beckworthemporium.co.uk Reviews 

Yes, it is very difficult to get a seat in their restaurant because it’s so popular but my recent experience was a delight. An elderly woman, a friend of the family said her last wishes whilst she could manage would be to go somewhere easy, flat ground, some nice things to look at and treat us to lunch. She chose Beckworths. The staff there were very understanding. They advised we could book a wheelchair on the day, and also put a table to one side for us. It’s not how they normally operate but they did go out of their way, and it did make a difference. Donna, was there on both days and she made it quite special. Thank you from all of us.

Had an afternoon tea within the restaurant. Would highly recommended Nicci our waitress gave a 5 star service extremely professional friendly and no request was too much to ask

A** service

Food quality was fantastic and we didn’t feel rushed or an inconvenience at all bearing in mind my husband has mobility issues all staff were friendly and approachable

Thank you for a lovely afternoon

We visited the restaurant between Christmas and new year. Ngone are the days of gavi g to queue for ages, you now get a buzzer so you can go and browse the shop while you wait. We waited about 30mins for a table. The lunch menu is large, taking time ti choose with lots of options. The food arrived in good time and was good sized portions. We had to have another drink and wait a while before finding room for a cake. Service was great, we didn't feel rushed, but staff were readily available should you need something. I will definitely return.

My wife and I have visited Beckworth Emporium many times over many years, and spent many hundreds of pounds there over those years.
Until today's visit we had never had cause to complain.
Whilst we were having a conversation about the extreme length of the queue at the tills, and surmising that there may be a problem with the tills, a bespectacled, round-faced, dark haired and pony-tailed, female member of staff decided that it would ok to interject in our PRIVATE conversation, and in a condescending and patronising tone of voice state "there are six tills working actually. Maybe it has something to do with what's happening in a couple of days?, you know, an event that happens once a year every year? Perhaps if you didn't leave it until two days before Christmas there wouldn't be such a problem for you!"
As I stated at the beginning of this review, many visits, over many years, and many pounds spent trying to support a local business.
That has now ended. Our purchases to be were put back on the shelves and our patronage of Beckworth's has ceased and will be moved to another similar business in a nearby town.
I don't expect a reply from Beckworth's here as they clearly don't place any emphasis on monitoring public feedback, but I hope this helps others considering a visit to think twice before they do.

We went for a look around and then went for lunch,staff was lovely and helpful! I have read the other reviews and noted that people moan about getting into the cafe or restaurant, what do you expect when it is as good and is in demand ,the place will not always be empty enough to accommodate everyone that wants to go so do not moan as it shows how good it is! Yes there are expensive items but this isnt tat from your normal shop and alot of it is high end,you pay for what you get!

We always try and drop in to Beckworth Emporium on the way to see my uncle who also lives in Mears Ashby, for a quick bite to eat after our long journey to see him. He’s 101 (well almost) and we usually take my elderly mum with us. The restaurant is the only place that’s close enough to grab a quick something to eat before we go and see him, so he doesn’t feel obligated to get something in for us. Unfortunately, you can never book with Emporium and so we have to take our chances which has meant that a couple of times we’ve gone to my aunt and Uncle’s without having anything. This time after our initial being turned away saying it was an hour and a half wait for food, a lovely blonde lady with longish straight hair stepped in ( didn’t catch her name) & was absolutely wonderful and said that if my mum could manage a high table then she could offer us something. This was amazing because we were able to have a bite to eat inside 3/4 of an hour and then go off to see my Uncle and still be back home by 9 o’clock in the evening. Big thanks to her. Lovely lady .

Had lunch in the cafe with two friends. Staff were very attentive. In particular Catherine was a delight. We just wanted to chat, take our time and not feel pressurised to leave. Staff were there when we needed service and in the background when we didn't want them hovering. A very pleasant lunch with good food.

We sat there 20 minutes as did others ,in the
end had to go up to see if someone was going to service us ,
Lady at front sitting people said three people taking order in your area where are they then ? No answer
Staff are eva rude unhappy or happy
Food was spot on

went for lunch with 4 friends the other day, i just have to say that even though it was packed we were given a buzzer and went for a wonder and brought some lovely bits, when table ready we were buzzed and all the staff were lovely and friendly and the food was very nice we all had omelettes and they were large and we were all very full. i think the staff were great considering how busy it was and how stressful that can be for them, well done all.
i also did not know you did clothes now and i brought some lovely items for my up and coming holiday.

