Planet Pavillion Cafe in Cheshire East

Been visiting jodrell on and off as a cyclist for the last 5/6 years, from when the modern caterer was responsible for the cafe, sadly that came to and end a while ago and the university took back charge. The food seems to have been going downhill ever since. Todays (Sunday) breakfast offering consisted of sausage or bacon barms. Precooked and left to slowly cool in a pot, not kept warm or reheated, served on an unbuttered barmcake that was left to dry out in a paper bag. The whole thing soon disintegrated because it was dryer than Gandhi’s flip flop. And they have the cheek to charge £5 for it. On the (only) plus side the coffee is still decent. May be better in the week but today was embarrassing compared to how good it used to be.

Been here many times but today will be the last for food. Firstly saving the planet mantra, why are most of your canned drinks imported from Italy? Food is bland the choices are limited the prices too high. £4.00 to park. Was a really lovely cafe with a good range of quality food! You need to up your game.

Quick service. Food choice limited but good. Would eat here again. Tables inside and outside with fabulous views of th Lovell telescope. Marvellous!

An attractive and modern cafe with food well displayed and a great selection of tasty sounding dishes in good portions. It's self service and the staff were quick and efficient. The £4 parking fee would put off regular visitors so its is tailored towards one off customers. Its pricey but not unreasonable given the captive audience as there few other places to eat in the vicinity.

We had a great time in the morning with an interesting tour round the base of the telescope and a very interesting demonstration and talk about chemical elements which was made fun and informative by a very animated and knowledgeable young lady from Jodrell Bank-so far so good. We then decided to go and get some lunch at the café-well I have never tasted such atrocious food -my husband and I had a ham salad sandwich which was inedible -the bread was so tough and stale and the sandwich had a dollop of cold broccoli and courgette on the side which was absolutely disgusting -the children,s cheese roll went untouched by my grandson as it was inedible.When I went over to the counter to inform them of the quality of the food I was informed by a young man that the bread was baked in an artisan bakery in Manchester -it was sourdough bread and nobody else had complained about it-I wish I had read the reviews on -line about this dreadful café before I went. I could hear the young man mimicking me as I left -"she said it,s the worst sandwich she has ever eaten etc etc " which was true and by the sound of other reviews on this café something should have been done a long time ago.Please boycott this café until it is sorted out, maybe its time they ditched the Arty Farty Artisan bread and got some decent bread and then they wouldn,t have to charge extortionate prices for bland stale food.

Busy though table available straight away. Magnificent view of Mr Lovell's telescope and space science info on the walls. I tried the vegetarian option of mezzo. Very tasty and a fair price. Would eat there again.

A reasonable selection of various foods at good prices. Some outside seating. Probably have to queue.

Everything was overpriced, the tables hadn’t been wiped down and the food was average. My husband had chips that were an odd combination of slightly raw and yet soaked in oil. We stopped for a coffe before touring the site. The coffee was average and the table was filthy. Two hours later, after touring the site, the same table still had the same food bits on it. The only decent thing we had was their fresh salad. One would expect prices to be higher in a cafe like this, however they could make it worthwhile by stepping up their hygiene and cooking. It would really add to the experience of visiting here if they did.

Great view, nice coffees and the cakes are scrummy. Slightly high prices for cakes but that’s kind of expected.

We visited this self-service cafe during a busy lunchtime during the school holidays and whilst there was a queue the service was reasonably quick. Our party of 5 people ordered a mixture of hot meals and sandwiches - overall we were satisfied with the quality and pricing of the food. Despite the cafe being busy the young staff were friendly, helpful and coped well with the volume of customers. I would happily eat here next time I visit Jodrell Bank.

Went in for lunch today (2 people) as we thought it would be quieter now that the schools are back. What a huge disappointment on such a lovely day. First of all, even though the queue (around 12:00) was only about 10 people, we waited 20 minutes to get served! The choices were poor - bought-in cakes (muffins looked awful), and all in the chiller cabinet including flapjack, brownies, shortbread, danish pastries etc. Who likes chilled cake? The scones were bought-in, sitting in cellophane packets on top of the chiller, then decanted into a rustic wooden box! A huge bowl of baked beans sat in the heated cabinet, looking very sorry for themselves. Their website says "Our chefs make all our food on-site using fresh ingredients and quality produce sourced from local suppliers". Absolute rubbish. There was a water dispenser with fruit in, but only ribbed paper coffee cups to drink out of. Food is incredibly expensive for what you get (small sausage roll £4; small Mezze plate £6 and £6.50 for a ham sandwich!) Anyway, after the very slow service, and observing the two chefs eating food in the kitchen rather than helping out, we were disgusted to see that most tables, inside and out, were full of dirty pots - many obviously having been there for a long time. No effort was made to clear these during our visit, and over the hour and a half plus, we saw no management presence (or if there was, why weren't they sorting things out??). To rub salt into the wound, we overheard someone indiscreetly ask for 'staff discount' at the till, and we worked out that they got 25% off - still expensive at that though. Some of the food looked 'OK', but in general, a very, very poor experience.

