Pear Tree Tea Room in Maidstone

We have visited the cafe many times for quite a few years and always enjoyed a light lunch in a peaceful atmosphere. That is until our Wednesday visit which was absolutely spoiled by a dog barking as loud as it is possible. We noticed people in close proximity to the dog getting up and looking for a table further away. The annoying noise came from one of four dogs that were accompanied by four women who were all sat at the same table. We finished our meal and then had a walk round the plants and the shop, when we left the dog was still barking, this after a full hour. I have nothing against dogs, but I feel that if they are not well behaved they should not be in the confines of a cafe. Clearly the respective dog owner should have taken the offending dog outside but perhaps it never occurred to them as they are probably used to the noise. I would have thought the cafe staff may have had a word with the dog owner but unfortunately I do not think that happened and the selfish attitude carried on.

Had mushrooms and poached eggs on a muffin. Unfortunately the eggs were like hard boied eggs which we didnt expect poached eggs to be. The mushrooms were tinned not fresh mushrooms rather dissapointed. When asked if we had enjoyed the meal we answered as above and didn't hear anything else from anyone.

Had a lovely lunch in pear tree cafe. Food always consistently good. Great service as always, thank you .

We visited for afternoon tea today and it was amazing! The food was delicious - we couldn’t finish it all so brought some cakes home in boxes. Staff are polite and friendly - nothing was too much trouble.

Been here a few time and usually good. All waiting staff really friendly and helpful. Ordered two cheese and onion pies with chips. When it came one was fridge cold the other very lukewarm. Explained to a member of staff who was very apologetic and took them back. Came back 5 minutes later, one was still lukewarm and the other was warmer but had been mushed up with a fork. The waitress explained that the kitchen said “ it must have been warm as the cheese was melting” . Can I point out that if you microwave something then the food on the edges is always warmer than the centre , it’s pretty basic food prep. I explained I would like my money back and was told the manager was coming out but never appeared. The lady on the till sorted it and was very apologetic. All the staff are really friendly but if it is the manager who runs the kitchen I think they need to invest in a food themometer as they are letting the side down. I am always aware of fake poor reviews so if they read this and would like me to ring up to discuss please let me know. I think what I have written is fair.

The Pear Tree Café inside the Garden Centre is well staffed (not something you see much these days) and serves good quality food and drinks. The staff are polite, professional and very helpful. Quality ingredients are the key to guaranteed return custom and is exactly what is served at this establishment. I have no problems at all recommending The Pear Tree Café at Ashton Hall Garden Centre.

Have eaten here for quite a few years and have never been disappointed. The staff our polite and helpful and the food is always up to standard and the cakes yummy.

Waited over 25 mins for a full English breakfast despite the cafe only having a few tables occupied. A bit too greasy for me and my request for a hard egg was not granted, although I was told it wasn't a trouble to do me another one, I am still waiting! At £10 each for a breakfast and cuppa, I shall not be returning in a hurry.

Brilliant cafe, great service with friendly staff, however a bike rack in the car park would be helpful

As we live abroad we wanted the perfect gift for my parents...and this was it - Tea for Two Gift Voucher. Easy to order online, arrived in a wonderfully presented gift card. Beautifully presented Tea for Two .... copious and delicious (my Dad’s words!) The staff were lovely and made my parents feel really special. I’d thoroughly recommend this as a perfect gift! Thanks to all the staff involved for making my parents day!!

Went for lunch with my partner . Ordered cheese and onion pie and chips . Pie Was cold . Chips were overdone . His jacket potato had a tough skin ;cheap potato . Beans tepid but not hot ! We asked for strong tea but they tried to charge £2.25 for extra bags ! This was then rectified . All in all a very poor meal for the price ! Over £21 We normally love coming here tho last time I did have the same issue with the chips ! Must be Warmed over and not freshly cooked ! 😡😳 We may visit again despite this to see if things have improved !

We visited for a snack lunch the food was acceptable, the staff would appear to be disorganised, and one particular member of staff could only be describe as scruffy with long hair with no hair netPreparing drinks et cetera behind the counter and grubby trousers, not a particularly good appearance as a front of house member of staff.

Popped in for a quick bite to eat. Service quick, excellent food and even adjusted our order to suit our taste. Relaxed atmosphere and no rush. Will eat here again.

