Dobbies Garden World Restaurant in Angus

A friend and I went for coffee and cake on Monday afternoon to find the choice of cakes (or lack of) very disappointing. The lady in front of us was told that two items she requested were unavailable and my friend was told they did not decaffeinated coffee. When we went to pay, the lady in front of us had waited so long for attention they both her tea and coffee were cool and had to be replaced. There seems to be a couldn’t care less attitude in the cafe hence the lack of customers.

Ordered a mature cheese and caramilsed red onion panini, when it came it was normal cheese (only over half the panini) and plain red onion, very disappointed for £6.95 paid, definitely not worth it. Tasted OK though but was just average. Took about 10 mins to queue as till was really slow, some food was coming out before people had paid. Staff were either not wearing masks or wearing them round their chins, and tables weren't being cleared or cleaned very fast. Certainly not the standard I would have expected from a cafe in Dobbies.

Over priced soup, disorganised service/payment areas, floor filthy, glasses for juice with lipstick remain g from previous user. Very disappointed. Was a store loyalty card holder but doubt I will update.

Stopped past for some food, my wife and I were really disappointed by the standard of food and value for money we got our 2 year old a scoop of ice-cream £2.40 for a tiny scoop very poor value. Staff were nice and coffee and cake were fine.

Myself and my Fiancé were not impressed with the quality of food for the price paid. We were unable to eat the food. When we requested a refund we were met with nothing but excuses and no apology. Toilet was in a terrible state as well. Given the current pandemic situation this is very worrying. We will not be back.

Took our 2 year old to the Grotto. He loved it. Santa was lovely and chatty, made him feel at ease. Just a little too small of a grotto, that's the only reason I never gave it 5.

On the 28th December I visited the Dobbies store and upstairs restaurant. M family and I found ourselves being served by the usual group of “Dobbies restaurant style” lazy teenager staff, congregating around the coffee machine, all looking bored and unmotivated. We ordered several lunch dishes, soup, fish and chips, cappuccinos and a tea. The boy served me in a minimalist and unengaging way at the coffee machine. When he served me the tea and coffees, he pushed the cups towards me not even bothering to give me any saucers! ( is this a joke?) These I had to reach out and take for myself. Then I asked a girl, with long black hair, for some lemon for the tea and, as she was plainly surprised at such a “strange” request, I said she should go into the kitchen to get one, if possible.The girl arrived with what looked like an 8” serving tray with a whole lemon cut up and (what happens next has happened to me three times in the last year at your store) I said that I only needed 1 or 2 slices! So, what did she do (and this is the third time, three different people)? She took a slice WITH HER FINGERS and put it into my saucer!What is incredible is that these members of your staff have not been trained and obviously have no innate idea about basic food hygiene: DO NOT SERVE FOOD TO CLIENTS WITH YOUR FINGERS. Use tongs, a fork etc. A health inspector would certainly take note of what occurred.Sadly, every other store (M&S, Morrisons, …) we have been to knows how to serve a slice of lemon without looking at you as though you are from another planet and then serving you food with their fingers. Where do this restaurant get its staff from? Does Dobbies actually train them? Are work conditions so bad that they only stay for a minimum period of time or have no motivation to improve? What is the staff selection criteria?In sum, I really do believe that the Dundee branch of Dobbies restaurant does not offer the quality which one would expect based on its location and prices!.A small point worth mentioning would also be the Fish and Chips. When this was served, I was surprised to find that not even one type of vegetable had been served and the chips themselves looked that they had been made from a 25p bag of frozen French fries. A large profit for the restaurant based on what was charged!After various attempts to eat with satisfaction at this Dundee store we have finally decided to give up . I do hope that they manage to improve on a very unsatisfactory quality of staff and service as, once again, Dobbies does not deserve such a marred reputation. My family have been in catering for three generations and I do believe that this restaurant lacks an actual manager to make sure that service and quality maintain a certain standard. I have never seen anyone actively managing the situation in this branch, and the staff look like they have been left to “get on with the job” by themselves.

Went for late lunch with family, 1.30pm, but most items were Finished, so ordered 3 toasties. The toasties were barely warm when they arrived and we’re not up to the usual high standard. Very disappointed.

Visited here with the dog for the first time and loved it. Good pet section with a wide variety of toys, treats and food. So much to browse through you won’t get through it all in one visit. Restaurant allows dogs (thank you!) and there is a watering station for them. It also had a good amount of staff - so many places nowadays seem to skimp on having people to serve and clear. A shoutout to the staff who are helpful, friendly and following the Covid guidelines.

Always a lovely visit to Dobbies for a stroll and a stock up for the garden and home. This store has a Sainsbury's inside, a kitchenware department, bedding and home items, garden furniture, bbqs and fire pits, a tropical aquatic animal section, indoor and outdoor plants, lots of helpful staff around to advise and checkout, a cafe up the stairs and it's even dog friendly! Always clean and well stocked, they have corona guidelines in place and a member of staff at the front when it's busy and informing when the restaurant is busy. It's a great wee afternoon out with everything for the garden, home and more.