Thurmaston Rural Centre and Tearooms in Blaby

I went today for afternoon tea with my 3 year old daughter (Peter rabbit afternoon tea ) the tea comes out ascetically pleasing however that’s as far as it goes . The sandwiches came out slightly stale meaning my daughter refused to eat them with a slice of cheese in and a slice of ham & marge . The one cake you get each was fine slightly dense but that is as expected when cooking in mass & a small biscuit each and a tasteless pot of moose. No fruit or crudity's for children and the children’s is charged at the same price as adults £19.90 even for the adults this is seriously overpriced for what you get.. I wasn’t asked how the food was once while there or when I paid . I was embarrassed that I had to leave with my daughter who was so hungry I had to take her Macdonald after paying £40 for a lunch we never ate . I emailed the owner who said all she could do was apologise as no one else had complained but the proof is in the pudding and we left after 20 min of being there as I needed to feed my daughter and had travelled 40 min to get there . Overall overpriced and under delivered. There other food looks fab but the theme afternoon teas are a waste of money and time .

Great food, excellent customer service and a lovely place to have a quiet lunch. Theres more variety on the menu than many other garden centre restaurants in Leicestershire and the food is freshly made to order.

We went there a few months ago, was our first time and was very disappointed. The man who served seemed very rude and short with us and seemed to not want us there. We felt like an inconvenience. Considering how much they charge for food, it would have been nice to feel welcome! It was half empty as we went on a weekday and it felt more like he wanted to have a natter with other staff than serve. The food itself was nice, and the garden centre was small but nice. We would definitely visit the garden centre itself again but avoid the cafe!

Not very good. Poor service from every level in the restaurant; seemed more like a staff social gathering. Complaints from other tables with problems too. And the poor young girl who served us clearly had no training, now that is unfair. The food mediocre - luke warm coffee, bitter unripe avocados, hard poached eggs. I wouldn't return.

We came here for lunch with our dog. The tea room was quite full but we were seated swiftly and food arrived in good time too. Food was reasonably priced and a good size. The lunch was lovely and our dog got a doggy sausage too. Overall, a good experience. Only downsize was that the tea room is in a extension so was quite warm on a sunny afternoon and would imagine it would be cold in the winter.

Absolutely love this tea room. Food is always excellent staff friendly and helpful. Sometimes there is a wait for food but all freshly prepared, beautifully presented and worth the wait. We go regularly with both family and friends for lunch. Have also enjoyed breakfast and afternoon tea. Will definitely be going again

Visited yesterday. Left after 30mins as nobody had taken our order. We saw other people leave before being served. Somewhat chaotic, staff rushed off their feet and no manager on duty.

This is a review for the tearoom only. We received really poor service. As a group of 6, even though the cafe was not very busy, we had to wait over 40 minutes for our basic food to arrive (bacon sandwiches and beans on toast). We had to pay in advance, otherwise we would have walked out and gone elsewhere. We won't be returning.

Love this garden centre and always had a nice meal here… until last Saturday. Just average. 3 meals came out at all different times, and service was not great. Had breakfast here in December, and did not think was worth the money. Again brought some elderly ladies for afternoon tea in December and was nothing special. So had decided would only ever do lunch in future, as was always nice, until this weekend. I won’t be back

We arrived at the tea room at 12.30, our orders were taken almost immediately, 2 avocado and walnut salads and and an omelette and salad then we had to pay up front. We waited almost an hour as the food didn’t arrive until 1.35 , when it came the omelette was rubbery, brown and crispy around the edges and I don’t class a small handful of mixed leaves , one piece of tomato and a few slices of red onion as a salad ! The salads looked quite nice, lots of walnuts but they looked like they had been cremated and tasted like eating charcoal. The fact of the matter is, there are too many tables for the size of the kitchen ( looked very compact from the counter,) and obviously not enough staff. Disappointing is putting it mildly.

