Planters At Bretby Garden Centre in South Derbyshire

We drove over after a long hiatus - and very little has changed. The staff are uniformly polite and efficient - especially the lovely lady in the restaurant (originally from The Wirral) who I enjoyed a conversation with as she busily wiped tables. We went for coffee, ended up having a very well cooked lunch. Easy to negotiate around even with the Christmas goods appearing - not sure how I'd cope in my wheelchair though. For instance, the price list for cards was tacked up very high behind the top tier - I did mention this to a staff member who said she would 'do something about it' - I would hope so. And I would also hope that in time - a separate loo specifically for disabled customers (Radar key opening) that doesn't have to be shared with nappy changing facilities. Confined spaces and wheelchairs are not a happy mix. With so much investment in a new aquatic section - maybe some could be spared to improve that unsatisfactory situation? After all, you'd seldom see a fish using a mobility aid...... Downside - a lack of parking for the disabled - Over 60's day attracts a lot of customers who are less able - and the selfish idiots who choose to park over the lines thus taking up two valuable spaces. Perhaps the store could invest in a 'tannoy' system so that such people could receive a none too discreet reminder?

Ordered a very very well done bacon sandwich asking especially the fat to be crispy and a hash brown Bacon came not crispy let alone VERY as the cashier put on the order and hash brown Luke warm Very dissatisfied with this visit Cashier/assistant and waiter were very good though

My husband and I took his parents here for a Breakfast high tea, with one of us being a vegetarian. The high tea was of a very average quality and the price seemed astronomical for what we got. A lot of the produce (bitter grapes, small Asda style mini doughnuts and muffins) were clearly store bought and bland. The macarons were clearly from a store and the pastries dough like in the middle. We got no offer of coffee refills or tea and paid £80 for what felt like the result of a trip to Aldi or Lidl. Even the sausage and bacon was bland. I really felt ripped off by this trip and would not recommend the high tea experience to anyone. It could be achieved at home with about £10 worth of produce. More should be home made.

Love the garden center and playground, excellent team and good menu. The cake and coffee are exceptional and the service in the restaurant andcthe pet areas especially is top notch.

Really good garden centre. Came for bedding plants & ended up having Sunday roast. Very , very nice.. Will definitely be back again.

Called in on the oofchance for a spot of lunch. What a good decision. Excellent food with large helpings at a reasonable price. Liked it so much we called back again later in the week. Now all you need is to open a branch in Newcastle upon Tyne.

If you like burnt jacket potato this is the place for you, personally I like to eat the skin but couldn't on this occasion.

We first visited many years ago (prior to previous owners demise) and have returned on a few occasions to view the plants and the wife browses the shopping areas ~ it makes an enjoyable mid-day break from routine ~ to check-out the plants and savour a bit of lunch ~ in fact, we're planning another trip tomorrow and hope the menu is as good (or even better) than usual !

My friend and I visited for a coffee and toasted tea cake. When the tea cakes arrived they were very dry and over cooked. What a let down.

Visited today with a friend for a lovely catch up & to sample the loaded pancakes. We had the Eton mess pancakes,which were really nice,looked amazing on the plate & served quickly,despite the restaurant being very busy. We were having a lovely chilled out time,till the builder doing construction in the restaurant got his electric drill out,really loud,couldn’t hear each other & we weren’t the only people not happy. We did mention it to a member of Staff who agreed that it wasn’t ideal & that surely the work could have been done after closing time. Would have stopped longer & had more drinks,but we’d had enough of the noise & so left.

Called in for a bite to eat whilst shopping had the fish and chips and ham egg and chips all was fine if not a little on the expensive side but worth a visit

We went for the tea with Santa event on 14th December. Very unimpressed that no effort had been made to make the tables and area "christmassy" and the event was advertised as "magic and games" with Santa and a small gift for each child, again not impressed with the effort taken.

