Priory in South Oxfordshire

Car park was packed when we arrived at 10.15 on a Sunday morning. However we got served quickly and food came out in good time. We had the Turkish Eggs and the sweetcorn fritters.- very tasty - will come again

I used to come to the garden centre regularly for the baby sensory classes and always got lunch in the cafe and highly rated it. We came back today to do the Discovery Land walk and lunch. I was horrified to see the changes to the cafe. It was loud, over crowded and chaotic. Service was appalling. It took over an hour to get a hot chocolate and coffee, which is completely unacceptable. Our food order arrived after about 45 minutes and we were told our drinks were just coming. They didn’t arrive until well after we had finished eating. There were far too many customers and orders for the handful of staff, and so the water, napkins etc kept running out and they were too rushed to notice. There was no warning upon ordering that there was a long wait. Overall poorly managed and would not spend money here again.

This is a place I have regularly visited for years with family and friends but the now overpriced and extremely limited offer and the unbelievably noisy environment is really putting me off from going again. The food quality is generally fine for regular items but it is the very limited menu that is a real problem. This is particularly so for vegans options, and even more limited than before. Ordered an extra slice of sourdough with the vegan option and it was delivered spread with butter! And the sourdough is so tough to cut it is almost impossible. Another regular also warned my friend to avoid this when chatting in the queue. There are items on offer, but not on the menu, such as soup of the day which is advertised at the counter but not listed in the menu so we only noticed this as a choice when we saw another table being delivered bowls of soup. Even the specials menu appears to have disappeared, restricting the offer further. The major renovation works have created a closed in space that is just an echo chamber which is extremely unpleasant to sit in, particularly noticeable when there are children in the cafe. Now finding new places to go as having stuck with Priory through the renovation works I can’t see the situation improving any time soon. In fact it just seems to get worse!

So I'll start on a positive, they have recently had a facelift and the restaurant looks amazing, to be honest I thought it looked great before but they've obviously spent some money on making it now the best that it can be. Then we come to the food. As a family we used to come here a lot and it was always the highlight when we visited to do the discovery trail. Now the menu is not great, choice is poor and it's gone downhill in my opinion. I came here with my children, I managed to get them something but there was literally nothing on the menu I liked (and I'm not fussy at all) whereas when we used to come there were multiple choices and it was hard to choose. The food quality may still be nice (I'd expect it to be for what they charge) but if the choice isn't there then you are not going to order. We went at 1pm and there was one sandwich/baguette left at the front counter. Whoever has made the decision to limit the menu, I really hope it backfires only so they bring back more of a selection as this restaurant was one of our go-tos but sadly no longer.

Very disappointing experience. So noisy, conversation was practically impossible. Food - Even the healthy filling of spinach and feta was encased in pastry and we could not have that as it ran out as we ordered. This was early 12.00 ish so not late. Everything else was cake or sausage roll. Took a long time to bring coffee and cake!! Outside on the terrace the grey sofas were dirty and stained. Will not be returning. Suggestion - Rubber feet should be put on chairs so they do not make so much noise when moved. Suggestion - notice put up to encourage parents to control their children's Not to be behaviour. This is not a playground!

