The Potting Shed Cafe in South Lakeland

Great service, really nice coffee and cakes

Headed in as a group of 9 as other cafes weren't big enough to accommodate (absolutely fine), and we're seated quickly. Everyone had coffee or tea and a scone. Scones were a good size and delicious. Service from the guy with long hair was fantastic.

Delicious gluten free cake! The staff was super nice and accomodating!

Great place, staff let us in 15 minutes before opening and we're very friendly.. Good coffee, good food. Can't go wrong. Really nicely decorated

Friendly staff who dealt with our complicated order! Lovely relaxing atmosphere and excellent cheese scone

Lovely cafe, a bit over priced but I guess that's expected in that location. Adding a service charge to already inflated prices is a bit much.

Such a shame as we have eaten here before and loved it. Sadly this time we were disappointed. Dry scone, Luke warm tea and very high prices. On the plus side it was clean and the staff were helpful despite the gift shop in its last few weeks of shutdown.

£3.25 for a can of coke (to take away). I said I'm not paying that; till server said you'll find it's the cheapest in the village; I said bet it's not. Sure enough Chocolate Cottage £1.25, Barney's gift/toy shop £0.85. So overpriced and liars.

Turned away as no longer dog friendly.

Could not go in they now DO not allow dogs

Same review for the garden centre

Please don't go here. This used to be a warm welcoming place with lovely staff who smiled and were ready to serve you with lovely soup, sandwiches and salads. Now it was pies, soup and cake which customers have to take away themselves. I saw dozens of elderly people trying to get up the stairs to their tables trying to carry a tray with heavy coffees and cakes. It has been transformed from a delightful cafe to a place fixated on bad service. Such a shame. As well as that, more people were forced to get up those same stairs to reach the toilets only to discover that a code was needed with was printed in tiny writing on their receipts with no alert anywhere. The code was a letter, 5 numbers and another letter. I understand that the place is trying to keep away non-customers but there must be a better way of handling this and making it easier for the core customer base which is pensioners. Won't be returning.

Waiting in queue for food, decided I would be more comfortable if went to loo. Told I could either wait in queue and get code for toilet door from receipt or leave, walk a couple of hundred yards to public toilets and return and rejoin food queue. What a disgrace. Left and didn’t go back.

I couldn’t recommend this cafe enough. The staff were so lovely and friendly. The selection of foods and drinks were really good but the stand out was the gelato. It was so delicious, the best I’ve ever had. They had many interesting flavours which I was told are made on site. I had cappuccino and banofee flavour and my partner had mango and biscoff. The scoops were absolutely monstrous so make sure you go hungry!

Only had coffee, but quite nice.

What a disappointment. No sense of cohesion, 3 delightful ladies who all seemed to be dabbling in each others ‘jobs’ which resulted in the slowest queue I have every been in, if it wasn’t for the look of the fabulous cakes we would have left. When we did get served, literally after being in the queue for 15 minutes, the tea was cold, apparently the wrong urn was used and the lemon drizzle cake (which was the only thing keeping me in the queue) was dryer than dust. An absolute disappointment, those tempting cakes have a lot to answer for.

I was not impressed at all with this visit, there was not much choice of food available realising that the garden centre was having a clearance sale and it was damp and windy outside. There wasn't much choice of hot food available and the service was slow. I got the impression that the staff weren't really interested in their work. It is not a place I would rush to again.

Visited today for first time in a few months. We always have lunch there and as we travel around an hour to get to Grasmere I always go to the loo on arrival! This time the toilet doors were locked. I was told you can't use toilets until you have a receipt for food or drink and a code number will be printed on receipt to enable you to get in to the toilet! Also, now there is no table service. You have to queue at the counter. Whilst queuing I looked at the menus and there were only 2 food choices on it! The only other options are soup or cakes. Apparently the chefs left when the garden centre was taken over 3 months ago. After queuing for 15 minutes me and dad left and found another lovely cafe with waitress service. Such a shame as we used to love it there. Quick service and a good menu. Hopefully these are teething problems and the menu will vastly improve and hopefully they will recruit more staff to reduce queuing times.

