Dobbies Garden Centre Chesterfield - Chesterfield

Bigsi

Allergy friendly!

Love a day out at Dobbies, surprised to see the negative reviews. Like all garden centers, it is on the pricey side but can also be a free mini trip out.

We bring our kids to see the aquarium fish and for £1 they get to feed them too which they love.

Plants are well taken care of and the gardener staff are always very knowledgeable.

Dog friendly so can take pooches in and there's a designated dog seating area in cafe too. With every purchase you get a free puppacino which my dog adores!

Cafe is very busy on the usual days aka.. weekends and bank holidays. This often causes queues and dirty tables as the poor staff are trying their best to keep on top of things. It's super rare for me to be able to eat out in cafes due to my nut allergy but was surprised to find the cakes / scones were all nut free! Was a great surprise, enjoyed a beautiful cherry scone and took some cake home.

Claire W.

Visited 01/06 in the afternoon. The garden itself is stocked well i have no complaints but was very disappointed on the cafe, the food was good but the poor young lad serving the at the drinks counter was snowed under , was quite clear he did not have everything he needed and no one came to help him even though the older staff just seemed to be stood about. The cleanliness of the teapots could do with some attention and even though it was quite at this time there wasn’t a clean table in sight.

Liz H.

Disappointing.

Called around 3pm on a Tuesday. There was still a steady flow of customers but only one lady on serving. She was rushed off her feet, poor lass, but still managed to be polite - and that's what has earned you the 3 stars.
Lots of dirty tables. Floor dirty. And, although I can't really blame Dobbies for it, there looked like a used nappy under one table that was outside. Tables outside weren't cleared and needed wiping. A second lady did come out later and was working really hard to get cleared up. Did you have a staff shortage that day - or is it a permanent lack of enough staff?

So, long wait to get served ( NOT the servers fault!); had to go in search of forks; dirty floors and tables; £3.99 for a small slice of dry coffee and walnut cake (even left some 😕) and those dreadful teapots that pour more over your table and legs than goes in your cup! And who's idea is it to hide the refrigerated scones etc in a cabinet behind the till!! Never saw those until after we'd paid!

All in all not a good visit. But it is large and there were plenty of seats both inside and out.

Neil C.

We had reserved a table for 10 for my dad's 86th birthday today. Mark from Dobbies was courteous and accomodating throughout, and he made sure that everything went smoothly and that nothing was too much trouble. All the food and drink arrived on time and was piping hot.
Mark did an exemplary job and the service he gave us was second to none. The food was hot and tasty and everyone enjoyed their meal and drinks. We had no complaints at all and I would recommend to anyone.
Mark was a real credit to Dobbies and he made a great day even better. Finally, my dad was really surprised when at the end of the meal, Mark presented him with a delicious jam and cream scone, as a mini birthday cake. It was a lovely gesture and made my dad's day. Thanks Mark and to Dobbies for going that extra mile.

Andrew J. W.

Coffee, Great... slivers of cake 🎂 Great but expensive for the portion size... 2 staff working hard but left to do everything... Take order, make drinks, restock cups, restock cakes and fill sugar sachets. From entering the queue to sitting down probably took 15-25min... from Coffee ordering to actually delivery took 10mins.. Slow. Finally... Allergies... scan QR code. No filters so menu massive and hard to get through.... Enjoyed my visit but you need to work harder service wise both with speed and for ppl with food intolerances...

Christine S.

Had afternoon tea and it was delicious. Can especially recommend the sandwiches and scones. Mark who served us was lovely and very attentive

Katherine H.

Roof of the soft play was leaking on several places, children were playing in it and staff didn't seem bothered.
Raised concerns with customer services a number of times and didn't even get a response.
Health and safety nightmare!

Vicky B.

Had the fish finger baguette. Fish fingers were cold and soggy like they had been left in a warmer for half a day. Side salad was lettuce and cucumber which had seen better days. Cost £8.75 and was worth £3.00 if that. The tea was decent enough and as it was after 2pm people were coming in as the scones become 2 for 1 after 2pm - so that's worth a note, although I didn't have one. Wouldn't really recommend the food, there are better places to eat nearby. Even the cakes are expensive (£4+ per slice!)
The café was pretty dirty too. Floor covered with food and tables needing clearing and cleaning. Counted 6 staff and none of them particularly pleasant considering they work in "hospitality".