The Garden Rooms at Tennants in Richmondshire

The eating experience is quite nice but none of us during our last visit liked the salad dressing which was too vinegary and drowned the salad and overwhelmed any enjoyment of having a salad accompanying the food

The Garden Room is a very nice room with decently spaced out tables so you are not sitting on your neighbours knee. The food is very good and the portions generous. I don't believe anyone could work their way through 3 courses. The selection is the usual Sunday Lunch suspects along with a vegetarian option. There is a small selection of wines to choose of which some are available by the glass as well as by the bottle. Service was efficient. The prices are very reasonable. Good Yorkshire value.

Recently ate in the cafe with my little ones. Opted for a lighter lunch of soup/sandwiches and cakes/coffees for afters. Really attentive staff, very friendly and got seated straight away. Food was lovely. Was quite busy, but we didn’t wait long. Lovely atmosphere. Would definitely recommend for a tasty relaxed lunch. Looking forward to eating in the restaurant next time!

Thank you for a really lovely Sunday lunch to celebrate a family birthday. We were a party of 12 and service was excellent with friendly helpful staff. Very comfortable Bistro with relaxed atmosphere, would recommend.

Absolutely fantastic breakfast! All the staff from reception to kitchen are amazing and couldn't be more attentive, as for the food, cooked fresh, well presented and very flavourful! We will most definitely be returning when in the area!

Lovely cafe with good service and excellent coffee. 7 of us all enjoyed!

The venue is perfect for Weddings and other events, garden was great.. As a DJ, sound vibe was great..

Beautiful place, but breakfast was a little disappointing

Been to this place twice now for weddings spacious venue plenty of parking relaxed atmosphere

Appalling took too long to give food 😔 and stinks of something that a dog would release

After being at the auction we were disappointed that the breakfast had stopped serving just after 1130. So we decidea to have a slice of almond tart and a piece of lemon and raspberry cake plus two hot chocolate drinks The drinks were ok although chocolate was all sludgy at the bottom, no teaspoons were offered. The almond slice; no flavour, tasteless and extremely dry. The Lemon and Raspberry gateux; the cake itself was soft enough however no flavour. There was plenty of butter cream but that was just gritty sweet. There was some pick on the top and a yellow blob on the top, I thought that will taste if lemon, wrong. So overall very disappointing.

Disorganised and dated wedding venue. Disappointed

We came here for breakfast for my wife's birthday and were absolutely blown away by the quality of the breakfast! The fried bread especially was delicious. The hotel itself is absolutely beautiful and we were lucky enough to sit outside in nice weather, a very pleasant experience all round. The staff were also lovely, and the café garden is dog friendly as well which is always nice.

We came here for breakfast for my wife's birthday and were absolutely blown away by the quality of the breakfast! The fried bread especially was delicious. The hotel itself is absolutely beautiful and we were lucky enough to sit outside in nice weather, a very pleasant experience all round. The staff were also lovely, and the café garden is dog friendly as well which is always nice.

Attended a friend's wedding here, and it was a great venue and everyone made us feel welcome. Ample parking, easy access and so many rooms to use for different events, great court yard.

Booked a week ahead for lunch and asked if possible, could we have a table in the window. When we arrived we were hurriedly shown to a table between the toilet entrance and the main door. there were several other table available. We asked to be moved away from the rather chilly air conditioning unit, only to be put beneath another one. Eventually we chose, after asking a different member of, to take up an outside table. The member of staff who took our order looked somewhat surprised when we asked for the table to be cleaned. A senior member of staff addressed us as "The people who have kept moving tables". Our lunches arrived, served by a much more friendly, younger lady and all four of us thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Good quality, good portions and well presented. Later we returned to the same table for tea and cake. The table was once again rather reluctantly wiped clean; the member of staff faced with the task suggested that we might wish to sit elsewhere! We decided to stay where we had CHOSEN to sit - sorry! We don't have dirty tables at home and see no reason to suffer them in a cafe. The fine, sunny day provided for an enjoyable afternoon, spoilt only by rather brusque members of staff and rather grubby tables. Disappointing because everything is place to make Tennants a special place to visit. Perhaps a staff refresher course is required! My wife and I visited at the same time a month or two ago and the service, provided by different staff, was excellent.

Such a beautiful courtyard and venue for weddings.

Went to watch Rich Hall , brilliant. And service at the bar was swift and the beer decent and not overpriced.

