Williamson's Garden Centre & Coffee Shop in West Lothian

I took my dog to this lovely garden centre last Saturday and popped in for a lovely coffee. My dog and I sat outside on the decked area . The coffee was good and the staff were friendly and helpful and a waitress kindly brought a coffee to my table. Delightful place and I will definitely return when next in the area.

We come here often because of the lovely sunroom and cakes. However, their coffee is vile. Way too strong and bitter..couldn’t have more than two sips. The bacon was so greasy, fatty and salty it was inedible.Very disappointing. We shall stick to tea and cakes from now on.

Don’t eat here!! On ordering as stated on the menu I advised of my allergy, however we were allowed to pay and then were told I couldn’t eat once we had sat down. There was no ‘you can’t have this but can have this’ option, I couldn’t eat anything from their kitchen. I’ve eaten around the world and never had issues like this. The rest of my party had their food, my choice as I was happy to wait, however they wished we hadn’t, food wasn’t good and items missed which had to be refunded. If they can’t make a chicken panini peanut free then I dread to think of the hygiene issues they face elsewhere!

Coffee shop is very expensive for average food. £9.50 for 3 small pancakes, 1 strawberry cut up and a couple of berries. £4.50 for a 50p roll and 30p Egg scrambled. Had to ask for the toast for the breakfast as didn’t receive it. Tea cups stained, tea itself had lots of bits floating in it. Scrambled egg which isn’t difficult to make was watery and tasteless. Having to order at a till at those prices is also very poor. Food brought to table with no cutlery? Then told where it was which was back at the till. Why give food with nothing to eat it with. Overall it’s atleast 30% more expensive for the food and service. Plenty more places with better food, service and prices. The best part of this cafe was a member of staff that took time to chat with our family.

We regularly take a walk here and sometimes have the dog with us as we can sit at the cafe’s outside tables. Cakes are usually delicious but I think the supplier must have changed as the Viennese whirls were like powder and had some weird pink filling. Very disappointing as it’s not cheap. Outside tables were filthy and we had to get napkins and clean a table and chairs before we sat down. Coffee is still the very best though.

love this family run garden centre but unfortunately had the worst sandwich ever there It was tuna and was on thick white bread with a huge amount of should have said something as its not cheap . I am hoping this was a one of and the staff were busy as I enjoy my visits and always recommend

Delicious cheese burger best we've had for a long time. Then a cake with cuppa after.. Cake also fab... Could/should have shared as was large . Service excellent! Thank you.

We went to see the tropical fish next door and stopped for a bite. Hand sanitizer, logging book and advice of Covid safety distances. Served politely and quickly. Food was not long in being delivered. Jacket potatoes were not microwaved and were very tasty. We had a soup each, one lentil and one carrot and coriander. Very pleased with service and staff. Also toilets were CLEAN.Well done. First time visit but we will return. Yes a little pricier than you would expect, but not microwaved or cold!!

We have been there a couple of times. There's a good selection of cakes, it's nice and cozy inside. We were pretty enjoying the soup and panini, poor quality bread honestly for a place like that. The prices are higher than other places even in Edinburgh centre but without a good reason. At the end we ordered 2 double espresso coffee: this were the worst espressos ever. They haven't a clue how the espresso looks like: it was in a big cup, full of brown water. Completely rubbish. Disappointing!!!

We've visited this place regularly over the years and used it to meet up with friends and family. However, not any more. The prices have increased to the point where it is no longer acceptable. For two small cups of coffee and two small cakes it came to £12. The prices of other items we used to love e.g. home made soup have also gone beyond the acceptable and disappointingly we will no longer be using the place to meet up as there are much less expensive options elsewhere - even Starbucks is cheaper!!!

