows, but it still looks a bit sterile....I think it's the lighting. It always seems to me that they've never got enough staff to fulfill their orders in a reasonable time frame and they constantly run out of food by the time I go in, whatever time I go, so I just have a quick cuppa whilst I'm picking up garden plants or peat, now. That said, any food I've had there has been fine, but average menu and nothing much to praise really. I really am a glass half full person, but this place is not my favourite stopping place when garden shopping, and I'd be more likely to nip back home and save our money.

Took a friend for lunch, was looking forward to having a baked potato, we got there at 1pm to find they had sold out. Limited other choices on menu. We went for the daily special, mince beef pie, made, peas and gravy. Was very impressed at how quickly it was served, was also delicious, just perfect for a wet and cold dreary winters day. Value was great we paid a total of 12.00 for our meal and drinks. Well done. My only criticism is that most of the tables did look like they needed a wipe down.

This cafe provides a nice range of snacks and lunches. I had the pate which was well presented and very tasty. My wife enjoyed her cheese scone. There was a nice looking selection of cakes. The staff were friendly and busy. Although not a large cafe, it is well kept and clean. When we finished our lunch we had a stroll around the garden centre, which in addition to the usual goods also has a craft section and is home to the village shop/post office.

We decided a couple of weeks ago to book an Afternoon Tea for four of us for my sisters birthday....When we arrived, we queued up for about 5 minutes to let the staff know that we arrived, when it was our turn the young lady at the till didn't seem very interested and said, "erm guess I had better give you a number" to which we took it and went to find a free table that would fit us all around.....There was only one table of four left where we could sit, but the table needed a wipe down, nobody came over to clean the table to which we cleaned it with a couple of baby wipes.... the table obviously hadn't been cleaned that often as the wipes were black (see picture) We then waited 25 minutes for our sandwiches and cakes to arrive, as we ordered two Afternoon Teas I would have expected there to have been the same quantity of cakes on each stand.... which there wasn't!!!!! (See pictures)We had to then ask the lady if she could bring us some plates and tea over, by this point we had been waiting over 30 minutes for a cup of tea!!!!! When the lady arrived back with the tea pots, she asked if we would like a pot of hot water to refill our tea pots up with, to which we declined.... I then had to say to her that we still needed cups for the tea, which took another 5 minutes for her to bring them over... The food was also a disappointment. Whilst we were waiting for our food, you could see the food staff defrosting the bread on top of a toaster, so as you can imagine the bread was slightly stale.... I also found a hair in the clotted cream (see picture) When we to pay the lady asked us if we were happy with everything, to which my grandmother said no, and explained how we had booked a table but still had to wait over 30 minutes to have a cup of tea, the lady did apologise and explain that they had been extremely busy today, and that we could have a complementary cup of tea....I'm not sure if maybe we just went on a bad day, but I will not be recommending Afternoon Tea there to anyone!!!!!!

Have only just found this garden centre. The staff are lovely and give their advice freely. Clearly they have a lot of knowledge. Full marks to the café My daughter with a disability has decided it is her new best place. Staff treat her with respect and are friendly and speak nicely to her.The food always looks nice. We haven't yet ventured past the cheese scones, which seem to run out quickly! and the toasted tea cakes.On out last visit the staff were lovely to a customer who felt unwell.There is a large variety of non garden items, cards and gifts. The pet shop is well stocked. There is a post office. and a small section of village shop grocery items. What more could you want. The first time we visited we spent all afternoon and spent a far amount of money!! Thank you

Weather was cold, wet and miserable, but the warm friendly we got from the brightened our day, first ever visit her but will be back whenever we pass through

New Year's Day so decided to have a good breakfast !! Drive is good and the restaurant bright if a little too green. Good staff and lovely fresh breakfast.

Compared to 2 other garden centres we had visited this morning at least this one was very clean and presentable......one 5 miles up the road was a disgrace and the food had gone downhill considerably.This centre has friendly helpful staff and a quaint little tea room with a good range of food/snacks as well as garden/equipment.

Happy to recommend this tea room, good range of snacks and lunches to please most tastes. Cheerful service.

Quite often, a small cafe in a garden centre will be limited with choice and food is quite bland.Not so Milton Ernest.The food is of a good quality, reasonable portions and service is friendly.Well worth popping in if you are in the garden centre or even just for a quick bite to eat.

Had a nice lunch with family here this week. Very nice if rather expensive. Shame about all the tables being wobbly though!

They serve breakfast every day between 9.30 and 11.30am. We had the full, which consisted of one egg, slice of bacon, a very tasty good quality sausage, tomato, mushrooms, toast and tea, all for just 4.95! Such good value (unlike the cakes and biscuit/bars).The garden centre and shop are both well stocked with a good variety of plants and gifts for any age and there's even a post office here!Just a warning to parents with young children....there are no baby changing facilities which I think is unacceptable in this day and age.Apart from that, couldn't fault the place!

Very welcoming staff, all food cooked on premises and as you order, very fresh very clean, very pleasing, excellent value

Not the best of these venues. Was with a large group and it was not easy to get seated near each other. There is seating outside, but we didn't want to use it on this occasion.Found the prices a bit steep. The quality of the refreshments was ok.

We love going to the cafe/restaurant every saturday, great homemade cakes and pastries, the hot meals are great too, allways pipnig hot. The staff are allways friendly and informative.

We visited the garden centre at Milton Ernest and decided as it was a nice morning we would visit the cafe.It was coming up to lunchtime,so I thought that I would just order a Cornish pastie,and although not over busy I would assume that they would just pop the pastie in to the microwave.Our cups of tea we were served,but the staff carried on serving other people,and we were sat there seeing this repeated for about 30 minutes,the paste was eventually placed in the microwave & served at our table.The staff seemed to be all dashing about, but getting nothing done,it seemed like a classic case of busy doing nothing.!

We visited at 11.50am to find one person seated and two others ordering. It was more than 5 minutes before they had been dealt with. Our order of a sandwich and a Ploughman's took approx. 20 minutes to arrive. Whilst I accept that all meals are freshly made to order, I would hate to visit when the restaurant was busy. Having said that, the food was of good quality and the portions and presentation acceptable.

Lovely home cooked food in the cafe and great prices too. Garden Centre sells alot of things including crafting and drawing supplies. Also had a post office and shop.

visited for lunch whilst in the area. Ordered a sandwich and waited about 10 minutes which isn't too bad for the time of day.Would probably visit again if nearby

I went there with a friend for lunch. It was pretty standard for a garden centre tea room. You queue up and order your food and then it is brought to the table.We both had jacket potatoes which were served with a small salad. We had cake later on, which was nice.It wasn't fantastic, but there is nothing wrong with it either. It enabled us to sit and chat, which was the object of the exercise and then we went for a wander round the garden centre.The prices are fairly average. We will probably go there again.

The restaurant attached to the garden centre used to be friendly and welcoming with some great home made food. Over the last few months the management of the cafe has changed and things have gone down hill rapidly. Food has suffered, some new staff have been employed which seem unfriendly and the layout of the cafe is crazy.Everyone is in the dark about future changes, but for now we have all found alternative places to visit (Poddington & Frosts, both of which have superior set ups).