Cristal At Mar Hall Golf Resort

With covid 19 the evening meals are in the room at the far end of the Hotel in the room where weddings would take place. This is a great rom with wonderful views. The limited menu for the season means if you stay more than four nights and you have eaten all on offer. Great service and food. The tables were well spaced out and despite the wearing of masks, we managed to talk with those serving.

My husband and I came for dinner and were so very disappointed with the quality of the food. The setting and atmosphere of the restaurant couldn’t be faulted and the staff were incredibly attentive and friendly. The food however, left you longing for the greasy pub grub you could find down the road. From the limp, lacklustre salad to the rubbery, over cooked (and probably pre frozen) cod for mains, I had nothing positive to say about the kitchen at this supposed 5 star resort. Stay for the spa but not the scran.

This was billed as fine dining. It was not. Mar Hall is a beautiful building with a grand entrance as you approach the restaurant. Unfortunately there were several bar tables left uncleared of food and drink on a Saturday evening. This did not set a good impression. We were told we’d be in the Cristal restaurant don’t think we were judging by photos on trip advisor! A lovely room but huge, cold and zero atmosphere. Service was friendly but slow lots of apologies. Waited 20 minutes for our first drink which I had to send back Aperol with no spritz! So waited again by which time we’d had 2 of our 6 tasting courses. My partner ordered a soft drink arrived in a tennents glass hardly fine. The fo...

4 of us went for the 6 course Tasting Menu at £59/couple. These 6 courses were an sample of the main menu in the restaurant and it was fantastic value for money. The portions were very generous indeed and by the time the desert came around we were full ! The Celeriac Soup was lovely as was the Botanist Gin Cured Salmon, which was followed by a very tasty Chicken and Smoked Ham Terrine. The ' 'mains ' ' were up next with the Poached and Roasted Alloa Chicken then the Pan Fried Shetland Cod. Both these dishes were lovely. Some of us managed the dessert, I 'm afraid it had me beat, but apparently it was wonderful too. This is a spectacular room, old world but very cosy and warm. Great service f...

The menu was simple with two starter options, the roast itself, and three desserts. I started with the smoked salmon, which was delicious and not greasy. My husband and mum had the pate, which was also enjoyed judging by the empty plates. The roast sirloin of beef was cooked perfectly pink and tender, with a huge Yorkshire pudding and stunning jus. The cheese selection for dessert was my choice while the others had Creme Catalana, all of which were enjoyed. Unfortunately, we were too full for the planned after lunch cocktail, so we went for a walk around the grounds to admire the scenery. The staff who served us were all lovely and accommodating, with our waiter Mark being faultless. Despit...

Excellent experience all round. We visited the Cristal Restaurant at Mar Hall recently for the seasonal tasting menu, which was a Christmas gift. The staff were all very friendly and professional from beginning to end. Every one being a credit to Mar Hall. We were asked if we were happy with the menu and as my husband doesn’t like fish, they happily substituted a couple of courses. All the courses were beautifully presented and tasted even better. Compliments to the chef/kitchen team behind the scenes, it was a lovely varied tasting menu. Although the portions looked small on the plate (it IS a tasting menu after all), we were both really full by the end of the meal. So much so, that I grudg...

Booked lunch for 4 people and we were very excited to be going to such a grand place. On entering we were greeted with the smell of food as you usually find in an old folks home or a canteen. This was not pleasant. As we were shown to our seats we passed a room with the door ajar where there were silver containers for keeping food warm. I then realized this was where our lunch would be coming from. Our starter were ok and portions quite large. The main unfortunately which we all had was very disappointing. Roast beef was delicious and perfectly cooked for me. Soft and melting meat. The gravy was over salted. The roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings were like bricks. Other veg was fine. Two...

I booked dinner here for 6 people knowing we might have to cancel at short notice. The lady I spoke with was so accommodating and hospitable despite knowing I was using prepaid vouchers,that were a very good offer. We changed the booking slightly at the last minute, no problem whatsoever. We really appreciated the help. The welcome was so warm and genuine that we felt most appreciated and spoilt. Our food was fabulous as were the drinks and service. Zac, our waiter was exceptional. And it was hard to standout, as all the staff were great. However, his pride in his place of work and the enjoyment he gets from serving well makes him a credit to Marr Hall and Scotland. A proper Scottish welcome...

I started with the scallops, which were delicious. However, my friend's pate was tasteless. For our main courses, my friend had the venison which was cooked perfectly but the combination with beets and peanut butter overpowered the dish. The lamb rack and potato gratin I had was nice but not outstanding. For dessert, we chose the cheese plate which was good but lacked enough crackers. The almonds served with the cheese were tasty. They no longer offer salted butter and the butter they had was hard to spread. My friend's dark chocolate praline cremeux was disappointing, as it seemed to have melted on the plate. I remembered when the restaurant used to offer a variety of warm bread with salt...