This is a very nice cafe. They are well equipped for the huge number of people who visit everyday. Good points – this is a lovely environment to be in. The flowers and plants are beautiful. The staff are all lovely and make me feel welcome. The service is quick and efficient. The food is generally tasty and of good quality. They serve a lovely range of cakes, the ones made in house are especially good. Bad points – on behalf of many regulars, please could management review their menu through the eyes of someone who is trying to be healthy and restrict fat in their diet. I don’t expect healthy cake and wouldn’t want to change that, but everything on the savoury menu is also crammed full of melted cheese, bechamel sauce, deep fried items etc. Everything is carby and loaded with fat. It would be amazing to have even 1 or 2 healthy options which don’t cost the earth. (The salads are expensive at £12.50 - £14 and also all involve cheese and dressing. The egg and avo options have butter and oil added). Maybe a jacket potato option? Or one sandwich, which is not deep fried/cheesy/fatty? Or some humous or sushi or anything which does not leave you feeling like your arteries are clogging before you leave, pretty please. Secondly – many portion sizes are tiny. The food is not cheap, beware most of the bread options (eggs on toast, avo on toast etc) are over £7.50-11 per portion and are served with one very thin small slice of bread. So you’re spending c.£12 with a drink to come away still hungry. It would be very cheap and easy to offer a second piece of bread (or at least don’t serve the first piece thinly sliced and tiny). I saw the flatbread special looked lovely, but again one tiny piece of flatbread for £12.50, which wouldn’t fill up a small lady/teenager, let alone a man with a decent appetite. Other than these 2 gripes, it’s a really lovely place to visit, with tons of parking and quick, friendly service. Fingers crossed for a healthy menu option in future.

Not a great experience. My partner and I went for breakfast. We had to wait until we had finished breakfast for the coffee to arrive. The food was not good quality or value. The toast was untoasted and the portion size was really small for the money. Eggs not cooked properly, disappointing.

Went here with my brother for breakfast in the morning and I loved the service, all the staff were very friendly and the food was outstanding. Would 100% recommend.

Have a family member who is coeliac and found Sarah, who served us at the till, to be very helpful. She reassured us that our food choice was suitable and she even made sure the kitchen staff were aware of our needs and confirmed with us that the food would not be contaminated. We were impressed with her following up with us. The food was really good and we could eat here with confidence. Thank you

I ordered the veggie breakfast as I was super hungry and It was one of the more expensive things on the menu and so I assumed I was in for some serious grub. I was not. My first thought when the kind waitress put it down was where is the rest of it ? I didn’t order from the kids menu and this cost me 11.95. I was met with the stingiest veggie breakfast I’d ever had. 1 potato and pea/carrot croquette thing(the veggie sausage) 1 portobello mushroom, two very small slices of halloumi, a piece of sourdough smaller than my hand, less than a tablespoon of avocado and a cup of beans which was luke warm and had about 5 spoonfuls worth. I would have had no issue if this was priced appropriately like £8.50. However if you’re gonna charge £11.95 I would like to leave with a full belly. I rarely go out for food as I often find you don’t ever get your money’s worth and this was a perfect example of that. Piss poor, do better.

Used to come here a lot, always been lovely food and lovely portions sizes. Expensive but reasonable, but now!! They have changed the menu you have to pay for all the extras you used to get , the main pancakes used to be huge they are half the size now, the kids get one pancake! avacado on toast on the thinnest piece Of bread which used to be lovely thick bread was shocked when the lady put it on the table especially how much it cost when I added salmon!! they have definitely ranked up the prices and halved the portions, very disappointed will definitely be the last time we go to eat such a shame as used to be such a great local place to go but just feels like your being ripped off now and leaving hungry!

I have visited Priory Farm multiple times and have always found the food to be excellent and the staff incredibly helpful. From the café, I particularly like the sweetcorn and courgette fritters, and my partner loves the Turkish eggs.

Great coffee, good selection of tasty cakes and new menu is excellent (particularly the toasties). Kids meals are also really good portions.

Had the salad. Really disappointed with the ingredients. Huge amount of spinach with no really filling ingredients. A serving of beans or lentils would have been welcome

What an absolute delightfully pleasant breakfast. Found this lovely garden centre which was tucked away not far from us and have now become slightly addicted to their breakfasts. Very reasonably priced and the pancakes are fantastic with just the right amount of maple syrup to drench them with their crispy bacon. Also, their coffee was one of the best I’ve had (yes really!) My partner had the full English which judging by the noises he was making was as tasty as it looked. This is very much a garden centre aimed at a clientele with more disposable income than most (read into that what you will) but that aside it is such a lovely venue to explore and well worth a visit - especially for the coffee and pancakes!!!

