Europe
United Kingdom (UK)
England
West Midlands
Solihull
Things to Do in Solihull
Akamba Garden Centre
See all things to do

Akamba Garden Centre

See all things to do
See all things to do
Akamba Garden Centre
4
701 reviews
#4 of 39 things to do in Solihull
Gardens
Read more
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Write a review
Full view
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

The area
Address
Best nearby
Restaurants
192 within 3 miles
Tribe Restaurant
242
20 ft$$ - $$$ • Caribbean • African • Jamaican
Janaki Indian Cuisine
312
0.5 mi$$ - $$$ • Indian • Asian • Balti
Mortons Kitchen Bar and Deli
566
0.5 mi$$ - $$$ • Bar • British • Pub
Miller & Carter Steakhouse
2,347
0.8 mi$$ - $$$ • British • Grill • Vegetarian Friendly
Drawbridge Inn
209
0.6 mi$$ - $$$ • Quick Bites • Bar • British
Barajee Solihull
27
0.5 mi$$ - $$$ • Bangladeshi
Coffee Cloud & Catering
9
0.6 mi$$ - $$$ • Quick Bites • Cafe • British
Istanbul Bbq Kitchen
1
0.5 miFast Food • Turkish
Frankies Cafe
60
0.9 mi$ • Cafe • British • Vegetarian Friendly
Divine
149
0.9 mi$$ - $$$ • Bangladeshi • Vegetarian Friendly • Vegan Options
See all
Attractions
118 within 6 miles
Creation Art Gallery
1
0.6 miArt Galleries
Transport Museum Wythall
150
2.4 miSpeciality Museums
The Core Theatre Solihull
226
Art Galleries • Theaters
Winterbourne House and Garden
1,175
Historic Sites • Gardens
Malvern and Brueton Park
239
Parks
Selly Manor
181
Speciality Museums • Architectural Buildings
Blakesley Hall
235
Historic Sites • Gardens
Lapworth Museum of Geology
119
Science Museums
Cannon Hill Park
826
Parks
Shirley Park
94
1.4 miNature & Wildlife Areas • Parks
See all
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
701 reviews
Excellent
351
Very good
179
Average
70
Poor
37
Terrible
64
cls995
Solihull, UK9 contributions
Top of the Pops Event
Oct 2022 • Friends
Top of the Pops Night Event
We had a great night, the music was very 'us'. The venue is also unique although a bit nippy at the beginning of the night prior to warm dancing bodies doing their thing. The food was really good and reasonably priced. The DJ did an awesome job of playing top hits from the decades which everyone was up and dancing to. He created a good atmosphere.
The only thing I would say that let the evening down was the card machine trouble, I know this can't be helped but it was a real inconvenience especially as staff didn't have a plan in place and we had to leave earlier than planned due to having no cash. The other thing was the lack of staff, it took a really long time to get served although staff were friendly but there could have been more people behind the bar to reduce waiting times.
Written October 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
David95
Birmingham, UK219 contributions
Tropical jungle in an urban setting
Jul 2022 • Friends
We last visited before Covid started. Since then it has become even more delightful to visit. They have many more metal animals on display that really give the place a tropical feel, like you are on safari!
They are of course a garden centre which offers unusual plants, and the range available has also increased considerably.
There are several areas inside and outside where you can get snacks, drinks or full meals. The shop sells unusual items made in Africa. You can easily spend a pleasant morning or afternoon here even though it is not very large. They have regular evening entertainment.
Altogether a different and very pleasant experience. Staff are very friendly.
Written July 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Abbieebailey
Nottinghamshire, UK31 contributions
Glad I visited
Apr 2022 • Couples
Travelled an hour to visit this place, first impressions was amazing. Nothing like I’ve seen before. It’s such a beautiful place. Food and drink was delicious too but a little bit pricey

I must say, they seemed to be very short staffed, a particular member was staff wasn’t very helpful and seemed to not have a care in the world. A lot of things was closed. I.e the tropical house. The only thing that was opened was the beach.