Unfriendly greeting . Aggressive demand to know if I had booked. Grudging grant of a table ( even though many looked free.) Ordering took ages.Food ok but only just. Staff possibly overworked. Gave up on a cup of tea - it was all taking too long.

Has to be the best afternoon tea I have experienced. Sandwiches and cakes plus warm scones with jam and clotted cream - all excellent. Two of our party are non meat eaters and this was not a problem. Great service and venue. Have been to a local 5 star hotel for afternoon tea and, although I enjoyed that, I felt the one at Tennants topped that.

Decided to have a 4 item breakfast and pot of tea. Very satisfied with the prompt service and quality of food. All the staff were welcoming and friendly. Well worth a visit.

My wife and I visited for Afternoon Tea celebrating her birthday (no mention of age) and can only say it was an unforgettable day. As my wife is diabetic the chef went out of his way to provide her with a perfect selection of sandwiches and cakes made without sugar, he also came to our table to explain what was in each of the specials. We have had afternoon tea at other establishment but nothing to match this experience. Thank you

A beautiful place to be. Delicious food and fantastic Coffee. Brilliant Artwork to see by International Artists!

Loved the food really friendly staff

March 2024- Cory Brass Band - Excellent performance and superb musicianship presented by a confident and entertaining conductor who added context and knowledge about the pieces played ; The King Kong section was particularly inspired and the featured instrumentalists demonstrated skill and control. Positives: Easy to park, refreshments were appropriately priced and comfortable seating with good views - all for a very reasonable ticket price of around £35!!! Observation (NO ONE’S FAULT): I have been here on a number of occasions now - Christmas fairs and concerts - and its demographic is very narrow. Tends to be people like me 50 + White Middle class and seemingly relatively ‘well off’ : I have never once seen a non-white face, which to me is noticeable and quite jarring for such a multicultural country. Obviously this does not reflect on owners as they have no control over who buys tickets and … my experience could well be not a true reflection - just an observation.

Beautiful hall, attended a wedding and it was stunning - beautiful decor, spacious, high ceilings. Would love to visit again.

Attended a wedding here Amazing venue throughout They had a seperate room for the children to play in. The room had white softplay and frames which kept the children entertained all day this enabled the adults to enjoy the ceremony even further So if your looking for kids entertainment for your wedding here then this is a must.The company are on instragram they are called... the_party_events_ company we have already booked them for ours... i must also mention that the staff at this place are amazing they bent over backwards to assist in everything throughout the day BIG SHOUT OUT to Donna and Jasmine who worked their little socks off to keep the wedding buzzing 😁

Very disappointed with the bistro, , nearly choked on 2 inch piece of net like plastic in my pasta dish,, replaced the pasta but it put me off eating it, took it home in a tub.

It had been a while since our last visit and we've always enjoyed the wonderful surroundings. Tasty sandwiches, amazing mushroom soup and one of the best chocolate cakes😋 staff are friendly, helpful and welcoming. Coffee could have been a little hotter and bread slightly thicker but we'll definitely be back again soon 👍

We had a realy good afternoon tea, great service ,very friendly couldn't do enough for us Rita Dinsdale

I regularly visit the cafe at Tennants and often have the mashed avocado with poached eggs breakfast. This usually is good with well prepared eggs on a thick bed of avocado on sourdough. Today the eggs on sourdough toast had the faintest smear of avocado. I told the waiting staff who said they would tell “him in the kitchen”. Nothing more was done or offered in way of an apology. Poor customer service and poor standard. Whoever served that breakfast should have been aware of this issue.

We met my mum for lunch at Tennants, originally planning to eat at the cafe but it was full (there was a sale on). So we ended up in the Bistro which was absolutely great. They had a special offer on with a menu where mains were £11. Three of us had cod with potatoes, crushed peas and a sort of homemade tartare sauce, one of the nicest things I've eaten in ages. Eldest son had a sticky toffee pudding for desert which also received the seal of approval. Service was good and lunch for 5 was £63 which I thought a bargain in 2024. Will definitely revisit again.

Nice wedding venue in a very beautiful location.

Been going here for many years at the same time as viewing auctions.Sandwiches,scones,light lunch ... that sort of thing.It had much more class when was situated in a different front room in the building.Seems to have gone down hill within last few months ... food merely adequate ... now table service which seems to slow everyhting down ...paying up front on a machine rather off putting.Looking for another venue ... perhaps in leyburn.

