Chilton Garden Centre in Vale of White Horse

Lacking in choice and 'new' restaurant is a joke. They don't seem to know how to make coffee hot

the service was rubbish meal.was cold no drinks offered just awfull the manger and staff really do not know what they are doing need to get another job just very poor serving other serving other people before us just being being left

Based on a previous visit to the carvery, we as a family, decided to book for the Christmas lunch. Our meals were pre-ordered and paid for with no changes to advertised menu. We arrived in plenty of time, we're seated quite promptly and we waited.......and waited ........and waited. 30 minutes after our booked time we were finally served by the only staff member that seemed to be working our section. Food, although tasty, was luke warm and on cold plates. After our main meal was eaten we had another wait for table to be cleared and dessert served. After 2 hours with desserts finished and no sign of coffee we decided to leave as we were getting cold.

Had a most delicious and well cooked carvery. Thank you to Deborah and the team. Merry Christmas to you all.

Since the refit, this place has come into its own, we had a wonderful carvery and then shopped for some gifts, excellent place

My sister and I booked for Christmas lunch. We arrived for our 12 noon booking . Although we had filled out an online form when booking stating our meal choices and tha one of us was dairy free due to allergy, we were asked what we'd ordered and again I pointed out I was dairy free. Waitress then had to go and check what I could have. We waited 50 minutes for our dinner to arrive. I was told the veg dish was mine because it had no dairt and I was given a small jug of gravy. When I asked if the gravy was dairy free the waitress said that if I can normally have gravy then it was fine. I pointed out that some chefs add butter to their gravy but she said she doubted he would. I had to ask her to go and check which is unacceptable and dangerous to people with allergies. The dinner itself wasn't up to much and I swear the veg was frozen veg, and particularly the brussel sprouts. Dinner was cold after a few minutes. Another 30 minutes went by and we had to ask for our desserts. My dessert was nice but the the trifle was very runny. By this time 4 or more tables of people, approximately 30 people, were still waiting for their meals an hour after they arrived. Staff were again asking people what they had ordered. Everyone was moaning to each other. Clearly there was no organisation and not enough staff to cope with the demand. Really disappointing. I don't think I've ever given anyone a bad review, but after being recommended to me I feel let down. Absolute chaos.

New restaurant is a gem (replaced the area where the antiques were and are no more), especially the carvery (small, regular or large) no booking required. Garden centre now has Cotton Traders and Bon Marche plus the usual garden stuff!

Expanded since the last time I visited with lots more outlets.

Just visited the new restaurant/cafe. Looks great. We ordered bacon and brie ciabatas. Very disappointed. Virtually cold, brie was still a slice unmelted and the bacon had to be searched for. At £9 a go I will not be going back.

Had the carvery today and it was amazing! At first I thought it was expensive but actually for the quality it was really very nice, lots of kids choices too for fussy eaters. No need to book, really friendly staff. I’m sure we will be regular visitors! The only comment I would say is that it would be good if there was more dog friendly seating.

I found what I was looking for, despite the time of the year. Will return for more plants in Spring. Good place for shopping with friendly people.

Had a lovely lunch today at the refurbished restaurant. Definitely visit again.

I went for cooked breakfast. Very good, except there was no orange juice available. Breakfast does not work without Orange juice!

To good.2 go bags r amazin. The whole place in general is lovely. A special shout out 2 lalita(?) In restaurant who made a huge fuss of my lil boy

Went in for a birthday breakfast with my partner this morning, we arrived just after 9am so it wasn’t busy, seemed to wait an awful long time for 2 cooked breakfasts, and they forgot my toast, which ended up coming out after I had finished the breakfast! Plus had to ask where my coffee was as it didn’t arrive until the breakfast did. There seemed to be plenty of staff on duty so not sure why this simple thing was overlooked? Had great expectations for the new restaurant, but was a little bit disappointed to be honest. The Thatcham one is much more efficient and cheery.

I always find the staff knowledgeable and helpful.

Ate breakfast here with my 89 yr old mother. The loaded omelette was very nice, reasonably priced and plenty of it. Plenty of other things to buy! Including Bonmarche 😁 Wheelchairs were available to use and disabled parking available. A bit of a longer walk to get out via the tills but we waited for a customer to come in then left via the entrance.

My Favourite garden centre. Has everything you need at good prices with friendly and helpful staff. The restaurant is a added bonus.

Great for lunch. Nice shop and garden centre.

Good selection.first class restaurant

Excellent food the roast is absolutely banging can't recommend enough staff were polite and happy

Massive transformation over the past 18 months or so. From a drab garden centre to a very interesting and varied centre. The new food outlet looks excellent and was full when I visited.

