Orchard Cafe in Rutland

Called in for tea and cake on a Sunday afternoon. Almost missed out as they close at 3.30. Cake choice fairly limited, no sign of g free options. Plenty of seating inside and out. I know this place is popular with cyclists.

Popped in for a quick snack on Sunday. My partner and I had a shortbread and a drink each. Was about £15 The cafe itself was nice enough but the table we were given was not cleaned very well. The food and drink was nice enough. We encountered a few members of staff who were fine but did seem to want to be anywhere else. However then there was Josh. I would come back just to be served by him. Attentive, funny and just oozes customer service. They have a nice selection of gin and local bits and pieces. I probably would pop in again if we were at the garden centre. I probably would take out though!

An excellent cafe with excellent staff serving excellent food. Recommended highly. The garden centre is also a gem well worth visiting

Always a great breakfast and so very welcoming & friendly . Always nice food and a nice ambience. Highly recommended, thank you so much

Friendly and clean good food at a reasonable price

I rang on Friday to book a table for today as we have been many times and always find it faultless so wanted to take some special friends who have never been before. I spoke to a lovely lady on the phone called Jess. We went this morning and Jess greeted us and so was lovely, she even remembered me booking the table as it was her I spoke to on the phone. The breakfast was lovely and served quickly, great quality ingredients, a great price too. Jess amazing service and the delicious breakfast is perfect. If only the garden centre till staff were as friendly and nice as the cafe staff: Thank you Jess xx

Great customer service and fantastic selection of food. Felt welcomed and relaxed whilst meeting friends. Be sure to book a table if you want a Sunday roast.

Thank u to Jess and all the staff who made my birthday lunch so special. Jess went the extra mile to accommodate my great nephew’s Celiac needs. Thank you so much Jilly

A real gem. Lovely staff. Good selection of food.

To say that the staff at The Orchard go above and beyond would be an understatement. They could not have been more attentive and helpful. Definitely NOT my last visit. Thank you 🙏🏼

We only had coffee, ordered a scone which didn't arrive!! The service was terrible!!!

Avocado & prawn salad consisted of 10 tiny prawns, 1/4 of an avocado, 2 chopped up cherry tomatoes and 2 slices of cucumber with some lettuce. For £9. Feel outraged! Would have helped if it had had some flavour. Won't be coming again.

Lovely place, good value for money and friendly staff.

Lovely food, with some imaginative options. Quite reasonably priced for a garden centre cafe. The highlight was the friendly staff who made us feel really welcome. We will certainly be back.

Just popped in before closing for a cup of coffee .

Friendly staff, delicious food, nice atmosphere.

Lovely cafe, thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast. Friendly staff.

Went for lunch with my mum and son. Staff were so lovely and helpful, sadly didnt get the young mans name who served us initially but he was very friendly. There was a great choice from the menu as well as a specials board. Food was piping hot and delicious. Special mention must go to Josh who was very attentive and made sure we were happy with our meals, nothing was too much trouble for him. An absolute star.

I had lunch there with friends we all chose the chicken dish with some sort of chilli sauce The chicken was very rubbery All we got was 4 thin bits of chicken and salad for I believe £9.50The chicken was vile and yes we did say something but it went right over the head of the person we spoke to

We hadn’t booked a table and it was a Friday and Extremely busy. The menu was very good So We waited around 20 mins. The food was excellent, hot, tasty and the portion size was big. Extremely good price.

Well worth a visit, was very busy so had to wait a bit for food, but was worth it!

Good Garden Centre cafe. Food, service and value all good

Took my Mum for afternoon tea for her birthday. Plenty to eat, lots of choice and absolutely delicious. Lovely staff, very friendly. Highly recommend

Have been several times over the past few months, we have enjoyed the food and service has been great. Breakfasts are good, and the cakes are even better!

