Dobbies Garden Centres - Milton Keynes Reviews 473

TrustScore 3 out of 5

3.1

Belvedere Lane, Watling Street, Fenny Stratford, MK17 9JH Milton Keynes, GB


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Rated 3 out of 5 stars

I went to dobbies in bletchley. The centre was all fine, till we stopped at the coffee shop by the restsurant.. massive queues, two people on duty. A girl on the till with poor efficiency .the the g... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I’m appalled that you allow dogs in the restaurant where the owners can choose to sit whoever they want. No consideration for people who are allergic to dogs or find it extremely unhygienic to be sitt... See more

Company replied

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

All good we like our experience in Dobbies. A little unclear in the soft play restaurant with what to do as they seemed under staffed. Plus a table had lots of peas all over the floor which remained t... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Dobbies main store is great but the restaurant wasn't good today. We waited a long time for overpriced coffee and cake, whilst those waiting for the restaurant were still not being seated (there were... See more


Company details

  1. Garden Center

Written by the company

Dobbies has been the home of gardening for over 150 years. You can trust us to provide quality products, expert advice and inspirational ideas for you outdoor space, whatever size it may be. But it's not all about the greenery. At your local Dobbies, you'll find all you need for your home and garden, plus delicious food and drinks in our restaurant. Visit www.dobbies.com to find out more.


Contact info

  • Belvedere Lane, Watling Street, Fenny Stratford, MK17 9JH, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

3.1

Average

TrustScore 3 out of 5

473 reviews

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Hasn’t replied to negative reviews

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Rated 3 out of 5 stars

dobbies in bletchley

I went to dobbies in bletchley. The centre was all fine, till we stopped at the coffee shop by the restsurant.. massive queues, two people on duty. A girl on the till with poor efficiency .the the guy making the teas wonders off to get cups, the girl wonders off to empty bins,,dont bother about the customers, no one clearing tables, tray rack full ,a total shambles. But they are more concerned with filling the till.. its the kitchens job to bring clean cups and cutlery..
And this is a time when the shop was very busy..
A bad mark for dobbies...

March 29, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

25 minute wait for a cup of coffee.

Both last week and today, waited 25 minutes to be served in the coffee shop. The queue went back as far as the indoor plants. No apology when you get to the order and till area. Will not return and another store looks like it will close. They should not bother about asking to renewing my membership.

December 11, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Father Christmas

Took our son to meet Father Christmas, what a sorry excuse for a grotto. So underwhelming and just, naff. Really disappointed, £15 for 10 minutes, then they dare ask for another £15 for a photo with Dobbies branded all over it?! Do better Dobbies, youre letting down children here.

December 6, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Father Christmas experience not great…

Father Christmas experience not great only team Member that was super helpful was the girl at the desk.
Last ones apparently in on the day even though it was lunch not sure why , didn’t let my little girl finish making the reindeer food after a story and told about what it’s for !!! Was told
There was no time . I then had to request they filled it up before I left as no child would understand why you wouldn’t have it.
Father Christmas had no idea who the child was couldn’t find her on the
List and no mention of any of the info that you give in advance didn’t even ask What they wanted for Christmas I had to say and prompt !
If you don’t want to bring children Christmas cheer don’t do the job and employ someone who can. Woburn sands emporium much better so disappointed that we choose here this year . Little girl upset on the way home and confused !

November 29, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Dobbies restaurant today…

Dobbies main store is great but the restaurant wasn't good today. We waited a long time for overpriced coffee and cake, whilst those waiting for the restaurant were still not being seated (there were plenty of free tables). We also noticed there was thick dust on the ledges around the restaurant.

November 17, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Long wait

Long wait, tables not cleared and my wife's coffee was stone cold, I would avoid today. People waiting for so long in restaurant they are now walking out.

September 27, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

We love going to this garden centre

We love going to this garden centre. Always a good choice and we love our free coffees every month.
The staff are always friendly especially Karen who always has time for a friendly chat at the till.

August 31, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 2 out of 5 stars

I had a birthday treat to use in my…

I had a birthday treat to use in my local garden centre , Milton Keynes . It wasn’t that late in the afternoon when we went there , 3pm . Had I not had this voucher I would not have stayed . There was no cream tea scones available. 3 cake stands with nothing in them. As for the tables ? We were hard pressed to find one that didn’t have dirty dishes on. Most tables hadn’t been cleared or cleaned up. We were in there no longer than 20 minutes where lots of customers were having the same problem. I felt sorry for the poor girl at the tea/ coffee section as it was quite busy and she had no help whatsoever. As for the plants ? They had seen better days too. The shop floor wasn’t inviting either . I won’t be rushing back to Dobbies anytime soon

August 28, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Booked a kids party for 20 kids for a…

Booked a kids party for 20 kids for a 5th birthday. The place was amazing had a soft play cut of from the public for a small fee. Prices were excellent for what you got. We picked the tea party and it looked amazing the children and parents were very impressed! Staff were great. My only negative is the commutation after booking online. I had to track down someone to speak to which ment I had to call head office as the phones are a nightmare to get through to store. I just wanted to speak to someone to go through what was happening due to website having limited information,plus not everything on the website is up to date or correct. It was very frustrating as I just wanted to speak to a human and find out how it all works n not 1 week before the party. The person dealimg with the oartya told me they domt contact you until a week before as they are far too busy to be calling everyone. I found it very unprofessional.I booked 2 months in advance so to be told they don't contact you until a week before,which is useless as we need the information and the invites! Online it says someone will contact you in a few days. But the actual party was fantastic so it out weighed the stress before hand

April 10, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Disgusting food

The staff were rude, we arrived at the soft play payed for the whole hour and only had 40 mins. The child jackets potatoe was £6.25 and when it arrived 45 mins after ordering it was half of a small potatoe with a table spoon of tuna. The lasagna we ordered was burnt, the pasta was rock solid because it was over cooked. I will not be attending again. The waitress ignored us for 20 mins after arriving.

April 25, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 4 out of 5 stars

Cafe lets the garden centre down

I cannot fault the garden centre but the cafe lets it down big time simply because there aren’t enough staff. I wanted to sit outside but literally every available table had left over crockery on them.

April 27, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Great service at Dobbies MK

Hi - visited today to purchase raised beds and James was extremely helpful in locating what we wanted and opening the box to confirm the colours. We bought 3!!. Also popped into the cafe for a coffee and were welcomed with a friendly greeting by Jo and Klara

March 10, 2025
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

No breakfast after waiting

Sunday 2nd June arrived around 10h30 am for breakfast. Stood waiting to be seated about 10 minutes before someone attended to us. Only to be told there is a 10min waiting we said we would go walk around and come back 10min later. Which we did, only to be told sorry no longer serving breakfast. A disgrace and bad customer service. I am appalled at how non chalant the staff were. Need to brush up on your staff and your service.

June 2, 2024
Unprompted review
Dobbies Garden Centres - Milton Keynes logo

Reply from Dobbies Garden Centres - Milton Keynes

Hi Shirley,
Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback.
I am sorry to read of your disappointment on your recent visit to the Milton Keynes restaurant.
I have passed your comments raised onto the management team to highlight this visit to them.
They will be able to look into possible changes for improvements for the future.
Best wishes, Karen

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