The Gardens in Reading

No obvious signage & easy to miss. Inside cavernous and yet sparse. Not particularly welcoming or comfortable and a bit chilly as well. An intriguing looking but untried jumbo sausage roll. May well be investigated in future What was outstanding was the real quality of the coffee; a suggested Guatemalan espresso. Wow! Really strong with no bitterness and a brilliant flavour. Worth travelling miles for which one of us did just that.

Love this place. Coffee & cakes sooo good. Staff always polite and chatty. A massive variety of homemade cakes always on offer & the variety of brownies amazing. I literally am spoilt for choice! Last visit I could smell the sausage roll another customer was eating & it was mouth watering. Let the products on offer here do the talking, not the décor. I'd rather have top quality gnosh and sit on basic furniture than have mass produced food served on plush sofas. Support this local business, you will not be disappointed.

Cakes looked nice but no prices. We had the chocolate brownie and it wasn’t unpleasant. Coffee was ok but not great. Had to ask for the cake after coffee was ready, staff were ok but one kept staring and it was quite uncomfortable. No ambience. Wouldn’t use again.

Coffee and food was really quite good and staff friendly and helpful. Nothing is priced so you are ordering blind and it’s not cheap. However a trip to the loo left me seriously concerned about hygiene standards!!

The coffee here was nice. However the poor/rude service, lack of prices and horrible cakes means I won't go back. Cake dry, tasteless and icing just tasted of neat butter, didnt even finish slice.

My little dog and I visit this. Greg stated no more ham to my dog. This guy is mean and nasty, horrible to say the least. I was regular until Greg started behaving like this. He also slammed the counter with his hands, which is a form of bullying in my book.

The best coffee I’ve had ever - hands down beats that Costa crap - the staff were excellent too A+++👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

Awful! Words can’t describe. Service is miserable. Asked for a glass of water and I’ve got served hot water in a hot glass, asked for another and it was exactly the same. Tea was cheap and nasty. Most importantly the place is filthy. Sat opposite the kitchen and the view was very disappointing. One of the lady was carrying a black dirty bucket with full of water out of the kitchen that was the moment I’ve had to leave.I really hope it will be closed down soon. I’m very concerned of hygiene.

Such a pity. Its a good location yet the interior Haa the ambiance of a factory canteen. The coffee is OK though 3.10 for a large americano is a little steep. The quiches can be very good though today mine was dried up. It comes with salad, yet no salad. And £7. Poor value for money. Beware of the tables by the window: they are not level and Iost half an inch of my coffee. Maintenance needed.

Had been keen to try this place on the junction into/out of Caversham, the interior lighting looked great on the dark evenings, however in the daylight inside - just clean the place someone! Drinks spills on the walls & serving surfaces, no excuse for this, especially when they’re so quiet. Overpriced luke warm coffee. No menu so had to guess what was on offer. Needs a lot of attention to the interior, but could be very nice. Will not be returning.

Just popped in to have a coffee - we stayed for food as well (just a delicious sausage roll). Absolutely amazed at how tasty the coffee was - the waitress/barista told us exactly what the beans were and how much they cost (ground, or as whole beans). We bought some to take away. We will certainly make it a regular stop for us.

Visited for the first time on Friday with a friend who had been before.I wanted to support a local independent business but was disappointed.On entering there was no menu to show what was on offer.There were cakes, brownies and croissants on the counter that were all uncovered and had no prices.We had to stand waiting for a few minutes whilst the server continued to do cleaning jobs.As there was no menu I asked for a latte - no idea what beans it was made of.We sat down and then were shouted back up to collect the drinks.On sitting down it was obvious that the place had not been cleaned.The toilet walls and ceiling had patches of mould.The positives are I enjoyed the coffee and watching the world go by outside.The negatives - faults as mentioned above.I like to know what is on offer and what it costs.The staff made no attempt to say anything about what coffee was on offer - surely this is its key selling point.It would have been nice for our drinks to be brought over as they were not busy.This could be a good place but is failing miserably.