Three of us planned to meet somewhere midway between Peterborough and Leicester on 8th March 2023, and chose to try the Orchard Cafe. It was late morning on a cold and snowy day, but the cafe was already quite busy, so this was a good sign. We found the staff very obliging and they gave us a nice table where we could relax and enjoy our meeting. The menu choice was quite extensive. I chose a panini, and although my first choice (ham and cheese) wasn't available, the cheese, onion and tomato alternative was probably the nicest panini I've had anywhere. The other two chose the mixed vegetable soup and cheese scone, which were declared to be very tasty. One of our party finished with a chocolate brownie and ice cream, which looked delicious. We all enjoyed our visit and I recommend it unreservedly.

Good place to eat, it was fresh and tasty, planning to come bck for more Reasonable prices thank you

We had a pleasant meal service was excellent. Unfortunately nothing to do with the establishment my wife had a fall from her Walker and I'd like to thank the people that came to her aid. Although she was shook up at the time, she is ok. Once again thank you.

Service average and no children's breakfast menu despite having a play area. Otherwise a lovely place to visit

Nice coffee. Obliging staff. Food choice is good and generous portions, although the soup bowl and cheese scone rather small. Pleasant environment and reasonable prices. I will return.

Lovely place for a friendly meet up

Cafe at the Welland garden centre, so plenty of parking. The toilets are not in the cafe but up the hill towards the car park

Nice place to enjoy a bite to eat after you have sorted out your garden requirements.

Excellent cafe,warm and welcoming

Called in for breakfast. Sign says 'wait to be seated' - after waiting a little while someone behind the counter said we could take a seat. Placed our order for a Small orchard grill breakfast at £7.99- (with beans & tomato swapped out for black pudding) and poached eggs on toast, with a sausage and then waited....and waited.... The cafe wasn't particularly busy but we saw some people who came in after us getting their food. Eventually it turned out our order had been lost. 50 mins after ordering our breakfast arrived (and we were quite beyond ourselves with hunger) and what a disappointment it was. The rasher of bacon was in fact one very small, curled up medallion of bacon. On raising it with the staff (who were very apologetic) we were told chef was cooking another rasher. That arrived some 5 minutes later - the same size. We were advised it's 'what the butcher sent' and we wouldn't be charged for that piece! After that wait I would have thought thought that the entire breakfast would be free. The poached eggs were somewhat 'snotty' but I didn't raise it as it didn't seem worth the hassle and I was too hungry to wait any longer. All in all very disappointing and not an experience we would wish to repeat in a hurry. Ok it may be a one-off but I'm afraid that the cost(nearly £17 for breakfast and a drink for 2) and lack of understanding of the standard that is needed (and apologies felt just like words) mean sadly we won't be back.

Friendly cafe with home made products. Good for a small group Oct 2022. Revisited. Exciting new menu and totally delicious. Separate desert menu too all good quality and an interesting range of local cakes. Will definitely return. Well I am biased as this is in my home town where I no longer live. 😎💙🇬🇧👍

Nice little cafe, placed conveniently next to the garden center with its own entrance. I had bacon sandwich £5 a large latte £3.65 so a little pricey but that being said the bacon was cooked lovely and fresh fluffy bread.

First time visit, very polite staff & service will call again when passing

Only had drinks. Menus not on table so was unaware that sandwiches were available. Might be a good idea not to hand out menu as customer comes in

Hidden gem that we discovered on our way to holiday

Lovely cafe and friendly staff. We popped in here after returning home from Norfolk. Soon as we walked into the cafe the staff were very friendly and happy to seat us. The lady that took us to our table brought over a high chair and even wiped it down for us. Very good Cappuccino and flat white, brownie very gooey. Will be returning to try the lunch and a look round the garden centre

Lovely food with a good choice. Peaceful atmosphere and the cakes were amazing

Nicely cooked breakfast and good coffee.

Popped into for a bite to eat having previously been here , little disappointed at the new menu , no sandwiches or soup of the day so opted for some chips to fill a hole followed by tea and cake which was very nice , service was excellent, probably won’t revisit whilst this new menu is in place tbh , cafe was nice and clean as were the facilities.

Four of us called in for a late lunch, The quiches were great, along with the burger meal but my husbands tuna panini was not so good. So chewy he had trouble eating it, so three people were very happy but one very disappointed. He did not complain at the time as he did not want to upset the rest of us.