We visited the cafe at the Garden rooms, we booked a table in advance in case it was busy as it was near Christmas but it wasn't busy at all. We have visited for a meal before in the Bistro and the food was lovely but I'm afraid this time in the Cafe we were very disappointed in the quality of the food. We ordered Thai green curry and when it arrived it was basically Cabbage and carrot in a grey liquid, no chicken it tasted awful. Thankfully the staff were very good and polite and when we asked for a new different meal to be made were very obliging. The other 2 meals we ordered were the Turkey and bacon casserole which we ate but would only rate it as OK as the veg was over cooked, tepid warm at best and the sprouts were burnt black?? Sadly I would think twice about returning again which is a shame because its a very interesting place.

Modern clean building. Helpful staff. Excellent food. Came to see the Brigade of Gurkha's band. A wonderful experience

What a wonderful visit we had! We were looked after by a lovely young lady I believe called Maddy, what a credit she is! Nothing was too much trouble and she went over and above to make sure we had a lovely experience. The food was delicious and the ambience just right. After a most unpleasant experience in the past here put me off I am glad to have seen the much better side! Keep up the good work!

Went here for our festive lunch yesterday. It was a fantastic experience with great food and brilliant staff. The quality of the ingredients is really good and the portions are very good. Very good value for money too.

My husband and I regularly visit the cafe, have always had a good experience. The staff are efficient and hard working, nothing is too much trouble. The meals are very tasty, we are looking to our next visit.

Amazing lunch! Every course top notch. Barely finished my desert and felt the need to come on and leave a review. Couldn’t recommend this place more

Enjoyed a wonderful evening of entertainment with the band of the brigade of Gurkhas at the Garden Rooms Always a great event. The Bistro served a Nepalese themed dinner of 3 courses before the concert The food was excellent and the service was first class The whole event was incredibly well organised This really is an amazing venue and we are so fortunate that the lovely and talented Tenant family had the foresight and creativity to build and develop this iconic centre here in the heart of Wensleydale

Very friendly staff. Extremely good value breakfasts with a great variety of dishes and quality ingredients.

Beautiful place for function s.

Excellent service , super friendly waitresses .

Brilliant day at the all Ford day great turn out

Superb food great choice and excellent staff. Plenty of parking

We visited the Garden Rooms for lunch today, always a lovely setting and well presented. Although we hadn’t booked, a table was found for us and a carafe of water and glasses were provided whilst we chose our meals. The tomato and herb soup with a small platter of bread, butter, oil and balsamic was nice enough, I had ordered the Parmesan chicken with potatoes and seasonal vegetables, all very nice but the potatoes could have been cooked a little longer and were quite dry. I asked the waitress for a little butter which improved them. The lamb tagine with rice was nice enough but again a little dry, and the spinach and ricotta gnocchi was tasty but very rich. These last two dishes would have been improved with some seasonal vegetables, I shared mine which helped. Minor details but worth noting. We had a very nice bottle of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc to accompany the meal. The waitresses were very polite and efficient.

Excellent as usual , perfect food on perfect settings

Beautiful place, ideal for weddings and family shindigs

The Café was busy I saw that as soon as I arrived, but after a couple of minutes wait to reach the lovely Paula at her lecture, with her wonderful welcome smile, I was offered either a sofa or island seats for lunch, for myself and my soon to arrive friend. I chose the very comfy big sofa. When my friend arrived we decided to move to the island bar, again Paula responded to our request with a lovely smile, and assured us, that was absolutely fine. Another younger girl, was with us shortly after we sat, to take our drinks order, then our food order. Fish & Chips x 2, both fresh, piping hot, and certainly a good sized portion. After a little break, this was followed by cake, I portion, 2 forks. All in all a wonderful lunch, with great service, and despite those girls being rushed off their feet, and the place being so busy, they each were attentive, polite, friendly, and at no point did any of them not have a smile on their faces when they served my friend and I. All in all, another lovely visit, another delicious lunch...

We visited The Garden Rooms Bistro last week and enjoyed a beautiful Afternoon Tea. The sandwiches were all freshly made and delicious. The selection of cakes, scones and other sweet treats were beautifully presented and very tasty too . All the staff here are welcoming, friendly and extremely helpful. I would definitely recommend a visit here to everyone!

Average food nice setting, what I didn't like was paying up front for the meal and drinks. The waiter forgot one drink, brought the glass with no drink then looked puzzled..