We were given a gift card to have Afternoon Tea. We arrived on Saturday for a 4 o’clock tea. The table was set beautifully and the tea was absolutely delicious. Thank you for the warm welcome of the staff. We couldn’t eat it all and we were given a doggie box so we could enjoy the leftovers later which we certainly did. Thank you very much to the staff.

Very disappointed with the food and service today. Due to a mix up at the till one of our meals was delayed by more than 15 mins. The individual awaiting her meal had to chase her order and did say how unhappy with the service she was. The server advised that the manager would come and see her but that did not happen. The Fish and Chip dinners were not up to the standard we had previously at this branch, especially considering the price paid.. Based on our experience today it is unlikely we will return.

Visited planters today for there bouncy castles and sandpit and play area all usual stuff on first view it was very busy so we started at thd bouncy castles which was manned by two very bored looking staff members as it was so quiet at 1pm we paud for 30 mins bouncing which was enough for our 4.5 year old. When it started picking up the staff were very good at making sure safety was adhered to. The sandpit is a good area that gets very busy but lots of toys to play with and under cover so even on a wet day you could go and use it. Lots of seating around the sandpit too so you can watch little ones play. The new play area is fab for all ages and lots of things to explore and play with. There are lots of animals to see in planters and look at only complaint would be not enough running room for the rabbits.

Shopping for the garden with a hearty breakfast thrown in. This garden centre has it all and is an ideal place to shop for the garden and enjoy a coffee break and meal at any point. Friendly and helpful staff make the experience even more enjoyable.

Terrible experience, won’t be going there for lunch again. Overpriced & extremely unimaginative food of poor quality. Ordered a falafel flatbread - salad had no dressing on, flatbread was as dry as a bone, I was gagging! Haven’t you heard of olive oil, it would have made such a difference. Salad which consists of lettuce, cucumber & tomato is just so boring. And to fill half the plate with chips is outrageous - an unhealthy filler! Priced at £10.99 is unbelievable. I was expecting something far better for that price! Left hungry & disappointed!

We thought we’d give this place another go even though previous meals weren’t great…wish we hadn’t bothered! Jacket potato was almost cold, cutlery and cups were dirty and staff rude. My mum started to pour her tea and saw old tea on the rim of her cup so I took it back to be changed. The man serving said Oh you’ve already drunk out of it as though that made my complaint redundant! I told him mum had just poured tea into it and he frowned as if it was her fault. Horrible food and service! Avoid!

Having been to this garden centre previously I was pleasantly surprised at the improved look of the café. A lovely place with plenty of good seating. Cakes and drinks were to a good standard and at not to bad a price. A small area for young kids to be entertained and a larger area for climbing outside. The garden centre is also very good with plenty of good products and the kids loved the fish/animals.

Nothing seemed to be too much trouble,very friendly staff and Rachael went the extra mile to make sure everything was perfect,

Thought the food we ordered was somewhat disappointing. Jacket potatoes served with crisps but no salad seemed a bit strange. Was asked when ordering sandwich if I wanted white or brown bread,asked for brown, what came was seeded white bread. Other things such as the Sunday lunch and the cakes looked good. Maybe you need to be selective

Hi whenever you go in there restaurant you always have too queue for atlest 25 minutes Not good enough should be more organised

On holiday so went here on two occasions this week and it was marvellous. Lovely food, Sunday lunch, hot and plenty of it. fast delivery. The staff were extremely friendly.

Called in on way back home and decided to have lunch. Service was wonderful. Staff very helpful and welcoming. Ordered food. Daily special Beef Stew and Dumpling was very good......Bretby Burger came in an irdinary white bun not Brioche as stated on the menu. Did...

Called in this afternoon for tea and cake only to be disappointed yet again that they only had one slice of cake that was not gluten free or vegan,this must be the third time there has only been one option for those not gluten free...

