Dobbies Garden Centre Restaurant

Dobbies Gosforth is a half decent garden centre local to me. It has quite a large plant selection outside, and a decent collection of bagged media; compost, top soil, manure etc Also has a small amount of hard landscaping products, concrete slabs etc Like most garden centres nowadays, there is an element of the department store too, with plenty of household stuff. The is a very good aquatic shop which is ran by maidenhead aquatics, selling fish, aquariums and everything else you would need. There is also a pet food area and a Waitrose. Quite a large cafe is situated at the rear of the garden centres but I cannot attest for it, as it's been a while since I tried it.

I wanted to leave a review starting on a positive. I was in the store yesterday and dropped a cheque from my pocket for a considerable amount of money. It was my wife's cheque, so I was in trouble! The staff at dobbies thankfully spotted it when sweeping up and kept it for me. I am so grateful, I didn't catch the name of the person who picked it up, but thankyou! As a less positive aside, we visited the cafe and it really needs attention. We queued for about 40 min for coffee and sandwiches. There were only about 4 other families in the seated area, so it had not been busy. Would be great if they could address this, as it would really enhance the dobbies experience.

Good selection of plants and outdoor furniture, also has a small Waitrose inside not sure if prices are same as bigger Waitrose stores. Cafe on site which is good especially if you had one of their loyalty cards as 2 cups per month free. Card is £12 for year but if regular visitor would cover this with the free drinks.

I was served by a very pleasant young man behind the counter in the cafe who took the time to listen and he really made my day. He went above and beyond and is a great asset to your company! Food was lovely and fresh as well, i had a ham sandwich with the works. Definitely coming back for afternoon lunch.

The garden section was good and well priced but the indoor items were very expensive. There is a well stocked aquarium section, and a pond with huge fish that can be fed. The Christmas displays were fun and imaginative. There was even a camel outside with the Christmas trees. My grandson saw father Christmas and received a good quality puzzle as a present. The restaurant was good. I had fish and chips, hot and freshly cooked. The Christmas dinner, my granddaughter ordered, didn't look very nice. The carrots were burnt black on one side and it all looked over cooked. She left most of it. I saw other dishes being served and they looked very well presented and appetising. The centre is dog friendly and there is a good amount of parking.