We ate out at garden centre restaurant in North Wales that everyone raves about
The Bellis Brothers was first established in 1860 and began by growing fresh fruit and vegetables for markets in the Midlands and North West. Since then, they have diversified into a farm shop, garden centre, restaurant and seasonal pick your own.
The independently-run family business is located in the semi-rural Dee Valley on the outskirts of Holt Village near Wrexham and the Welsh Border. Their story began when Mr Charles Bellis planted a strawberry in his garden called Black Prince, a dark and very sweet berry.
In the following year the runners from these plants were planted in surrounding fields. From these small beginnings grew one of the largest strawberry-growing firms in the country.
The strawberries used to be picked by teams of 'Strawberry Dodgers'. The term 'dodger' was used as the people used to dodge around the country seeking work in the fields at planting times and harvesting.
The strawberry season was anticipated with dread by the local villagers as pitched battles between locals and the pickers were commonplace in season. This occurred mostly on Sundays when people from Wrexham, intent on overcoming the then Welsh drinking laws would cause trouble on the way along Holt Road to get to a pub over the border in Farndon.
Luckily, you won't find much trouble at the garden centre these days, but the venue is still a very busy place. The car park was already jammed packed full when we arrived just before noon on a Friday afternoon.
The award-winning farm shop was absolutely rammed with customers. We even saw a full-size tractor with a scarecrow farmer at the wheel in the middle of one of the aisles.
The shop was brimming with local produce from the daily essentials such as bread, milk and eggs (all from within a 17-mile radius) through to luxury ice cream, preserves, chutneys, cakes and a fantastic craft beer selection. There was even a farm butchers and deli with a variety of cheeses, pies, pastries, sliced meats and ready prepared salads.
The Strawberry Fields restaurant is located in a separate rear building within the garden centre. If you get lost, just follow the smell of freshly-brewed coffee, which starts to overwhelm the scent of the many potted plants.
The inside interior of the restaurant looks a bit like a huge school canteen. You grab a tray and shuffle around a huge long counter, packed with various hot and cold food options.
However, this seemed a really slick operation, which served the many customers, all ordering lunch at the same time, really quickly. The menu had all the usual garden centre options such as cakes, soups, sandwiches and baked potatoes along with all day breakfasts and crowd pleasers such as braised beef pie and chips, gammon or scampi.
Afternoon tea with cream scones and sandwiches were set at a very reasonable £11.50 a person. There was an extensive children's menu on offer with a large play ground outside.
We ordered our food and made our way to a pleasant outdoor terrace, which overlooked the Welsh fields. The outside area had parasols, which had me totally flummoxed on how to put them up?
Until an old couple on the next table, showed me how easy it was! We needed a bit of shade as the outside eating area was a real sun trap.
My good wife ordered the veggie burger, which was served with sweet homemade chilli jam, chips and a side salad. The veggie burger was packed full of tasty fresh vegetable ingredients rather than being one of those meat substitute versions.
The chilli jam added a bit of tang to proceedings and I pretended I needed to try her chips 'for the review' but was just actually stealing them. They were fresh, crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
I went for the tuna mayonnaise salad, after seeing how nice the ingredients looked in the salad bar. The salad consisted of beetroot, nut celery raisins, pasta, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, apple and red onion.
It was served with a massive dollop of tuna, which wasn't too saturated in mayonnaise, which is a personal pet hate of mine. It all tasted very fresh and wholesome, as you would expect from a local farm shop.
It was too hot for coffee or tea, so we settled for a bottle of Welsh still water and a refreshing elderflower drink served in a tin. We later noticed a free water dispenser inside the café, which was a nice touch.
I don't know what it is, but there's just something appealing about wandering aimlessly through the various aisles of vases, potted plants, artisan jams and quirky gifts. You can certainly see why the Bellis Brothers has been named best food hall and farm shop for two consecutive years by the Garden Centre Association.
Of course, you must always reward yourself with a visit to the obligatory café, which is always the busiest place in any garden centre. This one certainly didn't disappoint with great looking food on neighboring tables as well as our own outside table. Strawberry Fields Forever.
The Facts
Veggie Burger £10.95
Tuna mayonnaise salad £9.45
Welsh still water £1.65
Heartsease elderflower £2.55
Total £24.60
Opening Times: Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm; Sunday 11am to 5pm
Restaurant opening times Monday to Saturday – 9am to 5pm (Hot food is served daily until 4pm and light bites and drinks are available until 4.30pm); Sunday – 11am to 5pm (NB. Hot food is served until 4pm and light bites and drinks are available until 4.15pm.)
Atmosphere - Strawberry Fields Forever
Car Parking - Huge car park with overflow section
Service - Self Service at the counter and any hot food is brought to your table.
Overall - The award-winning Garden Centre with the restaurant being the busiest place.
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