What a find . Travelling down the A47 . Needed a snack and coffee. Reasonable price . Excellent service . Wont forget this one

my grandson's birthday was they and it was lovely

Was able to book a table for our car club first stop. Wonderful venue and very polite and welcoming staff.

A decent Sunday lunch at a fair price. The option of smaller cheaper pensioners portion is a good feature for those with a smaller appetite.

Food is good and always served nice and hot. They have some great cakes and serve all the usual coffees. Service is good and efficient. My only gripe is there are no toilets in the cafe and you have to go up the road for the toilets which is fine in good weather but a pain when it's raining but don't let that put you off. It's well worth a.visit.

As always gorgeous food ,Jess really knows her cooking I have one of her pies ever week,Soffie is always brilliant and so are the two young men ,the other young lady is very professional and caring

Very nice, first time there good coffee and nice staff.

A nice weekend lunch. I thought it was rather pleasant. The food possibly is aimed for an older demographic as it is very simple. The staff were nice, particularly the helpful young lad who served us.

Nice cafe lovely cup of tea and hot scran bit expensive but most of these places are would recommend

Took our grandson there and he loved it had lunch (service &food was great)and the garden centre was brilliant. Taking him back to see Santa in December. Keep up the good work.

A fantastic cafe. The food and drink is lovely and the staff are polite and attentive.

Service today was a little slow, not sure if short of staff. But other than that really nice garden centre and cafe.

I love this place. Beautiful venue, friendly staff delivering good food, good service, and there are some lovely things to take away from the deli.

Situated within the grounds of the garden centre. We had a good brunch here of an English breakfast. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Toilets outside on the walk between the car park and cafe. The staff were very friendly and attentive. Order at the counter which was a bit slow because of the number of people. Brown sauce provided in pot. The menu changes at 11.30am.

I rang them up before venturing out to see if the cafe allows dogs ..lady replied of course but outside ..I mentioned the weather wasnt great but she said there was coverings so we drove out .. this photo was the covering..I was thinking gazebo etc not a dirty old shed lean too next to bins n sink ..we had no choice as even though the cafe only had 1 couple in they wouldnt allow us in even though it was raining (obv wasnt raining when ordering) .the staff were friendly enough and the coffee was lovely...just wish they were more dog friendly! ..I'm sure they would get more customers in if they were !!! as most cafes allow them in nowadays!..if you are a dog owner go on a sunny day is all I can say!

Always wonderful ..such lovely friendly helpful staff ... love everything about it and visit as often as I am able ..

Lovely cafe with great coffee and cakes

2nd time here.good cafe nice plants.small but worth a visit

Always enjoy my visits here and it never disappoints! Sadly the rain stopped us sitting outside but inside was lovely too! Staff so friendly and helpful. Delicious lemon drizzle and great coffee!

First time visit. Staff were so friendly and helpful and the breakfast was amazing. Lovely gifts on offer as well, a truly great visit.

Excellent. Friendly and good service.

Limited lunch menu these days but pleasant enough. Friendly staff and the food isn’t bad at all. Not particularly imaginative or inspiring but ok. Just a bit lacking in atmosphere but then this is a garden centre restaurant! We went quite a few times before the pandemic struck and will return.

Excellent breakfast really worth a visit. Would highly recommend and be back. Great service and food. Really friendly staff

Just popped in for lunch and enjoyed the broccoli and stilton quiche. However the mochas we ordered were extremely sweet and we just couldn't drink them. No one came to our table to check if our food was okay. On paying the bill at the counter the waitress gave the impression she didn't believe me in the fact I couldn't drink it. She did thank me for the feed back, we were still charged for a drink which was left sitting on the table. Won't be going back.

What a lovely place to eat called in and ordered a special ploughman's lunch and tea for two, everything on the plate was from the deli, warm bread and dipping oil a selection of meats scotch egg pork pie and cheeses excellent flavour and such lovely service very pleasant.

Sign says u shud have a mask on when your come in so 2 people come to the door without masks and they let them in

We regularly go to the Orchard Cafe with friends for a relaxed lunch. It is good to chat and pass the time discussing our certain interests.