Beckworth is a lovely place to visit, very well laid out and plenty to see and buy. However, on my recent visit, myself and my friend had lunch. We both chose the Ham and Cheese Quiche which was supposed to be home made, it wasn’t. It was just a small quiche which looked like pre packed and then heated up. It was just scrabbled egg and ham in pastry, it was very dry. They used to do a lovely quiche and that was homemade. All prices are extortionate, sandwiches at 12.50 the same for most of the food, and that is just the lunch menu, the other menus were really expensive. I mentioned my disappointment to the waitress and she just said I am sorry about that I shall pass your comment on. Nothing further was done. Will probably not eat there again. They need to up their game and drop their prices!

I was very dissapointed with my recent visit to Beckworth Emporium. The food was atrocious. The bread was just sliced bread, not the artisan bread you would expect. It was stale and dry on the outside. Guacamole and tomatoes made the inside soggy and unappetising. Chips were hard and the bacon looked like it was a few days old. Coleslaw wasn't home made. A complete disaster. I did complain and some money was taken off my bill, but the manager said he couldn't take money off the bill for the food but he could for drinks!!!? Over the years I have visited Beckworth many times and the food has been excellent, but not this time. I have since heard that the restaurant has been taken over by a different company and I feel that this is where the problem lies. I won't be visiting again. I will say though, that the service from the assistants waiting on tables was very good and friendly.

Having used for many, many years the place now just screams CHAIN. Restaurant average, staff didn't acknowledge when leaving at all, no personality and the place is filled with so much overpriced tat. It's just all very desperate and unappealing. We live within a 5 min drive and so disappointed to see such a well loved establishment lose it's individuality and niche appeal. Terrible shame.

Attended for the pre-bookable Xmas afternoon tea in the Winter Garden Cafe. Not sure what was supposed to be Christmassy about it other than the box (note: box not stand) it was presented in and the one turkey & cranberry finger sandwich, which when all said & done was hugely disappointing when it was bought as part of a Xmas gift for my Mum. The actual venue (not the main restaurant) was also disappointing - chilly, drops of rain coming down from the roof which meant we had to change tables 1/3rd of the way through, tables too small for the all the crockery, cutlery & then the tea boxes with the only option to sit with your box on your lap or place it on the floor. No layout to the cafe for the afternoon tea tables only to be situated over in one area so just dotted around meaning you were constantly being disturbed by people jostling for tables & chairs on which to eat/drink their takeaway purchases from the counter. No offer of any further drinks after the 1st drink was served so had to track down a waitress for this and also had to wait a while in the take-away queue on arrival to let somebody know we had arrived.
All in all not the experience I was expecting or looking forward to:- badly organised, not a relaxing or cosy atmosphere for an afternoon out at all as it was all so chaotic and not worth the amount paid so would not book again.

My experience of beckworth (Wellingborough) was extremely disappointing, the actual aesthetics of the garden centre is lovely, but the overpriced goods mostly made in China are overpriced, bought a steak and ale pie which was tasteless, then we set out for a family lunch for my dad's birthday, we waited a hour and a half for a table, most lunches were acceptable but very average, I ordered the burger which i must say was the worst ive ever experienced, the burger itself looked like it was captain Birdseye tiny patty with massively cut tomatoes to make it look large, I couldnt believe it for £16 pounds, then we ordered coffees which were late and cold, overall the experience was a huge disappointment, will not be visiting again.

The Christmas Turkey meal at £17.95 was really lovely, plenty of variety of food on the plate and all cooked beautifully. Very pleasant staff, and the booking system using a pager while you look round the rest of the site is brilliant.

I was helped by a wonderful member of staff Laura Brown.She is a credit to your company...friendly..helpful..she assisted my friend and I to fulfill our purchases.Nothing was too much trouble.
I found all staff friendly and helpful
Food in restaurant was fabulous.

Unfortunately, I got food poison from the food. When I filed a complain they told me they will investigate. A third party company (employed by them) went to investigate and found nothing done wrong ! What a joke of company.

Great service from friendly staff. Afternoon tea was delicious fresh and very tasty all made in cafe. The whole shop was clean and had interesting stock . Garden centre had a good selection and the plants looked healthy

Me and my husband went for lunch
The menu needs changing not alot off variety at all most things are with chips
Our food today was not nice chips overdone panni was dry not alot of cheese in it at could have done with it oozing out .
The only thing that was nice was the drinks

Afternoon tea disappointing. Bland sandwiches, dry and tasteless cakes. Not as website picture depicts.