Nevertheless, it was a good experience and I’m glad I visited. I will return again.
Written April 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Lorna S
6 contributions
Rude staff, at best uniformed staff, over priced food and some health and safety issues
Jul 2022
I visited Akamba today with my son, friend and her young grandson.. We went into the food area, we got the menus, went up to order My friend ordered a jacket potato with cheese which comes with coleslaw and side salad or so the menu states, meals came out friends coleslaw is missing, she went up to ask about it where halfway down the cafe I could her the server telling my friend it does not come with coleslaw in what I would describe as off hand, she said she'd speak to the chef, she came back and said no coleslaw comes with it, my friend pointed to the menu and showed her that it does indeed come with coleslaw.no apology to my friend, this really was a whole new level of rudeness I have experienced in my time as a paying customer. so she then brought over the coleslaw to my friend, we started to say thank you and talk to her, she continued walking away, even though we were talking, say what you want but she new we were talking to her, she was so uninterested it was passively aggressive. my son wasn't comfortable on his chair he lifted the cushion to find the chair was indeed broken, so a male member of staff took it away, saying oh yeah we know there is an issue with them. we finished our meal, my friend then caught her clothes on a screw sticking out of a chair... we wnt outside to have a look around where a blonde female approached us and told us that children aren't allowed to sit on the animals as they could dent them and they are for sale ( he's 4 yrs old) we apologised, I asked if there was a manager available to discuss an issue with, she asked what it was . So I and my friend told her about the staff member in the cafe and how rude she was, I said that I was so unhappy with the service ( which I genuinely am) and said that I have every intention of writing a review about the cafe as I was really unhappy, she said ohh we're used to it, I said pardon, she said we are used to bad reviews with working with the public.. my friend asked if there was somewhere that her grandson could get an ice lolly and the member of staff said she didn't know if they had any, she came back with a cold bottle of water.. she did say that she hoped we would come back..

so many points here that leave me mind boggled, the staff member who was rude and walking away when trying to talk to her.
that she and nor the chef didn't know coleslaw was with this dish
broken chairs
screws poking out to potentially hurt customers and the fact that it's a known issue
that someone openly admits to the fact that Akamba is used to getting bad reviews ( as it's due to working with the public)
There are no signs saying not to sit on the hippo, I myself think that most parents/grandparents are going to see it as a photo opportunity, I'd put a sign/s out there saying no sitting/touching the animals.

If you know this garden centre it's aimed at being family inclusive, pre covid they had a reptile house, they still have a beach area either don't encourage us to bring children or put up signs saying items are not to be touched by children ( or even adults)
Dreadful day out avoid at all costs, not worth there money, food is not cheap for what you get and 2 slices of tomato and 3 of cucumber very small amount of red onion are a garnish not a salad
Written July 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Nina M
1 contribution
Disapppointing
Aug 2022
Although the food was good ("adult" chicken nuggets and chips for the kids and vegan tartlet and chips for me) we had to wait 45 minutes for it, despite the restaurant being pretty empty. We also had to wait a bit longer than that for drinks to arrive (only 34 degrees today) as the barman didn't bring them over, after saying he would! The tables looked as though they had never been wiped - we had to move a couple of times before settling on the cleanest, dirty table that we then wiped down between us with wet wipes. When the food was eventually brought to us, the waitress pointed out that the cutlery and condiments were available at the opposite end of the restaurant. It would have been useful to have been told this, when I ordered and was close to the front of the restaurant. When I went in the direction that she had pointed (with everybody's food now going cold) , there was actually no cutlery to be seen, so I had to ask her for it as she walked past. She then brought out just the amount of cutlery and condiments we needed, despite there still being nothing available for any other diners. One lady next to me was waiting for forks to eat her order of cakes. The environment and ambience of Akamba is lovely so it was really disappointing to have to wait so long for simple food, have to ferry around for things to eat it with, ask 3 times for the same order of drinks and wipe our own table.
Written August 10, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
SGrandfield
Solihull, UK201 contributions
Very sadly gone downhill.
Sep 2022 • Friends
We’ve been here many times over the years but I’m quite sad to say it’s really gone downhill. We had a breakfast here but it was unfortunately, not very pleasant. Eggs came out really snotty and jelly-like, not sure how a restaurant can serve eggs like it, looked like they had been in the frying pan for about a minute. The bacon on 2 of the breakfasts was asked for well-done but this was really taken to the extreme when it arrived and it was so hard we couldn’t even cut into it with a regular knife! The whole breakfast just didn’t taste nice at all despite the high prices. I’d say staff need to work on their etiquette a bit, no one is overly friendly or welcoming.

