The Potting Shed Tearooms
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+44 1425 638926+ Add websiteImprove this listing
Hours
Sun
10:00 - 16:30
Mon
9:00 - 17:00
Tue
9:00 - 17:00
Wed
9:00 - 17:00
Thu
9:00 - 17:00
Fri
9:00 - 17:00
Sat
9:00 - 17:00
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Details
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CUISINES
Cafe, British
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch
features
Does this restaurant offer free wifi?
Details
CUISINES
Cafe, British
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch
FEATURES
Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Validated Parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Table Service
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4.5
161 reviews
Excellent
102
Very good
32
Average
13
Poor
8
Terrible
6
John C
Christchurch167 contributions
May 2021 • none
Pandemic what pandemic? The Potting Shed is fully back to pre-pandemic operations with reasonably priced lunches and nice afternoon teas. We ate on a Groupon afternoon tea offer to which we added some very nice 'doorstep' sandwiches. Cakes were fresh, tasty and served in generous portions.
Prices have risen a bit owing to the pandemic but its still good value and was very busy when we visited. Service was homely and friendly in somewhat 'vintage' surroundings.
Written 22 May 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mickmickmick
Nottingham73 contributions
Aug 2020 • couples
We had a nice late lunch here whilst our cycling. We found an outside table where we could park our bicycles. During COVID they require you to wear a mask until seated. Good service, we ordered a cream tea with coffee and cake. The fruit scones were large and warm - plenty of clotted cream and jam. I had the caramel cake which was good, my wife had the coffee walnut cake which was also good - neither were outstanding hence only 4 stars.
Written 20 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kelly D
2 contributions
Oct 2021 • friends
Have just got home from afternoon tea in the Ivy room. It was a celebration for a friends birthday and it was fabulous. The room itself is quirky and comfortable. The weather today is atrocious but we were warm and dry. The food was outstanding. Fresh sandwiches, scones the size of your head and more cake than we could manage, so doggy bags all round. We were served by a lovely lady called Andrea who was very attentive but not intrusive. I would highly recommend both the potting shed and the Ivy room to anyone that stands still long enough
Written 2 October 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jewie193
March9 contributions
Aug 2021 • couples
I would give this a zero rating if I could.
We arrived signed in and sat down at table after waiting I had to ask for someone to take my order.
After finally ordering and being asked to pay before the food arrived we then waited about 45 minutes, two other tables were served their food who had ordered after us. The waitress came over and informed us that our order hadn't gone through. She asked us if we wanted to reorder or have a refund. I asked for a refund only for her to come back and ask me how much the order was for as they didn't know. Lucky enough I had asked for a recipt when I paid, otherwise not sure how they would have known how much to refund me. Will not be returning as very poor experience there.
Written 17 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Angela O
5 contributions
Aug 2020 • none
We went hereat the last minute as we were let down by a booking else where which was greatly appreciated by us all, upon arrival we asked if we could have the afternoon tea which they agreed to, a lovely selection of sandwiches tea and coffee....but the only disappointment was on the cake side only half a scone each! Would expect at least one scone each ! All the food was lovely and fresh . Just a bit of a let down
Picture attached was for 6 people. The biggest bonus was they are part of Eat out Help out scheme would have been very unhappy to pay full price!
Written 3 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rufmeister
Taunton81 contributions
Aug 2023 • friends
A really pretty venue with lovely staff. Friendly and helpful. Unfortunately that’s kind of where the positive ends for us. We had booked via a voucher for afternoon tea for 4 people and the tea was really disappointing. We had 4 scones and cream and jam and a choice of a slice of cake each. The slices of cake were very generous but so dry 2 of us couldn’t get through very much at all. The scones looked lovely and were large but again quite dry. Maybe we were just on a bad day but when afternoon tea consists of a scone and piece of cake, and both are dry, that’s not a great experience.
Written 24 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Buddy082014
St. Albans16 contributions
Dec 2022 • friends
We booked a Christmas party in the Ivy Room for 16 of us. We had the most amazing and fabulous time. Our Christmas meal was exceptional,the canapés incredible and the Ivy Room itself was decorated with artistry charm and amazing attention to detail. All the arrangements prior to the event were so helpful and efficient. Communication was great and no request we made was too much trouble. Jayne and her team were welcoming fun and made the whole event a massive success. One of our party was actually over come with emotion when she entered the room and saw how beautifully it was set out for us. The turkey and trimmings were so tasty and all plates arrived to us hot and scrumptious. We totally loved it and would 100% recommend the venue. We laughed,sang, played Xmas games and were spoilt rotten. Thank you!
