The Gardener's Retreat Restaurant in East Lindsey

This is the third time we’ve eaten lunch here in the last few months, including an excellent Christmas meal. The staff have all been friendly and very helpful to any tweaks we’ve wanted to make to the menu. The food is tasty, like home cooked, with good portion sizes and presented well. The menu has lots of choice, with a good selection for non meat eaters. The cakes and puddings are a real high point, and yesterday there was an impressive three vegan selections and two gluten free. All of the above were a five star experience, but the toilets are really letting the place down, I can see from other reviews that this is something that is regularly raised, and yesterday when I told a friend we’d had a good meal, her response was “the food is great, but the toilets are awful”. This is NOT a cleaning issue; they are old, in a poor state of repair, and have an unpleasant smell, that all the cleaning in the world won’t put right. They need to be upgraded and decorated. It’s a shame because it is detracting from another wise very positive experience.

My friend & I had eaten here before when visiting Horncastle & had a good meal with great, friendly service however, on this occasion we received neither. The member of staff wielding the wiping-down cloth appeared sullen & avoided speaking to us even though we both said a cheery ‘Good Morning’ obviously her morning wasn’t as good as ours! She wiped down our table & walked straight off. My friend went & placed our order & returned with our drinks. Our food arrived a while after & what a disappointment that was! Served by the same member of staff, no smile or eye contact she just delivered the plates of food. Very dry bread egg sandwiches, the smallest portion of chips & a spoonful of coleslaw. My friend’s was also a let down so we ate up & left. Not good value for money whatsoever! We won’t be returning as there are many really friendly places to eat in Horncastle that value their customers & can manage raise a smile when welcoming people into their establishment.

18 of us were at the restaurant today for our Aqua Ladies Annual Christmas Lunch - this is our 4th year now and each year it just gets better and better. The food was piping hot and very tasty, I had the traditional Roast Crown of Turkey and all the trimmings - couldn't fault it. My Festive Dessert was the Spiced Pear, Toffee and Cranberry Cake WOW - I wish I could bake like that! Jo the Manageress really looked after us and everything went like clockwork - not a single complaint from the team (no mean achievement!). All this for just £15.95 very impressed. Same time next year???

Was looking forward to a Sunday full English breakfast so decided to go local. We arrived at 10.20 to be told they had run out of hash browns!! They only serve from 10 to 11 and it wasn’t busy. I asked for extra on the breakfasts due to the lack of hash browns. Also my wife can't eat eggs so asked for extra mushrooms to replace the eggs but was not given anything extra as both plates had same amount of mushrooms. Coffee was a very small cup. All in all not awful but sadly won't use this local cafe in a hurry! They also missed the eggs on my breakfast so waited for them to arrive separately.

Was very disappointed with the meal. They served a rasher of cold bacon with the gardeners platter as they had ran out of ham and a small gammon as that was all they had left but had to buy the egg pineapple mushrooms and onion rings separately which came to more then the £12_49 stated on the adult menu. Will not be eating here again. Staff were not helpful at all.

Went along on a recommendation and glad I did. The full English was brilliant. Great ingredients, not greasy, nicely cooked at a fair price and the staff were friendly too! Go try them. You’ll not be disappointed

It's not a complicated kitchen; wholesome ingredients; simple cooking & baking making surprising treats & meals. Well clean to say people are walking around plants. Toilets clean. Ample car parking.

Had lovely well presented hot foot at dinner time. Pleasant staff & restaurant very clean & spacious with outside seating. Sad to say on my visit to the gentlemen’s toilet it was far from serviceable & left much to be desired. A previous user had no consideration for other customers & left the staff of this nice establishment an horrendous task. It does not deter me from calling again but hopefully disrespectful people will not have used the facilities on the day I am in attendance. Thank you to hard working staff.

Unfortunately we can't afford you any more! £4.25 for cake, even small slices or a muffin. We shared. We are pensioners. How about a pensioner's special? We sat in the conservatory as the downstairs was being cleaned but the noise from the kitchen, crashing and banging, curtailed conversation. Only one girl serving so we couldn't ask for help down the steps. The upstairs level is dark. It used to be so good. Sad.

Stopped in passing for breakfast... we both ordered a large breakfast with tea/ coffee. Mine was a full gluten-free option...its great having a gluten-free breakfast that was substituted and not just the products removed to make it gluten-free. It came with 2 slices of gf toast, hash brown, beans, mushrooms, bacon, 2 eggs, and herby sausages. Clean cafe, quick service, friendly staff and great value. No complaints, would recommend. Thank you.

Went for tea and cake on 3rd March 2024. Had no cake at 3.30pm in the afternoon apart from one dried up piece of gluten free sandwich cake, one dried up piece of lemon drizzle cake and two dried up jam doughnuts. We asked the girl behind the counter if that was all they had and her response was not very polite. Basically take it or leave it. We didn’t bother even having a cup of tea and went home in disgust. My advice to anyone is don’t bother wasting your fuel or time going there. My husband and I certainly won’t be making the trip again and shall be going elsewhere in the future.

Service was polite and efficient. Price was typical garden centre ie not cheap. Food was OK but portion size very small. I don't have a big appetite but I was still hungry when I left. I don't think I'll bother going there again

First of all would like to say that the food we ordered was lovely. Staff friendly enough. Then I used the ladies toilet..😩 . It was a disgrace. Run down and filthy. I emailed to complain, but got no reply.