We took some friends a mid afternoon cake and tea and coffee. The staff are friendly. There is a good selection and variety of home made cakes and biscuits. There are a wide variety of teas and coffees. The setting is contemporary but bright with some lovely views

Today my wife & myself called in to the Pear Tree cafe with our son and one of our grandsons. We managed to get an empty table and thus claimed "ownership", we had a quick look at the menu and at the same time looked to see what specials were on the board. My wife usually has one of their delicious Quiches but was disappointed today as the quiches had all gone. We chose our meals, drinks and then paid the bill. Food was delivered quite quickly considering how busy it was. Food was extremely good, but should be, as everything is premium priced. Most items are around the £10.00 mark which is high for a glorified sandwich in my opinion. The only other criticism concerns the fact that tables were left untended after the customers had departed, we were surrounded by tables full of empty plates, cups, bottles etc etc. This really does let the Pear Tree down and is the reason for my rating being Very Good rather than Excellent.

A hidden gem for seekers of an amazing breakfast. We’re never disappointed. Friendly, efficient service is always provided. Another plus note is that the cakes and scones are to die for!

Came here for for breakfast this morning, ordered scrambled eggs and salmon and a Lancashire breakfast, what arrived was initially appetising, scrambled eggs were overcooked but this was minor- but when I cut into the Cumberland sausage it was raw in the middle -I asked the waiter for the breakfast to be re-cooked and he took it away and approximately 10 to 15 minutes later and older waitress appeared with the breakfast she was apologetic but looked more inconvenienced - same breakfast and the original sausage was cremated to the point of crunchy and the rest of the breakfast had not been kept warm and was stone cold inedible!Had someone asked at that point I would've told them but they didn't, to spend nearly £19 in a café on food to be presented with what we was quite frankly shocking in this day and age I am very disappointed in the food and service as we were regular customers so we just left.I would neither give this place a recommendation but a warning and I would let any visitor draw their own conclusions but to be honest to serve people raw meat then food that had not been kept at the correct temperature after cooking must be contravening health and food safety- someone will end up getting food poisoning.Good customer service would have been to replace the original breakfast and offer maybe some drinks as recompense but I doubt this would ever happen there- I am very unhappy customer.

This is a lovely place. We came on a Sunday afternoon, and it was evidently popular, but not overly busy. There is plenty of seating available.The majority of the staff were very young, but were polite and prompt with their service. It's nice to see somewhere willing to give youngsters opportunities for a part-time job, and teenagers willing to develop their skills and experience. Coffees were lovely. There is a huge selection of delicious cakes and desserts to choose from - all very tempting! I can definitely recommend the Lemon Meringue Pie, which was huge, and very yummy! My friend had the fruit crumble and ice cream, which was also very tasty.The only downside to this place was the great number of persistent wasps that insisted on accompanying us!! However, I appreciate it is difficult to deter them at this time of year. I know it will be a much more pleasant experience next time we visit, provided it is out of wasp season! Will definitely be back.

My friend and I go on a regular basis and I have to say we ve never had a bad meal yet :-) most of the staff are very friendly and really willing to help too. I would recommend to anyone to try it and hopefully the food will always taste that good.

We drove to the outside of the Ashton Hall Garden Centre and found it hard to believe there was a cafe with the reviews we had read in this building. How wrong we were - lots of tables, extensive menu and the most delicious looking cakes on show proved otherwise. We chose the sausage sandwich and a portion of toast, too early for cake I'm afraid, accompanied by nice hot cups of coffee. It did take a little time to arrive and there seemed to be some members of staff that didn't quite know what they were doing but all in all, very nice

I am not a vegan but my friend is and it is difficult to find places where we can dine and both be happy but we can do it here now! We have been several times recently and my friend assures me that the curry is lovely. I have been coming here for years and have always been happy to dine here, reliable , good Sumatra coffee and cake too. Sometimes there is a bit of a queue situation when placing an order. Café is inside the Ashton Hall garden centre and there is good parking and access

Called in for tea and cakes whilst visiting the Garden Centre. Wish we hadn’t bothered... waited ages!! Luckily we hadn’t ordered hot food!