What a dump . Luke warm average coffee, staff shout across the restaurant when your coffee is ready for you to collect ! Sugar and spoons on the counter like a Mobile roadside cafe . Tips jar on the counter .. why ? it’s self service. If the owners of this place were looking to create a thoroughly underwhelming experience congratulations you have succeeded

This place is a bit of a conundrum. As a coffee shop, it firstly needs to serve good coffee, and it does. The coffee is all you would expect from a Workhouse coffeeshop.However the rest of the 'experience' is a bit confused. There is no menu, or pricelist, so you have no idea how much anything costs, so it's a bit of a shock when you get charged £4.95 for a piece of chocolate cake, and £3.50 for a caramel brownie. Our late morning snack of 2 coffees, 3 soft drinks, 4 cakes and a sausage roll came to over £35. Yikes...There is a good array of nice cakes, but they are all displayed, uncovered, with no allergen information. I mentioned the lack of any pricing information to the person behind the till, but they said its because they change tie cakes on offer all the time so its too hard to have a price list, but they would mention it to the owner. Going by all the other reviews that have mentioned these issues it doesn't appear that owner is listening.I would go back again for the coffee, but that's all.

Been wanting to try this place for a while but unfortunately I won’t be backNo menus, no prices, no atmosphere The staff seem to think they are doing you the favour by being there Why they can’t bring the coffee to you is beyond meVery poor

I cannot understand where this coffee is going. There are no menus, maybe because there is so little food on display. Sausage rolls and mini quiches served with very little else. Drinks ordered at till, when ready they shout that it is ready...they do not bring it to you. Cakes are nice though. furnishings look unfinished and no warmth about the shop. Very underwhelming. It clearly needs a sense of direction. Cannot write much about the food, because there is not much food on offer.

I was really looking forward to trying The Gardens as a break from the usual parade of chain coffee places in Reading. Unfortunately the parts that distinguish it from the corporates aren't the parts I would choose to change! I would like to see a price list and signs for the toilets, but could do without the "soft jazz" and lack of identity in decor and customer service. The coffee was nice, but not exceptional. Because there isn't a price list I can't say for sure, but I'm pretty certain there was no discount for using my own cup, and paid extra for soya milk. I can't help feeling like they are missing their target audience.

Just visited The Gardens again today, I ordered a coffee which came hot and was very tasteful. I was especially pleased with the staff members dedication when finding the right bean for my coffee. He gave me the most beautiful tasting coffee I have ever had! And then for him to inform me that they independently roast there own coffee beans and source direct from the farmers abroad. AMAZING! Sorry I didn’t have time for cake! But I’ll be back!! See you soon The Gardens!

I had been recommended to visit !The Gardens, but was kind of dissapointed, possibly because I am not a coffee drinker and so its 'raisin d'etre' is lost on me...However I found the decor incredibly bland...I ordered a croissant for my toddler, but there was no butter available... having said that the cakes look lovely and are covered and it is pretty roomy...so easy for pushchairs.... they also do coffee 'to go' so could be useful

Great range of coffee, not sure about price as I dont really have any concept of money and there were no prices. Owner seemed friendly, I will visit again to try some food!

When my son invited us to meet at the Gardens I was somewhat concerned by the negative reviews that I read on here. I was very surprised that the cafe was nothing like this at all.We were a large family group with a baby and couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome.The young staff were friendly and enthusiastic about the food and drink, running through the food on offer and were knowledgeable about the coffee blends and other beverages.The food we ate; chicken and chorizo paninis were hot, fresh and tasty. Coffee and walnut cake was rich and scrummy and the salted caramel brownie was tasty and huge.We were impressed and will be coming again.

No prices displayed and none of the cakes had allergens displayed. We were with someone who had a nut allergy so really dangerous.Cakes weren’t covered and quiches were left un chilled and uncovered Teaspoons for drinks were dirtyTea and peppermint tea was dreadful they didn’t give us an opportunity to decide what strength we would like it. I had to ask to leave the peppermint teabags in. 5 drinks & 2 cakes cost £19 we would have been better off in one of the other coffee shops, cheaper & better service.It is a shame as could be really nice as good location but we won’t make a return trip. .