Have been coming here since it was first opened. Warm, friendly and guaranteed good food that we travel out even though 45min away. For my sons birthday we had been meaning to go to a indoor playtown but the building had been damaged from storm Dennis so we headed hear instead for breakfast and it cheered us all up from our disappointment and my young children could play in the soft play room. I told the lady on the til how it was my sons birthday and what had happened and she gave them both a big brownie when we went to leave which was so generous that made us so happy as we left. Then I came back today for my birthday to have breakfast and a cheeky birthday milkshake and they bring out a big slice of cake for me 😁😍❤️❤️❤️ Thank you so much xoxo

Called in here for breakfast and it was ok. But only Ok! We had the small version with no extras and I’ll suggest you get a much better breakfast at Gates ....around 20 minutes further on!Staff were very friendly but we wouldn’t return for breakfast even though we have had some good lunches here in the past.You pay extra if you want black pudding or hash browns.It was breakfast but we left a bit disappointed and really should have motored on to Gates on the other side of Oakham.

Quite wonderful friendly café. Lovely food, great staff, tidy, relaxing, great.

Popped in for lunch, very quiet but still waited nearly an hour for a sandwich. Eventually got bored and left so don't know what the food is like.

We booked afternoon tea at £24 for two, the service is excellent but the afternoon tea needs improving, I reported this a year ago and was told "thank you we will look at your sugestions" unfortunately they have not improved. The scones are to small the size of a 50 pence piece. The small inch size cakes are out of a selction box that you get from ice land. If they altered the selection and did some improving it would have been an excellent afternoon tea, this was mentioned to the lady manager who said they would pass on to the lady who made the afternoon tea. I feel this will fall on death ears.

We called in for a warm cup of coffee before heading on to Stamford. We were greeted by a very nice lady behind the counter. As we had not long eaten breakfast we just had coffee and a biscuit. We have eaten here in the past and can confirm it is well worth the visit. We noticed the other day that they have added a children's soft play area - brilliant idea.

Had a Sunday lunch, absolutely gorgeous. The only criticism would be the knife, think it would be better having a steak knife. The pork was deliciously cooked and very thickly cut but we struggled with an ordinary dinner knife. We will return.

Had an enjoyable lunch back in May and were wandering around the garden centre on a Sunday when we decided to have lunch again! When we saw they were doing a roast we couldn’t not have it! The beef was very good and we left feeling very full! Made a very pleasant change.

We came in as a family of five and found it overpriced and waited a long time for our drinks and breakfast. It seemed to be understaffed and very overpriced for a fry up! It was recommended but wouldn’t go back

Lovely food in pleasant surroundings and OH yes a delightful garden centre with lots of mature plants.

Good coffee with the added benefit of a super garden center

25 minute wait for coffee and cake in a relatively empty cafe. Waiting staff forgot about the order and took an addition 10 minutes to prepare a very straight forward order that was incorrect when it arrived. Terrible service and over priced.

Lovely place great food in the cafe

Visited this cafe this week for afternoon coffee and cake. No complaints with the quality of coffee or cake but on leaving I noticed a poster on the door which offered a special deal for coffee and cake. This had not been applied to our purchase. When I went back in the cafe to query this, I was told by the waitress that you have to actually ASK for the offer when giving your order! The staff weren't permitted to give the discount unless the customer specifically requested it and she would have to ask the manager if she could give a refund. Unfortunately I was not able to hang around as my husband was already leaving the car park but I did come away feeling cheated.

Lovely little cafe , great choice , friendly staff . Will return .