Good cafe in a pretty garden center, good food but went there last Sunday with my small dog and was told we had to sit outside. It was sooooo cold 1 degree or lower due to the wind. We had already ordered our food at the counter at this point. We had to move outside and there was no heating available even if they sell garden heaters at this garden center. We have been going to this same cafe for many years and could always sit inside with my dog. They could have provided us with a heater or let us sit inside due to the very cold weather but they didn’t. Very disappointed with them. No apology either.

Beautiful setting. There have been some improvement works in progress but business is as normal and it’s lovely to see the stages with each visit. It really is a lovely place to visit. Breakfast is always very good. It’s a tad expensive in the shop but that’s to be expected. Nice to have such a well cared got local business that’s survived and is still thriving.

40 minute wait for a Sunday morning fry up. They act like they’re doing you a favour when you ask where’s the food? Get some more staff and improve the attitude. I would like to stress we have had no problems with the farm shop or main garden centre. The farm shop in particular is a great operation. Just the cafe needs work.

Discovery land is beautiful. Garden centre cafe is good quality and lots to choose from. Kids menu has a good variety too

Queued for 10 minutes to place an order, hot drinks arrived after we had eaten breakfast, or food would have been cold. Staff quite rude when we asked for drinks. Tea was luke warm and they refused to replace. Staff not trained and no one in charge. Simply dreadful

The nursery is small but sweet. Great cafe on site with lovely, reasonably priced food. The so overt walk is fantastic and has had some improvements too. The sunflower field was spectacular. The fish to feed are incredible. There is also a farm shop across the road. Good spot for a day out.

I visited today to find the restaurant sparse with certainly 2 meters between tables. I chose to sit outside and the ordered two coffees and a sandwich plus some chips. The bill was £14.80. Not excessive but I was surprised they had not taken up the Gov 50% off food scheme. This would have reduced my bill considerably.

staff we felt were not very consumer friendly all very happy chatting among themselves no smiles just a job

A well organised environment that should satisfy everyone's need for hygiene and social distancing. More particularly plenty of choice when purchasing for the garden etc.

Took the kids here last weekend to have a look round and since it was lunchtime stopped at the cafe. Was really surprised by the quality and value for money they offered. The children had fairly standard lunch boxes but with a good size sandwich inside with good quality ingredients. My wife had a cheddar sandwich with a homemade fig chutney and it came with fries and good salad garnish. I had the most amazing beef stew - the meat was tender plenty of it and the sauce was really well balanced, came with a good sized portion of fresh focaccia. Both adult meals £7 so good value for the size and quality. Served in good time even though the restaurant was busy. I’m quite a foodie so it takes a lot to impress me and they really delivered. Wasn’t expecting much as so many nurseries have disappointing cafes but these guys really nailed it. You can also buy a lot of the produce over at the farm shop over the road. Well worth a visit!

Great place if you have children but has sadly turned into a giant crèche. Meeting friends for lunch in half term was a disaster. Ended up leaving and going else where. There is lots to do with children but is over run. There use to be an area for adults only but not any more. Parents use it as a giant crèche with kids running everywhere. Was sad to see and talking to two elderly couples who come every week , for their week,y treat for lunch out and the other afternoon , again also left . They seemed to have forgotten theirs regular and adult only customers. Also had planned to some shopping but lost that business too

Have eaten in here a few times now... fantastic. Great selection of food, hot & cold, & cake!! Set in the nursery part of Priory Farm with beautiful views & walks to hand - what more would you need??

We've been to priory farm lots of times and always enjoyed it. Their Halloween theme was fantastic. We all thourghly enjoyed it.

Have visited this farm shop/cafe a few times now. Each time we have not been disappointed with the quality/presentation/choice of food. The staff seem pleasant. It seems to be a good place for people with young children to meet too. Play things in the garden area and plenty of high chairs and choice of food for little ones. There is also a quiet area for people who want to sit away from children.