We are unabashed regular visitors who generally enjoy eating at Tennants but standards have dropped from a quality of food perspective. Last week I ordered a Feta Cheese Wrap for my wife. On first bite she almost spat it out exclaiming it was 'chilli hot.' I said laughingly for her "not to be ridiculous, after all it's salad and feta". . . . Having then been asked to test-taste I can confirm their was a significant hot chilli taste. On asking the waitress what was to do? we were informed that the chef had decided to have this Greek menu option "enhanced" with cajun mayo. I would love to sample their "Jamaican Jerk Chicken," It's probably stuffed with olives and Taramasalata!

Lovely food and very pleasant and efficient staff

Brilliant venue! Hosted a lovely wedding, impressive infrastructure, great layout. Gardens looked great with beautiful surrounding views. Can imagine this place looking even more picturesque during winter after heavy snowfall!

Nice wedding venue and lots of parking, great food supplied and amazing atmosphere.

Nice food, not rushed to leave after the meal. Good surroundings, not too noisy restaurant. I've just been back for afternoon tea, which was nice.

As regular visitors to the Garden Rooms we have a pretty good handle on the place. Standards, both in terms of food and service have always been good but have taken a dip over the last 6 months. The menu has changed little in the last three years with meal sizes becoming noticeably smaller and accompanying salads very poor. The coldslaw is simply awful, coffees are regularly cold when they arrive (on our last three visits tables next to us have sent cold coffee back). The place has become very busy as it is now "The only show in town," with no competition following the closure of eateries in Leyburn. The staff work their socks off and are very pleasant. However, they are constantly under tremendous pressure especially when large parties are allowed in with sometimes 10 or 12 to à table. The growing number of weddings whilst great to see, are inhibiting for many people visiting the garden rooms particularly people with mobility issues who can't be dropped at the front door or who have to park at the far end of the car park as wedding guests have "bagged" the close spots. We have on three occassions been stuck in the car 100 yards from Tennants with many others trying to get into the car park because wedding "supercars" and their entourage have parked up on the Leyburn - Bedale Road. Listening and seeing an Asian wedding is fabulous. I have been to many Muslim and Hindu friends weddings. In the right setting, experiencing a couple of Dohls having their last breath beaten out of them as the groom enters is magical, however having them banging away in Tennants Reception Area, whilst you are having a quiet chat with tea and cake just isn't fun. Make hay while the sun shines but don't forget us locals who are there in the dark months when others are not. It feels like our year long loyalty is being overlooked. We still enjoy visiting the place from a social gathering perspective but suggest, if you have a mind to look at implementing a few changes.

We visited Yorkshire for the first time last week and stayed locally in Leyburn. On numerous occasions we passed The Garden Rooms so decided to go for lunch on Saturday 15th July. We had our two dogs with us and obviously expected to sit outside. We did so and waited to be served at our table (as this is what the sign clearly stated which was taped on the table). After 20 minutes almost all of the tables outside were full, yet nobody came out to serve any of us. A few people tried to go inside to place their orders, but were told to go back outside and somebody would be out shortly. There was an elderly lady sitting in a wheelchair with her son beginning to get cold by this time (as the heavens had opened and we had a short thunder storm) so my husband then went inside to try to see what was happening. Finally after 25 minutes we were all served. To be honest, I think that was shocking customer service and when we visit Leyburn again next summer, we will not be returning there again.

Visited as part of a function and whilst the staff were good the food left a lot to be desired. Anaemic looking chicken kiev bereft of any garlic butter and a cheap frozen burger in a dry bun we’re little better than just okay!

Had a fantastic lunch . The service could not have been better . The food was delicious , and the staff made the whole experience an absolute pleasure

Went for Sunday lunch. Decent choice on the menu, including sea bass fillets and 2 veggie options. I had ham/chicken terrine, pork roast, and Eton mess. All of which were good helpings, very good quality and served by friendly and efficient staff. We thought the cost was very reasonable given the ambience, surroundings etc, and would certainly return.

Lovely and elegant venue, we attended a beautiful wedding and we really love this place!

The place is lovely. The management team and owner are very professional and welcoming. I got married there in August 2019 and recommended a few more people if you are reading this and you are looking for a venue. This is where you have to be heading.

Spacious, very nicely set out with indoor and outdoor tables. Good service, interesting menus, well priced. Helpful, friendly staff.

Absolutely fabulous venue for our wedding. Chloe and Jessica were amazing - so helpful and professional. Food was fantastic. Perfect day in perfect surroundings.

Absolute beautiful place . We attended yesterday every thing was so nice. The road trip and place picturesque.

Very nice Sunday lunch, the sirloin was exceptional. All the staff were friendly and helpful

Fabulous Sunday roast. Meat melted in the mouth, great selection of fresh vegetables.

