Restaurant Review: Haskins Garden Centre, West End, Southampton

I’ve been to Haskins Garden Centre at West End, Southampton, twice recently. The simple reason being: when you find somewhere that’s easy to go with a small baby, you’re going to go there again!

 

I have a beautiful niece who is now five months old; when she was just a couple of months old and I was visiting my sister and her partner we went out for lunch at Haskins. The garden centre has a large café, with an outdoor area (which was too cold to use due to the weather) and a lot of seating inside not too close together so it was easy to find space for a buggy.

As it is in a garden centre I was expecting a few options along the lines of jacket potatoes and paninis (though as Woodcote Green garden centre in Wallington proves, you can get really good meals sometimes). I was really surprised when I walked in and saw multiple food counters, each offering something different - jacket potatoes and paninis of course, but also pizzas, fish and chips, a carvery, a Costa coffee bar and a very long cake and desserts counter. There was also a sign advertising Sunday lunch and another offering afternoon tea for Mother's Day - definitely something for everyone!

 

I had a tuna melt panini which came with a small side salad and was really nice.

 

Luckily we also saved room for dessert - I had a slice of apple cake which was really moist and tasty.

My sister had chocolate cake which she said wasn't quite as good and a little on the dry side - but otherwise we had a nice lunch while my little niece gurgled away next to us!