Dobbies Garden Centre

Location:

Sitting just off the A1123 in between Huntingdon and St Ives can be found Dobbies Garden Centre, easy easy to find, with plenty of good car parking. 

Entrance:

To gain access to the cafe, there is a small walk through the garden centre where the cafe is situated in the top left hand corner in a large bright area. 

Service:

On entering the cafe area, I was greeted by two very pleasant ladies that took my order and issued me with my coffee. I found a seat with the breakfast to follow.

Menu:

The menu was very straight forward with all the right choices for me. I went for the Traditional Breakfast with an extra piece of bacon and also had to pay extra for the toast and butter. 

On the Plate:

The breakfast was a very typical garden centre plate, with everything there but without the quality you get with an independent. I had the modern bowl of beans which I immediately tipped out, the sausage was surprisingly good so was the fresh tomato and mushrooms. The bacon was only just cooked which seems to be the way. I just couldn’t get over the egg, it was rather small and there was hardly any yolk, it really was a job to find it. But, all in all it was a reasonable breakfast, and the plate was hot!! 

 Coffee:

I had a black Americans which was very tasty, hot and very enjoyable

Pricing:

The Traditional Breakfast was priced at £5.25 with an extra rasher of bacon £1.00, toast and butter £1.50 and the coffee £2.20, giving a total for my breakfast this morning of £9.95.

 

In Conclusion:

I enjoyed my breakfast this morning at Dobbies, this garden centre used to belong to another national chain, where the breakfast was dreadful, so I was very pleased to go back and see a big improvement. I would certainly like to go back again to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.

Dobbies Garden Centres
Banks End
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE28 2AA

Date: 24th April 2019

Arena Cafe

Arena Cafe

Location:

Arena Cafe is in Burleigh Street, Cambridge really easy to find, right opposite the main door into the Primark store. 

Entrance:

Walk straight into a busy little cafe, there were not that many seats free, but managed to find one right in the window. 

Service:

When I went into Arena there was one guy behind the counter and a very charming lady who took my order, bought my coffee and then later bought my breakfast to me, with a smile permanently on her face.

Menu:

The menu quite surprised me, very comprehensive with plenty to choose from. 

On the Plate:

I ordered the Full English Breakfast with an extra rasher of bacon, when my breakfast was first delivered, there didn’t seem to be enough on the plate, the portion sizes were quite small, then I reflected that the cost was reasonable. 

The bacon was very well cooked, the sausage was reasonable, tiny amount of mushrooms and tomato, the egg hardly had any yolk in it at all with the beans quite watery with lots of juice. I tried to drain as much of the juice off with my fork which did make it slightly better, but, the plate was hot and the toast was buttered, incidentally I was not given the option of brown or wholemeal toast.

Coffee:

The coffee was really lovely, I thoroughly enjoyed two cups as it was so nice.

Pricing:

For my Full English Breakfast with an extra rasher of bacon with 1 cup of coffee cost me £9.40.

In Conclusion:

Although I found the breakfast on one hand quite poor, on the other hand it was a pleasant place to eat breakfast. Will I be going back, if I’m hungry enough with no where else open, i think I would, just for the entertainment value.

Arena Cafe
8 Burleigh Street
Cambridge
CB1 1DG

Date: 10th April 2019

The Bell

Location:

The Bell pub is easy to find on the High Street in Gt Paxton, if you are driving through the village it is right by the side of the main road. 

Entrance:

The entrance to the pub was just as you would expect to find a pub with the usual fixtures and fittings, but when I mentioned I was here for ‘The Bell brunch’ I was ushered through to the dining room, where there was a great atmosphere going on. 

Service:

The service was really quick with the waitress asking me for my drink order well before I choose what to eat, which was good, I do like nice service.

Menu:

The menu was a small but very concise menu written in chalk on a nice piece of slate, but it seemed to me that with the comments going round, the menu was a start point as people were chopping and changing, so the kitchen was obviously very flexible. 

On the Plate:

I decided to have the ‘half English’ breakfast with an extra rasher of bacon and toast. I only had to wait a few minutes before my breakfast arrived, and it looked amazing, just right for a chilly saturday morning. 