Should have read previous Tripadvisor reviews. Lunch on Saturday luke warm. Tagine had cool spots! Vegetables available limited - just got carrots with Cottage pie. Food not cheap £10.99 for Cottage pie more than most pub prices. Also watch out for 2 meals for £15.99...

Went on a Sunday mid morning and ordered two bacon and sausage sandwiches was in the queue about 15 mins before my order was taken staff very slow on the till would make sense if someone did the till and another made the drinks would...

Poor quality food. Ordered Ham, egg & chips. Eggs over cooked, prefer soft runny eggs, chips luke warm and cold by the time I finished meal. Suggestion - food best served on hot plate and attention to detail when cooking eggs and chips - it’s...

We paid for our food at 13:19 and it finally came to the table at 14:10. It wasn't anything special to justify the fifty-minute wait, just two Tuna sandwiches. We noticed that many people who arrived after us had already had their food. When we...

my little girl absolutely loves it so thought we would pop by and leave a review. the guys are all fab when she goes up as she likes to pay for herself so no online booking needed just yet. absolutely no issues yes it’s a...

Needing new garden tools and plant stock, this was our obvious venue to visit. Shop all as it should be, minus the old live giant fish in his tank. Tools located, plants chosen. Great prices with both too. Then for a cup of tea. The...

Unfortunately after waiting 45 minutes for three meals costing over £30, it was only just warm and I seem to have been given a child portion of chips compared to the other two. Food was tasty but there was no apology for the wait,only being...

Popped in with my daughter for a late lunch, and rather wish we hadn't bothered. My daughter ordered their Bretby Beef Burger and I opted for the Ham & Eggs, both of which were way overpriced (even heard the lady at the next table say...

called in as we were staying locally (knights lodges) at lunch time. cafe/restaurant was fairly busy. queues to order were VERY slow moving. the food we got was freshly made and tasty. couldn1t comment on the prices because i didnt pay. wouls call again if...

We ordered 2 prawn salads, for around £22 as I recall, including sparkling water. We seemed to be waiting ages for the food. Unfortunately I didn't time it! Eventually I went up to the kitchen and asked when our food would be really. After waiting...

3 people chose food Soup luke warm sent it back came back with skin on where had been reheated to much Fish and chips were over cooked fish was near on black and chips pale Brie and bacon pannini asked for very very well done...

First of all this review is for the restaurant only. The Garden centre is first class, well stocked and clearly laid out with good parking. In the spacious restaurant I choose the ‘ full English’ breakfast with a latte. You were given a tracking disc...

Recently visited Bretby Garden Centre, haven’t been for a while because of covid and clearly it’s changed hands. No friendly faces anymore, just miserable staff. Visited the café during our visit and it feels like it’s been run by a pub brewery, the menu was...

We stopped here for lunch on our first day, nice sandwiches with plenty of salad and chips on the side, good choice of filling with some unusual but tasty. Husband tried the special, cottage pie, cleared the plate! Only complaint was poor punctuation on menu,...

Tasty full English,good price,nice area to eat in. Really friendly,helpful staff,great choice of cakes,reasonably priced.

We visited Planters at Tamworth a few weeks ago, and loved that we could have coffee & cake in the cafe with the dogs. So before taking our 2 dogs for their booster jabs at Swadlincote, we travelled the extra miles from Hinckley to Bretby...

The staff are friendly and service was good but prices are not cheap and there was food under a lot of the tables. We had to clear a table of plates before we could sit down and looked at several before we could find one...

We visited today to buy our Christmas tree and we couldn't have come away feeling more festive. The garden centre and displays are beautiful, the Christmas trees are of great quality and reasonably priced. We had lunch in the restaurant with our baby and toddler,...

Popped in for coffee and scone and waited 15mins in a queue as only had 1 person serving, whoch is fine as i understand staff are short demand at the moment. Lady who served us was not thrilled to be there and no customer service...

So disorganised the staff are that everything that could go wrong does go wrong. Waited forever to be served and staff seemed to be running round like headless chickens. Food order taken down wrong. We sent the food back to the kitchen. Took 15 minutes...

