The Garden Society Reviews Summary

Ambiance and Setting

Pros:

• "I love this place, the whole ambiance is incredible and the work that goes into the displays 2nd to none."
• "Taking a look at the garden shop outside was a great experience as well. I loved the layout of each flower and plant; very pleasing to the eyes and to navigate."
• "Absolutely beautiful place. Beautiful homeware, restaurant is lovely and food is good value for money."
• "The atmosphere of the whole place is just so relaxing and calming."
• "The setting was magical and the cocktails were really good."
• "The atmosphere was good, relaxed and cosy."
• "Lovely surroundings."

Cons:

• "The building was dark and claustrophobic, plants for sale were not cared for, they were dry or dead."
• "It has lost a lot of what it was, it's become some sort of upmarket unusual houseware and pricey café with gimmicks like a bar and Alice in Wonderland hire room."
• "First impressions not good..shabby carpark and little garden not had a makeover like the rest."
• "It's not very wheelchair friendly due to lack of space around the gifts."
• "Only downside is there's not much room, the place is chock full of lovely things and I knocked a glass ornament off the hanger just by turning round."
• "Prices are a little on the high side, and very little distancing in the aisles as the display items are too close together."
• "A little disappointed on my visit today, especially as I was with someone who didn't know the place."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Then the cakes were unbelievable, sweet but not too much."
• "Food and coffee were both excellent and I loved the garden centre."
• "Great food, really nicely laid out and lovely sitting eating food with birds singing next to you!"
• "Wow, what a fantastic breakfast! A really lovely place to visit with a great selection of food and drink."
• "The coffee was delicious, and this was one of the best Eggs Benedicts I've ever had."
• "Beautiful place with delicious all-day breakfast and brunch."
• "The food in the restaurant is amazing! Their cakes are decorated beautifully when you order a slice they typically come with a gooseberry and an artistic dribble of sauce."

Cons:

• "Orders fish & chips, fish was a frozen thin fish portion, grey coloured fish inside not very appetizing."
• "The Swiss melt was cold, floppy and full of onion chutney."
• "Came here for some lunch with my boyfriend. We both ordered the chicken burger which upon arrival looked lovely but unfortunately it was very dry with a lack of sauce."
• "Absolutely horibble pancakes from microwave for £10."
• "The food wasn't great."
• "The beef in the baguette was so dried up you could have used it to sole your shoes."
• "Went for a meal, but the food was not good. I was served a soggy pie which had been microwaved."

Service

Pros:

• "The staff advised us that there would be a 30min wait for food before they took our order which gave us the opportunity to decline."
• "Service was good, staff were very nice and the food was lovely but I object to being charged an extra £1 for a few slices of onion in a cheese and onion toastie."
• "The staff were friendly, attentive and could not have done more for us - thank you!"
• "Excellent staff, friendly and helpful even though it was nearly closing time."
• "The staff are excellent, very professional and courteous."
• "The staff were so friendly and very happy to answer any questions."
• "The staff were attentive, from start to finish, with me worrying over details all the way from Cornwall, Aaron was always at the other end of the phone to reassure me."

Cons:

• "Only thing that let it down slightly was the lack of customer engagement from the older staff."
• "It was impossible to find out the way the spinach was cooked as the people at the till did not know."
• "The lady which served us was rude, never smiled once and made us feel unwelcome."
• "Some of the staff was so rude whilst pushing the pram of 4month old baby, didn't apologise for walking in front, bumping the pram or let us walk by."
• "The staff where extremely rude!"
• "Service for booking needs to be improved though, really, really poor."
• "She comes walking over to our table, 13 minutes before they were due to close, and abruptly says 'We close in 10 minutes', before reaching across me and snatching the plates off the table."