Wow, we haven't been here for a while ,such a makeover has been done, and the new restaurant is just awesome, the staff all wear very smart uniforms, the carvery was perfect ,really good selection of good and cooked to perfection, what a credit to all that work there ,highly recommend you visit this garden centre , really good range of products and christmas decorations

Typical garden centre if you like that sort of thing.

Had a lovely carvery there today. The shop itself is lovely and had some nice gifts. A big let down was the toilets which were a disgrace. How can this be?

£12.99 for the lasagne, and an extra couple of pound for chips with it. Lasagne, looked burnt, didn’t taste burnt, but did look it. It was only about an inch deep so you don’t get much for £12.99 here. Tasted good, but not really worth it. Also ordered a pot of tea. What I got would better be described as a small mug of tea with a handle, lid and spout that only held enough to fill the cup provided 1 1/2 times. Won’t be rushing back, that’s for certain.

Great place to get food good restaurant and lovely staff

My meal was very nice and filtered coffee. Everything was absolutely great when I visited on Monday

Going through a lot of changes all for the better, the cafe is now amazing and is well worth a visit for its carvery

Renovations a big improvement and food in new restaurant good. The roast dinner was much enjoyed, would certainly try it again. But what about the toilets??? They are badly in need of modernisation and let the whole place down. Are there any plans for this?

They have built a large restaurant since our ladt visit, good menu, I think you can have carvery as well which they had on the Sunday when we visited, or just coffee and cake. Large garden centre, large outside area for plants, worth a visit.

Nice place to go on a sunday afternoon but like most garden centres now quite expensive. The restaurant looked lovely tho didn't visit this but will do at some point soon

This garden centre has certainly improved over the last few months. Keep it up.! Nice new restaurant area, what a difference. Only had a cuppa and cake, but carvery looked good!

Great new restaurant just opened

Wow, the refurb is truly amazing. Totally unrecognisable from the previous cafe. You need to go for yourself to see how much things have changed. Stunning decor, vast menu, friendly happy staff. I totally recommend this restaurant/cafe for coffee and cake or even your brekky and lunch. Well done to the team for this brilliant transformation 😃

Very nice little garden centre, cafe is currently closed for refurb but there is a good van outside instead. Chicken burger was really good. Also found a sale rack of indoor plants by the tills!!

Great stock / reasonable prices. People at the tills were quite rude and inattentive. Would have been 5* had customer service been better.

They sell plants with fair price

The restaurant is currently closed for renovations. We checked online first and didn’t see anything so all drive from quite a while away and were disappointed that it was closed. But merely posting this review so others know the restaurant won’t be able until (I believe) November

Lots of nice plants to choose from, a few unusual ones as well.

I understand that today is the last day before the restaurant closes for refurbishment. However, my comments are neither about the quality of the food or the fabric of the restaurant. Today we ordered two toasted sandwiches (from the menu) and after nearly 30mins we asked if they would be served soon, 5 mins after that someone came out from the kitchen to tell us that they had none of the bread we had ordered (clearly suggesting that up to then they had not even looked at the order). Whilst we were waiting other orders of food not on the limited menu were delivered (including jacket potatoes). Given the long wait and lack of what we had ordered, we chose to leave and go elsewhere. On asking for a refund, and in response to our reasons for walking out, all the cashier said was that it was “not my fault”. I hope that when it reopens the service is markedly improved, we will await others opinions about it before we even think about returning.

Great selection of plants and outdoor accessories

Update on previous visit. - Sadly deteriorated even more. The resteraunt was aweful. Loads of things not available. Long wait for poor food. Old reheated jacket potato with old chicken tikka. When we complained they said that's how it comes. Won't be back. Lots of lovely stock at reasonable prices. Disappointed that cafe only serving cake & drinks. Previously much better. We use this place as a stop off on long journey south. So no food was quite a disappointment.

Salad in cafe was wilted and past its best , sausage , egg and chips wasn’t great and over priced, not recommended

45 minute wait for 2x sandwiches in a pretty empty cafe. Other 3 tables next to us had a similar wait time. No apology or update on the order. Terrible service.

Near Harwell this garden centre has a reasonably selection of essential gardening goods. There is also a coffee shop for a place to sit down and relax.

We were very disappointed with the restaurant offerings, the price and also the level of service. Most of the items were not available when we went. Will not be coming here again for the food. Part of the restaurant is currently closed off for a re-opening in October so you also have to go to the main garden centre building to access. The freezers can also be seen from the restaurant so you can see that many of their items are pre-frozen and just heated up.

Ok,but was going through a refurbishment,so some areas out of bounds. Cafe was nice.

Are under renovation so some disruption. Toilets were dreadful so be prepared to wait.