We noticed a reveiw criticising the staff, and nearly did not go, well we where glad we did, they where very busy, but still pleasant and helpful. I noticed one of the staff helping an older lady by carrying her tray to her table. We...

I love going to bertby garden centre for a bite to eat has always been amazing but today shocked me as the food was cold and the staff was rude to me and my family it was disgusting the way we was treated today. In...

cant buy anything because we are pensioners who do not have a credit card we cant pay cash so you loose customers because of this.

Came for lunch with friends.lady organising table seating was very pleasant too us all very happy and cherry. Polite my mum is in a wheel chair and got us a table with plenty of room. Food was delicious plenty of it very happy with visit...

I visited today as I was looking to purchase some products for a customer and as it was lunchtime we thought we would try the restaurant but was disappointed with the restaurant staff attitude, the way we were escorted to a table, the waiting time...

Called in today whilst shopping in the garden centre. No organisation at all.. people milling around in between tables.. First my partners coffee cold.. had to return. Second we both had tuna baguette.. the bread was raw, a part baked packet baguette that needed to...

The wife and I visited for breakfast today and I can only say what a terrible mistake it was. Complete and utter disorganised chaos, there was a long wait, food going to the wrong tables and the breakfast was not really to an acceptable level...

Been going hear 20 years and always took my dog. Spent thousands of pounds there over the years. All of a sudden over Christmas I was turned away with my dog saying its to busy for dogs. However I went couple of days after Christmas and hardly anyone there. Still no dogs allowed. I won't be going and spending money there again. Garden King for me now. Dogs are still welcome there.

Excellent Value, Excellent Quality,Plenty of Food. Would recommend, you are also asked when ordering if their are any dietary requirements

I would like to say a massive thank you to all the staff in the restaurant. I came for lunch with my family. My mother in law was worried with everything going on but as we entered the restaurant we was met by a lovely lady who gave us some forms to fill out for covid measures. We then was seated. My mother in law said how it was spaced out well with all signs etc. We ordered at the till and was served by a lovely young girl. My wife is vegetarian and the manager and staff were happy to talk her through the options. The food was brilliant. So many choices of drinks and we even went up and had a cake after. Kids loved the meals too which isn't always case with some places and their kids meals. Thank you again Bretby team. We will definitely be seeing you again.

We visited for lunch and I must say the food was pretty decent for a garden centre canteen. Hot fresh and tasty!! Shame about the attitude of the staff!! Both Molly and Jackie appeared to not want to be there and you could tell that by the way in which they deal with customers, sour faces!!! The manager came out on to the counter and she was just as bad!! Miserable face!! It’s no wonder the staff are miserable if the manager is!! Lead from the front, set an example to your team!! Great customer service is how you win customers and keep them coming back time after time!! Food is only half the battle these days!! You’ve got the food right, just sort out the service.

Popped up for offer and had fish and chips. Beautiful crispy batter and was piping hot. Didn’t have to wait long for it either- only concern is the rudeness from the “supervisor” Molly. No manners, rude and unhelpful. Everyone else was great. I will return but hopefully served by a new supervisor/manager or a happy member of staff.

Visited today (sat) and wow how things have changed, visited a while back it was awful. Staff were rude, food were not the nicest and overall experience was just awful. The staff were fab today - anna and Rachel particularly. Both brilliant management and can tell they run a tight ship. Fabulous service by Rachel on the till, tasty coffee and the food was lovely. Nice to see the mangers have turned things around and have smiles on there faces. Well done Bretby Anna and Rachel are a credit to you!

