The Secret Garden Cafe

I wanted to update my review to reflect my most recent experiences. I believe the Bean Scene at Secret Garden, the Culinary Incubator, is closed for the summer but when it resumes in the Fall I will be there on the Thursdays when they have it. The Vegan food is truly innovative and delicious at a very reasonable price! I have never left hungry but always with new ideas on what to prepare at home. I am not a vegan but two days weekly enjoy eating vegetarian. This is so nice to see such a progressive idea for food right here in Downtown Boynton Beach!

Really enjoy this place!

This was such a great find. Excellent food. A mix of healthy and comfort food. In addition they do some really good work proving food for the elderly. You can’t beat good food and good people. Worth a visit.

Me and my friend bought a Groupon for Sunday Brunch. This was the WORST experience I have every had in south Florida! I thought it was going to be elegant and charming but I was so wrong. The table and chairs were mismatched and it felt like we were dining in the middle of a thrift store. We sat there for at least 15 minutes before we the waitress even brought us water. The place wasn’t even busy, there were only 2 other couples that were there before us. After she brought us our water we asked for a diet coke the waitress leaves to go get the diet coke but returns and says they do not have diet coke. So we ordered mimosa’s which were served in these tiny little glasses. The food took forever to come out. 4 new couples came in and were served food before ours even came out. Which made no sense. The waitress explained to us they were doing renovations and also had a new chef on board. it Turns out the Chef never cooked before since she was a waitress and was basically learning on the job. The food did finally come out and the toast was cold and the food was horrible. Our glasses were empty and the waitress didn’t even offer us another glass of mimosa for making us wait so long. And then when it was time to use the bathroom there was no light! of course the excuse was they were in the middle of renovations. why not close down until you get your act together and i recommend better customer service. we felt like guinea pigs so they could test out the new chef. blah do not go!

Had to give 1 star because there isn’t an option for no stars. We went for High Tea. Ha!
I knew we were in trouble when I saw the tinny cutlery. They brought out a tea box filled with old decrepit tea bags-​the safest bet was Lipton. My sister’s tea bag actually crumbled. Their selection had to have consisted of tea bags they took from places they visited a very long time ago. The water was lukewarm. The very tasty cream of tomato soup was cold and had to be reheated. Then came the tray of stale tea sandwiches, hard stale croissants and some sort of dessert medley. The (what tasted like and looked like store bought) cookies were good. The mini muffins (probably from Publix) were hard and probably stale.
We left and went to Panera.
I must compliment our waitress who never told us her name. She was pleasant, courteous and very professional and should be working in a high end restaurant.
The chef was very upset when we told him what we thought about the stale breads. The owner did take our comments in stride and for her sake, I hope she makes improvements.
Don’t go!

Actually, never got to eat there! Had a reservation which I made by phone and left my phone number twice and they had it because they called me back. However after driving 20 miles and arriving exactly on time for our reservation we were met by a woman who said they were not serving because the chef was sick. I asked why, when they had my phone number no one called us to say… don’t come??? No adequate answer was given, because there IS no adequate answer.

Place order with living social coupon 2 days in advance. Went to pick up at agreed time, place wasnt open. Had to ask restaurant owner next door and he called owner but got voice mail. Then he banged on the door till somebody answered and said it wont be available till an hour. You’d think 48 hrs notice it be ready. Thanks for nothing

we went for sunday brunch and enjoyed it very much. the food is made fresh but takes a while to be served but is certainly worth the wait. I had the bananas foster french toast and my husband had the eggs benedict. Presentation was outstanding, service good (only had one server). Be sure to make reservations on Sunday morning or arrive early as by 10:15 am the 5 tables inside were full. Coffee was slow on refills as they must not have a commercial coffee pot but not a reason to complain. All in all, would go back again. Food was very good, enjoyed our brunch.