It is nearly a year since we visited this place for lunch though we have been for coffee. It was fairly quiet when we first went at 12 30 which is early for us but we were meeting friends at 2pm. Service good and food good too Cakes are to die for! We had sandwiches prawn and salmon for my other half and a Hawaiian toastie for me with chips to share chips were hot but there could have been more of them for the price! PLace got busier as it got to 1pm Pleasant place for lunch or just coffee and cake and nice for a look around garden centre too.

Lovely breakfast, freshly cooked Extensive menu Well worth the wait Very nice surroundings Will be back

We used to visit regularly - from the children being little (now young adults) & whilst latterly the menu was a bit stagnant the friendly staff & ambience was what drew us in, that & the scones & lemon meringue pie! Then they started doing market research with customers.

We arrived to a pleasant cafe with a good lunch menu and clean friendly staff who were willing to help and we ordered our food at the counter and were soon served a very nice meal. Which was good value and would not hesitate to revisit.This cafe has recent.y been revamped and has been done very well ,not too modern and not too old fashioned ,very pleasant .well done.

Passing through the area we wanted to meet a friend fir lunch. She suggested the cafe at this garden centre and it didn't disappoint. An interesting variety of Hot and cold food available, many as a salad but chips and sandwiches available. I had the Hawain flan with salad, the flan was warm and I don't think I have ever had a fan so well filled with ingredients. Unfortunately there was no room left for one of the varied selection of puddings and cakes. Friendly staff and reasonably priced I would definitely recommend.

Visited the garden centre for the first time and because of the time of day we didn't need any food so just had coffee which was lovely, making plans to go back at a meal time next time as the menu and the surroundings were beautiful. What a refreshing change to go somewhere where all the staff appeared to be happy in their work and everyone was smiling and all whished us a "good morning" or "hello" and each was a warm and genuine greeting. The plants were in fantastic condition, all very healthy, unlike other garden centres where you have to sort through to find the best specimen. Can't wait to visit again and perhaps have some lunch.

Have been visiting here and the Garden Centre for many years. Recently the cafe has been expanded and completely renovated. It is lovely. Still has some tables outside for when the weather is suitable but so many more tables inside. Better choice of cakes too! Previous chiller was only small but now seem to have a bigger selection. There are a couple of “meals” on the menu( think one is scampi and chips) now whereas it was panninis, salads etc with some daily specials before. Always have good food experience although mainly been for “coffee and cake” recently. Do seem to close fairly early so best to check if going later.....may be 4:30 not sure. Garden centre has very good selection of healthy looking plants at a sensible price. Decent size car park too.

This place we have visited before but it has been refurbished since our last visit and is bigger and lovely. It was very busy on this Wednesday lunchtime everyone must have had the same idea! We found a table opposite the counter which was OK in spite of the constant queue. Service to order was good in spite of only being one lady serving but very well organised. Choice of food good with everything from meals to sandwiches and lovely cakes. SPecial Board contained two choices of soup a variety of full meals. My husband chose a baguette with smoked salmon and prawns with sauce( there could have been more sauce on though) this came with a salad and crisps. I had an Hawaiin Panini which came with salad and coleslaw which both were good and at £6.95 each was very god value. It perhaps would be good if hot water was supplied with teapot of tea for two as one point I don t take milk and point two it was a while before we got our food. My husband did go for more hot water in teapot as we noticed did a couple of other people, this was given no problem! Overall was a good experience and will certainly visit again

I have reviewed this café before, now they have refurbished it completely and made a lovely job of it too. We called in for lunch today and had a turkey, cheese & cranberry panini which was served with a small salad, it was delicious. Staff are all friendly and efficient and we always get service with a smile. We had to wait about 10 minutes for our food as it was very busy, this is not a problem because it comes piping hot and freshly made. We will be back again and again thankyou.

A good, dependable venue for a delicious lunch. Think jacket potatoes, soups, quiches, salads, baguettes and a good range of daily specials. I usually opt for a bowl of soup and/or a jacket with chilli or prawns. You order at the counter, where there is sometimes quite a queue. NB You will need to know your table number! The food is then delivered to your table. Go back to order your tea/coffee. A nice touch is the use of cafetières, and a range of ground coffees to choose from. It's fair value and a comfortable place, often packed with lunching over-60s - another example of pensioner spending power. I'm told that those who are hard of hearing find the building a little loud and echoey. The garden centre itself is interesting: it's extraordinarily well stocked and you might well find items not seen elsewhere. Perhaps a touch on the expensive side though.

