How is the food at Center Parks?

[wishIwasonholiday10]

How is the food at Center Parcs (specifically Elveden Forest)? Looking to book our first trip with a 3 year old and not sure if we will be put off by the food - the outlets don't seem to have great reviews on Google but maybe it's only the unhappy people who leave reviews? I know we could cook but I really love a break from cooking when going away. An added complication is that I will probably have gestational diabetes by then (I'm expecting my 2nd and had it with my first) and will need to be on a low carb diet (relatively small portions of lower GI carbs including potatoes are fine but no sugar and no white carbs). Is finding lower carb food at Center Parcs a lost cause?

Finally would you go to Center Parcs at 27 weeks pregnant? I guess there is some things I wouldn't be able to do but my 3 year old also wouldn't be able to do most of the more adventurous activities anyway so hopefully not a problem? The reason for the specific timing would be the start of school term so hopefully cheaper.

Center Parcs is good if you use it wisely . . We go quite often but there is no way I would pay exhorbitant prices for very, very poor quality food. In the summer, we bbq, and at other times of year we take ready meals. Usually we go to the pancake house on our last evening but not sure if that would be wise on a low carb diet!

Never had a problem with the food at Elveden. Hucks and las Iguanas have always been great quality. We do also take a ready meal / easy/ quick few dishes for late nights after long swims so tired kids haven’t got to sit in the restaurant and that works well for us, have also used the restaurant runner and had an Indian delivered to the lodge: this wasn’t excellent but was excellent for what we needed

The restaurants are average - chainy and overpriced. Sherwood has a lovely new gastropub with good grub, not sure if Elveden has similar.

We usually take pizzas for the first night, a big chilli or stew that can be easily heated up for another night, and stuff for a bbq.

We always eat out and enjoy the food. It's chain restaurant style but no different to eating at a chain restaurant elsewhere. Las Iguanas (and maybe Cafe Rouge) have robot waiters which DS loves. There are play areas in some of the restaurants. I don't know about low carb though.

The food is absolutely what you would expect from a decent chain restaurant. We tend to eat out at lunchtime the have snacks in the evening as I hate cooking on holiday. We usually go to las iguanas, Bella italia and Hucks. Never had a bad meal, never had an incredible one. They cater well for kids.

We always go to the pancake house on arrival day and sometimes on departure day.

my kids always loved Hucks. We enjoyed it, although it is expensive for what it is.

We used to enjoy the Sports Bar for a cheaper/basic meal but they have gone a bit “posh” compared to before and there wasn’t anything I would have eaten. It sounded nice though!

Awful, over-priced chains that get very busy so you need to book tables.

Average quality chain restaurants but with salad type options if you need them - sympathies as I had GD.
We have taken nicer Cook ready meals with us when we went, to save that much cooking. They sell a smaller selection of them usually in the shop too.

If you want to eat anytime between 4 and 6pm book well in advance. Food is usual chain standards, normally fine.

I ate at the sports cafe last year and it was very tasty.

Unimpressed with the pancake house.

The food is awful. Even the chain restaurants there seem to be worse than they usually are outside.

Cook meals are a great idea.

I think the same restaurant chains can be found in different Centerparcs. I went recently and regretted going to the French one (cafe rouge). The food wasn’t anything special and it was grossly over priced. We always like the food at Bella Italia and Las Iguanas. Rajindas is also amazing.

Yes I’m not keen on the pancake house either. The sweet ones are really sickly sweet and laden with calories and the savoury ones are a bit ‘meh’.

In my humble opinion, it’s overpriced and rubbish. It’s about time folks sent them a message by not using their poor offerings. They might then be motivated to sort it out!
We now take pizzas/BBQ/order takeaway. The pancake house is fine so we usually pop there for breakfast.