Went here 4 a bday treat as weve bin b4 & was lovely garden centre got some lovely gifts & plants r cheap as well … went in 2 the cafe very busy but got a table quickly service was quicky lots if staff which i like 2 c very organised

This place is lovely for a bit of shopping and then a delicious sandwich and coffee. Excellent service and friendly staff. Only disappointing point was that the main cafe area was almost empty but we were still taken to a seat in the dog area even though we did not have our dog with us

Nice tearooms and staff were friendly. Have visited twice in the past few months and both times have had one of the cakes and coffee. Unfortunately both times I have had a tummy upset within a few minutes and had to rush to their loo. Not sure what was in the cakes to have this effect but hasn't happened anywhere else. Don't like leaving negative reviews but if you have any allergies should perhaps be aware. Would visit again and perhaps have something savoury. Coffee was delicious.

Love this place however today wasn’t a great experience. Ordered tea & scones for two. Pot of tea served with freezing cold cups so we had to warm up the cups first before pouring the tea otherwise tea would get cold quickly. Did mention it although ignored. Scone definitely wasn't fresh,, came out warm although stale on the inside and crumbled to pieces when trying to put jam on. A real shame. Also noticed cleaning not great, skirting boards grimy, cobwebs & dust everywhere,, puts you off eating there. The manager seemed distracted when he came over to take our order,, clearly not wanting to gauge in any sort of conversation. Thought this went hand in hand with the job. All in all not a great experience today.

A very disappointing experience ,on arrival we were informed there were no hot drinks as the pipes were frozen .We were then offered either cold drinks or mulled wine .The service was extremely slow our drinks came 50 mins after arrival and the mulled wine was lukewarm .we waited another 15 mins for our afternoon tea to arrive .One of our party used the toilets which because of the frozen pipes had no water to wash your hands which is worrying as regards to hygiene for staff and customers , granted there was hand sanitizer but I prefer hand washing especially where food is concerned .In hindsight I think it would have been advisable to phone people who had prebooked about the situation and given them the choice to cancel if they wish .

I had heard a glowing review about this cafe so decided to try it out for myself. When we first entered the cafe I couldn't help but notice that lots of tables still had dirty cups and plates and even tables that had been cleared hadn't been cleaned. A sign said "Please wait to be seated", but we were told to just grab a menu and find a seat. After finding a seat, we then had to wait quite a long time to be served and in the end had to get a waitress's attention which was surprising as there were very few customers and the ones there had already been served. We ordered a hot drink and a cake. The best part of our experience was the cake, it was delicious and the portion was huge. Napkins would have been good but unfortunately none were given. We left the cafe and still the tables hadn't been cleared. Properly run, this cafe could be great if the cake is representative of the rest of the food.

We took our granddaughter to this garden centre today. It was a first visit for all of us. We sat outside and a waitress came out to take our order - seemed like a good choice for lunch. We ordered a panini, toastie & a child’s meal with drinks. From the time of the order being taken, it wasn’t long before the drinks came out - although my coffee came without the milk that I had asked for. I then set my stopwatch on my phone to see how long it would take them to bring out the food - a shocking 47 minutes later the panini and child’s meal came out. I was left sitting with no food while the others were eating, so ended up sharing my other half’s panini. 10 minutes later, the toastie came out. As you can imagine, our hot drinks had already been drank by this time. To be blunt, we’ve had better paninis & toasties from Dobbies. Summery - Long wait - poor service, sloppy food.

Grim experience, won't be back. Have been numerous times before and now can see recent downhill ratings. After all but eating my food I found a short pale hair. As there wasn't much left I wrongly chose not to complain. We decided to get takeaway cakes but I had to wait 15 minutes for them and when the girl dropped the last cake I asked for the manager.He was not interested at all. He said repeatedly 'what do you want me to do about it', 'come on you weren't waiting that long,'' he was not there the whole time but was being insolent , 'you didn't tell us about any hair', loved telling me he us the OWNER and for some reason his WIFE was in the kitchen. No idea what relevance that has unless she is bald. I should have spoken to them about this manky hair, I chose not to, the staff behind the counter didn't have a clue, and me asking the OWNER 'dont you want to know" proved he didn't. Horrible man. £42 was spent there. Never again.