Slow service. Only one person on serving, doing their best, but the queue was over 15 minutes. Cakes were dry. To be fair, I should have noticed they weren't covered and gone somewhere else.

Very good cake, and cappuccino too. :)

Nice ice cream, but the toilets are disgrace and in a restaurant too. Filthy floors, door handles, bins, one tap not working and generally just very unhygienic.

Was very busy when we went, cakes were a little over priced for what you got, but its still a nice place to stop and look around

Lovely cafe attached to the garden centre in Grasmere. Good range of cakes and hot and cold drinks. Staff are great too.

Only doing cakes and drinks now! No organisation its everyman for him/herself at the counter. No meals served.

Good location in the garden centre, but very surprised, in this day and age, to find none of their cakes were vegan, nor could I see any vegan ice cream or sorbet. While my friends tucked into their scones, I had to go without. Disappointed.

Lovely staff, amazing kinder bueno iced latte on the fly as the ice machine was broken. Really accommodating for those with allergies and food sensitivities too.

Was already closed at 4.30 instead of 5.30

Queued for half an hour just to get served. No apology, just two very slow staff. Sign outside advertising “hot waffles and ice cream” which was why we went in. They don’t do waffles! Scone was hard but ok, tea bread was nice. Not cheap, but clean and tidy outside seats.

Called in after walking around grasmere lane for 2 CANS of coke. No glass, no ice… £5.50. Rude staff to top it off.

I visited to have a coffee and catch up on emails whilst my family went for a walk. The service was very slow. I had been there for just over a hour before the serving lady chucked me out. She was outright rude stating ‘this is not an internet cafe’ and implying that I was lying about my family joining. Unbelievable. My family and I went a bit further up the road to another cafe and had a much more pleasant experience.

Best gelato I’ve ever had 👍quality is amazing 😻

Excellent food and service. Latte and Coffee Cake was brilliant.

Nice spot to rent weary legs in-between walks. Good coffee.

Good place for coffee or lunch. Friendly staff.

The food is expensive and it's not the greatest. We once ordered pasta for our toddler, it was just a small bowl of plain boiled pasta, nothing on it and it was about 6 quid. It used to be a convenient place to go grab some food, so we used to go there a lot, but this time we went in and waited at the sign that said something along the lines of "please wait to be seated". The staff repeatedly looked at us, walked past us and didn't say a word, they clearly looked at us then just ignored us. Eventually after what felt like a good 10 minutes, a staff member came over and asked us if we wanted to be seated, but was quite rude about it, as if he couldn't understand why we were stood waiting. My wife expressed how upsetting it was to be kept waiting with a toddler when they could clearly see we were waiting and nobody was even acknowledging us. Then I just said that we don't want to sit as if it takes them that long to even serve us, I don't know how long the food would take to come and we had less than an hour before their car park closed. So we left and I can guarantee that we'll neve go back there again, we will try some of the other local eateries instead. We've had some great experiences with most of the other local businesses so we will continue to use them instead.

A great place for coffee and cakes after a long day walking.

Nice little cafe. Free parking for customers.

Had lunch here and found the food really good & tasty. Waited for only seconds before we were shown to a table and given sufficient time to select our choices from a varied menu. An interesting option was a cup of soup and the chicken noodle & vegetables soup was excellent. The sandwich we each ordered was very filling with the ham hand carved and not cut with a laser beam. Also the accompanying mixed salad wasn't drowned with vinaigrette or relish. The service was prompt and polite. The cost of the lunch was really reasonable and the overall quality was terrific.

Great chicken soup !! Hamburger wad delicious!!

Nice cafe, allows dogs. Didn't get food,but the tea and latte was nice.

Had the chilli soup, absolutely lovely

We were really looking forward to our lunch as we have visited many times before and have always really enjoyed the food, particularly the quiches that were served. The menu is now quite basic. From the limited menu we ordered cod goujon sandwiches which sounded tasty, with tartare sauce and smashed avocado. They were pretty awful, quite cold and barely enough tartare sauce to notice. I won't visit again, my previous days packed lunch was far nicer

Food exceptional 😋 Staff are brilliant, very welcoming and friendly. Brilliant service would definitely recommend

Good range of gifts at the shop. Nice waffle at the cafe.

