300-seater restaurant opens at Ditchling garden centre

The spacious 300-seater restaurant has been part of a centre-wide refurbishment which began earlier this year, including upgrades to the layout and a new state-of-the-art outdoor plant canopy.

The new restaurant, which is the largest across Notcutts’ 18 garden centres, is now serving freshly prepared breakfasts, lunches and afternoon teas with comfortable seating for a relaxed dining experience.

This month, diners can also book a two or three-course Christmas meal with traditional festive classics like roast turkey, as well as new favourites including vegan sweet potato tart.

Gary West, general manager at Notcutts Garden Pride, said: “We are thrilled that our new restaurant is now open and that customers can experience our new look throughout the garden centre.

“Our restaurant offers a fantastic dining space with rural views across the South Downs, as well as a new alfresco terrace and children’s play area which will be hugely popular. We hope local people will pop in and explore everything we have to offer.”

The restaurant also has a new feature cake counter with a selection of Notcutts’ popular home-made scones and traybakes, as well as a south-facing alfresco terrace which seats a further 80 people, and an outdoor children’s play area for little ones to enjoy.

Throughout the garden centre in Common Lane, refurbishments include an improved layout with upgraded flooring, lighting and roofing.

There is also a wider shopping variety for customers, with new concession partners The Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Cotton Traders joining Procook, Pets Corner and GBC.

In recent months, a state-of-the-art, vented plant canopy was installed, measuring at an impressive 1,000 square metres, almost double the size of the garden centre’s original canopy.

The new canopy has enabled the Notcutts team to stock a wider range of plants and gardening supplies, and to keep plants in an optimum condition through the changing seasons.

The garden centre will be hosting an official opening event to celebrate the new restaurant and refurbishment project in the new year.