We had lunch here and it was excellent. Good quality, well cooked and reasonably priced. Only small restaurant with tables quite close together and they could do with updating but that’s not a complaint, just an observation. Staff very pleasant.

Wow! wow! and wow! Hats off to whoever organises the catering here - The choices were amazing and the food fresh and healthy! The staff were exceptional so Thankyou & Well done! It is great to have such choice for the kids of such good quality food.:)

Half-term... very busy but we were luck to get a table together and enjoys a numbe of different dishes which were on offer.

The Cherry scone was not fresh, must have been there days as it was dry as dust. Staff need organising better. The guy serving cakes and taking drinks orders was asking no for table numbers and the girl on the till was telling you to wait for your drink. Having collected our drinks another member of staff appeared with them again. Need to review which cakes can be kept for the next day and adopt a drink service which all staff are familiar with and trained to.

it was horrid food with teriible service. the chips were under cooked and they placed salt on them when i did not ask for it. i was sick from the food as it was that poor. it was also expensive.

Good range of food and brownies were good in the afternoon. A delicious and unusual salad for lunch- squash, artichoke, fennel etc. Thought it was wonderful. Not bad prices too.

We were really looking forward to eating here as a lunch stop while out on a bike ride. So disappointed! Where were the delicious cakes and bacon sandwiches they used to do?

Whilst a rather modest 'cafe' they have obviously tried their best to entice people to eat. And it is certainly worth tucking in. The day we visited unfortunately they were having problems with electrics & providing hot drinks but that was sorted later in the day. The food was excellently displayed, tempting us to have a lunch instead of the anticipated snack. Loved every mouthful. Great. Oh the staff were lovely, friendly & helpful.

I sued to be a regular on a Saturday or Sunday morning for breakfast with a few friends on our bikes. Unfortunately the service and food have gone really down hill. The attitude of the staff stink as much as their hangovers plus none of them have a brain cell between them. Please sort it out!

The cafe is situated very close to the telescope and is medium sized, they offer a variety of food to suit all. the prices are a little expensive I thought, however, the food is good.

El café siempre está lleno, por lo que definitivamente llegue temprano para obtener una buena vista del telescopio lovell (o incluso sólo para un asiento). El menú ha sido reducido drásticamente en los últimos años y aunque ofrece deliciosos alimentos no da muchas opciones, especialmente para niños, a menos que son grandes seguidores de salchichas! Los precios son realmente al final alto para un café (7 libras por un rollo de salchichas con 3 cucharadas de token) especialmente uno donde las ensaladas es de autoservicio. Los niños almuerzo es 5 libras por un simple bocadillo dedo rollo, un pedazo de fruta, un trozo de tarta y un diminuto fruitshoot. La calidad de la comida sigue siendo alta, pero no estoy seguro de que el precio es realmente justificado. Es una pena, ya que este lugar solía ser una joya, pero ahora es un poco caótico y muy caro, no puedo decir que estaremos apuran volver incluso si vamos a Jodrell Bank para un día.

Me encanta este lugar utilizado cuando el moderno Catering tenía. Sombra de su propio yo. Sucia. Menú pobre. Evitar. Muy triste.

The cafe needs to be reorganised as there is a bottleneck caused by the sandwich unit at the entrance. The sandwiches are a good quality but the prices are too high. That said the price of Jodrell's merchandise is even more over priced,

Uso de visitar este café regularmente mientras recorre los caminos cheshire, gran café, sándwiches caseros, excelente selección de comida caliente, (sandwich fishfinger para morirse) y gran variedad de pasteles.

Very busy small cafe, food was good, not the usual run of the mill. We had a selection of pie and chips, lamb kofta with quinoa, salad bowls and the children had hot dogs. Hot dogs were proper sausages, choice of three salads from the selection for salad bowls, which was a generous serving. Pie and chips were both above the average. I thought it gave good value for money. It got really busy towards the end of our meal, could have used more indoor seating as it was a bit chilly and people were queuing rather than sit outdoors.

Called in with a cycling group. I only wanted a sandwich, non in the chiller cabinet other than children's sandwiches. I ask the girl at the checkout if there were any sandwiches, she pointed to the chiller "oh!" look on the list on this board and we can make some up.Checked the board - no list of selection of sandwiches. Decided for ease to go with the bacon sandwich - streaky bacon (yuk) . Coffee mediocre. Prices expensive for what it is.

Called in for lunch but was a little early, so chose a bacon and sausage roll from the breakfast menu, and a pot of tea. Not cheap but food was good, and I got three cups from my pot of tea. Very clean place, and attentive staff. Cafe can be visited without paying for entry to the observatory centre.

The food was very nice but rather pricey for my liking. It was quitebusy even though it was not peak times, so i can iimagine it gets exceedingly busy at other times

Limited menu and lots of university student working in cafe. But worth the visit but dont expect too much especially on busy days.

