Dobbies Garden Centres Reviews 

Sub standard coffee shop. No attention to quality with till staff sirly. Simple things overlooked: espresso served in bucket size cup, so instantly cold; preheated espresso cup not too much to ask. Tea and americano on saucers that weren't clean and it must have been hours since anyone had swept the floor of crumbs, same for the sofa-seats.

I love the actual garden centre and the staff are all nice and friendly but the food is not up to standard. The Quiche i had a few weeks ago was not prooerly defrosted and cold. They did eventually warm it but by then my chips were cold.
Today i had a Ploughmans lunch. Instead of a chunk of cheese, a roll and pickle, the baguette had no butter but mayonaise on it. When i complained the staff (very nicely) said i should have told them i could not stand mayo but how on earth was i supposed to know that instead of butter mayo would be slapped on the bread. I will not be ordering any other than toadt or cake next visit.

5 stars due to great customer service on a very hot Saturday afternoon, 23rd May. I stopped to ask the lady watering the plants how to repot little olive trees. George came over to help me carry the heavy bags of grit and soil, and even put them in my car for me. I asked for his name at the till. Many thanks George.

Had coffee and cake the place was dirty won’t come again

Very poor selection & quality herbs, The 3 I bought 2 weeks ago have all died - poor roots.
Also expensive!! I bought much better herbs & cheaper at Mortonhall garden centre & I’m delighted with how they are growing 😊.
Dobbies the shop seems quite nice but I think I’d only stop by for the food. & gifts deps
Sue

Softplay has increase to £5, this increase hasnt been to maintain a clean area. Very dirty and dusty and needs a good clean.

Worst breakfast I've ever had ,hash browns practically raw,bacon looked anemic and sausages were burnt ,nothing cooked fresh except the egg all for £11.00

I love the store, people working there are always helpful and so so kind! Love to buy some flowers or decorations for my garden. Lot of choices, love it!

We went to Dobbies this month May and decided to go to the cafe. The rest of the store is clean and tidy but the cafe was disgusting. No seat available even though 8 of the sofa seats were disgustingly filthy. covered in used tissues, crumbs, snot, paw marks. You would think they would make an effect to CLEAN the seats and tables. We wont be using the cafe again if thats the only seating left.

Bought one of the most expensive garden chairs and TWICE it arrived visibly damaged

Brogan D apologised and offered
nothing following a serious delay/inconvenience to a service user. Basically she's useless

This is a place I frequent often but will no longer

Awful company. Awful customer service. Go there for the cakes, don't buy anything expensive because Dobbies don't give a f88k

We do not usually go out for lunch. The last time was when Dobbies were great. This time they lighting was so bright every thing white no atmosphere. It wasn't even 1.00 not many people eating. When we chose fish and chips we were told all gone when we said another food all gone. So we asked what they did have we chose the quiche sorry only one left, I wish I had left it because it was inedible. I left most of the dinner. My husband asked for a coke he was served with a glass half of water and a few ice cubes and a can of coke. The floor was dirty with discarded food as were the tables that had been used. Needless to say why did they change something that was really good. Never again.
P Amith

This is truly the worst garden centre I've ever been in. From the start it is a bad experience, with gaffer tape holding the floor covering together all around the entrance and exit. I specifically went to use my birthday treat, which is now just cake, not cake and a hot drink. Very disappointing. There was a very limited menu available and the lady on the food counter was obviously having a bad day and taking it out on the customers. The cafe has no atmosphere and is very tired, and a coat of paint would definitely liven it up. The flickering light near the cafe has been dealt with at last.
The whole place is dark and dull, as if they don't want you to be there for long. I only go for my free coffee when I'm in the area, but I don't buy anything as the place is depressing and I can't wait to leave as soon as I finish my drink.
Does anyone from Dobbies actually read all the bad reviews. They should learn a lesson from other garden centres!

Looked online before we visited for lunch to confirm they did gluten free bread. However they woukd not do a sandwich for my daughter using gluten free bread until she had filled in their app, which did not catwr for her dietry requiements so a complere waste of time. She just wanted a sandwich with gluten free bread and no cheddar cheese as she isn't allowed dairy at the moment. Too much to ask it seems. We won't go for lunch again !!