Not sure what to expect of this cafe that is within the garden centre. The menu had a reasonable choice plus a specials board. Buttermilk chicken and 5 bean chilli were ordered. Meals arrive promptly. Both meals decent. Staff efficient and friendly. One thing I wasn't keen on is the food/drinks were brought out on trays and the trays were placed on the table and then left there. It was up to the customer to remove the food/drinks from the trays. Not sure if that is a covid precaution but it just seemed odd.

Always great food. Breakfast is tasty.

Called in as was looking for a sweet treat to eat and a hot drink whilst visiting Grasmere. We approached the cafe whilst trying to look for a menu before we fully made the decision to eat. I asked do they have cakes and was told yes. We had our little girl in her pram and our dog with us. I asked is it okay to have dogs inside and was told by a lady yes but we must eat in the upstairs area. Having a pram this was obviously an issue straight away and I was not offered any help trying to get my pram up the stairs. We were immediately approached with barely any time looking at the menu. My partner asked what cakes do you have, do you have any chocolate cakes. A male waiter just shook his head and said no. He offered no alternatives. We ordered cappuccinos (which at 3.50 per cup I thought was rather ludicrous!) And a waffle. The waffle was okay, overpriced. And the cappuccinos were extremely small considering the price they charge. Staff were rude and had terrible communication amongst each other. I assume the elderly male who works there is possibly the manager? Who thinks he can speak to women like crap as apparently one of the women doesn't have a clue what she's doing?? When leaving, and trying to figure out how I was going to get my pram and my dog down the stairs I noticed a couple who were in fact sat with their dog... downstairs! We then walked passed the cake fridge which indeed was filled with chocolate brownies? (After being told there was no chocolate cake!) This place needs a complete revamp. Menus are cheap and unclean as well as the toilets. Staff clearly need training in communication and they need to decide whether dogs are allowed in the whole cafe or just upstairs (thanks for that) Overall, will not be returning - you can keep your below average £3.50 cappuccinos.

Really nice friendly staff lovely breakfast dog friendly

Not been for a few years but still a destination place for a day out

We intended to have lunch here as we have many times in previous years. On a cold day we looked forward to sitting in the warm sun. However, half the seating, notably that in the sun, was cordoned off. We asked why, and was told it was due to staff shortage. In other words, the staff did not want the effort of cleaning any more than they wanted to. I am afraid I have little sympathy for that approach, where staff prefer to make things easy for themselves rather than give the customer a pleasant experience. If Lake District businesses want to attract customers, particularly in winter, they need to be more customer focused. We had our lunch elsewhere in Grasmere.

Lovely dog friendly garden center cafe with lovely food and friendly staff

Great tea and cakes, very nice staff too.

Brilliant place.Lovely place right in centre of Grasmere. Fantastic range of items in shop and food was lovely.

Just a nice, clean, comfortable cafe. We had a little break from shopping for coffee and cake, both of which were good quality.

We went to the cafe last weekend. We had coffee/milkshakes and lunch! I had the fajita spiced vegetable mix which my boyfriend had the meatballs with the mash and gravy, and my friend had a toastie! All the food was great and staff were lovely!

Get place to eat. Dog friendly too. Excellent food and great service. Would definitely recommend.

Excellent food. Lovely place to spend a cupple of hours. Especially if its raining.

Very clean and hygienic and served by friendly staff.Wonderful garden centre.

In Barrow in furness visiting my son and he took us for lunch table straight away, coffee served immediately, meal soon afterwards would go again.

We were looking forward to a cooked breakfast out, unfortunately the standard of food was very poor. We sat opposite the door to the kitchen and could see most of the food being microwaved before coming out to us. Service was fairly poor, food and...

We have been here many times,every time we are in the lakes we have lunch a couple of times in the week ,always been ok,today it was poor,tables where not very clean ,poor choice of soups,both spicey,well who the hell soup,not good ,the worst thing...

Couldn't eat here as they allow dogs. Not only could this cause a potentially fatal asthma attack, it's unhygienic.

