Mulberry & Thyme Bath — Restaurant in Bath

I was extremely disappointed with my visit to Mulberry & Thyme Café at the Hillier Garden Centre on Whiteway Road, Bath. I took my friend there for a birthday lunch, expecting a special experience, but it turned out to be a complete letdown.

From the moment we arrived, things felt off. Despite trying to book a table in advance, no one answered the phone. When we got there, the café was almost empty, with only a few other customers—surprising for lunchtime. The menu was uninspiring, the cake selection was underwhelming, though the scones looked nice.

I ordered a brie, bacon, and mango chutney toastie, while my friend had a cheese and ham toastie. Since I have a broken hand, I politely asked if they could remove the fat from my bacon, as I couldn’t do it myself. When my food arrived, the fat was still there, so I had to open the toastie myself to take it out. That’s when I noticed multiple hairs inside my sandwich.

Shocked, I spoke to the waitress, who took it back to the kitchen. When she returned, she told me it wasn’t hair—it was the mango chutney. This was honestly one of the most shocking parts of the experience. It felt as though I was being told to just shut up and eat it, as if I was imagining things. I’ve since checked, and there are no references anywhere to mangoes being a hairy fruit. This excuse simply didn’t make sense.

I politely refused to accept this and asked for a refund. At this point, a more experienced staff member or someone from the kitchen should have stepped in to handle the situation properly. Instead, it was left to a new staff member, who openly admitted she didn’t know how to process a refund and struggled with the till. Eventually, she told me to come back later, which felt dismissive and unprofessional.

What made the experience even worse was the complete lack of apology or any offer of replacement food. I was simply left without a meal, making it an awkward and disappointing birthday treat for my friend. The staff didn’t seem to care at all, which left a bad impression.

The only positives were the good coffee and the fact that the café has a lovely veranda with beautiful views—though it was too cold to sit outside on our visit. Afterward, we walked around the garden centre, which is a great place to browse, and I made a purchase to at least come away with something positive from the visit.

However, the contrast between this café and the Bath Soft Cheese Company café (which I visited the previous week) was staggering. While the Bath Soft Cheese Company was thriving with excellent food and customer service, Mulberry & Thyme felt like a missed opportunity. If they improved their food quality, service, and attention to customers, it could be a fantastic addition to the garden centre and attract more visitors.

As it stands, I cannot recommend this café unless you’re only stopping for a...

Lunch yesterday in the cafe, young lady on the till took down our order slightly incorrectly on one of the items, no big deal so whilst paying we mentioned it, she called over a rude arrogant older woman who printed off the receipt and read out every item again, we only wanted to change one item. Asked for a cheese and tomato baguette and she said that’s only a toastie aggressively so we said can you not make a baguette ? Followed by a big sigh and huff ! Food came out, baguettes had no butter on them and bread was stale and incredibly dry. Jacket potato skin like leather.

Also told off for using a bottle opener left on the customer side of the till. Do you think we are a baby who can’t touch a bottle opener ?!

Overall - cafe basic and old for a premium price, customer service very poor and we won’t be back, I’d recommend everyone avoids, staff don’t like customers just because of a simple request to change from a ham and cheese to cheese and tomato. Manners...

We came here today with our 2 year old and were really disappointed! The food (just a jacket potato and aandwich) took 40 minutes to arrive! The tables were messy and I had to clear ours before we sat down. Although the food itself was fine, the portions were really small. Possibly the smallest jacket I've ever had with just one spoonful of filling in it. And it cost £9.99!!! Unfortunately, they'd also microwaved it and half of the bottom was rock solid. There was no apology for the wait, which made no sense because the place was practically empty. We both went away hungry. Such a shame because we had heard great things and the view up there...