CHOOSE GARDEN CENTRES BY COUNTY BELOW
This independent review of Rugby Garden Centre was written by David Marks and was last updated in August 2025.
This is an in depth review by a real human as a result of visiting this garden centre, no Artificial Intelligence is involved!
We reviewed the inside and plant sales areas, took pictures (see lower down this article) and checked out the cafe. The cafe check involved ordering and tasting the food and reporting our findings for you to judge.
Rugby Garden Centre started life as Bernhard's Corner Nursery but was virtually raised to the ground in 2005. Blooms bought and massively redeveloped it. In turn Blooms were taken over by Wyevale Garden Centres in 2007 who left it largely as it was.
In 2019 Wyevale sold 31 of its garden centres to Dobbies, one of those was this garden centre. It is a large sized garden centre which Dobbies updated but it never proved a success for them.
In February 2025 British Garden Centres bought Rugby Garden Centre, at the same time as buying Northampton Garden Centre, from Dobbies.
Read further down this page for an in depth and independent review of Rugby Garden Centre. In summary though, this garden centre is vastly improved after being purchased by British Garden Centres. It's a large garden centre inside and outside with a cafe serving decent food at reasonable prices
Entrance to Rugby Garden Centre
IS RUGBY GARDEN CENTRE DOG FRIENDLY? Yes, Rugby Garden Centre is dog friendly. Dogs are allowed in all areas of the garden centre including the cafe. The cafe has a large dedicated area for dogs and their owners.
Dog friendly area of the cafe at Rugby Garden Centre
There are a couple of signs around the garden centre asking that dog owners keep their dogs on a tight lead because there is a resident cat!
Resident cat
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SIZE: The Gardener's Retreat Cafe at Rugby Garden Centre is large with indoor and outdoor seating area plus a separate dedicated dog friendly area.
FOOD TYPE: The cafe serves standard type food for a garden centre. Breakfast service ends at 11.00, lunch service begins at 11.30. Our pictures of the menus (including prices) below give a better idea of the food on offer. Service finishes half an hour before the garden centre closes.
Breakfast menu page 1 at Rugby Garden Centre
Breakfast menu page 2 at Rugby Garden Centre
Children's menu at Rugby Garden Centre
Mains menu at Rugby Garden Centre
Burgers menu at Rugby Garden Centre
Jackets and Wraps menu at Rugby Garden Centre
Light bites menu at Rugby Garden Centre
Sandwich menu at Rugby Garden Centre
Hot Drinks Menu at Rugby Garden Centre
CARVERY: A minority of British Garden Centre cafes have a carvery section which is available every day and Rugby Garden Centre is one of them. The picture below shows what's on offer from the Carvery.
Carvery menu at Rugby Garden Centre
If I had realised that there was a carvery on offer I would have had one but I missed it altogether until I was seated after I had ordered a cheeseburger. I accept I am not the most observant person so I blame myself for not noticing the carvery!
I walked straight into the cafe and immediately turned to the right towards a table which which was vacant and clear. I totally missed the carvery section on the left hand side, I did see the main ordering area which was staffed and had a couple of customers waiting to place their orders.
The picture below shows the carvery section as I saw it when I viewed it from near my table. It was not staffed and had no customers waiting to be served. A member of staff only appeared when customers approached the carvery serving area. I only saw two sets of customers order a carvery during my 30 minute stay.
Carvery Counter
The carvery food looked excellent - a choice of three roast meats, eight vegetables, loads of gravy and a few sauces. Next time I visit a British Garden Centre cafe I will look more carefully for a carvery section!
FOOD QUALITY: I sampled the Classic Cheeseburger at £11.99. It was well presented and the meal was hot and tasty. The chips (well cooked and hot), onion rings and coleslaw (crisp and fresh) which accompanied the burger were all good quality.
Cheeseburger at Rugby Garden Centre
The burger itself was no thin McDonalds type of burger, it was meaty and moist. Below is a side section to show just how deep it was.
Deep Beef burger side section
The menu at Rugby garden centre offers a wide-ranging choice of food.
DECOR: The cafe was clean although many of the chairs were stained and needed replacing. The overall decor is pleasant and the tables and chairs well arranged. The cafe is light and airy with large windows to one side.
Partial view of main cafe
OUTDOOR SEATING: There is an outside seating area which is set into the main garden centre.
SERVICE: There was minimal waiting time to place your order and service is to your table. From ordering our food to it arriving at our table took ten minutes or so, a reasonable wait for a hot main meal. Service was prompt and polite.
VALUE FOR MONEY: Given the quality of the food, the service and the decor, we reckon this cafe offers good value for money. Slightly surprising to us was that the prices of some of the food differed slightly between that on offer at some other British Garden Centres cafes.
It's also interesting to note that if you search the internet on any particular British Garden Centres cafe, you will only find the menu (which is basically the same for them all, Sunday Carvery aside), but no prices. The only way to find out the price at a British Garden Centres cafe is by going along to the cafe and seeing the menu they provide you with at that particular location.
This is the reason why we have provided pictures of the menus above which show the prices as well as what's on offer.
The cafe at Rugby Garden Centre, having only been open from March 2025, is awaiting inspection as at August 2025
SIZE OF PLANTS AREA: The size of the plants area was definitely large.
PLANT SELECTION: A good selection of well maintained plants. British Garden Centres offer a one year guarantee on their hardy plants which is shorter than many of the larger garden centres. Having said that I would be hard-pushed to find any plant receipt in my house further back than a month, if that!
LAYOUT: The layout of the plants area is engaging. The main entrance to Rugby Garden Centre is through an attractive walkway leading further into the plants area.
Plants area walkway at Rugby Garden Centre
The walkway leads into the main plants area which is essentially the same design dating back to 2006. The design works well with the main paths under cover. British Garden Centres have done a good job with this area, arranging the plants for sale in an attractive fashion, far more interesting compared to that of the previous owners, Dobbies.
Covered walkways at Rugby Garden Centre
The paths are wide and flat with solid surfaces making it easy for wheelchair users. As well as the area described above there is a large covered area for tender plants. Overall, it's a reasonable attempt at making rainy day shopping possible.
Covered area for tender plants
VALUE FOR MONEY: Roses start at £15, clematis start from £18. Overall, value for money is good for a garden centre of this type.
SIZE: The size of the interior sales area is definitely large.
LAYOUT: You will find all the normal goods for sale you would expect from a largish garden centre. Garden accessories, clothes, garden furniture, barbecues, cards, gifts, homeware, indoor plants and more. They have several concessions, well worth a wander round.
Indoor plants at Rugby Garden Centre
VALUE FOR MONEY: Average for a large garden centre.
Excellent inside and out. The car park is immediately outside the entrance and on level, hard ground.
ADDRESS:
Rugby Garden Centre
Straight Mile
Frankton
Rugby
Warwickshire
CV23 9QQ
What3words:
///snooty.poem.arise
OWNER:
British Garden Centres
TELEPHONE NUMBER:
01788 812830
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