Ordered soup and panini combo. The soup was advertised as cream of mushroom, one of my favs as pulses do not agree with me. Well firstly, “cream of” immediately makes me think of silky and smooth consistency and this was not. It was a very thin, stock like liquid with some cream added and the mushrooms were chopped, not puréed, which made the consistency very unpleasant and watery. Secondly, the soup was completely over-seasoned with salt to the point of it being inedible in my opinion. I hate wasting food but after a few spoonfuls I just couldn’t eat anymore. It had been a while since I had been out for lunch and I was seriously underwhelmed and disappointed. On hindsight I should have complained but I probably just won’t be back for a while. I’ve been an ardent supporter of this Garden Centre for years but they need to take more care with advertising as my soup was not “cream of” and the fact it was advertised as such was my reason for taking it. Also be more careful when seasoning. Very disappointed customer.

I went with my young daughter who wanted to buy houseplants with her Christmas money. The lady couldn't have been nicer and more helpful in helping her choose something suitable. She knew plants well, and offered her help in a really nice way.

We were not asked for our details, many staff not wearing masks. Our table had crumbs on it.Noise from kitchen was horrendous, clattering of crockery etc, showing no respect for paying customers. We overheard members of staff arguing and complaining. The food was pleasant but we would never consider a return visit.

My friend and I ordered cake and coffee. I chose a piece of cake which the waitress proceeded to cut in half before giving it to me leaving me with a slice so thin it was partly missing at one end. I asked for something else instead. We then tried to find a clean table but every table inside was dirty. So we sat outside.

During our visit to the coffee shop app. 4pm we ordered cakes tea for three people service was good. When we started to eat the staff on duty were busy cleaning the dining room making such a din moving chairs and taking to each from a great distance loudly over the customers which is rude and not professional. I felt that our stay at your restaurant was not welcoming and felt we had to rush out as it was closing time. I may not be returning as it was too noisy also of the abrubness of your staff.

We popped in to have a look at there plants . we had already had light lunch at the rival garden centre . We decided to have latte and empire biscuit. Served by lovely friendly staff and our lattes were just the best , as was the biscuit . We wish we had had lunch . We will return to do just that. Prices were so reasonable etc for better products. The plants were of better quality and the rival will not get our custom in future

We are huge fans of Williamson’s. We were there at least every fortnight before lockdown. First time back today and so disappointed. I had a tuna sandwich but the bread was so dry and stale. My other half had a haggis and cheese panini which was ok but again the panini itself was dry. We also had raspberry and white chocolate cake and Victoria sponge. The VS was quiet soft and tasted reasonably fresh but the raspberry was as dry as a stick and almost hard and the end of the slice. I’m so disappointed. Not to the standard of pre lockdown. I also noticed that the prices seem sky high compared to before.

Had an exceptional experience visiting Riverside Aquaria today. My partner and I travelled from Renfrewshire exclusively to visit the shop and were dazzled by the variety of aquatic life, plants and tanks. Richie was amazing help and spent a lot of time with us helping my partner to pick out a tank. His knowledge of the shop and fish were extremely useful and he really did go the extra mile. We’ll be back as soon as possible, and thanks again, Richie!!

Dropped in as we’d seen the place in passing a while ago during lockdown. What a great place for snack & light lunch foods. There were plenty of tables both indoors & outdoors, well spaced for Covid. Food selection was very good & we opted for a fruit scone (huge), a Lorne sausage roll & a baked potato with coronation chicken. The food was very tasty but the Baked potato was a bit black as if it had been sitting for a while. Fine tho. Food took a while to come out but it was worth the wait. Would definitely return & what a great place for outdoor eating. Nice gifts in the shop too!

Dropped by this afternoon for coffee and cake. Quick, friendly and efficient service at the counter (no queue) and as the sun popped out and it warmed up a bit, we sat outside (and brought the dog to sit outside too). Service was so quick my coffee arrived before I even got my dog from the car. Yummy paradise cake to go with it and a great chat with one of the staff (masked and socially distanced). Very relaxing and enjoyable.Felt like back to normal. Thanks team :-)

