The Secret Garden Cafe in Stockton-on-Tees

Dreadful! Its not even worth the one star. We each had a slice of lemon and vanilla sponge. You would think you couldn't go wrong with it. First, we got the wrong cakes. Then it took an age to bring the correct cake. The cake was disgraceful, absolutely rock hard and dry. They had put it in the microwave to try and warm it up, probably in an effort to hide the fact it was well past its best. That didn't work! I have never in my life refused to eat cake that is served to me. I've had poor cake at places but this should have come with a not fit for human consumption warning. I honestly can't believe it was served to us. If food standards agency went in, it would be without a doubt closed down. The hot chocolate was poor, but we drank it. Very week with little flavour. We paid for the hot chocolate. We declined to pay for the cake. The member of staff didn't even check it before saying we didn't have to pay. I suppose he knew we were right. The staff lack any people skills. The food is not fit for sale and the place is grotty. It truly let Bakewell down.

This cafe was great for healthy Mediterranean food in a relaxed atmosphere and friendly attentive staff. We popped in on Christmas Eve for late lunch and shared toasted ciabatta filled with halloumi and roasted vegetables and a Turkish salad with feta and olives and the most delicious flatbread. Ordered from the counter and food arrived in 10-15 minutes even though there was a big table making the staff very busy. We didnt read any of the reviews here until afterwards and we were surprised how bad some were.

Ordered 1 x Coffee for myself and 1x hot chocolate for my wife. 1 x steak pie for myself and 1 x baked potato with Cole slaw for the wife Drinks came quickly and both were enjoyed hence the one star I have given. After 30 minutes I asked when our food would be brought. I was told we had only been waiting 25 minutes. After 40 minutes our food arrived. Steak pie, which I was assured when ordering was beautiful, the meat was totally dried up inside the rock hard pastry. The accompanying veg was barely cooked, the gravy however was good and welcome as it made everything else taste of something. The baked potato, although sold as large, was little more than a small potato served hard, in other words uncooked. We sat just inside the door and in full view of the food prep area. Basically food prep is the responsibility of 1 benny hat wearing man with a microwave. All food is precooked and microwaved in portions as required. This place should be closed and its staff chased out of town by the council. A beautiful town and a beautiful day out spoilt. Don’t be fooled or drawn in by the name and quaint location avoid

Hi this used to be a beautiful cafe, not been for a while probably pre COVID, was so disappointed today, I am gluten free and vegetarian, asked for a cheese and onion sandwich,l to take out and a slice of gluten free lemon cake. Bread was dry and had no butter on so cheese and onion fell straight out of it, the lemon cake was awful had one taste which I struggled to eat as so dry and tasteless that I threw it away. So disappointed this used to be such a lovely place to eat 😔

Went to the Xmas market today and decided to look for somewhere to eat, found this bistro in a secluded side street. On entry no greeting so found ourselves a seat and my wife went and picked two menus up. Ordered tea and a water along with Chilli con carne with rice and a beef lasagne. Drinks arrived after 10 mins and food followed 20mins later. The Chilli had big clusters of minced beef and the rice was part cooked, lasagna was tasteless along with wet garlic bread. We both decided it wasn’t fit for consumption and left. If we had internet on our phones at the time and read the reviews there is no way we would have visited this shambles’s of a so called bistro…..! For your health’s sake please avoid at all costs.

On a recent visit the lovely town of Bakewell we called in to the Secret Garden Cafe for lunch. Although it looks OK and the location is good, the experience and food were not. We only ordered two toasted sandwiches and 2 teas and it wasn’t very busy but the second sandwich never arrived. So after waiting 20 mins we decided to cancel the second sandwich and ask for a refund. The very stressed owner was extremely rude and had no idea about customer service as he refused to refund the tea as well as the sandwich as he said we had received that so its chargeable, even though we didn’t drink it as we were waiting for the food. Then was really belligerent and argumentative towards my wife, ranting about having to pay the bills etc..and the whole situation went downhill very quickly. However we did get the sandwich refunded. We don’t visit cafes to be shouted at and ignored. This place cannot cope with the requests it receives and the food is average at best. This is really disappointing and is a blot on the otherwise vibrant atmosphere of Bakewell. AVOID, AVOID, AVOID *Zero stars applies

A really lovely place for lunch. This place is hidden away but really pleased we found it. We hadn’t read the reviews of it beforehand - don’t let these put you off! Very tasty soups and jacket potato with pulled pork. Excellent Turkish coffee and baklava. The owners were extremely friendly and quick service. Dog friendly.

Lovely home cooked food. Great choice of fillings for panini and sandwiches. Cakes looked really nice but we didn’t try any. Outside area looked like it would be really nice on a sunny day too

Brilliant service and really tasty food. Lovely soft music with perfect ambience. Great staff. Definitely will return 😊

Had an amazing cream tea, sat in a lovely outdoor space. Amazing food and portion sizes. Extremely friendly staff x x very reasonably priced would definitely return

Just don't go there , I went for coffee and cake which they basically had to put on a plate and put on the table but this seemed beyond them . I had to go in three times and ask for my order. In the end I insisted that they put the three little pastries on a plate and give it to me. The staff are very stressed and arguing and saying they can't cope and that the food is being burnt. They should just simplify the menu so that it is quick to serve eg cake on a plate ....no whipped cream , no microwaving the pastries , no strawberries on the side just a slice of cake ...just cut and serve. The garden looks lovely but the music is too loud it must disturb the people in the flats. Suggest they re think menu to aid swift serving. People chose this cafe for the seating area as it a lovely courtyard . If I were the owner I would change the name and seriously think about a completely different theme with a very simple menu eg just tapas , or cold lunches . Give yourself a break ! I hope the owner is reading this and just consider stopping what is obviously not working and relaunch something which makes the cafe a simple, quiet , calm place to go. Pick one theme and serve it and do that well . You have a potential goldmine here but not as it is .

TERRIBLE PLACE...Do not go... I wouldn't give it one star.. Thankfully we visited for an afternoon coffee only and not for our lunch. I do enjoy a coffee and can honestly say this is the worst cup of coffee I've ever had, So very happy we didn't decide to have our lunch here... The manager was rude and didn't have a clue how to approach the customer or treat his staff... Thankfully we found a little gem not far away where we enjoyed a super healthy lunch and coffee... The secret garden cafe indeed... The big secret is not to go to this terrible place... We certainly won't be back...

Can't understand the bad reviews, we had fab Turkish coffee and delicious baklava, the outdoor space is lovely. Great place!

Please don't go here the food was terrible dry bread not much filling which you pay an extra £1 for. My husband likened it to Fawlty towers. None of the staff seem to know what they were doing. The young waiter had a right mop of hair in between serving food he kept running his hands through it 😝 Then two of us had stomach upsets

Very poor service and refusal to refund money or food for which I had paid. Some speciality bread, which I had not requested, was brought to the table. I said I did not want it. At the end, I was charged £7.99 for this item. Because I was on my way to the hospital for an appointment [I have eye Cancer], I was rushing and paid before I realised. My request for either the return of my money, or the bread to take home, was refused. I will never go there again and I would recommend that you do not go either!