We had a snack in her very nice

Lovely place but high prices. If your disabled quite hard to get around definatly a no go with mobility scooters maybe a wheelchair you could just!!!! Food overpriced for what it was Nice items for sale but very expensive my friend bought a picture with frame beautiful but essentially a print with cheap plastic frame £88 and thats one of the smaller ones. Nice people tho especially one lady she's recently lost her husband im sorry we didn't get her name but she helped my friend get the picture to the car the 3 of us all disabled and all struggled at certain areas so beware ps please look after that lady she's a gem and a credit to your store/cafe/garden shed 😊

We are frequent visitors to the Potting Shed, whenever we visit Grasmere. There is parking close by, but the real attraction is the variety of snacks, cakes and meals available, and drinks and hot beverages. On this occasion the courgette and lemon cake was the intriguing cake that tempted us. The staff are really helpful, and do their best to accomodate any dietary requests. The only drawback is this establishment is so popular that you sometimes have to wait for a table at busy times.

The first time we have used this cafe since the start of the pandemic. It used to have quite an upmarket feel about it tho quite expensive. We tried it today as its dog friendly unlike the cafe at Hayes. There was a notice up saying they had staff shortages but inspite of this we got a pleasant table outside and were served our scones and tea quickly. Food was nice, price reasonable and staff pleasant in spite of being rushed off their feet. It did have an air of neglect about it compared to the past which is sad but a reflection on our times as no one who can afford to actually live in the lake district anymore and the few that can I doubt would want to work in a cafe full of unappreciative customers.

Had a nice coffee and scone. Would have been better with clotted cream rather than whipped cream.

Awful.scones passable.jam tasteless.the cream was awful.no clotted cream.just disgusted.not cheap for the worst cream tea ever

Copious tea and a large ice-cream 👍

Shockingly expensive. Paid just under £9 for two cans of fizzy drink and one scoop of sorbet.

Very rude staff do not come here if a person of colour

We had a lovely breakfast and cuppa this morning. It was great service and the vibe was very nice for a Sunday morning. We recommend to our friends.

Pleasant cafe attached to a garden centre and shop, with household soft furnishings, fragrances, and gifts. It was busy, so table service was slow. However, the young servers did their best. Food was tasty at reasonable prices for a tourist hot spot. Parking and toilets on site.

We stopped in here for a full breakfast after walking from Ambleside, and enjoyed our breakfast so much went back a few days later for lunch. Both very enjoyable meals. For breakfast we had a full English and full veggie breakfast. Both excellent. For lunch...

On our visit to Grasmere stopped here for a light lunch.We both ordered sandwiches .I had the roast ham and my husband had the chicken.Well my goodness when they arrived I thought we could have had one between us.They were delicious.The meat was proper meat...

We received a warm welcome and the service and food were very good despite the fact that the cafe was very busy. It’s dog friendly too and we would definitely recommend it.

Lovely visit today with our dogs. The ham sandwich was thick hand cut ham with Hawkshead relish. The food and cakes are always of a very high standard and the staff are so friendly and welcoming. We always enjoy our visits to this lovely garden...

The potting shed was one of the only open cafes whet we visited Grasmere. Want in for coffee and cake. Coffee was good and was pleasantly suprised at the lovely cakes on offer, very good....... Had A good wander around the shop and garden centre.

very expensive and definitely not worth the price. cups, mugs, and teaspoons were stained as well. staff kept staring hard at us, almost glaring while we drank. milkshakes just tasted fake and i was proven right when i finished and found clumps of half-dissolved mix at the bottom. wouldn't be much of an issue if they hadn't also been lukewarm and £3.95 each

An unhappy experience, firstly the waiter was sullen almost threw the trays on to the table. We ordered Cod goujons , they were more like fish fingers than goujons and the fish was not nice very poor. One to be avoided.

This place was a real haven when I had been up and down searching for somewhere to eat. I am a coeliac and a vegan so this can be difficult but this place had lots of vegan options and lots of gluten free options if...

Our visit to the Potting Shed left us incredulous at the rude and sullen staff. Food was ok, but not somewhere we would visit again.