Been visiting this coffee shop for over 15 years, but the last year, service has just got slower and slower. Our recent visit took over 20 minutes to be served (with only 2 sets of customers in front of us)Track and trace details only take less than 1 minute, so slow service nothing to do with that (and no issue providing same).The issue is that the one till operator, constantly has to leave the till to speak to staff/set up trays/get items ordered. There are so many ways service could be speeded up, including having a front of house supervisor/manager, just focusing on customer service.It's such a shame, the venue is nice, food generally good when it comes and staff usually pleasant. There's just no drive to serve anyone.As I said, not just a one off, would never write a review on such. Wrote a letter to the owner and after nearly 3 weeks, no reply - obviously don't want the feedback nor want to take what was practical suggestions on how to improve (have run restaurants for over 30 years).Shame really as nice and local for us, but won't be back.You would think, given recent Covid restrictions, at one point being one of the few food places which could open, they would be keen to capitalise on that and drive their sales, to make up for time when restrictions meant they could not trade, earlier this year. Obviously not.

Arrived at Williamson for a coffee and cake.Queue was not long (3 couples in front of us) but did take quite a while to get served.Ordered 2 coffees and 1 bakewell tart and was told to take number to a table. We then waited for 25 mins for our 2 coffees and 1 bakewell tart!! . There was a couple next to us that had just ordered coffees and cake and they also waited 25 mins. I think this is ridiculous . I could not get my knife through the cake. It was solid. We won't be back. I think they need to organise things better. People that just want a cake and coffee should not take that long. I would understand if we ordered a meal etc.! .

Absolutely outstanding service from Angela flowers arranged and delivered in under 1 hour 5⭐️ Would recommend Angela every time

We both visited this garden centre whilst in the area and can only say that the plants were very appear to be very healthy and looked after, it had a good selection of pots and other garden equipment, also had ample parking, worth a visit to the keen horticulturist.

Group of oldish men meeting for breakfast and coffee, the cafe is spacious and bright, the staff friendly and efficient. I like that you order and pay at the till saves trying to work out the bill at the end. The food was excellent no complaints even from the grumpy old men among us. A lovely location

Definitely one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a long while... and I’ve got to say much better than it’s bigger neighbour!!The full breakfast was freshly made and well presented. Loved the haggis and the tea was perfect.Service was excellent, the staff were smiling and engaged with the customer making me feel very welcome.I was only passing today but in future I’ll definitely go out of my way to visit again!!Superb!

Excellent in every respect apart from being served. Took over 30 illmins in queue to get to till. Defo need 2 tills.

Was at Williamsons Garden Centre a few weeks back to meet some friends for lunch. This was the first time I had visited and I could not believe the size of the centre and the coffee shop area. All three of us ordered soup & sandwiches for lunch, with coffee, there was lots of choice and I had Chicken Broth and a Tuna & Cheese sandwich. All the food was lovely, well presented and more than enough for lunch, would go back again if in this area and recommend to others

We have been here previously and despite a longer wait for food its guaranteed to be freshly cooked. Today (Sunday) on arrival we were made aware that their would be a 20 min wait for hot food...not a problem and thanks for the heads up. However, I think we were not the only ones waiting around as the full breakfast came out looking rather dry and had clearly been cooked, sitting waiting to go and not delivered. Judging be the plates surrounding our table I dont think we were the only ones to think so as at least 3 plates of the 'full breakfast' were lying on uncleared tables only partially eaten. This compared to the next table who got a completely different meal with their full breakfast coming out appearing very fresh. Very disappointing standard especially for a weekend 'treat'

The lunches here are really good. I'm not a lover of the cakes - a bit stodgy, but the coffee is up to standard. Can you do something about the coffee glasses though? large ones are really heavy! Remember a lot of your clients are of the retired variety.

Popped in for lunch-nice, well stocked self serve and good selection of hot and cold food. We had a toastie and a steak burger with cheese...both lovely and very reasonably priced. Will definitely pop in again.

You have to pass through the gift & card area to enter the cafe.

Local garden centre, nice environment, clean and tidy, staff attentive, placed lunch order at the front desk of cafe, order didn’t take long, more than enough for lunch, all enjoyed, very tasty, recommended venue for breakfast, lunch , coffee, tea and cake , great variety, well worth a visit

Enjoyed a catch up with my friend and we had lunch. The food was good and hot and our hot drinks were good. It’s very clean and tidy and very cosy place. Staff were friendly and helpful. It’s got some parking. It’s pricing is for all budgets.