Waited about ten minutes to be given a table in spite of only five tables in use. Then immediately told “if you want hot food the kitchen closes in 15 minutes. I’ll be back for your order in five minutes”. No return. We had to look towards them all chatting and eventually a pleasant young waitress with dark hair took the order. We asked for our tea to be brought before the food. She politely said that it would be. Waited 20 minutes no tea. Toasted sandwiches then arrived with salad garnish . No cutlery, no serviettes. Waitresses all chatting behind the cake counter. I had to go up and ask for cutlery and serviettes. Knives given but no forks. Made eye contact again. Different waitress arrived. I said the service was bad. She then replied “we are very busy etc etc”. No apology and bad attitude. I said “how are we going to eat our salad without forks”. I had every right, after the very bad service to say this without raising my voice or showing annoyance. She then spoke to me extremely rudely. My husband had to intercept by saying “the only one rude here is you”. She drew the attention of two tables who turned round and looked our way. She returned with two forks and threw them across the table. I must point out that we have been to this tearoom several times and found it very good. At one time we had a long chat with the young lady owner who told us the story of how she and her husband bought it. She also told us about her parents purchasing the garden centre area. A couple of weeks later her husband took our order. He was very nice, very personable and very welcoming. We had a long chat with him. From our experience today my husband said “I will never visit this place again”. Truly a bad experience because of one bad waitress who should not be giving a service. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the young owners were on holiday. They would have come out and apologised. I am sure neither of the owners want this sort of review. They, from our experience, are people who would want their tearoom to survive and would do anything to change it for the better.

First visit to here with a friend for lunch and what a pleasant surprise. Polite and attentive staff providing table service and the smoked salmon & cream cheese bagel was delicious. Great value for money in a lovely spot. Will be back!

Surprised by negative reviews. Brought my elderly mum for tea and a toasted teacake. Asbsolutely no problems with service. Very nice tearoom.

Really lovely breakfast with a wide menu choice and very friendly staff. Cakes looked amazing!! Very attentive, If we was local we would be back.

I am so surprised to see the reviews here! I think we have probably been for breakfast here about 6 times over the past 2 years and we have never ever encountered problems! The food has always arrived quickly, as ordered. Customer service is always...

Arrived and shown to a table, there was only one which was clean! Given a menu to then be told you can’t order from it as it’s after 2pm, fair enough. We asked to order and was told we would be back in a minute…....

Such a shame met some friends at the tea room absolutely freezing cold in wasn’t a pleasant experience won’t be going back there again till summer ..

We visit this cafe on a regular basis and the food ,service and prices are excelent. However the tempreture of the room needs warming up now winter is here . Maybe its a Covid thing

Refurbished garden centre with shop area fruit and veg and cafe. Some lovely cakes, sausage rolls and other food as well as afternoon tea. Very pleasant and tasty fayre.

I’m rating my experience 3/5 because the tea room staff and service really let the whole thing down. The garden Center is nice, a little rundown but nice enough to look around and purchase what you like. The fresh fruits and vegetables available to buy...

Having read the recent reviews I had some reservations when I visited the cafe last Saturday with 4 cycling friends. When we arrived we said that we would like to sit outside and without delay our order was taken. We didn't have anything cooked, just...

I visited here a few weeks ago with my two children for lunch we were seated and our order was taken... 1 hour later our food still hadn't arrived and my children started to get restless a waitress came over to tell me my order...

Took over an hour and a half for a sandwich. Not reasonable or acceptable. No manager on site so all the staff were young kids and under a lot of pressure. Appreciate things will be busy on a bank holiday but to leave junior staff...

Came to this garden centre for the first time. Nice variety of plants, but prices a little high . The gardening section in the greenhouses was very unloved with many faded items. It was pretty hot in there on a dull day, so I can...

Have to echo several other reviews regarding the tea rooms. The garden centre is wonderful but I have walked out of the cafe now twice recently. Today, despite the cafe being almost empty my daughter and I waited and waited for someone to pay attention...

Bacon brie and cranberry panini is divine - though a little pricy - and served creatively. Little play area for young children to keep them occupied also.

I'm sorry to say that as a regular customer for a while now, I will never come and eat in your cafe again. So disappointed and annoyed with such bad customer service. It's not like it's a cheap place to eat. Also not getting food...

After making some purchases at the garden centre, We decided to see what the tearoom was like. I wish I hadn’t bothered. The atmosphere wasn’t pleasant at the counter. The man behind the counter wasn’t the friendliest of people. The other member of staff taking...

Took my Auntie this morning. It’s 1st time out for her in 8mths since a bad fall so was on crutches. We had a lovely look round the place, were looked after so well by the delightful staff & then finished off by having a...

