Muffins Galore at Braxton Gardens — Restaurant in New Forest

The place was fairly hard to find, they had a hard to see A-board with faint chalk writing by the entrance. The car park was poorly marked but it was fairly empty so I had no trouble parking. Signage from there was much easier to see. The decor once we got in was very 5-minute crafts, which is to say cute and handmade, and really quite nice. The menu had a nice selection of vegan and vegetarian options so my family were well catered for.

I had a cheese and onion toasty which was slightly burned but that's how I like it. My partner had the soup of the day, vegan leek and potato with a fresh bread roll on the side, which she reports was delicious. My daughter had children's vegan cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches.

Unfortunately (and here's the reason for 1 star) the chef didn't realise we'd ordered the vegan versions and came out to replace my partner's bread roll (with one that wasn't warm so likely not freshly made) and a few minutes later my daughter's sandwich which she'd already eaten one quarter of. The replacements came fairly quickly but if it weren't their choice to eat vegan then we could've had a medical crisis on our hands (and still might, our daughter has never had non-vegan food and we're now keeping a close eye on tummy troubles)

The toilets were in an outhouse and (in the men's at least) there was no lightbulb in the fixture. Lots of cobwebs in the light fixing suggests to me that there's not been a light for a couple of months at least. It was a cold day so going to the loo was an uncomfortably cold experience brr.

The desert was fine. I had a chocolate muffin (for a place called Muffins Galore it was the only one left on the specials board) which was fine, not the best chocolate muffin I've had but still alright. My partner had scones, vegan cream, and jam with a very indulgent looking vegan hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, which she described as "all right" My daughter had the same hot chocolate with a slice of gingerbread cake which looked very sticky and sweet, she could only eat about a quarter of it.

Final breakdown The atmosphere, decor, and gardens were lovely 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 the food was fine 🌟🌟🌟 The menu had several vegan and vegetarian options, meat eaters are out of luck here as there's no meat options at all but I'm not going to count that against it 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I'd be giving this place 3 stars if not for the non-vegan mistake but I can't in good conscience give any more than 1...

With a claim of "best cream tea in Hampshire", expectations were set very high! However, Muffins Galore did not disappoint. I haven't tried all the cream teas in Hampshire, but if I did, I'm certain that this one would be up there with the best.

The fruit scone was the best I've ever had and with a choice of coffee, I went for latte, which was spot on. We also had sandwiches. Egg mayo and Brie and cranberry, both absolutely delicious.

It's in a beautiful setting surrounded by lovely gardens and the staff were welcoming, friendly and very efficient.

If you're in the area and looking for lunch, a cream tea or just some coffee and cake, it will be well worth your time to go here.

They do a full afternoon tea but you have to book in advance.

Oh and they even have a little bookshelf with some books to read.

One small request for next time, I know the traditional jam with a cream tea is strawberry, but it's always nice to have a choice. But that is not enough to downgrade to 4 stars!!

We'll be going again whenever we're...

We found this place on Google maps as we needed a coffee! Probably wouldn’t have found it otherwise as there was only a small chalkboard at the side of the road on a grass verge, though it seems it shares its location with a garden centre/nursery. Plenty of parking spaces. It’s quite a quirky place, set in a conservatory which is quite humid and with a few grapevine growing. You can choose to sit outside and enjoy the garden or you can go inside via the conservatory. There’s plenty of cakes and of course muffins along with an extensive menu of other delights, not cheap but it all seems lovingly homemade. Definitely worth a visit or like us, to stop for a break and some...