I Go Here Often Mainly For The Coffee Shop Which Is Excellent. Today However My Mum Was Looking To Purchase Some Plants. As My Mum Was Outside In A Wheelchair I Went Into The Counter To Ask If There Was A Basket To Bring The Flowers In To Be Scanned. 3 Staff Members Looked At Me & Spoke To Each Other On How They Couldn’t Come To The Counter, I Walked Away But As This Was For My Mum I Had To Reluctantly Go Back. I Was Then Attended To & Told That They Were Short Staffed. When I Advised That This Was Fine But I Should Have At Least Been Acknowledged I Received Glaring Looks From One Of The Lady’s Preparing Flowers. I Think We All Know That Independent Businesses Need All Of The Support That They Can Get In The Current Economic Climate & I Would Say Basic Manors Would Be A Good Start In Keeping Customers!

BEST Venison burger this side of deer park! Absolutely delicious, pity it’s only occasionally on the menu...

I went to Williamstons for breakfast with a friend yesterday morning. I am vegetarian. The choice was a Full Breakfast, Eggs Benedict and French toast with bacon. I am not keen on Eggs Benedict so asked if I could have the French toast without the bacon but a portion of mushrooms instead. I was told they could remove the bacon but I couldn't add the mushrooms unless I paid extra. I choose to do this. The French toast and bacon was priced at £6. I was charged the £6 and charged an extra £1.10 for the small portion of mushrooms. It was very average and in no way worth £7.10. I would not go back again.

We went here for breakfast on an absolutely beautiful Easter Monday morning. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We were able to sit at a table outside and waited for our freshly cooked food. We had one cooked breakfast and a scrambled eggs on toast. Both were very tasty and the staff came across to make sure everything was okay and offered a top up of hot water to the pot of tea. Wonderful service and great to be able to sit outside close to all the plants.

I'd never go back to the coffee shop. A bowl of lukewarm soup. 3 fish and chips, fish was like the cheap pack of 4 you buy from a frozen food shop, just mush in greasy batter accompanied by hard chips. 2 cups of tea in stained cups. Worst £32 I've spent.

Have visited this Garden Centre coffee shops this Saturday and last Saturday. Last week I stood in a queue just to order food for more than 25 minutes. It then took another 20 minutes for the food to arrive. Staff are friendly and the food is good, so this week we arrived an hour earlier to beat the rush! Only a 10 minute queue but have now been advised that any food will take at least 30 minutes to appear!! Perhaps if they got rid of the Specials menu and concentrated on core items the kitchen would be able to cope? Who knows! Bad management and another disappointing visit.

lovely coffee shop,nice breakfast rolls and coffee.The soup with bread and butter is so nice.You can get specials form the board to go with soups sandwiches on offer.

First time in taking my Mum and Dad they loved it food fab and staff as always so helpful. Haggis burger a winner with my Dad and the soup is fab. Thanks

My wife and I visited here for a snack at lunchtime,

I visited this place recently and the service was just fantastic. A lady came to our table to ask if ok to give a chocolate gift to my daughter. I also asked for help with some of my order and the lady actually went a brought back several options for me to choose from. A really fantastic service in the cafe!

I've visited this coffee shop on numerous occasions and always enjoy the food but get frustrated at the poor poor counter service where staff use a tablet screen to enter orders.

Really good soup and fresh sandwiches. Yes it’s busy so sometimes you do have a queue however it’s worth the wait for fresh food.

Having visited on a number of occasions the quality of the food has always been good and the standard of service provided by the waiting staff has always been friendly and efficient given that the kitchen can struggle at busy times to cope with the volume of custom. The lunch-time queues reflect the popularity of the freshly made meals.

I stoped whilst out cycling as I had planned to take a cycling group out here which I won’t be doing. The service was awful and it looked like they were training a new girl on the till but not a good idea to do so on a busy Sunday lunchtime! I queued for 25 mins to order then waited another 20 mins for a bacon roll by which time my coffee was cold. No apology, just a “we are busy” worst of it was there were loads of staff around but no organisation, won’t be back and I don’t think anyone else I spoke to in the queue will be either!