My party had an excellent lunch in the cafeteria today. The Steak and Ale Pie was exceptionally good (and I have tasted a lot of that delicacy throughout the UK). My party also commented on the first class fish and chips. "We"ll be back. Congratulations to the Chef. The Waitresses were excellent as well. A good place to eat.

Brilliant service and food couldn't ask for anything else would definitely recommend the staff are very professional and the food top class

Excellent food, excellent service and nice surroundings.

Great venue to see acts. Hopeless bar toilets and getting out of the car park.

Beautiful displays. Stunning and imposing building. Ample parking.

Beautiful wedding there this week - staff excellent and went the extra mile to give us all a fabulous experience - very professional and attentive - thank you

Only popped in for a late-morning coffee but stayed for lunch. Great food and great service.

Cafe is good. Interesting place to visit. Lots of parking and helpful staff.

Tea and cakes on a sunny afternoon in May, the scones were lovely and light and tasted like they had just come out of the oven . Great with the jam and chantilly cream.

Visited for afternoon tea. It was ok, that's about all I can say about it. Wouldn't bother going again. We had finished our drinks before the food came. No one came over to ask if everything was ok, or whether we wanted anything else. The cream cheese and cucumber sandwich was tasteless. I thought the coronation chicken was an odd offering, not at all nice. The cakes were uninspiring, and the scones were tiny, though tasted lovely. The sausage roll and mini quiche were delicious.

Very pleasant and helpful staff. Food was well presented and yummy 😋 lovely place would recommend to anyone wanting an afternoon tea in pleasant surroundings

Excellent service although 1 person for the entire room was not enough, food was very slow in coming, nice location

Lovely place to hear Richmondshire Orchestra for a wonderful performance: Ross ini, Mozart and Rachmaninov. Comfortable seats and pleasant surroundings.

Despite there being a mix up with our booking for Sunday lunch- it didn’t appear on their list even though it had been made well in advance, the four of us ended up with a lovely table. We all had a starter which was the...

We were a group of 5 cyclists and all wanted to order and pay separately. This was not a problem to the member of staff serving us. The food and drinks arrived quickly and were excellent and well priced. All the members of the team...

Well presented cafe in an easy to access building. Food great. Don’t miss the hot chocolate!

Excellent service and food, at a good price

Excellent place for your parties and special events

A very friendly reception from all the staff We just had coffee, teas and cakes but I went the whole hog with American pancakes and bacon, maple syrup etc Lovely

Bright and air with both modern and traditional food option. Left a package in the cafe and they got it home to me..what stars.

Delightful lunch in very sophisticated surroundings with excellent food, at a reasonable price and efficient friendly service.

Went for a meal the day of the winter wonderland fair I had booked this over the phone and also received a call to confirm my booking a few days before we were to attend so imagine my confusion when thd assistant couldn't find our booking I wasn't impressed to be honest after about 10 minutes if stood there with our guests who we had invited to the fayre with us and for the meal and the 3rd time of saying you rang me to confirm my booking they eventually found it so I wasn't totally impressed considering we were also told we had a booking slot of 2 hours I think 20 minutes by this time had gone , For all the meal was lovely it totally spoilt our day with meeting friends we hadn't seen for such a long time as they had moved abroad so not impressed at all

Very nice setting such a beautiful building and the grounds are lovely, it is more upmarket so be prepared to spend a pretty penny.

I have been here before and it has always been lovely. I don’t know if it was the time of year but the staff looked as though they couldn’t be bothered and to be honest the lunchtime menu seemed the same . Fish and chips,...

Large venue with many functions. Well run and welcoming

We had a lovely Christmas brunch with friends. Thanks to Paula and her team for excellent service...ambience wonderful

Love my food, love my wife so I took her here for the first time to have a Christmas Lunch. Absolutely fantastic! The little extras made all the difference, the food was cooked to perfection with some nice twists along the way, we must have...

Lovely place to visit. Xmas Market was really good. The food in restaurants and cafe very good

Great Sunday lunch and superb value.

This place is absolutely stunning and lovely inside out you wont be disappointed it caters for all your needs top services available from bookings to your waitressing services for your special day cleanliness and hygiene of his hall is 10/10 everything nicely set out just perfect

Lovely food but our waitress didn't explain that we needed to order dessert at same time as mains- consequently we were told that we'd have to go back to bottom of queue and wait till we reached the top again. This followed us being told we had the wrong menu (provided by the waitress) and one of our requests was not available. Food we had was lovely, but didn't feel very welcome.