Healey Dell Heritage Centre & Tea Rooms — Restaurant in Rochdale

My boyfriend and I decided to explore Healey Dell Nature Reserve for the first time – such a lovely spot! The tracks were clean and wide, and we came across some cute benches along the way to sit and take it all in. At one point, we found a flat open area with a few benches where a family was having a picnic and kids were playing with dogs – it was a really sweet scene. The weather was just right too – not too hot, not too cold, and a good amount of sun.

About halfway through our walk, we stopped at the Healey Dell Heritage Centre & Tea Rooms. It’s such a charming little place. It was really busy (which is always a good sign!), and we were happy to wait for a table – love supporting places like this. We only stopped for a quick coffee break – I had a cappuccino and a slice of chocolate fudge cake, and my boyfriend had a black coffee. I wasn’t a fan of my cappuccino, and sadly the cake was really dry – tasted more like a supermarket one than something homemade. My boyfriend said his coffee was okay though.

That said, the food on other tables looked great – proper chunky chips and big burgers. The building itself is beautiful inside, and it’s the perfect mid-walk stop for a drink and a break. They even had jugs of water with cucumber, which was a lovely touch.

There was one slightly odd thing – an older man seemed to be hovering around the staff while they worked. We overheard some of his conversation and it came off a bit patronising – hopefully he was just trying to help, but the younger staff seemed like they were doing a great job on their own. Give them a chance!

We also found a little art shop inside and were lucky to catch an artist named Mary working on a painting. She didn’t want to be photographed, but I did snap a picture of one of her artworks – really impressive stuff. You can buy her art on cute little keyrings and postcards for just £1!

Overall, it’s a lovely, unique spot – very clean, with friendly vibes. Definitely worth a visit if you’re walking...

Nice place with really good outside tables. Near the woods/waterfall and a lovely walk.

Staff were good. Clearly all very young and inexperienced, but were very polite and friendly.

I got the 'Angus Beef Burger' which according to the menu was 'A very tasty Angus beef burger cooked to perfection & served in a bap with cheese, tomato & onions. Plated with salad & a portion of chunky chips'

The meat itself was nothing special, not juicy, and just an average frozen patty with no real flavour and not what I would call 'tasty' like the menu said. It was cooked, so not really sure what 'cooked to perfection' means? You can see from the cheese in the photo that it was either sitting under a heat lamp or put under a grill to melt the cheese which probably also dried out the burger further. It had far too much burger sauce in (which wasn't mentioned on the menu). Luckily I don't mind burger sauce (and it did help the burger go down!) but it was literally pouring out all over my fingers while I was trying to eat the burger and made a mess everywhere. (Either inform people on the menu you are adding the burger sauce or give it on the side, but it's not ok to add that much sauce under any circumstances)

The chunky chips were good. Nicely cooked and fluffy in the middle. but the side salad that came with the burger was very old with lots of brown leaves, and did not look at all fresh.

My wife had the club sandwich which was nice. A lot of food and nice fillings. Her side salad was nowhere near as bad as mine (perhaps came out of a different packet?) Strangely the crisps that came with her sandwich were rock solid and unpleasant to eat.

We saw so many plates go past us with lovely looking sandwiches and toasties, so we clearly chose the wrong items from the menu! It's a real shame as on the menu their afternoon tea does sound really nice, but just not worth taking the risk of driving that far from where we live if it's not up to the standard we...

Me and the wife and baby had afternoon tea here on Mothers Day. Prebooked a week or so in advance.

You probably wondering, why the harsh 1 star review? Here is why:

Tea served was very bland and because we waited over 30 minutes for our food, went freezing cold quickly with noone asking for a fresh refill

High chair provided was absolutely filthy and my wife spent 5 minutes wiping all the years of dirt off of it

Decor was nice but teacups were dirty. Waitresses were generally looking stressed, overworked and inexperienced to say the least. Now, onto the food:

Finger sandwiches had next to no fillings inside - for the price charged, I would expect a lot more. There was a total of 6 finger slices between me and the wife. Tasted bland as not enough filling. Just bread and butter.

Quiche was absolutely delicious. The one item that stood out from the whole experience so well done.

Scones were dry as a bone and freezing cold. Not fresh at all. Cream provided had little flavour and cheap tasting jam.

Every cupcake style item was dry as a bone and definitely not home made. Tasted like it was bought from the bargain section in a supermarket where its a day out of date. No flavour whatsoever.

Fruit was nice, tasted decent as did the salad.

This whole experience cost a total of £40+. We was in and out in less than 75 minutes. Very very overpriced to the point where they are straight ripping people off. The sad part is, people will pay it and not complain. Location is beautiful as is the decor but everything else just felt like one big rip off.

Truly feel cheated and scammed over £40 for stale cakes and bread with butter with bland tea. Avoid at all costs. There is better afternoon tea...