The cafe is at the back of the shop, which is part of the whole garden centre. There is a limited selection of food , but good for a coffee and if you eat here, you get free parking, in their car park. Also worth...

Garden centre lovely but went for a coffee in the potting shed was shown to table sat for about twenty mins had to ask to be served after seating us himself he went oh I forgot about yous he only walked past us about ten times

Slow service but the food is tasty and the outdoor dining area is spacious and comfy.

We stopped for a coffee & snack in the café. We have visited the garden centre before but would say the cafe’s furnishing and general environment are not over impressive in fact it all looks fairly basic particularly considering the high prices. Toilet facilities old...

Amazing place to unwind after a hectic road trip across the Lake District.. soothing coffee and with Instagram worth photo ops, you won’t regret a single minute of the trip ! They have a huge selection of plants and that was an added bonus I have written a detailed blog on my website - Glocal Girl #goglocalgirl #travelgram

My Family and I visited the garden centre cafe twice this week. My husband who had the veggie breakfast said that it was the best vegetarian breakfast he has ever eaten! I had the cooked breakfast which was lovely too and the hash browns tasted...

My mum had a cake that was dry, the cafe was expensive for what we had and most horrifyingly of all was only accepting card payments.

Bought coffees to takeaway, I have never had a coffee so small and expensive. Never buying from here again. And the fella serving could actually act like he wants the customers, just rude. Unhappy customer.

Attempted to buy almost £100 worth of goods, refused as I only had cash. Apparently they will not deal in cash as it costs to take it to the bank. Didn't have a card on me so sales lost. Also when we said we couldn't...

Sitting outside in a well spaced out area we chose two vegetarian breakfasts and they were the best we have ever had...Home made hash browns were so tasty and along with the sausages, eggs , mushrooms and delicious fried bread made this a memorable meal..

Lovely food and drinks and helpful staff

We went as I noticed that it had reopened and was very disappointed with poor service and how expensive the food was. £6.95 for a bowl of soup is way to much in my opinion!! Wouldn’t go back again I’m afraid.

Had lunch here, the covid restrictions seemed ok, all staff wearing face masks, pity customers can't manage social distancing. Food nice, what does annoy me and not just here the hike in prices just because of location and they get away with it. Only criticism the waitress seemed unable to smile, maybe she was having a bad day!

Very Covid Safe, good friendly staff as always, delicious celeriac &apple soup

La camarera no fue acogedora al tomar nuestro pedido. Pedimos una sopa y un sándwich que eran casi 15. Se suponía que la sopa, servida en un tazón pequeño, era minestrone, pero no había pasta y estaba muy aguada. El sándwich de salmón y gambas fue decepcionante por el precio de más de 9. No se ofrece recibo por el pago con tarjeta.

Regularmente comemos en el cobertizo para macetas ya que vivimos cerca. No lo hemos estado desde el encierro por razones obvias. A su llegada, la señora del frente (que supongo que es la gerente ya que no llevaba uniforme) fue muy hospitalaria conmigo y con mi familia. Ella claramente no quería estar allí o servir a miembros del público. Entiendo que en este momento debe ser difícil en esa profesión, pero que me hagan sentir tan incómodo antes incluso de sentarse es inaceptable.La única gracia salvadora (y la razón de las 2 estrellas) es que la señora que nos sirvió fue increíblemente amable y la comida fue tan buena como siempre. .Ciertamente no volveremos pronto.

Visitamos Grasmere para caminar alrededor del lago y decidimos con sensatez fortalecernos en la cafetería del centro de jardinería. Muy bien organizado, datos de contacto tomados en una mesa de recepción con bolígrafos desinfectados. Nos llevaron a nuestra elección de una mesa al aire libre, la limpiaron mientras nos sentamos. Como siempre, una hermosa cafetería de café y deliciosos bollos. Estaba muy ocupado con un ambiente agradable. . . Lo recomiendo encarecidamente.

Called for a lite lunch with my wife earlier this week and were blown away with the quality the food. The staff worked to the government guidelines and everything was first class. Well done to all concerned.