Food&drink
Scone Spy, restaurants and wine guide
Location
With rail and bus routes to Bridge of Allan and in close proximity to Stirling, its easily accessible. There’s a sizeable car park, too.
First impressions
It’s the twinkly lights outside that catch our eye, not sure if these are just for the festive season, but they dress up the big old mansion beautifully. Inside, we’re greeted by one of the biggest, most beautiful Christmas trees I’ve ever seen and a roaring log fire, which is cosy and inviting, especially on a cold winter night.
Service
A waiter gives us the choice of which area of the restaurant we want to sit in and shows us to a table. Service throughout the meal is attentive and polite – and always with a smile. As the mains weren’t going to be ready for 15 minutes, they brought us a lovely plate of olives and about half a loaf of bread with some oil and vinegar. It was a nice touch.
Menu
There are lots of pizza and burger/grill options, and plenty of
traditional mains, such as fish and chips, macaroni cheese and steak and ale pie. They also do a Sunday roast.
Taste
We plump for the lamb rack and corn-fed chicken dishes. The lamb, served with celeriac mash, carrots and a pea and red win jus, is delicious. Same, unfortunately, can’t be said for the chicken. There seems to be an absence of the whisky cream sauce which means the whole dish is a bit dry. The creamy mash has been replaced with mashed up potatoes with the skin on which was a little disappointing. The ice cream sundae is divine.
Ambience
It’s a lovely, chilled vibe and we don’t feel rushed.
Price
The bill came in at just under £80 for two adults and two little ones, so pretty reasonable.
Toilets
Bit of a trek from the restaurant but pristine clean.