My parents and I went out for a "catch-up" lunch at the Pear Tree. The Garden Centre is large and worth a wander around. There are plenty of gift ideas and other items for sale inside (including greeting cards etc).

Popped in for a quick coffee and cake. Tea and Bakewell tart were fine but the Dead Fly pie was so hard I could not get a fork into it and my Americano was filled with so much extra water it was tasteless.

Very good cafe - food and drinks very acceptable, and the cherry bakewell is exceptional. Clean and tidy, Plenty of seating, both inside and out. Great position for looking out at the Garden centre whilst enjoying the fare.

Hemos estado aquí varias veces, habiendo sido fuertemente recomendado para probar sus pasteles caseros. Esta vez también tuvimos el almuerzo - una comida caliente que era más que adecuado y no es caro. El menú básico es bastante limitada, pero la junta especiales tenía una selección muy amplia de comida caliente, que era caliente y era de calidad excelente.

Esta es la tercera vez que he estado en este café y siempre ha impresionado pero hoy decepcionados.

Visited a few days ago and this is not just a garden centre but a great place for something to eat as well as indulge in some serious retail therapy. The staff are lovely too. I would definitely recommend to anyone visiting the area.

El jardín es genial, con mucha variedad. Además, el personal es realmente encantador. Siempre me detengo en el café después de una ojeada y la comida siempre es muy bueno. Recomiendo los pasteles!

My partner and I found this just by chance and to go to it you pass through a garden centre...

Nos encontramos con este encantador lugar poco por casualidad. Comida recién preparada y muy bueno. Muy concurrida, pero después de comer aquí, no es de extrañar. Bien merece una visita.

We visited mid-afternoon for tea/coffee and a snack. Although it was quite quiet at that time there were a number of tables not cleared from previous clients and the counter staff were extremely slow. (We noted that there were 5 or 6 staff on duty so there seemed no excuse for the tables or the speed of service). We were also disappointed by the limited range of snacks on offer - for example there were no scones. Such cakes as there were seemed a little over-priced.On the positive side there is the choice of dining inside, outside under cover or outside in the open and tables are spaced so that you do not feel as though you are on top of other people. The overall experience was OK but nothing special. We would call in again if passing but would not go out of our way to go there.

Called with my sister on a busy Friday lunchtime. There was quite a que, but it didn't take long to order and get a table. The menu was quite extensive with a very good choice,I had the prawn and advocado salad followed by lemon meringue ,both excellent.

Loved this tea room with friendly and helpful staff. Will call again as I think the food in this building is first class, also try the Stork Pub for food , very good.

Often use the Cafe for a snack when visiting the Garden centre - which is a great experience in itself. Coffees and food very good - especially the Cherry Bakewell Tart !Cafe area nicely set out, with inside and outside tables. Very reasonably priced. Clean and tidy, which often gives a clue as to the quality of food and drink on offer..

I have visited this place many times before, and I must it is one of the best freshest and tastiest cafes in Lancashire! Wonderful!

We visit the cafe on a frequent basis, the food is of a good quality and is reasonably priced , there is always a special's board. The seating area is clean and well presented. The cafe is wheelchair friendly.

I often eat here, the friendly staff serve really scrumptious snacks and cakes, and good choice of hot and cold drinks.Plenty of light and airey seating indoors, and patio seating outside with views over the plants for sale. Always have a specials board with home made soups and hot and cold snacks. Tempting chilled display of cakes and scones. Service is usually very reasonable, never takes too long.

A part of the well designed garden centre and shop. The original restaurant has been added to imaginatively, creating a good, open ambience with views over the nursery. But its poor acoustic, particularly when the espresso machine is going and the place full, can be uncomfortable.The food is good, attractively served, generous portions and reasonably priced. They use high quality ingredients. Mainly vegetarian and they understand the principles. Service is usually speedy by the long-serving helpful staff.One of our regular eating places

I took an elderly and infirm Aunt out on Father's day, which was probably a mistake. We queued for ages and by the time we got to the till all the food had run out. Staff looked badly trained, stressed and the woman in charge was grumpy. There was quite a lot of wiping of the trays while all the customers waited like kids in a school canteen.the funniest bit was my aunt had to sit down while I queued, and when I eventually got my tea, the waitress didn't want to let me into that bit of the café! I was stood with a heavy tray ( don't worry, no hot food because they'd run out) in front of a rope, a chair and 2 yellow cones, with my aunt the other side. Then there were all these people sat in this area eating while the waitress dragged chairs around and then fenced us all IN! brilliant. It was rubbish though.

