I'm extremely disappointed with the restaurant refurbishment at your Milton Keynes store. Whilst changes in the rest of the store are much improved, the same cannot be said of the restaurant area. The changes seem less than premium, & ill thought out with lots of wasted space. The old design was much better. There is now reduced choice of tables for customers using the cafe, as well as insufficient staff operating the cafe section. It is frustrating to see an empty restaurant section whilst all tables in the cafe side are occupied meaning nowhere to sit with your order. Due to the low ceiling in the new seating area, formerly the servery, the area now feels claustrophobic & closed in - made worse by the hanging pendant lights. Queues are now often lengthy for coffee/cakes - often extending into the store & outside the toilets which is hardly inviting. This area needs more than 1 or 2 staff. A MINIMUM of 4 people should be running this area. The waiting area to collect orders is always cluttered with waiting customers & difficult to obtain napkins & cutlery. Almost all the customers in the queue with us all had the same negative comments on the new design v the old design. The whole restaurant redesign could have been made so much better if the cafe section had been positioned against the new wall for the new book & toy area. Whoever designed the new area clearly has no idea about using the available space and customer experience. By comparison, Frosts at Woburn is a much better cafe & restaurant experience. I think the redesign of the cafe will simply lose trade to Frosts as a result. It's also baffling why the men's toilets no longer has any urinals with all using 3 cubicles. This is causing a queue to use them. What is the rational behind this?

Often visit here for a nice cream scone and a cup of tea. Staff always friendly, the service is good. A warm and clean environment. Relaxed and very much “home like”. !

Visited on Sunday a couple of weeks ago to go to soft play and the cafe and it was great. Went back last week and the soft play was great again, lady on the reception there was really helpful and polite. At 11.20 my partner took a table in the main section and went to the counter to order breakfast. After queing she was told breakfast was no longer served (about 11.25 or before). Says breakfast is served until 11.30. If there is an order cut off before then make it clear. We had planned on going all week and looked forward to it as the food is good, so left disappointed with a hangry girlfriend. Just be clear with your food times if there are time cut offs, don't advertise if you don't serve up until that point.

Came in to have breakfasts on Saturday morning. Good quality food but shame on the level of service. They are quite busy and there doesn’t seem to be enough staff in the restaurant. It took a while for us to get anyone’s attention to order. Then once we ordered, we waited for 30min for two traditional breakfasts. When asked about the order first time after 20 minutes, we were assured they would be coming shortly. Then another 10min still no sign of food coming so we went up to check where the food was. The kitchen staff was helpful and apologised saying somehow they missed it in the kitchen and they would be making it straightaway. It is appreciated but still would have expected better service.

Currently as I write this they're having a store revamp. ( Sept 2022 ) the Christmas section is just being put in place. It's quite a large dobbies. Plenty of parking. Access off the main road. Toilets available. A cafe ( when renovated) will re open.. A pets section. Cotton traders. Aquatics. Sainsburys. Cook ware section. Children play area outside. Hot tub area outside Sheds Clothes and wellies. It just basically has everything in one place !!! I shall re visit once its complete and update my review, but its definitely worth a visit. Spacious too and doesn't feel cramped inside !!

We went to soft play, me my two friends and our babies and toddlers (5 children in total). We were kicked out of the soft play room even though we were about to feed our babies using the table. Moving on we go onto the restaurant and choose the large table to fit us all onto. We notice other tables being served, struggling with hungry kids (and adults) I asked whether we could be served. We were told not on that table but the row in front we could be if we moved. About 10cm away. No sign postage in the restaurant explains this. And when coming from soft play you wouldn't know. No staff come up to you and tell you this either. When I approached staff I was spoken to very condescending, I understand that the waitress was young and probably felt intimidated by me but when we asked the manager she just said the same thing. That we would have to move, despite seeing how difficult it would be to move us. We sucked it up because we were all absolutely starving but begrudgingly did not want to stay. I would say that they are surprisingly not child friendly. No children menus in site, and they gave us all knives and no forks which we feel that they did that to irritate us. Additionally, I had to ask 3 times to be served because we felt that we were being avoided. I don’t think people should work in customer service if they cannot be accommodating, understanding or provide a nice service. Disappointing as it is a lovely cafe, garden centre and soft play place to attend…

Popped in for breakfast. Had the traditional breakfast for two which saved £2 had they been bought separately. Combined with the two free hot drinks offer each month by using the Dobbies card, it works out at a good value for money breakfast. Got sat down almost straight away and it didn't take long for both our drinks and food to arrive.

We decided to have lunch in the restaurant last Sunday. The system used to be that you collect your tray and order from hot food , sandwiches and / or cake sections. For any food that needed preparation you were given a buzzer . You paid and found a table . Simple . Now the place has been revamped by removing all the counters and replacing them with more tables. It has become a huge very bland eating hall. Also you can't just go and find a seat. You have to wait to be seated. We stood in a queue for over half an hour. We watched several staff wandering around. No plates in their hands. We were given the excuse that tables needed clearing when there were at least 5 tables in front of us that were empty. The same staff members just walked about !! Then from nowhere a new staff member appeared who told us that we wouldn't be seated until they had time to serve us quickly. I've never heard anything like it. Many people in the queue said " we'd rather be seated and told there may be a delay than standing there for half an hour " But that made no difference to this manager who wouldn't let us sit and wait. I don't know why the old system had to change but it certainly isn't for the better. I get the impression that the staff don't like it either. We ended up leaving without eating. What a shame that a good system has been ruined for no reason.