Dobbies(Dunfermline)- Complimented the two youngsters behind the cafe counter who had to deal with frustrated customers in a 15 minute queue. They were cool , calm and professional in their approach.
Dobbies need more staff to deal with weekend surge or work smarter with current staff (and management).

A lacklustre so-called 'garden centre's that really looks as if it's on its last legs. It looks unattractive as you drive in; where's the shrubs and trees to suggest they even exist as a garden centre. It's dull, scruffy, boring and extremely tired looking.

Inside you are greeted by dead and dying houseplants. How on earth they are expected to thrive in a cool dry atmosphere is beyond me. Does anyone realise they need humidity?

Ventured into the main plant section outside to see the majority of plants were desperate for water, shriveled, wilted or dead. This place must be losing money hand over fist with the amount of dead stock they must throw away.

The rest of the place lacks originality and creativity in display. When this store first opened it was a really decent place to find interesting items and the plants were well looked after.

I'm sorry but I'm used to visiting Barton Grange nr Preston which is of a standard Dobbies seems unlikely to even dream of achieving.

Shut it down. It must be hemorrhaging money and I don't think it'll be missed. You can find much healthier plants in nearby nurseries.

Items bought were damaged. They replaced them and sent them to me and they were not the same items. No response so far. So I have paid £40 for items I did not order.

A lot of the vegetable plants where far from fresh, furniture in cafe really does need cleaning, and the waiting time for service in the cafe is far to long, a lovely place to visit but one which seems to need a bit more loving care

The search engine on their website is useless. I was looking for a Red Hot Poker plant. I was given 1447 red items. I searched again for the official plant name of Kniphofia and got nil results. Finally I tried Poker plants and got 4 results including path clear and plant food. Hopefully I'll find what I want from another garden centre?

Visited this GC at Gosforth on a very rainy day with my elderly mother, daughter & 17 month G/daughter as was told there was a soft play area. We did not take the buggy inside & i’m pleased we didn’t as there was hardly any room for use of a buggy or for wheelchair users, The place had some lovely items, however it felt cramped & we passed at least 3 very large buckets to catch ceiling rainwater, it was single file access near the shoes section, which a few customers were commenting on. We could get a table in the soft play area, however each table was crammed with previous customers plates etc & we had to clear a table ourselves. We brought a high chair to the table, but the straps were broken. We ordered food, which was quite expensive, however ample food on the plate, me & my mother had omelette. Upon leaving the GC, we couldn’t believe how many dogs were in the building, we’re all for dog friendly places, however i think every dog owner was there with their,.. some rather large dogs out for a walk in there due to the weather outside! Within 4-5 hrs of leaving, my mother & i both felt unwell, with nausea & severe stomach cramps, my daughter was fine & we can only put our sickness down to us both eating the omelette,.. My advice is, don’t take a buggy or wheelchair, don’t go on a rainy day & don’t have the omelette!

Today, I was appalled to find the Carlisle branch in such a disgusting state. The restaurant still makes a lovely cup of coffee, the crockery and cutlery spotless, but the restaurant itself was filthy. The wicker chairs had food crumbs sticking to the seats. The tables had not been cleared for hours, congealed food on the plates, they still were not cleared after we finished our coffee. In the corner beside our table, was an arbor on display, it had two hanging baskets hanging off it full of dead brown ivy. There was a huge siders web in the window, and dead flies and bees everywhere. Outside the weeds growing in between the pavers at least 3" tall. An elderly lady with a water spray was watering the plants (including the dead ones). I spoke to several other customers, who agreed with me, that they couldn't believe the amount of dead and dying plants. The poor girl (the only one on the till) deserves a medal, she was run ragged, she called for help, but no one appeared. She could only apologise to us for having to stop serving, while she got the signing in book for a member of staff, they keep away from the till. She was back almost immediately, but another 6 customers, had appeared by then. Despite all these complaints we did however spend over £100, but we will not be going back. I will send for my plants and pots over the internet, as this is an experience that has been most enjoyable in the past, was ruined by lazy people not doing their jobs probably, and not being supervised properly.