Just after opening after Lockdown we only went in for a snack and a coffee . All the systems were in place as regards hygiene and track and trace .All the young staff were working hard trying to seat and serve everybody . There was...

29th August, we went to the garden centre and whilst there decided to have lunch. My wife had been several times before and always been impressed. I had a 'signature' burger, my wife went for a mushroom omelette. Social distancing was in place and adhered...

Visited this afternoon and not busy, sat in conservatory with dog. Ordered 2 burgers, b’fast bagel and panini also doggy sandwich £50 + with drinks. Long wait but under current circumstances not an issue, burger too burnt to eat and that coming from a 14yrs...

Unfortunately, 1st and last visit to cafe. Wanted to make my own mind up but have to agree with previous comments. Way too expensive - I work far too hard to be served with throw away cups and plates. When we go out, even more...

Visited here on Saturday 15 August for coffee and cake. On the safe dining point of view it was spot on, details taken and shown to a table all socially distanced. However, £4 for a slice of lemon drizzle was a joke, (especially as it...

We had a coffee and cake break with the family. Brownies were destroyed by the kids, a sure sign they were delicious, my wife's scone was a bit dry she said but my icing covered lemon drizzle cake was awesome! Coffee was good too. All...

Disappointed and won’t be returning! 4 people for Son’s birthday breakfast. Young waiting staff fail to smile and are lacking in customer service skills. 4 meals, 4 drinks. Over priced for what we got. Cooked breakfast was tepid. Bacon sandwich was more fat that bacon!...

The rudest staff!! Young girls that have absolutely no idea how to talk to customers. Clearly unhappy in there jobs as they never smile. Food overpriced for what you get. Also, they welcome dogs INTO THE RESTAURANT (yes in a doggy corner) however I disagree...

Awful Sunday lunch. Hospital food is better. Don’t waste your money like we did and think how bad could it be!

If I could give this place zero stars I would. Majority of staff at this place are rude! The place is very busy and crowed they have some good ideas to get customers through the door but don’t be fooled. It’s all about making money....

This was the most expensive ready meal I have ever had. I wouldn't recommend this place if you are looking for a pleasant meal.

I visited with a friend and we ordered breakfast for us and our kids. We had all the three dishes we ordered with scrambled eggs completely covered in black pepper. Now, i am not a big fan, never use it on my cooking and neither...

Refurbished garden centre with shop area and cafe. Some lovely cakes, sausage rolls and other food as well as afternoon tea. Very pleasant and tasty fayre.

Popped in for Sunday lunch .First day of their Carvery. Nice meal and I wish them success. Once again it was the staff that sold it as they were all nice ,efficient and polite.. Our waitress especially. Would go again..

I have visited here a few times but eaten until this Wednesday. We were served swiftly and our food was lovely. I had the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs in toast not muffin like the menu. My auntie had the English breakfast which also looked yummy. All the cakes look fresh and tasty although didn’t have any as full from breakfast

Went here with friends for a Sunday lunch after seeing the pictures on Facebook advertising it Unfortunately the food was not as illustrated there was no separate cauliflower cheese or separate veg food was not particularly hot either and quite expensive however the hosts were friendly and the cake for pudding was nice also the garden centre side was good and plants are reasonably priced

A nice cafe if want tea and cake... some food looks nice but not had a hot meal. Not especially cheap but some tempting things-sausage rolls look good!!

We enjoyed a lovely lunch today -freshly prepared sandwiches, crisps, scone with butter and jam and coffee - great value for money at £5 per head as a special deal for the over sixties.

Fantastic attention to detail with wholesome freshly prepared food. Very well presented.

I went with my daughters for afternoon tea as a birthday surprise. We had a table reserved for us and they had also put a Happy Birthday balloon up. The staff were very friendly, very polite and surroundings were lovely,clean and relaxing. When they brought the food out it was on a small picnic bench with smoked salmon and soft cheese, ham and cheese and egg and tomato sandwiches cut into triangles. Then we had a slice of lemon drizzle cake, clotted cream and strawberry scones and chocolate cup cakes in little flower pots with fresh strawberries - homemade. Finished off with cups of tea. The food served to other customers looked just as inviting as ours. A lovely afternoon and would highly recommend it.