Gardener's Retreat — Restaurant in South Norfolk

We entered and weren't sure if we had to find table then order or vice versa but on the way out noticed a huge sign that says 'how to order' but is obscured by large plants so i still couldn't read it even then! The cafe was only half full. There was no menu near the door or displayed by the till. We entered at 1110 and found a table. Menu on the table said breakfast is only served until 11, lunch from 1130 so we just ordered 3 scones, a tea, a coffee and latte. These were next to the till but were told waitress would bring them over. After waiting 15 minutes we asked a waitress what had happened to our order and she came back 5 minutes later with it. If it had said on the door they don't serve food between 11 and 1130 we would have come back later. In the 20 minutes i waited I watched the staff and they were all hardworking and friendly but it seems a very inefficient way to run a cafe. Had we got our drinks and scones at 1112 the time on the receipt we would have been gone by 1130 but as we got them at 1133 we didn't leave until 1150 so we're...

The service has gone downhill rapidly. This morning we visited at 10.50am for breakfast, we joined the queue with only 2 people in front of us. There were 6! Members of staff behind the counter all standing having a chat. 1 girl taking orders but once the receipt printed she then disappeared off over to the other side and stood looking at it for a while?! Leaving no one serving and everyone else still having a chat. By the time we were served it had just gone 11am and the girl had the cheek to tell us they had now stopped serving, knowing full well we had been queueing for nearly 10 minutes!!

We used to really love coming here but the last few visits just seem to be getting worse. I think I will avoid on all future visits now! Such a shame as food has always been good.

Sort you staff and your system out and your reviews may improve 🤷🏻‍♀️ I know plenty of people that would want to be paid for standing chatting .. maybe why you have so many staff but not actually...

This is the second time we have tried lunch here with the grandchildren. On both occasions to here was items not available, so had to order sandwich for me both times. On the first occasion the coleslaw was inedible due to the fact it was not cut but just large chunks of cabbage. On this occasion the sandwich was incorrect and had to be replaced,and one of children's meals wasn't even on the kitchen tab even though it was on the receipt as being paid for. The adult hot food was lukewarm and elements very overcooked. This was pointed out to the server and whilst there was an apology from her no offer to exchange or refund etc. It's an inefficient system which means orders take a long time to come out . Complaints are not dealt with in any way with the servers being the only point of contact. Overall I'm afraid this is one of the worst cafe s I've been in and we will not...