Our top 10 garden centres for food

Cafes and garden centres are a natural combination. What better after an afternoon's shopping than to sit down with a nice cup of tea and a light late lunch? Check out some of the best garden centre cafes that we just love!

Lowden Garden Centre, Shaw, Wiltshire - The open plan cafe in Lowden Garden Centre serves a variety of quiches, soups, and light meals, all prepared with locally grown vegetables. The restaurant tables are charmingly rustic, and the rest of the restaurant furniture is straight out of a conservatory.

Dorney Court, Kitchen Garden,Dorney, Berkshire - Close to Eton, this garden centre has great food and a welcoming atmosphere. Wherever possible, the produce both local and seasonal, with many of the ingredients grown on-site. The restaurant chairs are an eclectic bunch, that look like they could well have been reclaimed pub furniture.

Ventnor Botanic Garden, Ventnor, Isle of Wight - The terrace at the Plantation Room Café in Ventnor Botanic Garden is a beautiful place to enjoy their delightful loose leaf teas, perhaps with a homemade cake, as you look out over the palm house.

Creative Gardens, Bushmills, County Antrim - The new BBQ Barn at Creative Gardens, Bushmills, is another garden centre eatery that seems to be using old pub furniture for its chairs and tables. Offering a variety of freshly barbecued burgers, and sweet treats, the barn also features a fun play area for the kids.

Riverside Garden Centre Café - Southville, Bristol - This is a community garden centre, and it has its own vegetarian café that boasts hearty and healthy soups and stews, with home-made artisan bread for dipping, all made from local ingredients.

Woodcote Green Garden Centre, Wallington, Surrey - More home-grown produce is on offer here, with the on-site gardeners and the farm shop butcher providing the freshest ingredients for its restaurant-quality menu, and its constantly changing specials board.

Belle & Joe's Kitchen, Timmermans Garden Centre, Woodborough, Nottinghamshire - A friendly and invited cafe, Belle & Joe’s Kitchen prepares all its meals from scratch, including handmade pizza dough, and salad ingredients picked fresh from the greenhouse.

Box Tree Café, Cleeve Nursery, Cleeve, Bristol - One of the cosiest cafés on the list, the Box Tree Cafe offers comfy sofas and a wood burner for that warm, relaxed feeling, alongside their delicious home-made soups and paninis.

Sally's Tea Rooms, The Secret Garden, Pontypool, Wales - As delicious as the food is (especially the cakes made with local Welsh honey), what really makes this cafe worth the visit is the unparalleled views of the beautiful Gwent countryside.

Belton Garden Centre, Grantham, Lincs - You can beat a good scone after an afternoon’s shopping, and you’d be hard-pressed to beat the award-winning scones on offer at Belton Garden Centre’s coffee shop.

If you want to make your cafe come alive with some quirky new furniture, from tabletops to bar stools, make contact with the Cafe Reality team today.