Afternoon tea....Not worth the money to be honest....Tea and coffee were just warm and not even China cup for the tea. For us there were too many sweet items and not enough sandwiches, agreed it's personal preference but would have preferred a more balanced afternoon tea. Some of the cakes were too sweet for me, again personal preference I know but as we did not get much choice in the selection of the tea it's certainly for the sweet toothed

Yesterday my daughter and I had a lovely afternoon tea here . The food was fresh and well presented . And there was no stinting on the portion size., but it was the care and attention by the assistant manager that struck us most. Being in a wheelchair I often feel that " I'm a bit in the way" this was most definitely not the case here, as we were looked after with great courtesy and wonderful humour. Thank you! We will be back!

The cheese and the fruit scones are the driest we have ever had. They were dense and flavourless. The butter just would not spread on them and as soon as they were cut they fell apart into sawdust like crumbs! We were offered some cake in exchange which was acceptable but not what we really wanted.

Large garden centre with large resteraunt, indoor and outdoor seating. Clean and tidy, large spacious car park.

Nice place has a nice cafe prices seem fair for plants the staff was lovely and bubbly a good place especially if your in to gardening! We purchased the house plants which my miss loves! Recommend definitely:)

Went in to see what was on offer at Dobbies sale in August. Bought several rhodo's including the variegated variety. Always worth looking at their Clearance shelves and found these lovely hydrangea with creamy blossom at half price. Eucalyptus was not in the sale but was too pretty to resist.

I booked the afternoon tea for 2 people. I added a savoury plate for 1. We were shown to our table by a lovely man, sorry I didn't get his name. Who took our drink order and then brought the food out. The selection and presentation was very good. Food was lovely. I asked for a box for the bits we didn't eat and that was given to me without any fuss..fab service, great afternoon. Well done!

The garden centre itself is fine, plenty of good stuff and outlets. What I wanted to particularly mention was the hot drinks and cake counter in the cafe. There were two women serving and both were doing a splendid job despite being rushed off their feet. What was especially nice was the smiling demeanor of the younger one giving the impression that your custom was genuinely valued. That's not to say that the older lady wasn't doing a good job,she was,but it was so pleasant to be served by such a friendly young woman.

Good place to visit for all your gardening needs. As a gardening club member you receive discounts and invited to special events. 10% off plants & 2 free hot drinks a month is also very handy. The cafe is good for tea & a scone/cake or a larger meal. They also do meal boxes for children.

I was passing by and saw Dobbies garden center and was impressed with the selections they had here. Also lots of other home goods in here. Nice business with also Restaurant inside.

We took afternoon tea yesterday and thought we would try the 'Festive' tea. It was excellent and wonderful value for money. The restaurant has been refurbished and it now has a warm and relaxed atmosphere. Staff were friendly and attentive. Highly recommended.

What a fabulous Christmas Afternoon Tea I had with my 9 friends this afternoon. We were welcomed and were asked whether we wanted tea or coffee. After the hot drinks came out, our Christmas Afternoon Tea arrived. Lovely fresh sandwiches, scones and cakes. We were asked if we wanted anymore hot drinks. The staff that served us also bought out some boxes for those who wanted to take home what they hadn’t eaten. Such a great deal and such an enjoyable afternoon. Thank you Dobbies Milton Keynes

Excellent and extremely good value for money. Took my dad there as a birthday treat. I selecred the traditional afternoon tea. Sandwiches were freshly made, scones tasty, and the selection of small cakes was just enough. All washed down with 2 pots of tea. We were made to feel welcome and wasn't rushed either. Will definitely be booking to return again soon.

Quite a nice day.. first time I've been in this shop. Big shop and many things to look at as well. 🎄🎅👌

My husband and I had an excellent afternoon tea today. We had prosecco 🥂 and a delicious selection of sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, and an assortment of cakes and meringues followed by a hot drink. Sheila, our waitress, really looked after us and made sure we had everything we needed, even a box to take home the bits we couldn't eat 😊

Me and my mother had an afternoon tea yesterday! We were served by Carole who's service was brilliant and we appreciated it 🙌🏻! The afternoon tea was brilliant 2 for £20! Which was worth the money 🍰🥪🍵☕ we will come back again! Thank you Dobbies! 👍🏻

Got everything I wanted to make my hanging baskets, lovely place to wander round lots of ideas for gifts and managed to even get pond plants too. Had a great lunch with my sister followed by strawberry and cream scone. Can also get hot chocolate soya drink too

Lovely garden centre, one of my favourites. Customer service is outstanding, the young gentlemen that helps us today was extremely helpful and knowledgeable for what we needed for our plants. Breakfast and coffee, was perfect. Highly recommend