Dumfries Galloway
The Grapes

The Grapes

United Kingdom, Dumfries Galloway

Pubs • Lunch • British • Chicken


"On the outside the Grapes Hotel looks very unassuming and like any regular village Hotel of its kind, but.....parked the car and went inside and we did get one big surprise. Yes its oldie worldy and thats one of the things that make this place special for us and probably many more. Small hotel but plenty of parking for the restaurant for those who are just popping in for a drink or a meal. At the moment its just changed to the winter months opening times for the bar which is around 5pm but if a guest they open the bar and they did just that for us when we arrived. Checked in and shown to our room. Yes the stairs can be a little steep but hand rails allow you to manage them and there is a landing between the floors. Key for the room and key for the outside door. The room itself was a good size even although the ceilings are low due to being in the roof space. We are quiet short people so no issue. En suite was a must for us and we had one. It was a twin room and clean and fresh enough. Bed comfy too and had a good nights sleep and the traffic didnt bother us at all from the A75. We sat in the beer garden to the back of the property in the lovely warm weather for September and had a glass or two of wine. Our stay was due to attending a hospital appointment the following day as we travelled 76.3 miles and can take 1hr 32 mins on the A75 but to ensure on time for 11am appointment we stopped overnight before and we will be using it again for the same purpose. Only 15mins to the hospital at Cargenbridge depending on traffic but arrived 30mins early which is good. Anyway a really good menu available and the special that night was Sirlion steak with chips and onion rings and we asked to hold the onion rings and could hubby have mushrooms instead and it was not any bother at all. To start I had the soup option and it was a choice of tomato(homemade) or chicken and mushroom so plumped for the tomato and it was beautifully flavoured and served with seeded bread and butter. It makes a change from just white (nice touch). Hubby had the Garlic mushrooms with salad and garlic mayo...tasty and just the right size of portion. Next the main course and I had difficulty choosing but went for the Fish and Chips and it was breaded instead of batter and again a nice change. Crispy fish with the chips and peas and only left a few chips as full up. The steak for hubby was asked for cooked Blue and although cooked rare to ensure that the steak was not cold in the middle it was beautifully cooked and very tasty and well worth the money served with chips and mushrooms. A glass of Merlot to wash it down with . I finished my meal with a glass of port. After dinner a few games of pool and a game or two of darts, drinks and then bed. Good music choice too. The inside is so cosy and homely and there are a good number of tables. Good nights sleep and breakfast at 9am and had been asked the night before whether we would want a cooked breakfast and we said yes please. Freshly cooked a sausage and bacon and black pudding and haggis and tattie scone and fried egg. Toast white and seeded and asked if we wanted more oh and a cooked tomato fresh from the greenhouse. Coffee and tea. Orange juice too. All in all a fantastic stay and fantastic meal and the best breakfast we have had in a hotel for a very very long time. Thanks Wilma and Fred .....See you soon .£69 for one night and breakfast included thats what we paid."

Knockinaam Lodge

Knockinaam Lodge

Portpatrick, Stranraer DG9 9AD, UK, Dumfries Galloway, United Kingdom

Cafés • 5star • Asiatic • Seafood


"My wife found this when looking for a place for us to spend our wedding anniversary. It sounded good on paper. It was a long and tedious drive for us though and I wasn’t sure it was worth it. I was totally wrong! This place is superb and well worth any drive! The setting is great-it has its own beach and there is a small patio where you can sit and there is a heater there too if you need it. There’s a nice lawn in front of the hotel too where those with dogs took them for a walk. The rooms are all different and all well appointed with their own en suite. The costs of the rooms reflects the size of the room and not the facilities. If you are tall like me (6ft 2) I wouldn’t go for one of the rooms in the roof as the coomb ceiling is a pain. However the thing you go there for is the food and that is sublime! It is a set menu in the evening which reduces waste and helps control costs. You get 7 courses, all quite small , but at the end of the meal you are adequately fed but not full. We were there for 3 nights and had a different meal every night. All the dishes were superb but we had mushroom soup one night and it was the best soup I have ever tasted! In fact it was one of the best foods I have ever tasted! The breakfast is very good indeed and you can order whatever you like from the menu which is very comprehensive. I found that set me up for the whole day and I didn’t need a lunch. I must also mention the wine. The wine list is very comprehensive with some difficult to come by wines in it too like Chateau Musar. On 2 nights we went with the wine pairing list which I thought was very good value, especially the cheaper of the 2 lists we had every night. The hotel is a good centre for seeing things in the local area and , despite going in November we found things to occupy ourselves for the 3 days we were there. They have various themed weekends too which sound brilliant. But the hotel is so good it is worth going to anytime. We will certainly be back."

