The Gardeners Rest Restaurant

A fairly dispiriting experience here and a warning to other diners if you come on a busy weekend. It was well after what would have been the busiest time for lunch on a sunny Saturday. We were recommended to eat here rather than the cafe near the entrance to the gardens as they did "proper meals." There was a snaking queue to the counter which took all of 20 minutes to place an order. Once you place an order for the proper meals they have to prep it. We mentioned that we didn't have long as we had to leave the gardens at 4.30. The chef insisted that he could prepare the duck dish in 10 minutes so we ordered that and a vegetable flatbread dish. 25 minutes later it still hadn't arrived. We went back to the counter and asked for a refund which was given by a very 'tight lipped' member of staff who insisted that we'd only waited 15 minutes... it wasn't! So we'd waited to be fed for a sum total of 45 minutes during which time all I'd consumed was an OK latte which was served rather lukewarm. You can get food to your table faster than this in "The Ivy!" The restaurant is in a lovely spot up on the hill with fabulous views, particularly from the tables outside but they are so obviously short staffed when it's busy. If it is so and you don't want to waste time hanging about I suggest you eat at the cafe rather than here. We'd used it on previous occasions. It's very decent in there and much more efficient.
Apr 29th, 2023

Food : 5/5 | Service : 5/5 | Atmosphere : 5/5 More
Apr 16th, 2023

Food : 5/5 | Service : 5/5 | Atmosphere : 5/5 More
Dec 27th, 2022

Very good quality food and friendly service
Dec 19th, 2022

Food : 5/5 | Service : 5/5 | Atmosphere : 5/5 Parking space Plenty of parking Parking options Free parking lot More
Nov 26th, 2022