Katherine MacAlister makes her way to a newly-refurbished restaurant at Bicester Avenue to find out what all the fuss is about

To be honest, I was way out of my comfort zone.

Walking up the path at Bicester Avenue, gazing into shop windows at clothes I would never buy, pets I would never feed, hobbies I would never take up and furnishings I would never use, I wondered why I had come.

But then I remembered. Bicester Garden Centre, Wyevale to many people, had redone its cafe which now resembled a space ship apparently.

Gardening centres were the new leisure centres I was assured. In short, this is where people are hanging out and eating. I had to get down with the kids, albeit mostly retired, and try it out.

So here I was on Friday lunchtime, meeting my equally bemused and amused friend for a quick bite to eat, but really to see what all the fuss was about.

It was an eye-opener to say the least, and there are many more Percy Throwers out there than I could’ve possibly predicted, although some seemed less intent on the practicalities of gardening and more interested in the shopping and dining options on offer.

But they were right about one thing – this is where people are hanging out in their droves.

The new Garden Kitchen Restaurant was more like a giant white canteen than a restaurant or cafe, a modern hotel’s breakfast buffet, or smart airport lounge. Every kind of food was on offer and divided up into sections, so if you wanted pizza you went to the pizza man, sandwiches, the sandwich man, hot food, the hot food man, salad – where’s the salad?

“There is no salad bar. They took it away during the refurbishment,” we were told, which seemed sad considering it was called the Garden Kitchen restaurant, presumably to encourage us to grow things in our gardens and then presumably eat them? Plus it was a beautifully sunny day when one didn’t necessarily want lasagne or roast beef, while a lovely salad would have hit the spot and inspired us all.

“No matter,” we said, retreating to think about our options.

Around the corner we found the small coffee bar Cafe Jardino where we sat and drank a good latte until it got later and we got hungrier so retraced our footsteps to the Garden Kitchen Restaurant, grabbing two sandwiches (curried chicken and sultana and a hearty-looking egg mayonnaise), some water and a very sweet slice of Bakewell tart, which came to £16.35.

The entire concept is self service, so you go up with your tray to the cash till, pay and then choose a table. Although the place was busy, there was lots of room in the cool, calm space.

The bread was nice, chewy and soft, the fillings generous, the egg needed more seasoning but that seems to be the way these days as our salt intake is actively discouraged, but otherwise it was a very nice way to spend a lunchtime.

So while, I don’t know that I would revisit unless I was buying lawnfeed, which, if you’ve seen my garden you’ll know is unlikely, for regular visitors and the Charlie Dimmocks of this world, the Garden Kitchen Restaurant seems a vast improvement and will be well used.

Bicester Avenue Centre’s Garden Kitchen Restaurant is in Oxford Road, Bicester 
bicesteravenue.info