Written 22 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Peter T
Salisbury5 contributions
May 2022 • none
The home made vegetable soup was tasteless & full of stringy bits. When I complained they took it back & offered me a sandwich instead. I nearly fell over when I was asked to pay the £2 difference !!!
I say expensive because an egg mayonnaise sandwich was the same price as a prawn one.
Written 29 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jadepops17
Lymington39 contributions
Sept 2020 • none
New seating arrangements very good lots of space since Covid, table service staff very good all in masks. Had a super lunch they still provide a varied menu as well as their usual menu. My lunch of casserole lamb with vegetables was very good.
Written 29 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KeithR
19 contributions
Jan 2024 • friends
This review is based on my experience on the day and could be different for you, but I doubt it.
Was taken here by friends for a meal. It’s a restaurant/cafe within a garden centre.
When we arrived we were met by a very helpful lady who said at that time they were fully booked. But we were offered a 2nd room just across the courtyard. As we exited the main building that same lady called us back to say they had just had a departure and a table of 3 was available for us.
Sadly we just missed out on the breakfast menu but had something from the specials on the wall.
Two of us had gammon chips peas and eggs and one a panini, we all had a coffee.
The food was very tasty, well cooked and worth every penny we paid for it. The cakes were very large and tasty to. The service was superb by all the staff who served us. Going by the number of people in the restaurant/cafe and the continual arrival of people, it is a very popular place to go to eat.
Would recommend this to anyone in the area or visitors to the new forest.
Written 20 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jackie B
Lymington34 contributions
Oct 2022 • couples
Visited on Thursday 6th October at about 12.45pm the cafe was very busy but we sat outside because it was a lovely sunny day and ordered at the counter. Within a few minutes our pot of tea arrived and within 10 minutes our sandwiches arrived as well, they were freshly made and delicious. Beautifully presented with a small side salad and crisps. The staff were friendly and very efficient would definitely recommend.
Written 7 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
993kate
Bournemouth22 contributions
Jan 2023 • none
Ordered 2 different options - panini was excellent, but chicken, mayo, green leaves sandwich was very poor value for money. There was no mayo in it (had to ask for sachets to add our own) very sparse portion of chicken, maybe only 40% of bread covered by chicken. I mentioned this to staff when I went to order a follow up drink but they seemed unconcerned.
Written 2 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maggie M
Southampton24 contributions
Apr 2024 • friends
My friend booked for 5 of us to come for afternoon tea. Unfortunately the coffee, served in a teapot, was very weak and we had to pay for a "shot" of coffee to improve the taste, but it still had very little flavour. Afternoon tea consisted of a pot of tea or coffee, plus 1 scone wth cream and jam and a choice of 5 different varieties of cake. We ordered slices of different cakes to try all of them. I was looking forward to the ginger and treacle cake but there was no taste of ginger and certainly no treacle in there, but perhaps thete may have been some golden syrup. ... it was a very pale creamy coloured cake. I enjoyed the Dorset apple cake, but found all of the cakes overly sweet.
We did enjoy the experience and the staff were so helpful and kind. If you have a sweet tooth you will love their cakes.... Next time Iwill try the cheese scones instead.
Lots of parking here. The nursery was small but lots of different plants at a fair price.
Written 29 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Teresa W
13 contributions
Dec 2021 • solo
Visited for a much needed lunch after long trip. Normally a favourite place. Went to order and lady taking order really snapped at me in an unfriendly and unnecessary manner. Totally floored me. I wish I had walked out but accepted a drink and biscuit rather than go to the back of the queue. Totally humiliating. It was not that busy and there was no reason at all to speak to me like that. To be honest despite this being a favourite place to go and meet friends, I will be very reluctant to go back.
Written 30 December 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Forthright
9 contributions
Feb 2020 • none
I could definitely be described as a regular customer here. Whilst the cafe staff treat you like a valued customer your journey through the garden centre to the cafe usually goes completely unacknowledged by other staff members (except for a very friendly, tall gentleman). Customer service should be a major priority for any customer based business and a smile and hello doesn't cost anything.
Written 26 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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