Terrible , absolute rip off in the cafe charge whatever they like.

The garden centre is quite nice. Well laid out with lots of items other than plants. The plants were good quality & also good value. Whilst at the garden centre we also visited The Gardeners Retreat cafe. Hottest day of the year & their drinks chillers appeared to have give. Up working !!! For food we ordered a variety of sandwiches/wraps with chips. All ok & were fairly quickly served. Cafe premises were on the whole not that appealing to look at. Felt it could do with a bit of a refit.

Well stocked, with space to move around.

Service is soooooo sloooow It seems that the restaurant has not learnt from the other comments at all. Nearly an hour wait for food is ridiculous. No apologies given for the delay and not even the suggestion of a free drink because of the wait. The food itself was ok, but delivered piecemeal with the last bit arriving 15 mins after the first: moral of the story is to order, wander around the garden centre and then return. Pity that there is no alert system to say that food is ready.

Sadly disappointing breakfast, really cheap ingredients - tinned mushrooms I think? Sausages that were so smooth it makes you wonder what is in them and a brown sauce that was so sweet it was inedible.... Such a shame as it's a lovely garden centre, the staff and service are great. I know it's hard to make a profit but this really isn't worth the money.

Have used the cafe for quite some time, mainly because they have a dog friendly section. Service has never been exceptional and the menus have often been restictive: (no hot food etc.) with problems around gluten intolerance (a life situation) whereas vegetarians (a life choice) seemingly well catered for. On this occassion I was here on a mission to find particular plants for the garden. I had visited several garden centres but had been put off by high prices/lack of choice. I was well pleased to find what I had been looking for with an extensive variety and my dog was well pleased with the attention and treats he received at the checkout. Within a very short period of time one of the plants I thought had failed. I photographed it, along with the other plants that were flourishing, and made on line contact with Chilton. To date I have received no reply to my request as to what I may or may not have done wrong. In fact I have received no response whatsoever!

Lots of choice friendly staff quite expensive

Nice garden centre. Food is slightly pricey but food quality is good. Lovely cakes. Lots of plants and garden centre bits and bobs.

Not to bad. Very expensive shrubs. Some past their best.

Stopped here for breakfast. Big mistake. Spent £30+ for two breakfasts. Waited 25 mins for breakfast in a cold restaurant area and when the food came it was barely warm. Meanwhile there was 5 senior team members having a sales meeting in the eating area. I assume they were senior employees from what they were loudly discussing and the constant ringing of mobile phones, because to look at they were unkempt in appearance and dressed scruffily. By far the worst place i have been to for food. I would not recommend this business to anyone. Sorry

Nice, place to eat, variety of internal shops although some of the "sale" items in clothing seem to be permanently on sale. Mainly good value for money throughout.

Took my 90 year old mum to Chilton Garden Center today, and oh my god!! I have never met such a rude bunch of staff! Firstly in the Bon Marche section. Mum bought herself a couple of items, went to the check out where the woman ( manager?) snapped at the other member of staff in front of us, told her not to serve us and fill the book in instead. She served Mum and was very very rude. No please, thank you, nothing. Then turned her back. At the checkout where we paid for our plants. The girl there was just as rude, no manners whatsoever. My sister-in-law bought a resin dog ornament that was damaged. Asked for a discount because it was damaged and the last one left. She said its not her place to discount anything and that WE had to go and find a manager. Took me a good 10 minutes to find another member of staff to point me in the right direction. Found the manager, she couldn't be bothered to look, said knock a quid off and walked away. No wonder the staff are so rude!! I won't be going back again. Not if that is how customers get treated. Disgusting behaviour by all staff!! Only in the Cafe were we treated better!!

Lots to see, has changed alit since I last visited. Staff are friendly and helpful, lots of bargains on plants.

Only went to the restaurant for breakfast, which was very good. Highly recommended.

Nice coffee, scone a bit stale and too many vegan rather than real cakes!

The food was great, but they don't offer many vegan options. The rice is made with milk so I had to have chips instead. It would be much easier making rice in the normal way with water so who is intolerant, allergic to it or vegan could have it.

Really nice food at the cafe. Garden centre is well stocked. The pricing for both is a bit high. When we bought vegan burgers, they came without quite a few of the things stated on the menu, and the staff didn't mention it. We spoke to them about it and they did eventually bring out the onion rings, cheese and coleslaw. I just think it's a bit weird to have to ask for the things that it's stated on the menu. I'll be going back and probably update to 5* if there aren't any issues :) Staff did seem nice in dealing with it, they might have just been having a busy afternoon.

Great food freshly cooked. Very good clothes range available. Well worth a visit.