We visited planters at the start of the month, originally only planning on going in for a few plants at the garden centre but decided we'd stop off for a little breakfast. In fairness wish we had not bothered, upon reading reviews I can honestly say I was surprised to see people saying how good the place was. It seemed very disorganised and out of place, this may have been the current pandemic situation putting them under alot of strain or the lack of training for some of the evidently much younger staff, but it shows within the end product for the customer. We ordered 3 breakfasts and a couple of scones, it arrived and it was warm at its best, the sausages were cremated and the grease dripping off the plate physically made me heave, the eggs were well overcooked and the bacon was just too fatty. I just couldn't eat it, the tea and scones made up for the poor breakfast and were pleasantly nice. This was after we ended up going up to the counter 3 times for things they'd forgotten to add to our order. It wasn't a very pleasant time, I've gave this a 3 star review because when speaking to the manager of the restaurant she couldn't be more apologetic and refunded the entirety of the meal and gave us some complimentary cake. Not giving a reason to why it was poor but I'm sure if we tried again we may find it a little more organised. Fingers crossed.

We’ve been to the garden centre many times for plants but have never had time to pop into the restaurant for something to eat. I’m so pleased that we visited today. All tables were spaced out for safety due to the COVID 19 pandemic and a one way system in place to order food. My partner and I both had the planters breakfast minus the mushrooms (personal choice) my 14 month old had toast. The food was very good and hot on arrival and presented well on the plate. All staff were happy, friendly and polite. On our next visit for plants we will definitely stop by the restaurant too .

I was completely surprised by the review which said the food was so bad here. I have had several meals here and have never had any reason to complain about any aspect of the food. My grandson (17) and I went there last Autumn . Our service could not have been better.

OK meal, higher standard perhaps than the average garden centre. But don't try the milkshakes, they are truly awful and unworthy of the name. Fish and chips are the best option.

Our children bought us an afternoon tea for 2 here. We were asked if we wanted tea or coffee,but no option on sandwiches or cakes which we have always been offered at other tea rooms. We were bought 2 cups of white coffee. I drink mine black which I didn't think I would have to mention as I would have expected a jug of black coffee and a small jug of milk especially as there were cups and sausers already on the table.No sugar was even provided. We both had stomach ache that evening and as the afternoon tea was all we had eaten we can only put it down to that. Very poor not worth the money at all.

Last year I visited the gardens centre and my husband and I decided to call in the cafe for a cup of coffee it was so awful I thought maybe the machine was playing up so we took our coffee back to the counter and complained the lady asked if we would like another cup so my husband tried it and that was also bad it tasted like there was just water and sugar in the cup and looked like a gray colour so we rejected a replacement and got our money back . We called again today and thought we would try the coffee again it still tasted the same and looked a strange colour i can honestly say it's the worse coffee I've ever tasted and I won't be going there again.!!!

Called some weeks ago and had lunch. We ordered Cottage Pie. What arrived was nothing like Cottage Pie that I expected. The minced beef was pink, not undercooked but pink!. It was also very runny, i.e. too much gravy, and the mashed potato on the top was a funny yellow colour, as though it had melted cheese on top. It didn't. I have previously had reasonablke meals here, so it looks as though the cook(s) have changed, and not for the better. Sorry, but this is what I found

The actual garden centre is a really nice place to visit but beware of the food! I visited the cafe last Monday and had a bowl of 'home made' tomato soup which was the strangest soup I have ever tasted - far too sweet and very watery. The bread roll I had with it was extremely stale. I should have sent the whole meal back but I didn't have time hence this review. Unfortunately the whole experience has totally put me off ever visiting again.

Visited this garden centre just before Christmas. It was well stocked and had all the usual garden centre type goods. The real reindeer’s were a lovely attraction and the ice rink was a popular facility.We used the coffee shop which was just fine. All in all a nice place to visit although personally I prefer the sister site at Tamworth.

