Garden Bistro

This is my favorite spot thus far for brunch in Lakeland. The location could not be more perfect, tucked away near Hollis Gardens and Lake Mirror. The food is full of flavor, and, pro tip, they serve bottomless mimosas on Sunday from 12−2pm.
Our only complaints? Service can be slow with the Sunday church goers and because of the queue, they were not able to sub out scrambled for over easy eggs (because honestly, I’m silently judging you if your favorite style of eggs are scrambled). Really do love this place, and the staff is super nice!

Inside Hollis Gardens is this quaint restaurant and the food is homemade and delicious. Salads and soups and the desserts are really good. Definitely a place to eat. Very good and atmosphere is great. Stop by

Their Portobello Parker Sandwich is the best! Reasonably priced and enjoy the view of the lake and a stroll through the gardens after.

Haven’t been to the Garden Bistro in awhile (it’s not a place you just drive by) till today when 8 from my book club met for lunch. It was a rainy day so we couldn’t dine on the patio overlooking Lake Mirror but we had reservations & they had the table set up for us. The restaurant was clean, our waitress was always close by and everyone enjoyed the food. Two of us had the salmon BLT and all those flavors made for a wonderful sandwich. Other items the ladies found really good were the tabouli salad, hummus, pumpkin soup and the special salad topped with lobster. Plan to go back soon on a sunny day, sit on the patio and try another delicious item on the menu

I love this little tucked away bistro… character, great food, good service and wonderful views of Lake Mirror/​the Promenade and Hollis Gardens. There is a covered outdoor dining area that really allows a good view of the scenery. Great atmosphere, great food, and I always visit a while with the friendly staff and owner. We’ve been a number of times and my parents enjoyed it, too, when they visited from out of state.
There’s not a huge selection here but enough to choose from and most importantly EVERYTHING is very well done — absolutely delicious. My favorite here is the smoked salmon BLT with a side of HOME MADE hummus that is awesome. Wonderful casual dining in a nice little non-​chain. I haven’t been there for about a month now and am jonesing to go :-)
Please, help support local small restaurants like the Garden Bistro, in Lakeland and everywhere else you go! On Saturday mornings, checkout Lakeland’s downtown Curbside Market and on the first Friday evening of each month, it’s «First Friday» with street vendors, music, local shops and restaurants open late, and more. Check online for both before going as they do take occasional breaks around holidays, through the hotter months, etc.

The food was good, but they would not accept my
certificate or check to see if it was valid. I told our server that I had a certificate before I ordered, so I consider this to be very poor service.

my first time since new owners and it is even better then before, had the ham and cheddar, perfect blend of flavors and got a side salad, which alone at another restaurant would have cost me 4 dollars, so perfect and mix this with the excellent view make for a great lunch. i would have given 5 stars except for the tables im not so fond of and something they cant really do much about, which is the slightly annoying air conditioner next door, overall a perfect lunch spot!

Great lake and garden views from bistro. Service with a smile from Pamela. Bread pudding was OK, not the best I’ve had. Smoked salmon salad was perfect; greens were crisp. Unlike another Unilocal reviewer’s, my smoked salmon WAS lox. Would not go out of the way to eat here, but is perfect for those visiting the adjacent botanical garden. A happy place. 4 bean salad was the best bean salad I’ve ever had.

My visit to the Garden Bistro, now many times, is always great. Service is super, food is fresh and really really good, with ever fabulous desserts. Soups, sandwiches, wraps with the BEST BLT around!
Sit inside or outside with great views of the lake, trees, park and abundance of flowers.
Sunday brunch is amazing, with freshly prepared traditional and less traditional fare. I love the specialty wraps the owner, Barb, makes for brunch.
I guarantee you will not be disappointed coming to the bistro for lunch or brunch!

This is my first visit under the new ownership so I felt a review was in order. The lunch I ordered was a typical soup and sandwich fare, around twelve dollars when all was said and done. I’ll get to the food in a moment — let me actually describe the restaurant first.
Located on the shores of lake mirror right next to Hollis gardens, it’s a nice place to duck in after enjoying the natural beauty of the area. A limited beer and wine selection gives you the opportunity to unwind, and the menu is focused, rather than simple — they have chosen to do one thing and do it well rather than spread themselves thin and do a little bit of everything poorly.
The restaurant was remarkably busy at lunchtime on a Tuesday, mostly with retirees, and was a bit noisier inside than I would have thought. Any mood music, if present at all, could not be heard over the sounds of what I presume was every bridge and shuffleboard club in Lakeland convening at once.
The wait staff was quick and attentive, pointing out the days specials and enticing with the dessert options, which while tempting, I had to avoid if I’m going to hit my goal weight by December 31. The patrons around me, however, had overwhelmingly positive reviews.
On to the food I actually got. The sandwich was a chicken and avocado sandwich with red peppers and other assorted deliciousness, it was the days special. I paired it with a black bean soup. Both were very well done, with the bread the sandwich was served on very much feeling and tasting as if it were baked that morning.
In all? Highly recommend. Apparently the new owners have significantly improved this little bistro and made it into a destination rather than just a stop.

Service was great, our meals where delicious and filling, came out quickly, very nice atmosphere. We had the Portabella burger with the three bean salad, the bacon blue burger with potato salad, and the smoked salmon BLT with the hummus. All of it was very well received by each of us. Will definitely return and continue to recommend. Very quaint local joint, easy to miss but not easily forgotten. ;-)

haven’t been there since new owners, always loved it before, the view alone may bring me back but the food taste was sub par esp for the price, ordered the ham and cheese, which was bland and tasteless even though it had cole slaw and 1000 island dressing, side order of potato salad of which they only had one left, was really horrible, not even a single taste of potato in it let alone anything else, waitress wasn’t able to handle the 4 tables she had at 230 in the afternoon, plates at all the tables when we finally got up to go look for the bill, sad since i would love to return to eat with a view like this

New owners since my last review. The view is five-​star, overlooking lake Mirror and the Promenade. (Restaurant in the basement of Lake Mirror Center.) Service is swift. Coke products. yay.
Soup, salad, sandwich menu. All about $ 8. Today’s soup was Thai or Vietnamese something. I ordered the (vegetarian) grilled portabello and eggplant with tomato, avocado and melted provolone. It was VERY delicious. I opted for the 4 bean salad which included garbanzos and black beans (with parmesan) and was tasty. I finished with some yum butter pecan cake. The piece was waaay giant and split well among friends. They had some lovely salad options – a spring mix with orange segments, another with raisins and sunflower seeds. Huge and delicious with their creamy Italian-​type house dressing. They had 4 or 5 desserts. You can eat inside or outside. Garden Bistro deserves your visit and trying the fancy menu and well-​flavored foods yourself!
March 2016 update. Still a lovely menu and visit. Enjoyed Sunday Brunch (9:30−2:30). Had a lovely spinach parm ham egg bake that was fluffy and flavorful. Enjoyed the 2 slices of soft bread and a fruit cup all for $ 7.95. Took a piece of cake home – yummy and not too sweet. You need to be flexible with their menu – they were out of some items. It’s a million dollar view!

Stopped with a group of six for Saturday afternoon lunch after seeing the Annie Leibovitz Exhibit on Women at the Polk Museum of Art.
The staff was friendly, service was good and the location on the shore of Mirror Lake was pleasant.
We ordered a variety off the menu, myself ordering a turkey salad with hard boiled egg and mixed greens. Everything was fresh and tasty.
Was a great stop before driving back to Tampa.