We have used Williamson's for several years and it never disappoints. Food is always home made and of an exceptional standard. Staff are warm, friendly and attentive. Cannot praise this enough

Home made food fresh every day. Good value for money and a great variety. The soup is always delicious and the cakes are to die for. Well worth a visit, I go often.

Lovely cafe extended since last visit a couple of years ago. Clean area with friendly staff. French toast delicious and bacon tasted like home cured. Look out for the unusual teapot serving Earl Grey tea!

I love coming here either my kids. We have a good look around the lovely products on offer and always stop off at the cafe.

Great coffee shop with friendly attentive staff. Food always tasty and usually served very quickly. The lentil soup is particularly good. They do daily specials and deals(Soup and sandwich). Great selection of cakes

I had been recommended this place by a friend so i went for breakfast and i wasn't disappointed. Food was made fresh and the quality was excellent. The coffee was also nice but was almost finished once the breakfast arrived. For what you get its also very reasonable. You will wait a bit for your food to come but they do have a ring ahead service which allows you to pre-order your food. Well worth a visit.

On the road to Livingston, very close to Uphall, the garden centre is quite big, big car park. At lunchtime we had a look, we stopped at the café inside the centre and we enjoyed very much the lunch. It's a nice and big café, many tables inside and some tables on the deck outside. We got a baked potato with huggies and a sandwich, it was all delicious, well presented, fresh and we'll cooked. The expresso coffee was a good coffee too. Friendly staff, big selection of sweeties, you can't resist to try one of those homemade pies, shortbread or many others. Excellent!!!!

Great place for a good hearty Scottish breakfast at a very reasonable cost. If nice sunny day you can sit outside in the garden shop area. The breakfast contains all the favourites and the cost makes up for the drive out from Edinburgh.

didn't go with any great expectations but what a surprise, excellent service, excellent food so tasty & fresh, great coffee ( i'm fussy about a good cup of coffee ) bright and inviting decor, prices were very reasonable and everything was clean & tidy. Top marks.

Not sure if the aquarium is part of the garden centre’s business but just walked out in disgust.

This is a favourite place with myself and my friends. Garden centre so lovelybeautiful fresh flowers lovely gifts food in restaurant cooked fresh and really good, prices good. All staff in garden centre and restaurants so nice .A favourite place. Jan Smith

Heard this was a step above the other options in the area particularly Dobbies Garden World and I must agree. Modern clean and welcoming you can see immediately why it is so popular. Maybe a slightly restricted menu but there is something for everyone and the cakes and baked goods looked fantastic. With only one person manning the till who also took our order and served drinks I must say the queue could have moved quicker but it was not a real issue. The baked potato expert in our party declared this example the best anywhere and our soup specialist was similarly impressed. Also worth mentioning that prices are better than competitive and obviously bring people back.We will definitely return.

Dropped in for a cappuccino this morning place was quite busy but did not take long to be served by cheery staff . Fruit scones just out of the oven ,lovely flavour Some nice specials on the board but not for me today I will look forward to a nice lunch here next week

good grub and coffee at reasonable prices for a garden centre, not quite as greedy as some others nearby!!

Went for lunch on Saturday at 12.30 Was told on placing order that there was a 40 min wait We only wanted soup / sandwich Wondered how filling a bowl of soup takes 40 mins ? Soup was fresh & very enjoyable Sandwich fresh & tasty but to wait 20 mins for a coffee seems a tad long So 4 stars for food Deduction for time taken to serve

I met a friend here today for morning coffee followed later by lunch as we had been totally disappointed by the food and service at the nearby Dobbies. We were not disappointed here and will certainly return. Morning coffee and tea which was piping hot was severed after ordering to our table. No disappointment here.

Went here for lunch and was not disappointed .you order food at counter and it is then brought to your table. The food itself was excellent and well presented and arrived promptly although the restaurant was quite busy.on a very minor note the car park would benefit from being resurfaced.