I work for a local care home and have been bringing three residents at a time here for Christmas dinner for the last three weeks. Despite ringing up and pre booking food every time, double checking the night before each visit to ensure a smooth trip, every single time we turned up they were not ready for us. No table ready twice. Then the food took forever to come out, and when we chased this up resulted in being spoken to rudely by staff. When the food did eventually come out it was cold and under cooked most of the time. After ringing to complain to the manager before the last visit the staff must have taken humbridge and arranged to be deliberately awkward, bringing main meals out and slamming them on the tables without saying a word before the residents had finished starters. Then took 30 minutes to bring puddings. Very poor show. Not for me so much as the residents, most in there 90’s, who had paid good money for this meal and looked forward to it for weeks, only to be treated in this despicable manor. Will not be returning. Very disappointing.

The restaurant manager Marie is excellent and is a good ambassador for going the extra mile to provide outstanding customer service. I rang ahead of our visit and spoke to her regarding my childrens allergies and she was most helpful and accommodating asking me what food they like to eat and offering to provide this even if it was not on their usual menu. The day we were to visit Marie had said she would not be working but would inform another member of staff regarding our requirements. For Marie and her customer service I would give 5 stars but on the day of our visit we found the food and service to be 3 stars, unfortunately the sausages and bacon were overcooked to the point where the bacon was brittle and dry. We found the service to be quite slow and a little dis-organised. Reading previous reviews the service may be different to this when the restaurant manager Marie is in but I can only comment on what we experienced. Marie is definitley a good asset to the restaurant and if we were visiting again I would definitely visit on one of her days!!

A lot of effort has gone into this place to make it all Christmasy which our two year old loves, lovely place and nice cafe too

Today I came to the garden centre with my daughter to look around the Christmas displays which are as good as always. After my last visit to the restaurant I said I’d never eat in there again, I wish I had stuck to this! (I did trip advisor the last terrible experience here)

I popped up to bretby garden centre this morning to see their Christmas display, which was beautiful as always and decided to treat ourselves to a breakfast while we were there, and I'm super please we did, it was one of the tastiest I've had in a long time and great value for money, we couldnt finish it all. I was so full! the staff were lovely and helpful and so pleasant to talk to! Will definitely be revisiting again soon! Thank you !

I recently took my grandad to planters as he was in need of some plants to spruce up his garden. While we were there, we decided to grab a bite to eat at the on-site restaurant. The food was good however the staff is what really what made the day. My grandads eyesight has recently took a severe turn for the worse, and because of this he needs help with any type of reading. After coming back from the toilet, I found the manager of the restaurant, Marie, helping my grandad with reading what was on order. It just made my heart melt, as his eyesight often gets him upset. I just wanted to say a massive thankyou to Marie for helping my Grandad with something that most of us take for granted.

Great food had here today but let down by poor service from molly. Looked miserable, no drive about her job and unhelpful. Didn’t tell us where to get cutlery from so had to asked Rachael on till who was much nicer!!! Maybe some one on one customer service lessons should be given to her? 10/10 for customer service by the till ladies, 10/10 for food. Just a shame about the food service. Will return but hopefully some change in positions/staff.

Myself and my friend went for lunch in the restaurant with our 2 children (16 month old and a 10 month old). Our visit started off on a bad note when I got terrible service from an older lady at the till when I ordered a take away coffee to take to my mum who was sat outside doing the craft fair, don’t give customers a huge sigh just because you don’t want to do something! At the same time we ordered our food, we went to find high chairs we couldn’t find any, my friend asked a young girl to help track some down, the young girl said I can’t help you sorry and walked off! So we finally got one tracked down so I had that one for my daughter as my food was already on the table (less than 5 mins and a fish and chips was on the table), I informed a passing waitress that I ordered mushy peas not garden to get told we don’t have mushy (why was it not passed on to the guest) I asked for beans which came out cold. Only up side was my friend asked for a refund as she was unable to eat her food with out a high chair for her little boy and they gave her the sandwich to take away and a refund. I received no apology about the horrible incorrect cold food I was served. I have emailed to complain and have yet received no reply. The place has definitely gone down hill recently staff retraining is definitely needed

Food was great today. Beef tender and gravy tasty. Only downside was service on till, two people serving at one point until the duty manger came in and sped things up in her own fashion. Looked miserable compared to the other second manger we regularly see. She is pleasant. Wish she was in everyday. We ni they have separate weekends as we talk to Rachael a lot so will be spending our money on her shifts. Recommend the food to every one of my friends.