As per the trend these days, the baked beans were in a small bowl, once they were emptied out onto the nice hot plate, the plate seemed to fill up. Obviously the sausage and bacon came from the local butchers, and all the others items were from the local village shop. Quite unusual these days to have some fried bread, which I have to say was cooked to perfection. A really wonderful breakfast, most enjoyable.

Coffee:

How refreshing that I was asked if I would like a free refill of coffee, I don’t know why but the first cup was better than the second, but pretty good all the same.

Pricing:

I have to say that I’m not quite sure how much the breakfast cost as I met a long standing friend who paid for it …. so thank you Dave. I would imagine that with the extras I had, the bill would not have come to more than £10.00, which was great value for money.

In Conclusion:

The Bell only put on this type of breakfast facility on the first saturday of the month, which is rather a shame as there were lots of people in there enjoying their hearty breakfast. I would certainly recommend this venue to anyone, I will certainly be back there again in the near future …. well done The Bell.

The Bell
50 High Street
Gt Paxton
St Neots
Cambs
PE19 6RF

Date: 6th April 2019

The Stove Cafe

Location:

The Stove Cafe is right in the heart of the picturesque village of Bourn, once you are in the village the cafe is right opposite the doctors surgery in a range of farm buildings, with some good signage to get you there and easy parking. 

Entrance:

A nice entrance into the cafe, once inside I could feel a lovely buzz perculating through the building, with plenty of seating, intact more room than I expected in this particular location. 

Service:

I wasn’t really sure what happened next as I sat down at my table, is it table service or order at the counter, once I sat there for a while I watched as the locals went to the counter …. cracked it, counter service!

Menu:

The menu had something for everyone, if not, there was a good choice of cakes and pastries at the counter.

On the Plate:

I had to wait quite a few minutes for my Farmhouse Breakfast to arrive, which meant it was being cooked in the kitchen, so it was going to be nice and fresh. 

When my breakfast came it looked delicious and smelt superb and the plate looked very full, so full that I asked the waitress to bring me a side plate to put the toast on, that was a good idea as there was more room to move. Once the toast was removed I felt there was something missing, it eventually dawned on me that there was no tomato, the waitress quickly brought one over for me.

The sausages were to die for, full of flavour and obviously came from a local butcher. I’m sure the bacon was as well, bit it was rather undercooked for me, which was a shame. In fact all the ingredients were delicious even the mushroom and the two eggs. The breakfast looked so good and to show you how eager I was to get started, I forgot to put some brown sauce on … whoops!

There were 2 slices of toast on the plate, which was plenty for me, I was not offered an alternative, which was good for me, not a fan of brown toast..

Coffee:

The cup of coffee was beautiful, quite strong and full of flavour, apparently it was supplied by Coffee World in Cambridge. As the kitchen forgot my tomato with my breakfast, when I asked for another cup of coffee, Mandy the supervisor came over and said, the second was on the house because of it ….. how lovely was that.

Pricing:

The Farmhouse Breakfast was £9.00 to include all of the above, 

In Conclusion:

I was very impressed with my whole breakfast experience this morning, lovely coffee, very tasty breakfast with totally fresh ingredients, wonderful service in beautiful surroundings, apart from a couple of little hiccups, the perfect way to kick start my day … everyone must visit The Stove. For £9.00 the breakfast was tremendous value.

The Stove Cafe
4 Alms Hill
Bourn
Cambridge
CB23 2Sh

Date: 18th March 2019

Aldiss

Location:

The Aldiss store is fairly easy to find in the Norfolk town of Fakenham, follow the signs to the Town Centre and the main car park, look around for the Aldiss store in the corner. 

Entrance:

Once inside this amazing store, continue to the back of the store to find their Shapes cafe/restaurant up some fairly steep stairs, but there is also a lift for those that need it. 

Service:

Once you have selected your choice of meal where there was a really good selection. One thing that did surprise me that I have never seen before, there was a choice of large or small scones, both fruit and cheese, it quite tickled me. At the end of the counter was the cashier, where once you had ordered and given your table number, your breakfast would be delivered to your table, all  very seamless.