Six of us just had breakfast at Williamsons. Excellent food, service, prices and atmosphere. Much better than Dobbies which is only 500 metres away. The coffee is much better quality too. After ordering and paying at the counter everything is brought to your table. No queing up to pay while your holding a tray of rapidly cooling food & drinks.

This is a lovely place to visit for lunch and/or coffee and cake. Easy to get to, lots of parking, exciting shop to browse on your way to coffee shop. The service is great from really pleasant staff, spotlessly clean and the food and cakes are plentiful and delicious. Food is priced well and you can have all of this in a really nice ambience with a lit fire on a Winter's day.

Excellent food & service however whilst it does have disabled facilities they are not very good. The toilet is too low and NO barriers on the wall to assist you getting of the toilet. Twice I have had to get my husband to lift me of the toilet which is embarrassing for both of us. Whilst the food is good I sadly have to give it a miss because of this.

Arrived about 11 am , my friend and I ordered the Eggs Benedict , Coffee and Tea sat at a table by a large log fire, in very pleasant surroundings.

I have been to Williamsons twice now i have ordered different things on both occasions and on both occasions there has been a hair in both meals. I am not one to complain but when it happens more than once I need to have my say. The food is lovely and is always lovely but the staff need to wear hair nets and only on the 2nd occasion have the staff been accomodating and have replaced my meal the 1st time the young girl just said okay and that was it. I think hair nets should be worn in the kitchen to stop this happening in future.

OK, it's a garden centre cafe, not a posh restaurant. Good food, good service and clean. Much better than Dobbies just 400 yards away.

Had three baked potato's one with tuna, one with coronation chicken and one with haggis. If u don't like your baked Potato dry ask at the till for extra butter. This time the potato's were quite small but all were delicious and come with salad, coleslaw and beetroot. There was one crispy cake which was awesome one can of juice and two skinny lattes £25.

The menu has been the same for ages, even the specials are mostly the same. They had delicious fishcakes but not seen those in ages. How about some stovies? Getting fed up with eating the same stuff over and over again.

not as busy or rushed as the bigger garden centre eating space further down the road.

I go here once a week and have done for years. It's recently been done up and is more spacious. The toilets are always spotless, it's always busy but there's always plenty of staff to deal with the demand. The menu is quite extensive sandwiches, soup usually two kinds, toasties, paninis, breakfast rolls which are served all day. Kids boxes with crisps sandwiches juice etc. And a huge selection of cakes. Today I had the haggis baked potato and it was very dry I find sometimes it's dry and sometimes it's delicious I don't get a consistency with it. I did however have the crispy cake for the first time today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. They sell one of my favourite soups red pepper and sweet potato but for the last few months when I have went it's never been on the menu :( but if it is I suggest it as it's very delicious. My only other thing that's disappointed me is they have changed the mint slice which used to be my favourite cake and I had it every week but they have now added caramel to it and it's not great my dad even had it today and was so disappointed with it so please bring back the old mint cake and please please please make some red pepper and sweet potato soup.

Had a lovely lunch here. Service good and staff very helpful and nice. Good food and a variety of choices for everyone. We had homemade soup and it was delicious. Very clean tables and toilets are very clean. Would definitely recommend to all the only downside is parking but hopefully they will maybe make more space to park. The shop is also good and reasonable priced.

Love coming here for lunch. 3 baked potatoes and three drinks all for £20. The food is amazing and staff are so freindly

Great coffee, food and service. Meet here fairly often with friends and family. Lovely shop if you like unique things.

Had hoped to use this nice looking coffee shop to have a regular meeting with colleagues but I arrived at opening time but was studiously ignored by all the staff, although they did serve the other staff.

Chose to go here for a birthday brunch. Eggs Benedict, haggis, French toast with bacon and maple syrup. All well cooked, and my latte was perfect - not at all bitter. All three of us were impressed. Prompt service. Even saw venison on the lunch menu. Popular venue. Outside tables have a better view. Worth going to even if you're not into gardening. A small shop outside the cafe for gifts and knickknacks as well as plants.