Garden Kitchen Cafe

Cute cafe within the grounds of Hoveton Hall but you can go here without visiting the gardens. Good selection of cakes and light bites. We sat outside so not sure what inside is like. My daughter had bacon sandwich which was crammed with bacon and I wish that had been my choice! I had cheese scone which was enormous and unfortunately cold so make sure you request it heated if that's your preference. Lovely pot of tea with enough for three cups each! Very peaceful and pretty with all the plants.

Food was cooked just right and not too long a wait (cooked from fresh). Presented nicely on the plate. I had a full English breakfast. Had everything I liked...no sign of beans and not a hint of black pudding!. Just toast, mushrooms sausages 2 eggs hash browns, bacon and tomatoes. Staff were attentive, polite and efficient. It was lovely to sit outdoors on a sunday and enjoy the surroundings. Price wise..a tad expensive but ( I think ) the food was worth it. I recommend this eatery and would definitely go again.

Booking was no trouble and parking was easy and well signed. Entrance fee was as expected. On arrival at the cafe we had to queue next to a sign that said the cafe was closed for a private party. It wasn't but it was facing the queue so appeared to be relevant although out of date. When we were seated it became obvious that we would have to queue again to order food, in the billowing and potent stench of the meaty barbecue for a good 15 minutes. As vegetarians this was not ideal but my mother, who is not vegetarian also found it almost unbearable too. When we reached the front of the queue the order was taken and then there was an odd arrangement where we had to wait to the side of the queue for drinks and then take a buzzer for the food. This strategy resulted in a long wait to order and an unfortunate safety issue for staff coming in and out of the kitchen who had to navigate the edge of a granite table, a queue of people and carry piles of plates. There was potential for something serious to go wrong at some stage but not our concern of course. There followed a lengthy wait for food. From being seated to the buzzer going off was an hour and we were not told of a delay on food on ordering. When the meals arrived, they were average with the flatbread being reheated from an earlier point in the day, very chewy and hard. We ordered 2 meals the same which arrived with quite different ingredients. The children's activity packs included with entry were brilliant to be honest and it was these that saved the day after such a long wait for food. The 2 tables next to us needed clearing and were not tended to until near the end of our meal. It was busy but not full to capacity at the time. I would recommend visiting hoveton hall, but it would be tricky to recommend the cafe unless the ordering and preparation system was reviewed. Will visit next year to see if anything has changed.