Me and my friend went for lunch a couple of Mondays ago as a nice treat,the lady behind the counter was really rude and down right miserable (just no need) everything I seemed to request off the menu they'd "ran out of" and the cakes looked terrible total waste of money and time will never ever return

We had an absolutely lovely lunch here. Good variety of choices off the menu and specials from the board. Spoilt for choice for puddings, something for everyone. Piping hot coffee. Helpful staff. Plenty of tables available. We will certainly be returning.

I visit this tea room for lunch with a friend.The food is always delicious and well presented.Sadly We were a little short on time at our last visit and had to skip desert

Was looking forward to a snack and coffee around 2:30 a Sunday afternoon treat, at least three staff observed us waiting at the counter, tray in hand discussing which cake we fancied. After waiting for five minutes whilst watching one of the counter staff counting out what appeared to be staff wages, with no dialogue taking place between ourselves and the said member of staff we decided to go elsewhere for our Sunday afternoon treat. Needless to say we wont be calling again!!!!

Used this cafe on numerous occasions over the years and have always enjoyed it but when we attended it today was very disappointed. Staff as usual friendly and attentive but food left a lot to be desired. We only had snack which warranted a side salad on each dish.Cucumber quarter of an inch thick as were the onions and other items on plate..Shame really as it was the attention to detail which was missing. When serving a salad garnish how much nicer to have it presented as though someone cared and not just thrown onto plate. Toastie and chilli chicken sandwich both disappointing.

The location was excellent, peace and quiet. The only blot on our visit was finding the apartment because there was no number to identify it

Its a little of the beaten track but when you get there its great. Homemade food friendly atmosphere large shop easy parking. Well worth a look

The tea room serves excellent, home made food. We had soup and a sandwich for lunch, followed by the home made ginger cake.All was delicious and beautifully presented. A lovely place to go for lunch.

I've used the tea room at Ashton Hall Garden Centre for years and have never been disappointed. The menu changes regularly, there are home-made meals and soups, and the service is excellent. Good value for money too.Apart from the nurseries for browsing I find the fancy goods and soft furnishing department very addictive too. Whoever buys for it has excellent taste and I have great difficulty coming away without overspending, be it on greetings cards, silk flowers, vases, crockery or indoor plants.It won't be long before I go back.

Wonderful selection of cakes, and the rest of the food is good too. I'm a regular customer with friends and family, and never had a bad experience. Love the hot Morecambe Bay shrimps on toast at lunchtime.

We are also regular customers to the Pear Tree Tea Room and the menu is brilliant and there is always something different to try, the choice of cakes is awesome. We always find the staff friendly and they do a good job, all the food is nicely presented and reasonably priced.The Garden Centre is also worth a look round, there is a good choice of plants and shrubs which look very healthy and the staff are helpful

We visit at least once a week, more often than not it is usually a Sunday. the food is the best for miles, home made and tasty. we have found all the cafe staff lovely, they all have their own traits but never grumpy!. yes you do have to queue for a few minutes but the wait is well worth it.we have been in the queue sometimes and the staff have been so patient with customers who dont know what they want and keep changing their minds. We went to another garden centre coffee shop north of Lancaster and we found grumpy staff and poor service and overpriced food, Ashton hall to us is really so good.

You could probably describe us as regulars here, which prompted us to log on to Trip Advisor for our first ever review. The thing is this place could be fabulous, if not the best in the area. The location is great just outside town, the building is spacious & contemporary and the outlook across the garden centre is lovely, fab for people watching.The menu is varied with something for everyone young and old. The portion sizes and the quality of the food is excellent as are the delicious cakes. My favourite is the creamed mushrooms mmmmmmm.The thing is the whole place is let down by the staff on the counter being so miserable! The cafe has so many positive attributes which get overlooked when placing your order you feel like you are in the dinner queue at Wormwood Scrubs, come on Ashton Hall beeeeeee nice, please!!! You're worth it!