CHOOSE GARDEN CENTRES BY COUNTY BELOW
This independent review of Gates Garden Centre was written by David Marks and was last updated in August 2025.
Gates Garden Centre started life in 1948 selling vegetables and fruit from a shed. It always has been a family run business and is now into its fourth generation of the family.
Very near to the garden centre is the Gates Farm which now covers over 600 acres. The farm supplies the garden centre with lamb and beef as well as vegetables and fruit.
Gates is a very large garden centre being in the top ten in the UK. They employ over 200 staff so this is an important business for the local area.
In early 2025, Gates Garden Centre purchased the Woodlands Garden Centre nearby and they opened that up for business in late February 2025. The new garden centre is known as Gates Woodlands Hinckley.
IS GATES GARDEN CENTRE DOG FRIENDLY? Gates Garden Centres are definitely NOT dog friendly. On the Gates Garden Centre Facebook page, Gates respond to the dog friendly question as follows - "It is with regret however, that we are unable to accept other dogs and pets inside either of our garden centres at Oakham or Woodlands Hinckley.
While guide and assistance dogs are welcome, all other dogs and pets are not permitted. Ignore AI overviews which state (as at August 2025) that Gates Garden Centres are dog friendly, they are not and your pet will be refused entrance. See also this article on Leicestershire Live.
They do have a large dedicated and enclosed dog walking area on site, however, if you want to use the garden centre for anything, this is as good as useless. They also have a shaded parking area where you can leave your car with your dog inside. This is also a useless and potentially dangerous option for your dog.
Don't blame me! I am only the messenger!
PLANTS AREA: Very large, unusual design, engaging. On a significant slope.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of the Gates Garden Centre plants area.
Plants Area Rating:
Average
INTERIOR SALES AREA: Very large, up market and expensive. Some areas of the interior sales area are also on a significant slope.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of the Gates Garden Centre interior sales area.
Interior Sales Area Rating:
Slightly above average
CAFE: Good but expensive, the quality of the food, the decor and the service warrant the high prices. Stunning outdoor seating area.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of the Gates Garden Centre cafe.
Cafe Rating:
Overall, very good
RESTAURANT:: We didn't sample the restaurant but many of the reviews on Trust Pilot are unfavourable. The advertised waiting time for being served after having ordered food is advertised as 30 to 40 minutes which is unacceptable for a garden centre.
See lower down this article for a more comprehensive review of the Gates Garden Centre restaurant.
Restaurant Rating: Not tested yet
VALUE FOR MONEY OVERALL:
Value for money appears to have fallen over the last couple of years. As at 2025
we now rate it as poor
Entrance to Gates Garden Centre
Welland Vale Garden Centre
Rutland Nursery
Stamford Garden Centre
The Herb Nursery
SIZE: Large
FOOD TYPE: Up market garden centre type food. Everything from a coffee to a full main meal. Breakfasts are also included.
FOOD QUALITY:
We rarely give five stars for anything in our reviews and food quality is no
exception. But the food quality at Gates is very good.
Coronation Chicken Sandwich at Gates Garden Centre
For us, they turned the humble sandwich into meals fit for a king. The filling was hugely generous not only in the Coronation Chicken Sandwich but also Prawn Marie Sandwich we shared. The bread was soft and fresh.
Cheese and Ham Toastie from Gates Garden Centre
The toasted sandwich was no less impressive, you could tell just by its weight alone that it was packed with filling!
Crisp fresh salad with a touch of dressing but not overbearing; crunchy crisps, and all well presented.
DECOR:
The cafe is a purpose built area with brick walls and lots of wood beams. The
tables were solid and slightly rustic, the chairs comfortable. It is a very
attractive area to have a meal and kept exceptionally clean.
OUTDOOR SEATING:
The outdoor seating area has stunning views over the local country side with
cattle, sheep, and other livestock eating the local grass. Very beautiful and
peaceful.
Outside cafe seating view at Gates garden Centre
The outside seating area is long and wooden decked. The picture below does not do it justice
Cafe outdoor seating at Gates Garden Centre
The tables and chairs are both attractive and functional, the whole area is kept very clean. Our table can be seen below.
Outdoor cafe seating
SERVICE:
We visited the cafe on a Bank Holiday Sunday and the service was probably the
best we have ever had on such a busy day. Ordering is normally done via the cafe app but can also
be done at the desk.
