Garden Museum Reviews Summary

Museum Experience

Pros:

• "The Garden Museum is a haven of tranquility and well worth visiting."
• "Really interesting exhibits, hands on activities for children."
• "A hidden gem in London, interesting museum."
• "Although it is a very small museum, it has a quaint charm."
• "Housed within a cathedral, I was impressed how well and beautifully the space is used to house this museum."
• "A truly lovely museum and an absolute must for everyone who loves gardening or simply love gardens! very friendly staff, fabulous food in the cafe."
• "A wonderful museum charting the history of gardening in the UK."

Cons:

• "Its good that the church has been saved from being demolished but its not worth the entry fee."
• "Their is scant information on the Tradescants, or on anything really, the exhibits are poorly set out."
• "I found it a little disappointing that there wasn't more in the museum."
• "The museum content itself wasn't that impressive."
• "As far as being a museum, there is actually very little content on the history of gardens."
• "Scarcely any exhibits to see, all very minimal and unremarkable."
• "The museum was closed during my visit."

Cafe and Food

Pros:

• "The cafe is exceptionally good, serving delicious home-made cake at very reasonable prices in a really nice setting."
• "Cafe offers high quality food, tho' at a price."
• "Great coffee and super cakes."
• "The restaurant and coffee shop offers a daily fresh menu at reasonable price in a nicely decorated place surrounded by plants."
• "This restaurant blew me away!!! The food was perfection on a plate."
• "The cafe has very good food made with seasonal produce."
• "The food is excellent and good value."

Cons:

• "Service was ok but the food was disappointing."
• "The chocolate brownie was very nice but a bit too rich."
• "The Mackerel I ordered was overcooked/dry and came with just 4 tiny cubes of potato."
• "However many items were missing from the menu, and we literally watched the chef Googling on his phone."
• "Definitely skip the restaurant. Food was undercooked - pork chop."
• "Food is excellent although a bit expensive."
• "It took 25 minutes just to give our order then another 30 minutes for it to come."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Staff were friendly and helpful."
• "All the staff I spoke to were helpful, above and beyond the usual."
• "The museum's staff is friendly and knowledgeable."
• "Everyone working at the museum itself was super nice to us, very friendly and helpful."
• "The service was exceptional and very friendly."
• "The staff were very friendly and helpful."
• "Extremely helpful and friendly staff too."

Cons:

• "cafe workers were rude and wouldn’t even greet or look at us."
• "Unfortunately, cafeteria boy was rude to my children."
• "Just left this pitiful excuse for a museum. Whole trip lasted 10 mins."
• "Unfortunately we did not enjoy our experience and considered the website to be misleading."
• "Spend £80 there and another £80 in the museum, at 4.30p.m we were not allowed to go back again and use the toilet!"
• "The cafe has an odd way of running the business, there are no clear signs where to queue."
• "Café was fully booked for lunch and there were limited alternative options nearby."

Location and Setting

Pros:

• "We ventured up the tower. If you're fit enough that's is a must. The view is WOW."
• "The atmosphere is bright and cheerful."
• "In addition to the permanent collection there are temporary exhibitions and all sorts of events at different times."
• "Collection of gardenalia, art and relics all centred on the gardener's passion."
• "The museum is located in a church, and therefore is interesting by its history and interior design."
• "If your lucky you can go up the tower and see spectacular views of the Thames, Parliament and Lambeth Palace."
• "The Victorian Church building and the cloister garden are atmospheric and peaceful."

Cons:

• "It seemed like an odd location to have the garden museum."
• "The mezzanine floors were an eye sore to the beauty of the palace itself."
• "The garden itself is only very small."
• "Now it feels a bit too cold and has lost that charm."
• "The recent refurbishment has not enhanced the place."
• "The Church space feels mostly empty and, in general, under-utilised."
• "It's lost its charm."