Booked an afternoon tea, staff had booked on wrong day and implied it was our fault so no tea when we turned up and no apology.

we ordered are food first it came out only just warm my burger was burnt on the bottom my friends scampi was nearly cold and are other friend wanted gammon and no egg but hey ho when it came guess what yes there was an egg on top .we sent it back they did re cook it but by this time the others had finished eating .disappointedand no apology.

I don’t like writing negative reviews but will try to be fair . There are a lot of “ elderly “people use this cafe and where you order your food is between steps going up or going down . While there we witnessed an elderly lady had struggled carrying her tray of hot drinks .she stumbled and the hot drinks tumbled to the floor smashing. The cafe could do with a sign offering help with carrying trays. There seems to be a lack of awareness from staff . I ordered our breakfast sandwiches, I asked for no butter, which credit due the lady taking the order typed on . Our sandwich’s came with butter on! It’s a nice space especially in summer but at the moment the customer service needs working on. I do want to mention the young man who brought our food and dealt with the “ butter situation” . His name was Andrew and his customer service skills were excellent , a credit to the cafe .

A long wait for ordering . We had the Sunday carvery which was fine . The toilets however were so run down , tatty, the door lock broken, no soap and generally run down . Really needs updating .

Normaly the food is good today i had hunters chicken.the chicken was very tough i could not get the fork into it the knive wouldnt cut it all in all very disapointing.i left the chicken.

Been here 3 times now, each time food and service have been excellent. Pricing was about standard and the same with most places.

First time back here since Wyevale sold out to British Garden centres. Wyevale was very good with fresh cooked meals. We went for Sunday Carvery but was very disappointed to be told they had run out of meat, this at 1.30pm. Was offered a casserole but found out it was sausage casserole.....not for that money. Ordered off the main menu. The order point is disorganised and having to take orders and deliver hot and cold drinks at the same time. Result a long queue. Not a long wait for the main meal to arrive but 1 was wrong first time. Then delivered the wrong meal a second time. Finally I had to remind them of a side order they had forgot. The meals have clearly been taken out of a freezer into a microwave by someone who knows nothing about cooking. The lasagne was nuked so the pasta was hard all round the edges. The smothered chicken was missing any sauce and the parmesan crumb was all crumb making it very dry. Worst meal I have had in years. The side salad and coleslaw was actually very good and a reasonable size. Having complained we were told they were very busy and had trainees in the kitchen. My take on that is that the restaurant is too big for the kitchen and the staff need better supervising. We were offered 3 desserts as compensation. This is the first time ever to put a complaint on trip advisor but as a Horncastle local we were so disappointed that standards at this restaurant had slipped so much under the new ownership.

Not that many cafes or restaurants are open on a Sunday morning for brunch, but the restaurant at the Horncastle Garden Centre was, and on Father's Day too. Initial experience was good - it was busy but there were tables free ... but it was almost all down hill from there. The first thing is the way you order. Due to COVID most restaurants have table service to reduce the chance of customers breaking social distancing rules ... but not the Gardner's Retreat. You have to queue with everyone else to order - and that takes some time. It is NOT a quick process. We ordered 2 eggs benedict, a veggie sausage sandwich and a breakfast loaded omelette. An hour after we entered the restaurant the food turned up ... but not exactly what we expected or ordered. The sausages were not veggie, the crumpets for the eggs benedict were not toasted and the hollandaise sauce was decidedly tasteless. To be fair the breakfast loaded omelette was fab - tasty and plenty of it. My final gripe is that the lady on the table opposite us was left to clear the previous occupant's plates and cutlery away while the "maitre de" just stood about waiting for new customers. Not good service and definitely not COVID secure.

No eye contact from staff and not a huge choice of cakes/snacks. Coffee ok but not the hottest; scone also ok but served on such a tiny plate that I had to place half on a napkin when I cut it. As I am disabled I asked if someone could carry my tray - the girl said "Well, I'm on my own so I'll have to". Not enough staff and grudging attitude - they didn't look bothered and I won't bother again, either.

I took my two grandchildren for a drink and a slice of cake. The cake was £4.25 a slice totally overpriced, no wonder the place was empty. I certainly won't be returning, luckily there are plenty of coffee shops around that are much nicer and not nearly as expensive, £8.50 for two slices of cake and then drinks on top, I don't think so!

This has improved since i last went service has improved as have the meals still a little slow on drinks but food a lot quicker

Very poor service, lack of staff. Tables left dirty for over 30 minutes. Food OK, reasonably priced, but not surprised it was nearly empty. Will try it again next year.

A couple of years ago we used to visit this garden centre , it was a Wyvale centre at the time, with my late mother in law who was disabled and in a wheel chair. The doors from the car park into the coffee shop were always locked but on request a member of staff would open them for those who were unable through health reasons to enter via the garden centre. Today my wife and myself were having coffee near this door that can open into the car park when a lady who was struggling to walk with two crutches attracted my attention as she wished to enter the coffee shop via this door. I attracted a coffee shop assistant to the lady's plight only to be informed that the doors are not opened for anyone. The elderly lady and her partner whose walking was also restricted had no option than to return to their car and leave. If you have restricted mobility then think again before setting out for Horncastle Garden Centre.