Our drinks were delivered in about four minutes after ordering and our sandwiches followed less than ten minutes later. Service is pleasant and prompt - faultless.
VALUE FOR MONEY:
Prices are higher than the average garden centre cafe but the food quality,
decor and service more than make up for this.
We didn't have time to test out the main restaurant but there are some rather unflattering reviews left on Trust Pilot about it. Waiting times do seem to be a problem with the sign outside the door quoting an estimated wait of 30 to 40 minutes after food has been ordered (see the picture below). This is not acceptable for a garden centre restaurant.
Restaurant Waiting Times
Below we show the menu (with prices) at the restaurant which covers everything from snacks to main meals. The menu is split into two pictures.
Restaurant menu part 1
Restaurant menu part 2
SIZE OF PLANTS AREA: A large area which is rather unconventional.
PLANT SELECTION:
Lots of plants to choose from and in good condition. They do have a problem
however in the lack of good signage. Even when signs are present they are often
obscured by the plants.
Plants area Gates Garden Centre
The signs are also often incorrect. We saw a bay of plants signed as rhododendrons which were in fact entirely azaleas.
Gates Garden Centre guarantee their hardy plants for one year. This is rather a short guarantee compared to the five years or lifetime guarantee offered by many of the other large garden centres.
LAYOUT:
The layout of the plants area is unusual. There is a main plants area but in
addition there are several rooms which contain specific types of plants. This
makes the area interesting and unusual but a side effect is that it is often
difficult to find a specific plant.
Another problem with much of the plants area is that it is on a significant slope. For wheelchair users, the elderly and those with some medical conditions this is a problem. In the hour or so we were walking around this area it was clear the slope caused problems to some.
Plants area Gates Garden Centre
The entire area is paved and free from obstructions with wide paths. Around 25% of the area is covered.
VALUE FOR MONEY:
Value for money was judged to be below average.
SIZE: Extremely large
LAYOUT:
Unlike the plants area, most of the interior sales areas (though not all) are on level ground and
all are either carpeted or paved.
Similar to the plants area, the interior sales area is divided into several quite distinct rooms. One particular specialty of this garden centre is up market and expensive garden and conservatory furniture - the choice is endless.
Garden Furniture
Everything else is there as expected from a large garden centre - gifts, cards, candles etc. The area is very browseable, just don't expect any bargains, expect up market goods at high prices.
Gates do have a "Price Match" guarantee advertised on their website. It has various exclusions as would be expected but one particular exclusion did catch our eye! It was "We will endeavour to match any genuine prices; however, we reserve the right to refuse to match a competitor’s offer."
That one exclusion rather invalidates the guarantee - in effect if they don't want to stand by their guarantee, they won't and it's entirely up to them if they do or don't.
Gardening accessories
There is a good choice of houseplants, a well-stocked food hall and of course all the garden accessories you could ever want.
Indoor plants
VALUE FOR MONEY:
Depends what you are looking for but I judge the value for money is slightly
below
average for the goods on offer.
ACCESS:
Poor, and this garden centre, I believe, is the only one of hundreds where we
have given a rating this low. The interior and exterior areas are on significant
slopes. Wheelchair users and those who need to push wheelchairs need to be well
aware of this.
Additionally, the slopes also pose a significant problem to those who are not fit but not in wheelchairs. Disabled toilets are present but difficult to locate.
The first problem those with disabilities will face is the car park. Most of it is also on a significant slope and those pushing a wheelchair need to be aware of this. Although Gates claim that assistance can be given to those with difficulties, the two times we visited we could not locate any assistance to climb the slope from the bottom of the car park to the Garden Centre buildings.
FACILITIES: The food hall is well worth a visit.
Food hall
Throughout the store there are various concession stores, including an exceptionally large Pavers store, Lakeland and others.
Concession Stores at Gates Garden Centre
Loyalty Card
Gates offer a loyalty card which can be downloaded to your mobile phone. The cost is free!
ADDRESS:
Gates Garden Centre
Somerby Road
Cold Overton
Oakham
Leicestershire
LE15 7QB
OWNER:
A family run business from 1948
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
01664 454309
EMAIL:
info@gatesgardencentre.co.uk
WEBSITE:
https://www.gatesgardencentre.co.uk/
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