Went in with a group of 4 after we had purchased Groupons (about 4 – 5 months ago). We thought it would be a cool new spot to try, local and they had a cool hook once we walked in. The owner/​manager that day told us it is a co-​op kitchen. They allow those that want to learn about working and running a restaurant actually work there.
The cook at the time was one of the co-​op workers. While our expectations weren’t high, we had hoped for a nice experience. There was a guy outside playing live music to a few couples eating outside. There were only a small number of tables inside and out, perhaps a dozen or so. They also sell baked goods, cookies and stuff that you can buy in packages. They weren’t too bad at all.
Unfortunately, while the idea was great, the experience was not good at all. Let’s just say, we waited well over an hour for our food. There appeared to be an injury due to a burn or something to the cook. I believe at that point, the proverbial shit hit the fan. Apologies and a complementary round of muffins were eventually given to us to tide us over, but not even the muffins were hitting the spot. I wish, wish, wish, wish they were good, but no luck.
Finally, after our meals, and virtually the vast majority of the other tables meals made it out, we had a chance to taste what we came for. An unfortunate disappointment. The seafood crêpe actually had artificial crab meat (pollack) in it. For the price and description, it seemed very deceiving. Needless to say, the table next to us complained and we tried forcing some of our food down. I don’t believe anyone finished their meal out of disgust.
I am giving this place 2 stars because the idea and potential could be there. The structure and who they ultimately put in place during the more important days/​meals (weekend brunches) should be more qualified cooks. I don’t know if we’ll ever give it another chance, but perhaps with all the recent reviews, they have started to make some positive changes.

4 of us went yesterday for brunch and had a delicious brunch. Service was great, food arrived on time and pricing was fair. We even has a singer who entertained us. I would recommend this quaint little restaurant anytime

Not impressed. Came here for Sunday brunch. Although it is Charming and quaint, service stinks. Waited over 1 hour for our food after we ordered. Drinks took 30 minutes after we sat down. One waitress for the entire place. (About 10 tables).
When food arrived, it was decent. However, based on the wait and the service (no-​one even came by to refill our drinks), I wouldn’t come back. Really need to get their act together!

Consistently fresh, friendly and creative, the SECRET Garden Café is one of Boynton’s best kept…
… MYSTERIOUS ENIGMAS.
Anyway, took a chance and ordered the seafood crêpe for Sunday brunch. And you know what? It was good. Damn good. Stuffed with crab, shrimp and salmon, it made for a perfectly savory alternative to the usual brunch fare. But the best part was the fresh-​baked blueberry muffin. Far and away the tastiest muffin I’ve ever eaten. It had an almost creamy consistency to it and was topped with some sweet lemon curd.
You can always count on friendly service and a cozy, laid back atmosphere here. And the food is just great. You can tell they put a lot of care into everything, especially the little details. Eat here. You’ll feel good about it.

I rely upon Unilocal to help me find good restaurants but when they delete a bad review, I begin to wonder. Let’s see if this second review of the Secret Garden also vanishes.
Waited 30 minutes to be seated, not bad considering we had no reservations. But when we waited 90 minutes for a small portion of cold eggs and hash browns, there was no redemption. At one point, I walked around the 15 or so inside and outside tables and was surprised that only 2 tables had food on them. Everybody was grumbling. Both the kitchen and front-​of-​house were totally disorganized. Would have left were it not for an expiring discount ticket.
Don’t waste your time nor your money as those eggs were on the menu at $ 13.

The food was incredible. The wait was a little long but it’s Sunday brunch… no need to rush! The service was friendly. I had Bananas Foster French Toast it was amazing. I will be back soon.

The first thing I noticed, was the amazing, aromatic scent that wafted out of the kitched in their bakery area. Everything here is cooked fresh, on site, and organic! There is a slight wait, but definitely worth it!
I had the Eggs Florentine, and it was superb! The poached eggs were cooked perfectly, and the spinach was scrumptous! The fresh fruit on the side was amazing. The best part yet, were the potatoes. At other places, I am used to getting potatoes that are slightly burnt and overcooked. These potatoes were a combination of sweet potatoe and regular potatoe. They were cooked perfectly, with a slight seasoning on them. They melted in my mouth as soon as I took a bite.
The service there was amazing and they had a very nice musician playing in the background. I couldn’t have had a nicer Sunday brunch with friends!

Oh man, I really wanted to love this place– but I didn’t. I may have gone on an off day and I will try it again, but this is a ‘first impression’ Unilocal review. So it gets 2 stars– one for the chef/​server and one for the tea selection.
The food was definitely fresh and the service (provided by the owner/​chef) was definitely attentive… but my coffee/​tea cup (as well as my dad’s) had lipstick (not ours) on them and the tea (when it arrived) was very cold. The food (omelette) was fresh, but cold.
From what I understand, if you hit it on a good day, you’ll be very pleased.
Also, I think they are currently offering a groupon or livingsocial deal, fyi.