Crichton Clubhouse

Crichton Clubhouse

Bankend Rd, DG1 4, Dumfries Galloway, United Kingdom

Tea • Lunch • Steak • Coffee


"The food menu had a good choice we received or mains very quickly. During his meal my husband noticed the sticky price label on his plate. We did tell the staff. They had apparently been through the dishwasher, obviously not very successfully. My prawn tuna salad was lovely but my husbands pastry of his steak pie was almost white just dissolved to crumbs when he put his knife into it. It was just an undercooked shell for pastry. Once we finished our main we waited 20 minutes to get our tea scones cakes. The table beside us got their mains after us but got their tea, scones cakes long before us. When I was a child was taken out often for high tea,one of my Dad’s favourite. The tea scones cakes were all served together with the main. Usually on a lovely big cake stand. Not so keen on the modern slate, but that’s just me. We like butter with our scones. One other thing that really upset me. When we arrived we were directed to a small table for two by the window, I am using crutches at the moment they sat in neatly behind the curtain. Out of site bothering no one. The owner came said she would take them away they won’t fall bother me. I said no it’s ok I will probably need to go to the toilet. She said that’s ok we’ll bring them back for you she whipped them away put them right out of the restaurant into the foyer. After I finished my main I did in deed need to go to the toilet but there was no staff available to get my crutches. When someone appeared I had to call out to her to get my crutches which I found very embarrassing. Now I have been using crutches for the past 5 months have never experienced this. I even went here with friends for lunch one day my crutches were never mentioned. I feel this was a discriminatory thing to do. Perhaps this lady needs this explained to her. Because of this other problems mentioned we won’t be back I will not be recommending to my friends. Particularly my disabled friends."

Granite Cafe

Granite Cafe

Main St, Dumfries Galloway, United Kingdom

Cafe • Fish • Coffee • Breakfast


"We were on a family day out and had just visited the amazing Dalbeattie Museum (can’t recommend this enough! and were recommended the Granite Kitchen as a lunch option. The restaurant itself has a cosy atmosphere. We were welcomed to a table and given menus. The waitress, who was lovely, came to take our order and we asked for the soup and sandwich deal from the menu. I’m not sure if it was the cook or the owner, but a lady came from the kitchen area and told us in a very stern tone there would be no soup as ‘it’s summer, and too hot for her’. Given that we were asking for something that was listed on the menu we were a bit taken aback by her attitude she made us feel like we’d asked for slugs on toast and the other people in the restaurant turned to look at the table as they too had been surprised by her tone. Given that soup and a sandwich takes up at least a third of the menu and also that we hadn’t been told there were any changes to the menu we were really surprised at her attitude and it made us feel really uncomfortable. We had two young children with us so took another look at the menu and decided to opt for the fish and chips. To which the cook/owner lady came to announce there was ‘NO FISH!’ (Which ruled out most of the rest of the menu! The lovely waitress looked a bit embarrassed by her attitude and it was an all round awful experience. Maybe they were having an off day, but they absolutely need to work on their customer service skills. The waiting staff should be versed on what is/isn’t available and there is NEVER a need to make someone feel uncomfortable for ordering something which is quite clearly listed on the menu. There are lots of lovely eateries nearby and I would recommend giving this one a miss."

At Kirroughtree Country House

At Kirroughtree Country House

United Kingdom, Dumfries Galloway

Tea • Fish • Wine • Coffee


"This was a difficult one to review. It is the most expensive restaurant we have eaten in and I have to admit to feeling like a fish out of water at times. I have gone for Very Good as it was certainly not Average, but...maybe somewhere in the middle. I wont go into the pricing as this has been covered in a previous review by Darren B and I have to say I also agree with everything else he has written. We were in a party of seven adults. Our initial waitress (although I think she was more than a waitress, I didn't get her name unfortunately) was lovely and very attentive. Drinks in the lounge and our order taken, we were shown into the dining room when our food was ready. Large jugs of iced water on the table, beautiful surroundings too. The starter of scallops black pudding was delicious although very small for the £9.95 charged. I ordered Brie Beetroot tart for my main meal, I was surprised when it arrived because it filled the entire plate! I could not possibly eat it all. My husbands meal however was more in keeping with a la carte, loin of lamb, a very small portion of lamb on top of a very small portion of mash. You definitely need to purchase the side of vegetables with most of the dishes or you will have finished eating within minutes. My sister had the Ravioli which she thoroughly enjoyed. My only disappointment with regard to taste was the Brûlée, the top of mine was so burned I actually thought I could smell smoke in the restaurant, then I realised it was the food in front of me. I could not eat the top at all, again it was a very small portion, half a tea cup, but I do understand that this style of eating means you are not full to the brim when you leave. I made no fuss about the dessert because our meal was paid for by an elderly relative so I did not feel it was appropriate. Two niggles about the service, when my meal was brought in by a waiter along with my sisters, he said Raviloi And my sister said That's mine he walked to the other end of our table with it. He then said Tart and I said Me he replied with.... Nothing personal and a smirk. I have a sense of humour, but good grief! That was not expected in the restaurant of this calibre. This same waiter, when my sister excused herself from the table because she had a coughing fit, stood in the hallway looking at her, mimicking her cough, this was not a young lad. In fact he was probably older than most of us. A little more training is needed there. Our waitress saw my sister in distress and quickly brought her some water. On the whole we all had very nice food, served in a beautiful hotel, but I have to say I would not visit again."