Strange name as they have no garden or outside area.Odd to have to order drinks and told to sit down and then collect them.The overall feel is exceptionally airy (almost bare) with not that many table and chairs for the size of the floor area.However the coffee is excellent

The pale decor is a nice rest from Costa etc and I liked the look of the place. The coffee is also fine. But the service is almost comically offhand. No menu , list or labels on cakes or panini. The staff don't seem very sure either. Staff call you up to collect drinks, having just told you to sit down!It looks like it's been set up by someone more interested in the interior design than the customer service and catering aspects.

we were extremely disappointed to find that no prices were displayed for any drinks and cakes, when we questioned how much things costed we were told we have to wait until we go to order at the till. Cakes were not labelled as to what they were nor did they list prices or allergy information. we were also puzzled that after ordering we were called to collect drinks and cakes from the counter when we had be told to go and take a seat, the staff did not appear to be doing anything else so this caused confusion. due to it being summer we were also surprised to see cakes were not covered with anything. apart from a few sacks of coffee beans and some odd hanging lights the cafe is extremely bland with no pictures on the walls and a bland interior. having said all that the coffee and cake was nice.

It’s always sad to knock a new local business but this coffee shop has failed as a concept and the delivery is poor. As you enter you get to stand at a low counter with an array of inviting looking cakes, with everyone breathing all over them I fail to understand how this is the way to prevent foods. Ordering would be logical from this position, but no you are invited to the till area further down to order. I sit down and notice a few fake coffee bags filling some gaps, some groovy lighting and blank unloved white walls. I am called up to collect my coffee and sit again, to be called up for my croissant. Four staff stand around looking helpless, all scruffy in casual clothes, polite but not in the slightest bit customer friendly.A dour concept by any standards and not worthy of trying even for the novelty value. With good competition they can be certain of imminent failure and closure, it’s a tough world out there for the failed coffee shop.

Misleading and depressing, this coffee shop has no gardens, it's on the wrong side of a very busy T-junction from Caversham Court Gardens and a tepid flat white coffee in a water glass isn't hipster-quirky, it's penny-pinching and looks it. Hungry I ordered a puff pastry sausage roll. Already cooked, it's then served warmed through by slicing it into inch-thick slices and pan-frying it. Pan-fried puff-pastry was bad enough but the meat was horrific; very dry, texture of wet newspaper, tasteless and barely edible. The side salad was OK but the pale brown smear all around the plate was unidentifiable. No menu, nothing labelled, staff poorly managed and aimless in a shop so sparse it looks like it's facing foreclosure by the bank. Clean premises and the toilets were good shape so the staff clearly try against such odds. I visited here when it opened months ago and it was depressing then. No noticeable improvement in months, just feels like a rundown business trying to pass for fashionable. Walking 5minutes in any other direction is time well spent.

After struggling to get through the door, thanks to a poor seating arrangement, we ordered our food and drinks. This came to £15(!) for 2: definitely overpriced. The food was quite mediocre, as was the ambience. I’m glad I tried it, but I won’t be returning.

First visit today after a dog walk. Lovely place, very friendly and welcoming, fab food all cooked on premises or at their sister cafe in Tilehurst. It’s still very new as they’re working out what they’re about but I’ll definitely be back!

First visit and I doubt I will be back. I was served a luke warm drink, and the croissant they warmed up was dry and slightly burnt. All staff are very young and could be heard swearing and talking about getting drunk. Despite having 5 or 6 staff and not being busy they don't bring food and drink to the table but shout out to the customer to collect. Some of the decor is very pretty but the place is generally pretty bare and needs to be warmed up.

Decided to take my daughter for an after school treat here, thinking it would be nice to have tea and cake somewhere new. We arrived at 4.15 to find the door propped open on to the main road and cleaning taking place. The girl on the counter said they were open until 5, but all the cakes had been wrapped in cling film and chairs were being stacked. We should have taken the hint and left then. Ordering over the loud hoovering and traffic noise was difficult, but we managed. Despite us wanting to sit inside, the cake was put in a bag and the tea was in a takeaway cup, the cleaning round us wasn’t stopping and it was clear they didn’t want us to stay. My tea was wrong - though she did change it when this was pointed out - because the tea bags are in unmarked boxes and the staff don’t know which is which. The cake wasn’t nice. The cafe itself is really cold and bleak and empty. a few chairs and some weird sacks in piles. One drink and one cake came to over £6. After less than ten minutes we both agreed that we wanted to leave and the final straw was the completion of the loud vacuuming and the announcement that mopping was going to start. We went elsewhere for our tea and cake and regretted not asking for a refund here as we left. There are a lot of other much better cafes in Caversham.