My mom had told me about the Green Market and the Secret Garden Café for quite a while. So one Sunday I took the girlfriend for brunch to see what the place was all about.
It can be a bit difficult to find as there is not a lot of signage and even when we parked we weren’t even sure if they were open as at 11 am there was no other cars in the parking lot.
We walked into a tiny room with 3 or 4 tables to the right and a pastry display to the left. We were greeted by Chef Phil who seemed a bit all over the place. He chatted us while he attempted to find the menus. Apparently he normally doesn’t wait the tables and the waiter did not show up. Once he found the menus he took our drink order and proceeded to walk us through the entire menu. It was a little awkward as we felt just fine reading over the menu ourselves.
When we placed our order he talked up the market next door so much that we felt we would be rude if we didn’t go take a peak. Once over there Chef Phil popped out again to walk us through the entire store. While I know he was trying to be friendly and provide good service he really should have been in the kitchen providing the service that we came for in the first place, to eat brunch. We looked at things a bit and must agree with a previous review about there actually being Publix brand items in there. When I read that review before I just chuckled but then seeing it for myself in this market that prides themselves on local, organic items.
Anyway back in the café Chef Phil finally got to work on our food while a guitarist and conga player started playing some background music. Another couple came in and almost immediately started complaining about not getting waited on. Eventually we got our food and this couple got their order taken. Unfortunately while he cooked up there food 2 more groups came in and left after waiting for awhile to get even a drink. Really sucked that he had no one to help and very strange that he apparently had no one to call to come help him.
But to the food. I had the breakfast panini that had eggs, onions, peppers and bacon in it. It was monstrous to say the least. It was as good as it was messy. The potatoes on the side we very good as well. My girlfriend had the eggs benedict and she enjoyed those as well.
Then came the waiting game for our check as that took quite awhile to achieve. I just immediately handed him my credit card as to not have to wait to have to give that.
Things were well priced for the size of the portions you got. Unfortunately I don’t think we will ever good back. The place is a cute little spot with character and the food was very good. While Chef Phil was very nice and accommodating he was a bit much. I didn’t know if it was because he didn’t have any help or not. My mom then confirmed he does talk quite a bit regardless. I’m still baffled at how he had no one to help him. Okay sure someone might no show a shift but I would have to imagine there is someone he could have called that would have came in.
I would say the Secret Garden Café is at least worth a try. You may like it, you may not or you might be confused about it like I was.