This used to be one of my favourite places for lunch, but I won't be rushing back any time soon. It used to serve a lovely variety of locally sourced food, hot and cold, on an interesting menu which changed seasonally- the star of it was always the fish finger sandwich though; home made fish fingers, home made tartare sauce on a lovely ciabatta.I really don't understand why they've changed it, but now it just serves a variety of pastries and sandwiches (albeit homemade), jacket potatoes with hardly any filling options, a "hot dish of the day" and soup. It's really disappointing compared to their old menu (which at one time was listed in Cheshire Life in the top 10 cafes in Cheshire) and I won't be making any more trips especially for lunch like I used to.

We had the Butternut Squash soup and the home made Victoria Sponge which was superb. Well worth a visit.

Bring your own sandwiches and eat in the picnic area, the price they charge for bland food cold coffee and tuff pizza not worth it. Very dissapointed this cafe needs to improve in my view.

a good pot of hot tea at a reasonable price but despite not being busy there wasn't a single table wiped down during our time there, party of foreign students complained that drinks bought from the chiller were warm, cold drinks were held behind the counter but not offered by staff

The Café is light and airy with some outside seating, accessed through the café. The food looked nice - we were there on a Sunday lunchtime but only had tea and cake. You order at the counter and the drink/food are delivered to your table - we had quite a wait but it was busy. There had been some rain and the outside seating was wet when we arrived and had to clear/clean this ourselves. The toasted teacakes and Danish pastries were good and reasonably priced.

Fantastic inspired menu, not what we were expecting from a cafe at Jodrell Bank! We have a lovely chicken flatbread / wrap and a beef brisket on type of cornbread, both served with 3 delicious salads (pasta and roasted vegetables, carrot with cumin and chickpeas and a coleslaw). Plenty of delicious taste with fresh herbs & spices. All freshly prepared by a team of staff that are friendly and efficient. The chips were great too. Many other options available too. There was also a lovely selection of mouth watering cakes but we were too full to try one! Lunch & drinks for 2 cost £18.10, which for the quality and quantity of food and the service we received was excellent value. We will definitely be back, and it's worth noting you can visit the cafe without paying entry to Jodrell Bank, several cyclists seemed to be using it as a lunch stop. Give it a try!

Although the cafe has a captive audience it is still reasonably priced and when we visited, the choice was very good as you could have just a snack, a drink or something more substantial

The café has a nice selection of food, nice views of the telescope, and I did like the clocks on the wall. Detailing how long an hour lasts on different planets! THAT was pretty cool!The food was nice, not a huge range, but what they had was good. Nice selection of drinks too.BUT the service needs work, and the prices are at the very top end of what I would be happy to pay for an establishment such as this!

Visiting Jodrell Bank had coffee then lunch in the restaurant. There were queues for interior tables but we went outside. Good range of cakes etc to have with coffees and hot soup at lunchtime suited us fine. Reasonably priced for a captive audience

We didn't come across any of the negatives I've just read in other reviews on here. We visited at about 2pm, midweek in March and the café was fairly quiet. First impressions were good - plenty of tables available and don't think there was anything waiting to be cleared. The menu offered a good choice - we had the pea and mint soup and went back for the home-made cakes and drinks. The whole place was clean and the staff were friendly. Maybe we were lucky as it was a quiet day but we thought it was very good.

As if the rest of the visit wasn't bad enough the cafe is even worse. The place was flthy. Uncleared tables and food on the floor both inside and out. As a result the outside was plagued by wasps. We only had a drink, but I definitely wouldn't return or eat there. We wished we had gone to a local pub instead.

We'd had a fabulous time at JB and stayed for lunch. The most off putting thing was sticky tables and slow cleaning of tables when people had finished. The food was a bit underwhelming, and the most annoying thing was serving the sandwiches/ciabatta on wooden plates that were not large enough to move your food around on to be able to eat it properly. The staff were very nice when we asked for the table to be cleaned, but it could be much slicker. Sorry..... The main attraction at JB is absolutely fab though, so bring your butties.

O.K. but not very well organised. Why do you have to wait 10 minutes for someone to bring the piece of cake you have chosen only to find it is far smaller than the one you chose?

Jodrell bank is a world class facility with the telescope taking huge credit for its fascinating tour. So why have they got such an average restaurant? Really, Jodrell Bank, get your act together, and do something world class in food also!

Whilst visiting Jodrell Bank we decided to stop half way through and have a sandwich and a coffee and tea. We found the planet Pavillion cafe and what a let down for the wonderful attraction. The man in charge was very loud continually telling the young girl on the till to meet and greet the customers if he had left her alone she did a grand job and was well presented and polite and helpful, where as the man himself did not even look clean and never stopped talking at full volume all the time we were there. The menu was very odd you did not seem to be able to get an ordinary sandwich ( apart from a fish finger one) . The choice was very poor. Any way we ordered a pot of tea an a instant coffee. We got a pot of hot water and an amercarno coffee two dirty cups and a dirty milk jug not a good start we will take a picnic next time and I would surggest that is what every one should do.also all the tables are small only really for two people