I would suggest you give one particular member of staff an update in training on customer service especially how to address customers- Its highly unprofessional,patronising and embarrassing to be addressed as 'darling ' & 'sweetheart ' by a young woman without too much intelligence and understanding, that and her apart enjoyed my meal and visit..

Garden Shopping took longer than we thought so we went to The Restaurant a little near closing time, the staff were very accommodating and organised a Sharing Platter for my Wife and I. The meal came on two platters that had Nacho's with dip, chicken bites, breaded mushrooms, chips, onion rings, garlic bread more dips. Thorougly enjoyed this meal and must compliment the kitchen and staff for producing this so late in the day. Would recommend this Garden Centre and Restaurant to anyone visiting.

I recently came to bretby restaurant for the first time with my friends who are regulars. I must say that I will be coming back. The staff were so warm and welcoming. I have special dietary needs and the manager Maria was more than happy to help me. She was very pleasant and helpful. We all sat down in the restaurant and enjoyed the lovely coffee/tea. The food was brought over by a lovely girl with glasses and blonde red hair. She was very polite and even got the cutlery as we forgot to pick it up.. I have recommended bretby now to all my friends and can't wait for my next visit. Well done to all the staff 10/10

When we first visited this cafe we were served by Rachel and the service she gave us was just fantastic, outstanding in fact, nothing could be too much trouble for her. She is a real asset to the business.

Visited Bretby garden centre last weekend and our visit was spoilt by awful service in the Restaurant. Till staff rude and food was just dire!! Defiantly avoid this place if you’ve got any sense!!

Bloody lovely sunday roast and a pudding for a £1! Well worth a visit if your in the area. See ya soon x

We arrived at bretby on a Saturday morning hungry, we visited the planters restaurant. Most amazing breakfast we’ve had served by the restaurant manger Marie, who was happy to help with all the demands from our 4year old! We will be visiting again very soon!

An absolute gem! Having never visited before I was unsure what to expect. We loved our visit and the sandy area for the children was a lovely surprise. I would very much recommend this place. Lovely for a meet up with friends, a trip out with grandparents and a visit with the kids.

Lovely garden centre and resteraunt. Always get good service. Staff very friendly and helpful. Meals good in resteraunt. Reasonable prices. Staff in both garden centre and resteraunt always happy to help.

Visited today and what a lovely service had by Rachael. She is so smiley and lovely. She knows how to deal with customers and makes them feel welcome in the restaurant. I wish everyone could get served by her. Shame about the older lady working along side her. Other staff was nice and smiley also so she must be doing something right!... although not sure on the allowance of having a staff member working in no uniform, personally think it’s unhygienic as could have pets etc... food was lovely and was nice and quiet so timed it right. Would visit again.

We visit her regularly on a Sunday and we have always enjoyed our visits, well one Sunday out of two anyway. The very knd lady in the kitchen allows us to have sausage and chips at lunch time as she very understanding about my poorly wife and her special diet. I’ve visit on the OTHER weekend and the abrupt woman on the till told us she’ll go ask the kitchen!! She came back and said the manager said “YOU CAN’T HAVE IT ON THIS WEEKEND” as they’ve cleaned the grill after breakfast. Now I’m not being funny but sausages are on the kids menu all day anyway so how are they cooking those??!!

We took 2 grandchildren to the Beach. They had a great time playing with the other children. It was hard to build sand castles as the sand was so dry and fine. They also had fun in the play park. While we had coffee and cake. Cake was nice but coffee was a bit watery.