Menu:

There were two menus on display, one at the bottom of the steep stairs, the other was above and behind the serving area, but those with ailing eyesight may find it quite difficult to read. 

On the Plate:

I decided on option 3 from the menu, paid my money and ordered a black coffee and headed off to my table, really looking forward to my breakfast, when it arrived I was delighted with the meal put infront of me. 

However I was thinking why didn’t they put it all on a bigger plate, I’m sure it would have looked nicer, and without bits falling off the side.

The breakfast was all very nice indeed with obviously very fresh ingredients (and it showed). I did have a conversation with Janine the supervisor who explained to me where they source their ingredients, and they were all local ….. perfect! 

The sausage and bacon came from a local butcher in Holt and were delicious and tasty, the mushrooms, tomatoes and eggs all came from another supplier in Norwich, the whole plate was delicious, and didn’t really last that long.

Coffee:

During my conversation with Janine, I found out that the coffee was their own blend, blended especially for Shapes, it was so nice I even had to have a second cup. The only bit I wasn’t sure about was that my coffee came in a glass, which I couldn’t really see the purpose. 

Pricing:

This was the most surprising part of the breakfast this morning, the breakfast was £6.75 and the coffee was £1.25 a cup. giving a total of £8.00 …… Wow!

In Conclusion:

What a great breakfast, I will certainly be back there again, in fact I have been in there before with my wife, and the cheese scones are also very good.

Shapes was quite quiet when I arrived, but was absolutely packed by the time I left, but probably most importantly there was a lovely atmosphere in there with a nice buzz going on.

Aldiss
Oxborough Lane
Fakenham
Norfolk
NR21 8AF 

Date: 8th March 2019

Danish Camp

Location:

Danish Camp is to be found just off the A603 at Willington in between Sandy and Bedford, take the turn signposted Village Loop and is situated through a gate, not simple to find,  but it is there. 

 

Entrance

Once inside, the cafe is situated in the most perfect location right by the banks of the River Ouse, the building is a type of Swiss Cabin arrangement. I wandered up to the counter to ask if  with it was counter service or do they take my order at the table, I was given a menu and was told they would take my order, I was obviously wrong, as once I had selected my breakfast and waited 15 minutes  with no one coming, so I had to go back to the counter to order, at the back of a long queue of pensioners.

Service:

So there was no real service as it was  all conducted via the counter.

Menu:

If it was the breakfast menu one was seeking, there was not a huge selection, but there was probably something that may have tickled one’s fancy. 

On the Plate:

I decided to go for The Regular Breakfast with an extra slice of bacon (at £1.75 a rasher, very expensive). So I was really looking forward to my breakfast this morning, sitting in a wonderful setting over looking the river ….. and then my breakfast arrived. 

I was really surprised with the items on the plate, the bacon was good, although expensive, but it was well cooked, the sausage was not good, and the egg was only just cooked, I do not like Italian tinned tomatoes, with a wedge of bread and butter to finish off with, which I have to admit, I have never seen with a breakfast before.

 

Coffee:

I decided to have a large cup of coffee which to be honest, was the same size as anywhere else’s regular, but it was a pleasure to drink and very flavoursome.

Pricing:

The Regular Breakfast was £6.95 the extra rasher of bacon £1.75 and the coffee was £2.80 giving a total of £11.50.

In Conclusion:

I will not be rushing back to The Danish Camp anytime soon for a cooked breakfast, I may well go back for the aspect near the river to have a coffee and a cheese scone and just enjoy the scenery.

Danish Camp
Chapel Lane
Willington
Bedford
MK44 3QG

Date: 21st February 2019

Frankie & Benny’s – Ely

 

Location:

Really easy to find this Frankie & Benny’s, within the Leisure Village on the outskirts of Ely, right on the busy A10 main road Ely bypass. 

Entrance:

It was about 10.00 by the time I arrived there, only to find that there were not a lot of people in the restaurant, but by the time I left it was getting quite busy, maybe they eat breakfast a little later in Ely. The space was very nice, clean, airy and well lit, I was really looking forward to eating my breakfast. 

Service:

My waitress was very bright and cheery and was looking after me really well, she first took my order for the coffee, left me alone for a couple of minutes for me to make my selection for breakfast, I wasn’t rushed at all.