We had Sunday lunch at the Orchard Cafe. It is obviously very popular which is always good to see.Review:Parking and location - there is ample parking, the majority of which, however, is up a hill from the Cafe so ensure you either drop off anyone with walking difficulties outside the Cafe before parking or, if possible, use more limited parking which is located close to the Cafe. The Cafe is located within the grounds of a Garden Centre which didn't inspire but, to be fair, it is not one of the main gardening seasons at present.Service - you are not formally welcomed and you find your own table which is fair enough. You order from the counter which was very slow and any questions were referred to the kitchen. Room for improvement. Service at the table was good despite the Cafe being busy. The lady who served us was very friendly and helpful.Food - we had the vegetarian Sunday lunch option and fish goujons. Excellent, hot and tasty.Prices - £10.95 is fair and mid range for Sunday lunch.Toilets - obviously we don't know the reasons or logic behind the location of the toilets or whether the decision was made by the Cafe or the Garden Centre but it is disgraceful. To expect people of all ages and disabilities to walk out of the Cafe in any weather and climb a hill to reach the toilets is appalling. If nothing else, there should be a toilet for elderly people or those with disabilities to use within the Cafe itself. The lady I asked about toilet locations seemed totally hacked off by my question as though she gets asked it regularly. I specifically asked her about toilets for people with disabilities as we wanted to bring an elderly lady next time who would be unable to walk up the hill.I am giving an overall score of 3 for the Orchard Cafe because of the toilet location but will reflect the standards achieved for service, food and value with applicable scores, all of which will be higher than the overall score.Will we return? - on a nice day without anyone elderly or with disabilities!!!! We don't want to put people off as we enjoyed ourselves at the Orchard Cafe and would certainly recommend it but the toilet situation is grave and must be rectified.

The best cheesecake I have ever had and lavender ice cream to die for. Omelette and rustic fries were excellent too

As a regular customer to this cafe , my friends an I had a disappointing afternoon,after deciding to meet here for a catch up we all wanted scones jam and cream and tea but were told the kitchen was shut and we couldn’t do scones as they had to be heated up ,I said I didn’t want mine heated and to have it as it was , no the kitchen is shut this was 3.05 so if you want a scone with your cuppa make sure you get there before 3 . I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous. To top the afternoon off we had the staff sweeping up around us then mopping the floor while there were customers still trying to enjoy their afternoon tea!!

Pleasant surroundings. Sandwiches very nice.

had to ask for dairy free food and they have provided salad dressing separately and changed the menu slightly for me. staff was friendly,food was delicious.

What a great find! We were a family travelling over to the Norfolk area along the A47 and looking for a place where we could have a good full English breakfast in a nice surroundings. This place was ideal. It’s a large well presented room within the grounds of a nursery. The selection on offer was great and we noted for the full breakfast.

I've been here a few times. The food is quite good and the prices are about a pound or so more than I would expect.

For goodness sake. I thought restaurant time limitations were a thing of the past. More than 50% of the items on the menu are classified as ‘breakfast’. The cafe opens at 10:00 and breakfast stops at 11:30. I strolled in at 11:29 to be told I couldn’t have a bacon sandwich. What am I supposed to do, order a Sunday lunch instead! Completely idiotic and more about the convenience of the staff than service to customers. This will sway us in future and we’ll probably go to other garden centres with more flexible cafe hours. Or is it just possibly the frying pan gets locked away at 11:25 !!!

Hadn’t visited here before so as it was lunchtime we thought we should eat! Comfortable surroundings and friendly staff so ordered fish finger sandwich whilst my wife had the soup. Both exceeded expectations and other items on the menu sounded good too.

Amazing find in a fabulous Garden Centre. Gorgeous food. Can't wait to be this way of the world again.

- Ordered Sausage sandwich got- small cold sausage between two slices of dry bread. Told them off and will never darken their door again.

An excellent place to round off a gardening trip. the staff are pleasant, helpful and obliging. The food is cooked well, often to order and served to a high standard. Well worth a visit even when you don't want plants.

Regular customer who has recommended to many friends and Family. Today had my favorite sandwich coronation chicken. It bad very little chicken and was mainly coronation sauce. I mentioned this to the till lady but really not intetested and gave me no feedback from chef. At £7.25 this was extortionate. Tip for future customers - open a tab and pay after your meal. Had I done this I would only have given them half of the cost as per consumer rights.

Visited today for my mother’s birthday. Lovely setting and cosy cafe (although I think they have a sewage problem as bad smell outside)