This review is tough to write because I really, really, really wanted to love this place! I’m giving it 3 stars, but in reality, it’s probably closer to a 2.75 I guess.
We arrived at 11am to try out their Sunday Brunch. We had a
coupon and we were really excited to try a healthy brunch option. First, the Secret Garden Café is nestled amid a U-​shaped building that is sort of confusing to figure out. There are several green doors and signage, but it’s really not clear where the entrance is. We followed another couple into what appeared to be a main door because there was a Sunday Brunch sign near it. It turned out to be the entrance to the Green Market (more about that later). The Green Market is part of the Secret Garden Café, and the friendly lady inside told us which door to open from the parking lot to get to the café. By the way, the parking lot here is TINY and shared with a photo place where people are double parked, making it a challenge to get in and out of the place.
So, back to the café. It’s a cute little place with just 5 tables, seating for 18 total (4 tables for 4 and 1 table for 2). All of the tables and chairs are a mish mash of different looks that add to the cute character of the place. There is a guitar player who played 60s-​70s folk rock, right up my alley — Gordon Lightfoot, Van Morrison, The Beatles, The Band, Paul Simon, and more. However, the place is so small that it doesn’t really lend itself nicely to a musician. The music ends up being so loud in such a small space that it’s nearly impossible to have a conversation.
The Sunday Brunch menu offered a nice assortment of egg dishes and starchy dishes, so there were plenty of options. I ordered the Eggs Florentine (arrived just barely warm enough to eat) while my husband ordered the Crab Quiche (arrived wonderfully hot!). We had read the Unilocal reviews in advance and were prepared to be patient, but we really had no idea how long this experience would be. In the end, it was all very weird and long. After waiting 15 minutes, our order was taken by a guy who was not the normal waiter. In fact, he’d never been a server/​waiter before and was the neighbor of the chef. The person normally scheduled for today called last night at 10pm to say they wouldn’t be available for their shift. So, the chef called on a neighbor (a computer sales guy) who says he’s never worked food service before in his life. Poor guy. He was very friendly and apologetic the entire time we were there (90 minutes), and he did the best he could, but it was a pretty painful experience.
Our food arrived to us just before Noon. During our almost 1-​hour wait, I asked for a coffee refill 3 times. Our server was struggling to service the tables, but again, he did the best he could. The owner (?) jumped in to help bus tables, but we saw another table (the other couple who arrived when we did) get up and leave at Noon when our food had arrived, but theirs hadn’t. In all fairness, we ordered a full 15 minutes before they did because they appeared to be indecisive when initially placing their order. As they left, they made the comment to another table that they were «forgotten». They weren’t forgotten. It was honestly taking a REALLY LONG TIME to get food. We’re Americans, and we’re impatient. :) Our culture doesn’t support a 2-​hour brunch. With only one chef, the wait is very, very long for your meal. However, the chef is a great guy who came out to visit each table and sometimes personally deliver each meal. He wore a constant smile and truly seemed appreciative that there were guests lining up to get into the place.
There IS outside seating, however, it’s adjacent to the Tom’s BBQ generator and very loud. A threesome decided to sit outside anyway because there was no seating left inside the café, but then a storm hit and blew rain sideways. So, they were stuck inside to sort of hover near the bakery case.
Several people stopped inside, saw that there were no tables available, and walked out. One couple came in, sat down, and were asked to leave because that table for 2 had a reservation on it. Such a shame that this place is just so small. We saw a lot of business walk out the door today for a variety of reasons.
After our meal, we walked back inside the market. It’s very tiny there as well, but we did pick up some strawberry preserves, a tomato, and a lime. Those three items cost $ 9.54. The market is really small, but the bakery case inside the café looks like it’s got some good stuff! They’ve got pies for $ 2.50/slice or $ 20/​pie. That math doesn’t make any sense, but that’s what they were charging. Seems like you should be able to buy the whole pie for $ 15-​$ 18. Anyway…
As much as we wanted to love this place, we simply won’t be back. The experience was just weird, and took way too long, but I must say that the people who work there were very friendly and appreciative, and kind and welcoming.

Very friendly but almost overbearing staff. Went for breakfast one weekend and was very confused by the entrance and seating situation. Was suggested to sit outside because they had a guitarist but I was actually not in the mood to listen to music in the morning… well I guess the hostess was not having that as she brought him inside and sat him 3 feet away from our table.
The food took forever and the hostess/​waitress seemed really disorganized but happy. When the food did come it looked awesome but I was kinda bummed the chef decided that what I ordered wasn’t sufficent and replaced my very anticipated breakfast potatoes with roasted sweet potatoes (yuck I hate those, thanks for asking).
I was really kinda sad bc I had such high expectations for this being a farmers market like setting but aside from a small cooler of suspect organic veggies, the shelves were lined with random condiments and even some publix branded canned products wtf?
The waitress/​host was very overbearing and made us feel so uncomfortable it almost became funny. In fact BF and I still joke about going back. She spent so much time talking to us I felt like she was just really lonely and I hate to say I was kinda annoyed she kept talking to me because she was behind me and I felt obligated to turn around and respond to her.
BF got ballsy and checked out the other seating options and returned to tell me that the seats inside were the best bc their «patio» was glorified parking lot and their «secret garden dining room» was a windowless dining trap.
You are better off hitting up boynton’s Green Owl for a nice low key breakfast.
It is sad because this place does have so much potential but it just left me with a bad taste in my mouth like a old desperate clingy boyfriend.
Maybe they are better for take out or dinner but I will warn you this is not for a nice relaxing brunch, perhaps if you are in the mood for a acid trip without dropping tabs…

I found out about this market from a Living Social coupon promotion. The set-​up of the market is confusing; it’s in an L shaped building with different doors and we needed to have someone show us around in order to figure out what was what. A deli counter in one area with pre-​made food, a produce area, and then a back café area. The produce selection was small but I bought the best grapefruits there that I’ve had all season.
The bar-​b-​que in the back, from Tom’s food truck, was delicious but there was no live music the day I was there. I was just disappointed in the size of the market (it is small), the selection, and the arrangement.