Menu:

I was quite surprised as to the extent of the menu, a great choice for everyone, with children, vegan, vegetarian and traditional breakfast eaters like myself, plenty to go at. 

On the Plate:

I didn’t have to wait very long before my lovely breakfast arrived, I was hungry as well, so looking forward to it. I have to say that when my breakfast arrived all the ingredients were piping hot, just the way I like it. 

It all looked really good, the only criticism was the fact that most of the baked beans were juice with a distinct lack of beans, but the rest of the breakfast was most enjoyable. It is not very often that one is served with spicy fried potatoes but they were very good. On the menu it did state that there would be two eggs, but I did only ask for one. All the ingredients were very tasty, especially the mushrooms, I would imagine they were sauted, the bacon was a little under done, but it did eat well enough, with a surprising nice sausage. A very good breakfast.

Coffee:

The black coffee was very hot indeed and quite strong, the cup lasted me for the rest of my meal, until the waitress asked me if I would like a free refill. That was nice, as most restaurants don’t do that, which I think is a shame, as it really doesn’t cost that much.

Pricing:

For my breakfast this morning I paid £5.99 for the traditional Fry Up and £2.49 for the coffee, giving a total of £8.48.

In Conclusion:

I really enjoyed my breakfast at Frankie and Benny’s this morning and will certainly be going back there again sometime soon. Another little nicety was that Kevin the manager came over to see if my breakfast was OK, I thought that was a nice touch.

Frankie and Benny’s
Unit 4
Ely Leisure Village
Ely
Cambs
CB6 2WH

Date: 12th February 2019

Twenty Pence Garden Centre

Location:

The Twenty Pence Garden Centre is nicely situated on Twenty Pence Road on the Cottenham Road out of Wilburton fairly close to Ely and Stretham, not far from the busy A10.

Entrance:

Nice entrance into the premises with plenty of free parking, the garden centre is all on one level so ideal for our disabled friends. A nice, fresh and bright feeling on entering the building, although I was a little nervous as the last time I went there to try their breakfasts a lot of building was going on. After my meal I spoke to Gavin, one of the top men there, who said the works are nearing completion, I feel that the improvements will be very worthwhile once finished. 

Service:

I was greeted by a very nice lady behind the counter, who gave me all the information I required. The lady had to explain the menu to me, as it was a blackboard on the wall behind the servery, which I found very difficult to read. 

I had to sit in the chilly conservatory, as there were no tables in which to get my knees under, which I personally find important, I’m sure this will change when the works are finished.

Menu:

I had to go behind the counter to take this picture, but they did have most things on the menu. I chose to have the Gardeners Breakfast but with an extra slice of bacon. 

On the Plate:

I have to admit that I was quite hungry when my breakfast came, so was quite looking forward to it, when it came it looked really good, with a warm (not hot) plate, which I do like, especially at this time of year as it does keep the food warmer for longer. 

Due to modern trends the beans were in a big bowl, once I tipped them onto the plate there were loads, so the plate did look much better. I was pleased I ordered the extra bacon, that made the breakfast perfect size for me. All the ingredients were very nicely cooked and enjoyable, I’m sure the meat was all sourced from local suppliers. I wasn’t quite sure what the parsley was doing there, but it looked good. 

Coffee:

The coffee was very nice and hot and full of flavour but I thought that for the size of the cup for £2.20 was quite a lot for it.

Pricing:

The Gardeners Breakfast was £6.95 the extra slice of bacon £1.25 and the coffee at £2.20 giving a grand total of £10.40. 

In Conclusion:

I felt that the coffee was quite expensive for the size of cup, but overall it was a very nice breakfast. It is quite unusual to pay more than £10.00 for a breakfast in a garden centre these days, but I suppose having the extra bacon did make the difference. I will certainly be back to Twenty Pence Garden Centre because I enjoyed the whole experience. I will certainly be going back to enjoy what they have on offer there with my wife in the spring.

Twenty Pence Garden Centre
Twenty Pence Road
Wilburton
Ely
Cambs
CB6 3RN

Date: 17th January 2019