Recent customer feedback shows a mixed picture. Several reviewers praise individual staff for helpfulness and timely deliveries and describe non‑food products and plants positively (for example, assistance loading soil and a well‑made dining set). However, many negative reports focus on café food quality, hygiene (toilet cleanliness), in‑store comfort (heat) and perceived poor communication about opening hours or voucher/refund policies. If you plan a visit, check local opening times and voucher terms, and consider calling the specific site about café services or accessibility before travelling.
Examples from available reviews (Nov 2021 – Feb 2026).
Customer-oriented company with timely deliveries and good-quality products.
“I love how customer oriented this company is.”
Voucher use reduced refund due to distributed discounts across items.
“So in effect they took £4.28 of their 'gift' back!”
Staff ignored customers and displayed rude, dismissive behaviour.
“Rude ignorant staff on 2 occasions”
Store was unbearably hot due to poor ventilation, cutting visit short.
“the heat inside the main building was unbearable.”
Some reviewers describe helpful, attentive staff and timely deliveries, but a larger share report rude or inattentive service and unresolved issues.
Several customers flagged high café prices and problems with gift‑voucher or refund calculations; a minority say products represented decent value.
In‑store experiences vary: examples of good assistance exist, but frequent complaints refer to heat, queues, poor toilet cleanliness and café problems.
Plants and non‑food items are often described positively, while café meals and bakery items attract mixed reports of both good and poor quality.
Multiple reviewers report unclear opening hours, voucher terms and a lack of replies from management; some staff interactions are cited positively.
Overall impressions in recent reviews tilt negative, driven by café, facilities and staff problems, though a minority of visits are described positively.
For each review, the core experience based on original source reviews.
Sources: Trustpilot (28) · Collected.reviews (1) · Quotes shortened · As of: February 2026
Rabbit hutches described as tiny and imported from China.
“Terrible, Hutches for rabbits tiny prisons and all from China!”
Staff friendly, but restaurant food quality and kitchen attitude disappointed.
“quality of food in the restaurant has sadly disappointed me”
Cafe appeared unclean with dirty tables, crockery, and dog seating issues.
“there were dirty pots everywhere.”
Christmas dinner was lovely with great portions and excellent staff.
“Food was lovely with great sized portions & the staff were fantastic”
Christmas lunch had brilliant service and plentiful, lovely food.
“The service was brilliant All the staff were very polite helpful smiling and very professional.”
Food and staff good, but inadequate seating arrangements for elderly.
“The food is always very good, nice and hot.”
Family enjoyed Breakfast with Santa; food and entertainment were excellent.
“the star of the experience was obviously when Santa arrived.”
Reviewer says venue isn't truly dog friendly despite advertising.
“Dont advertise as being dog friendly when you are not”
Voucher use reduced refund due to distributed discounts across items.
“So in effect they took £4.28 of their 'gift' back!”
Helpful staff member Kelly provided excellent service at the bakery.
“she was really helpful”
Customers experienced poor staff service and being turned away.
“Cafe restaurant run by incompetence”
Café toilets were dirty and lacked supplies, causing concern.
“the toilet facilities were appalling”
The shop is well stocked but the café is inferior.
“There are far better cafes in Long Melford that deserve your custom.”
Breakfast was cold and contained a hair, reviewer found it awful.
“IT WAS CRAP.”
Meal contained brown lettuce and a dry, unappealing sandwich.
“the lettuce was brown and the salad was warm”
Customers fed dogs at tables, causing hygiene and comfort concerns.
“Dogs and restaurants do no mix.”
Staff ignored customers and displayed rude, dismissive behaviour.
“Rude ignorant staff on 2 occasions”
Store was unbearably hot due to poor ventilation, cutting visit short.
“the heat inside the main building was unbearable.”
Reviewer describes the customer service as appalling.
“Appalling Customer Service.”
Large centre was extremely hot and lacked clear signage about dog seating.
“it was extremely hot and uncomfortable”
Reviewer criticises management's arrogance and lack of responses to reviews.
“Total disregard for customers reviews”
Rude, uninformed staff and long queues led to poor experiences.
“AWFUL PLACE - GO ELSEWHERE”
Plant quality good, but restaurant food was poorly prepared.
“Quiche was barely edible”
Enjoyable outside area and coffee, spoiled by loud music.
“Spoilt by loud whining music.”
Staff member Colby provided excellent, helpful service assisting with soil.
“Colby then offered to put the soil in my car for me to!”
Kitchen closed earlier than expected with no signage, causing disappointment.
“the kitchen is closed - closed at 3 but there is coffee and cake”
Reviewer says customer services lied about information provided.
“Lied to by customers services.”
Reviewer found café food overpriced and of poor quality.
“prices in the cafe are very high”
I love how customer oriented this company is. For the last 5 years of my farming, I have always ordered farm chemicals such as weed killers, spraying materials from them. They have never frustrated me. In any case, they have always amazed by how excellent they handle my orders. Deliveries are timely and at no time did I ever have to return any item. Last month, I decided to try something else from their wide range of products. I placed an order of a dining set that was delivered a week ago. It is also a wonderful, unique and high quality product. It is worth the price.
This page combines submitted experiences with public reviews from platforms such as Google, Trustpilot, etc. Recurring points are summarised without changing the content of reviews.
Cherry Lane Garden Centres is a UK garden-centre operator offering plants, garden supplies, seasonal items and on-site facilities such as cafés and family areas. Consumers searching reviews typically look for information on plant quality, catering, customer service and store facilities at their local site. This summary is intended to help shoppers understand common praise and complaints found in recent customer feedback.