I visited the cafe Sunday afternoon with my family and we usually have a lovely experience here. However the staff were clearly rushing to clear up as one was scrapping chairs on the floor whilst sweeping which I understand has to be done but this...

Can’t really fault the food at this garden centre cafe. We ordered two cappuccinos plus a tuna mayo and cucumber granary sandwich. The sandwich was beautiful, very fresh, very large and came with french fries and salad. Enough for two and for £7 fantastic value!...

This was our first visit and we were favourably impressed - pleasant staff and a nice "family" atmosphere in the spacious café/restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. We were amazed by the surprisingly large menu but as we there at lunch-time we decided on a...

My friend and I have finally managed to 'escape' the prison that is the Priory Farm car park, having had to call another family member to collect us (including our little ones) as all the gates to the car park had been locked. At no point did anyone tell us that the gates were going to be locked. Our cars were clearly visible in the car park and our little ones were so noisy, there is no way the staff could have known that we were not there. Having called the Priory Farm office and someone we knew who used to work there, we tried calling 101 who said that I'd need to call 999 for fire services (we didn't do this as it was a bit extreme). We also tried driving all over the farm to find an exit that wasn't padlocked but couldn't. In the end, we had to call a family member to collect us and we'll have to sort out collecting our cars tomorrow. Whilst I understand that we are partly to blame for being trapped in Priory Farm car park for over TWO HOURS, why didn't the staff tell us they were locking the gates?! Especially as it's a place where children go, why would they not check that everyone was out?! No notices, no announcements, nothing. I am appalled.

We came to the discovery walk and ended up stopping here for lunch. All food excellent including soup and ciabatta, club sandwich and children's lunch box (Which was shared between 3yr old and 1 yr old!) There is outdoor seating however it started raining when...

Great range of food and the pricing is not to bad. The best place to get fire wood for a cold winters day

The breakfast was really good - sourdough toast with avocado and smoked salmon and poached eggs was lovely - didn’t need any lunch ! We walked around the garden centre afterwards, very impressive selection of trees and plants. There seemed to be plenty of activities...

We had lunch with our 1yo daughter in their cafe and really enjoyed it. I can recommend the burger and also their avocado sourdough smoked salmon dish. They have lots of high chairs, a kids menu, fresh cakes, a kids lunch box etc. The place...

Ordered a pile of American pancakes. They were £6 and seemed as if they had been zapped in the microwave! They were steaming hot, rubbery and the edges were hard. For that amount I would have expected freshly cooked pancakes. Very disappointed.

A huge range of fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, plus a proper butcher and all sorts of other items available make this a Farm Shop to treasure. Friendly service and almost no queuing at check out, and loads of parking, plus fresh fish most...

This is a deli with a butcher, green grocers, kitchen shop, frozen food and high end special meal ingredients. A fishmonger comes on a Friday and Saturday. Never been disappointed!

Some years ago there was a farm; then a farm shop. Then a nursery, & garden centre. The latter changed ownership. The Farm Shop has a butchery, delicatessen, gifts & lots more. A Discovery Walk is another string. Other previous farm buildings have been let...

My husband and I have been coming to this garden centre for some years and have used the noisy, child friendly part, with our young grandsons in the summer, which was great and then we tried the small café at the far end when we...

We visited for lunch after visiting the Discovery Walk. The cafe offers a small selection of sandwiches, jacket potatoes and cakes along with a few "specials". The food that we purchased - jacket potatoes along with a couple of specials including the soup were all...

Hubby & I decided to make the most of both being free on a Friday lunchtime and headed over for a bite to eat. We visit regularly and always like it. However ... It was a fairly warm day, about 21 degrees c but in...

I'm always happy to give places another chance - but although this café is vast, light, good service etc and the changes they have made are excellent - I'm afraid that the café is STILL a glorified crèche, full of kids running around while the...