Lovely garden centre, lots of choice of plants and garden products. Visited the restaurant and had a lovely meal, service was great. Sandpit was a hit with the kids.

Expected better from this restaurant, especially looking at the cost of everything. The restaurant itself is so crammed. There is no room to walk through the tables. All you see is chairs after chairs and they don’t fit the tables as they should. Had a ploughman’s and it didn’t even have an apple or scotch egg, the coleslaw was awful and wasn’t worth 8.99. The till lady Jackie was stressed and was constantly shouting for teapots etc... I don’t blame her for shouting but something just be arranged in a quieter manner. Racheal popped onto the counter and brought some crockery with her and asked us for drinks order. She was lovely and such a customer facing personality, this place needs more of it. She made the restaurant feel so warm and traditional. It’s a shame the manger can’t be like this as I think they would have a lot more custom if the actual runner of the restaurant made some effort. Maybe some positions should be changed......

Visit here most weekends and we always get treated different. Visited a previous weekend and was told by the supervisor we could have small milkshakes, she made us coffee using half a shot and told we can have eggs on a Sunday. She is so welcoming and pleasant and has a great MANAGER personality!!

I work for a local dementia nursing home and myself and three colleagues took three of our residents out for a couple of hours for lunch and a cuppa. We had the best time! One had a barefoot walk in the sand and said she hadn't done that in years. They all had fish, chips and mushy peas and everyone agreed it was the best fish that they had ever had. It was delicious. Restaurant staff couldn't have been more accommodating and helpful. Brilliant day had all round. Will definitely be returning with more residents! Thank you for making our lovely ladies day :)

Visited here for late morning coffee and picked 2 scones from a display, took to counter, and asked for one to be toasted as per their menu description. The till operator turned to another staff member and said,' 'E wants it toasted!' I said it's in your menu. 'Oh. but that's a scone not a teacake.' One and the same where I come from. A pretty poor start. They don't do skinny decaf latte either. The cherry scone was on the dry side for my liking. Another Dobies! Fairly expensive for what it is.

I visited with family today, the marketing of the beech was interesting. To be fair it’s a sand pit! However the kids enjoyed it and it’s free to enter etc so all win win.

This garden centre is always high on my priority visit list, nice choice of plants and Lee and his team are always helpful in choosing the right variety for your garden.

Visited here with friends and was a nice trip all round. Main centre was presented nicely and was easy to find the things we were looking for. Lee was very helpful in guiding our way round the plants. The gift shop is just beautiful and the lady serving is so helpful and well spoken. Never any trouble to help you. Just a little expensive but all worth it for beautiful things.

Re-visited the restaurant 30/7/19 and it was very busy. After last time we thought it would be the same again where there was one person serving with big queues, rude staff talking In the kitchen etc... wow was I proven wrong!! Three ladies on the till, with lovely welcoming smiles. Marie the manager did our drinks and was lovely helping out the other girls. She had such a welcoming smile and can tell she loves the job, she was so efficient and definitely wasn’t the manager we saw last time so I hope she is new! I wish the last staff members were like this last time we visited. Made such a difference after last time we visited which was very poor. Mollie who brought our ploughman’s and sandwich out was absolutely lovely and couldn’t do enough for us, we forgot our cutlery and she was more than happy to sort them for us aswell as the sauces we required. If this sort of standard continues we will definitely be returning and reviewing!

Our family visited Bretby garden centre recently to enjoy some summer plant shopping and also a visit to the beach for the children.

Visited today with my 2 children. Greated by lovely staff throughout. Lovely displays and a free beach with my children absolutely loved!! The best bit was my visit to the restaurant where the lovely Marie and Molly told me about some new milkshakes they are now serving...you must try them! We have a strawberry, banana and chocolate and we loved them all!!! We all had a try of each others and they were delicious. Molly even brought them outside to us so my children could get straight to playing on the beach. Looking forward to visiting again.

What is it with people today providing really shocking customer service and thinking it’s acceptable?