Flower Power Garden Centres

What a relaxing way to End your shopping experience!
I went to the Glenhaven Flower Power café for lunch on The weekend and I see why it’s a popular go to for a good old catch up with friends.
The café has a really large glassed in area that overlooks beautiful gardens and pond, so as soon as you sit down you feel at ease. It also has wheelchair/​pram access and a huge enclosed kids play area so it’s open to all ages and situations.
In addition the staff are very relaxed and friendly so their service style matches the backdrop to a tee. If it was just about atmosphere I would be rating the café a 5, but here comes the downside…
They have a rather unusual service system where the person who puts drinks or food down doesn’t clear any used cups or plates. As there was 3 of us sitting at a small table things got crowded wen we were given our food without our empty coffee cups being taken. The girl serving us was lovely and explained that someone will come get our cups but it didn’t happen. This meant that when we ordered a second coffee after lunch we had to stack our crockery to the side for it to fit, as by that time we had empty water glasses, coffee cups and plates. The girl who brought our second coffee said exactly what our food server did… someone else will collect our dirty crockery.
I don’t know if this is some new efficiency model, or if I am just behind the times, but my idea of good service is that dirty plates and cups get cleared away, not stacked up and left there. I dd wonder if they were going to bring out a bowl of hot soapy water and a tea towel so that we could wash up after ourselves :)
The other down side for e was the price. In total we had 6 coffees and three bruschetta serves (yes, we all boringly ordered the same thing) and the bill was $ 100. It turns out the bruschetta was about $ 22 a serve. The meal was nice enough but it was definitely snack size, and I have never before paid this much for two pieces of Italian bread with topping, so I was a little surprised. The price was clearly displayed on the menu, so in no way were they taking advantage of us; I just think its overpriced for what you get.
I would definitely go back to the café as its a lovely and relaxing way to spend a sunny afternoon. Next time I will lunch first and try a dessert instead.

We didn’t know Flower Power had a café in it until a family friend showed us. Aside from it being a really nice nursery they had a lovely outdoor café. We came here on an early Saturday afternoon for brunch.
[ Atmosphere ]
There’s plenty of tables for large or small parties, and the café is both indoor/​outdoor. And a nice little playground for the kids in the corner. Oh and there’s a beautiful view of the pond (with koi fish) from mostly everywhere you sit in the café. There are wooden beams with green ivy hanging from it, and just a variety of trees and plants everywhere. I felt like I was in a movie sitting there, it really felt whimsical.
[ Menu ]
— Bacon, poached egg, caesar salad. It was a good salad, but nothing too spectacular. Presentation was nice though.
— Mango smoothie. This was really tasty, not to sweet, and just a real refreshing drink to have while sitting back and enjoying the natural scenery.
— Pesto pasta. This was great, you can’t really go wrong with a pesto pasta.
— Cappuccino. Just your average
[ Service ]
This is why I didn’t give them 5 stars, mainly because the service was pretty bad. At the time we came we understood they were understaffed, but the staff that were there at the time didn’t really have a great attitude about serving us. It’s times like that when you can see if someone will choose to put on a smile and serve or just be mad at the world, and boy our server was mad at the world. We felt really rushed when she was taking our order, and she didn’t bother smiling at all. Even when she gave us our order, we were afraid to ask for more napkins or utensils because she seemed so disgruntled. I felt bad for her, but at the same time, it’s really all about being flexible.
Overall I loved this place only because of the beautiful scenery. I wish I could take my mum here, she would’ve loved it. I think next time we’ll just order a cup of coffee/​tea and just enjoy the atmosphere.