The whole place just seems a little run down. The garden area is really messy and unkept like no one bothers. Every time I’ve ever been there no one is actually ever there, it’s a bit of a ghost town!

I’ve always tried to come here over the years as I liked the cause it was for but sadly I won’t be returning again.
Written September 2, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Rich19167
Birmingham, UK20 contributions
Disappointed
Aug 2020
I can understand that the recent eat out initiative is likely to make places busier. However, to arrive and be told there is a 50 minute wait for food is poor. If you know it is going to be busy as it likely will be. Why not either employ more staff, or limit bookings. Very poor as i was really looking forward to this and had somewhere else to be after booking so could not wait. In my experience a 50 minute wait really means "we have no idea when your food is likely to arrive" Only went as discounted, certainly will not bother again when full (overpriced) priced.
Written August 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Harley0121
Birmingham, UK26 contributions
Shocking
Jun 2021 • Family
I went hear in June it was the worst experience ever.
The app was down which meant no one could order food or drinks .
I had to go and collect water for my family from the bar as it was extremely hot .
When the app was running again they told everyone they had ran out of food.
I ordered 2-4-1 cocktails and got charged full price I again had to address this issue and point out to them that there advised 2/4/1 the response I got from the owner Chris was shocking but not unexpected please see what he replied to me
Written August 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
lincolnlia99
Lincoln, UK14 contributions
No birds
Feb 2020
Having carefully checked on the internet that this attraction was open we drove for 3 hours only to find the birdhouse was closed.
Luckily the cafe was open and we had a reasonable breakfast.
Was not going to write this but since I have received no response to my email suggesting they update all info available on the internet....... I have!
The cafe felt like being in a very large African hut with all kinds of animal sculptures in the gardens.

D
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Joseph B
3 contributions
Very poor restaurant
Oct 2020 • Family
Meal for 5 at their restaurant.
Reasons for one star.
Ambient temperature felt cooler inside compared to out, not a nice feeling at the end of October. My feet were frozen and I ended up putting on my coat.
Restaurant was set up to be COVID compliant but children from two separate families were running out of control, staff made no attempt to intervene. Social distancing was therefore down to a foot if lucky due to the children.
Food order was taken incorrectly, then rectified when pointed out when food delivered, staff were friendly enough. One meal arrived five minutes after the other four.
Cutlery was straight out of a school hall.
No gas in their drinks machine meant soft drinks were restricted to bottle drinks.
Quality of food was not up to standard of other Caribbean restaurants, jerk chicken was average. Chips were dreadful, vegetarian option lacked taste. Rice and peas average.
When attempting to pay bill they couldn’t even find order and ended up asking us what we had.
Staff were friendly enough but otherwise experience was dreadfully poor.
Written October 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
2
…
Showing results 1-10 of 701
Anything missing or inaccurate?
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing

Akamba Garden Centre (Solihull) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Frequently Asked Questions about Akamba Garden Centre
Akamba Garden Centre is open:
  • Thu - Fri 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
  • Sat - Sun 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM