Lavender Lodge - Wiltshire

We came here for lunch and as we’ve been several times before, I was expecting to have the chicken Caesar salad. Well the menu has changed and there were no salads to be had at all! I opted for the fishcakes. They were disgusting! Also, I think they should rename them potato cakes as I couldn’t find any fish by taste or sight! And at £15 a plate, I thought it was absolute daylight robbery! I will never return to this place

The attraction of this cafe for me was the exceptional Salmon and Scrambled Eggs that has been a menu staple for several years. Very disappointed they’ve dropped it in favour of multiple variants of hollandaise based offerings. I opted for fried eggs on sourdough not much to get wrong here. Chef managed to break one of the eggs and then attempted to hide it under the other. We had waited a long time for the breakfast to arrive so had lost the motivation to complain. Loss of my favourite dish and cutting corners on quality in what is a relatively expensive cafe probably means I’ll cross this one of the list and be organised enough to book Lowden next time.

Expensive cake which was really poor. Coffee and walnut with sour icing and no taste. Cappuccino was like warm milk. Awful quality of both food and drink. Save your money and go somewhere else.

Went to see the wonderful child friendly Christmas displays at the garden centre with my two young grandsons. All very magical until lunchtime when we went into the restaurant.. THE most child UNFRIENDLY establishment I have ever had the misfortune to visit... From the rude waitress to the lack of provision for younger customers .. No safe drinking glasses or even a sandwich. The children ended up with sour bread toast and fries (not an idea lunch) we looked around to see many children dining there with a packed lunch which their parents had brought with them !!!! When I dine out with my grandchildren I expect it to be an inclusive experience. Not an experience that they would make them feel unwelcome at best. They sat and were well behaved and though they eat most most things there was nothing suitable for them. Considering the Christmas displays were targeted at children as well as a childs nature trail it seems that the restaurant missed the mark by a mile, or three. Plus £40 for two bowls of insipid soup, a portion of toast and a portion of chips plus two tepid coffees and apple juice added insult to injury.. a terrible experience

I visited Whitehall garden centre yesterday for the first time in many years to meet up with an old friend. It was initially difficult to find out much about the restaurant/tea room, Lavender Lodge, and what reviews I read were negative. As we intended to spend several hours catching up while perusing the garden centre, somewhere to get morning coffee and lunch was important. We decided to take the risk without many expectations. How lovely to find the reviews were so wrong. The building had a pleasant shabby chic country air, the staff were very friendly and attentive, service was fast and the food was delicious and very generous portions! It is definitely on the calendar for our next get together. Thankyou.