Always worth a visit lots to see, cake always great, good parking disable friendly,,,,now with cake and hot drinks deal,,,AS OF TODAY 07/04/24 THE CAKE & HOT DRINKS DEAL IS ONLY TEA OR COFFEE ( filter ) GOOD BYE LOST LEADER, also you need to clear the tables a lot more frequently!.

Wonderful place, bit out of the way, nice pleasant staff Prices were reasonable

A good selection but a bit cramped

Smashing staff, good coffee & reasonable menu prices

It's somewhat disappointing given its size and space. Obvious omissions were outdoor structures and water features. Even what was stocked lacked variety and range. Shame as it could be so much more with a little imagination and work

Really nice Nursery style Garden Center, lots of choice, reasonably priced, ample free parking and really nice Cafe.

Lovely garden centre, with very helpful, knowledgeable staff. Nice cafe, good coffee and delicious cake. We will be back.

It is very spacious and close to where I live in Oxfordshire. Very good range of plants but compared to Yarnton nurseries in Yarnton Oxfordshire. The entrance was not signposted very well, and it's slightly confusing as the exit is also through the same door. Payment tills are at the front, and somehow, it doesn't flow very well with store layout. Very good feature to mention is that Cotton traders and Regatta stores are located inside this garden centre. Despite this, you can not return regatta items here, which is a bit of shame. Not sure if I want to visit this garden centre again...

Garden centre exceptional shame about the poor food in the cafe

The cafe would benefit from hiring someone who can cook. Baked potato undercooked. Beefburger was low quality burger burnt to a crisp. Gardeners salad thinest of slices of cheese, extremely poor quality ham. The food took an age to come. It's a shame because the garden centre itself is fabulous

Beautifully displayed and maintained shrubs and plants with a wide range of clothing and accessories for the garden and home. Great cafe/restaurant. Fair prices. Knowledgable staff too.

Lovely surroundings nice plants

Went for a spot of lunch and look round the garden centre, until a psycho worker on a fork lift truck drove through the middle of the plant section like someone demented it was very scary and dangerous , we decided to leave 😱

Always improving, friendly staff, great range at a reasonable price. Happy to be a regular customer.

Absolute shambles of a place. The Restaurant or Caff, is a disgrace! A simple sandwich, covered in black pepper, which I can't eat! Staff to busy gossiping to care! Total waste of money!

Nice garden centre close to Didcot just off the A34. Good range of outdoor and indoor plants, as well as all the bits that come alongside. Dog friendly.

Good and accessible parking. Helpful staff. Range of products good for gifts.

Not been for a little while, but love all the improvements. Wonderful garden centre and coffee shop with an amazing menu.

Went here recently and was quite disappointed. It looked almost like they were closing down.

Very dated garden centre, there's lots of parking, decent variety of goods on sale but the interior looks stale and unimaginative. There's a small restaurant, outdoor garden centre, furniture, bbq, clothes etc. There's lots of empty space inside where they display reduced furniture.

Afternoon tea was amazing. The gluten free option provided was very good too. Lovely service & staff.

Nice wide ooen spaces to move around and enjoy the garden centre, lovely cafe/restaurant on site, dogs welcome

Need to put prices on products.... Other than that a great range of products! Better than it used to be. Shame the antiques shop has gone.

Lots of changes made over the last few months. Much larger than it used to be and a fantastic experience. Hundreds of additional items on sale. Well worth a visit.

Stopped in for a coffee with a new friend, visited the cafe. Great service and atmosphere.

Service in cafe slow, when cream tea arrived scones overcooked, tasty but crumbled as soon as you cut into it. Sandwiches squashed when sliced and prawns fell out. Cake looked as if pulled apart not cut. Also no plates offered and when we asked only given one plate! Disappointed.

Dreadfully food, slow service. Jacket potato cold and overcooked. Plastic cheese, dry salad. Definitely will not return.

Very pleasant atmosphere good all round garden centre

Tarmac carpark and no steps so completely wheelchair friendly.

It has been refurbished since I last visited, which was very nice. Had a large Christmas area to look around.

Like this garden centre, good mix of goods, good cafe

Pretty empty garden centre the week before Christmas. Cafe was ok, bit of a wait on Sunday lunch, two of our chosen meals weren't available at 1pm, took a while to come. Tasted ok but was luke warm. Disappointing.

We went shopping for our Christmas tree. Found a gorgeous one, the issue we had was the end needed sawing off but we didn't have a saw at home. We were then looking for a saw in the garden tools shop there but we couldn't find one. A lovely young lad called Michael asked if we were ok, i explained we were after a saw as we needed one to take the end of the trunk of the tree off and he said 'I can do that for you, hold on a minute' he bought the tree round to the front of the shop for us and sawed the end off...very helpful, and kind. Thank you Michael.