Customers often single out named staff for practical, hands-on help and strong support during events. Several visitors report poor café hygiene and uneven food preparation. Many describe staff as rude or dismissive, with long queues at busy times. Some reviews also mention unclear or misleading details about opening times and dog policies.
Examples from available reviews (Nov 2021 – Mar 2026).
Staff member Colby provided excellent, helpful service assisting with soil.
“Colby then offered to put the soil in my car for me to!”
Christmas lunch had brilliant service and plentiful, lovely food.
“The service was brilliant All the staff were very polite helpful smiling and very professional.”
Staff ignored customers and displayed rude, dismissive behaviour.
“Rude ignorant staff on 2 occasions”
Café toilets were dirty and lacked supplies, causing concern.
“the toilet facilities were appalling”
Most negative feedback focuses on rude, uninformed or dismissive staff, plus slow service when it gets busy. Positive comments often name individuals (such as Kelly and Colby) for attentive, practical help and on-time deliveries.
Several reviewers say the café costs do not match what they received, calling meals overpriced or poor value. One review describes a voucher calculation that reduced a refund, though this voucher issue comes up rarely.
Many visitors mention discomfort, including excessive heat in the main building and loud music in seating areas. Several reports also complain about dogs being fed at tables and too little seating for older customers.
Food quality is a repeated negative, with reports of cold dishes, hair in meals, brown lettuce and undercooked items. At least one review praises the plant stock and garden products, while a separate comment criticises small, imported rabbit hutches.
Several reviews point to unclear or misleading information, including unexpected kitchen closures and claims that customer services gave incorrect information. A smaller but noticeable thread says management does not reply to public feedback and that dog-friendly claims were not followed through.
Reviews split between strong praise for seasonal events and particular staff, and low ratings driven by hygiene, food and service problems. Experiences vary, and seem to depend on when people visit, which area they use and who is working.
For each review, the core experience based on original source reviews.
Sources: Trustpilot (28) · Collected.reviews (1) · Quotes shortened · As of: March 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 runs UK garden-centre stores selling plants and outdoor-living products. Stock includes common gardening items such as shrubs, bedding plants, composts, soils, pots and tools. The centres also sell seasonal lines, home-and-garden gifts, hard landscaping materials and garden furniture. Staff offer in-person plant advice, product demonstrations and guidance for hobby gardeners and small landscaping jobs.