Dumfries Arms Hotel

Masala Indian

➤ 14 Ayr Road, KA18 1DW, East Ayrshire, United Kingdom

Pizza • Sushi • Asiatic • European

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"Not the greatest food you'll ever eat. To be fair, I visited quite late on a Sunday night so perhaps I wasn't getting the best food they can offer and I was the only one in the restaurant although I imagine more people get takeaway food. I wasn't exactly impressed though. The mango lassi didn't taste of mango and had some odd fibres in it presumably from the mango? Hard to tell. It wasn't what I was hoping for though. I had the vegetable dhansak with pilau rice which didn't really taste of anything and was generally quite bland. I put quite a bit of salt on it! Not really spicy at all though. The rice was a bit odd in that it came served on my plate for me already, when I was expecting a small dish of rice but rice is rice, it was fine. Poppadom was good but the sauces with it were odd, i had onion salad but couldn't figure out what the other was supposed to be. They kept turning the music up and down or off entirely and it was just a weird experience. Might be better when it's busier but I won't be returning to find out. It was literally the only place still serving food which is the only reason I ate there in the first place. As with all Indian restaurants, there were both gluten free and vegetarian options."

The Thistle Inn

➤ 22 Glaisnock Rd, KA18 3AB, East Ayrshire, United Kingdom

Pizza • Kebab • Sushi • Cafés

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"There aren't many options for a bed and breakfast in the area, so we decided to stay at this place based on the decent reviews. However, we were disappointed to find that it was quite run-down. The walls were paper-thin, allowing us to hear everything happening around us. There were holes in the bedroom and wardrobe walls that we had to cover with toilet paper. The bathroom had a large gap around the bath and sink, causing water to splash everywhere. We had to hold the shower hose because the attachment was broken. There was no bedside light and the bed covers looked outdated. The blind in the room was very dirty, with dead flies and spiders stuck to it. Unfortunately, there were no biscuits to enjoy with our tea, and breakfast was not available until noon because the chef doesn't start until then."

Library

➤ Dumfries House Estate, East Ayrshire, United Kingdom

Cafés • Coffee • Cheese • Seafood

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"As we were staying at the Dumfries House Lodge for a couple of nights we took the opportunity to visit the Library Restaurant which is a short stroll away from the guesthouse in Dumfries House itself. Little did we know as we approached the magnificent Robert Adam building in it’s glory on a bright and peaceful evening that we were about to have a private dining experience! By absolute chance there were no other reservations that evening and we had the restaurant to ourselves. Despite my attempt to convince my wife that I had paid a fortune for the privilege I don’t think she was entirely taken in for more than a few seconds. We understand that the following night was fully booked. The setting is quite unique as you are led from the visitors entrance through to the library which had a cosy atmosphere with a log fire burning, the grand mantelpiece surround, the comfortable settee, subtle lighting and a small bar. With our bottle of NZ Pinot Noir ordered and a glass poured we were able to browse the menu in comfort. There were five options for each course and all reasonably priced from starters at £6 £7, mains £12 £22 (steak) and dessert at £5 or cheese for £7. The young waiter, who was attentive but discrete throughout the evening was friendly and efficient. The dining area itself beyond was lined with book shelves and ten or so tables stylishly set with good spacing between although in the circumstances there were no issues with other diners! For starters my wife had Goats cheese with red onion and tomatoes whilst I opted for the Confit Duck Pie with duck scratching and salad. The duck was served in a ramekin style dish topped with mashed potato which was a surprise although the duck was tasty, as was my wife’s goats cheese. Mains for my wife was Chicken Ballantine stuffed with Shitaki served with parmesan gnocchi and spinach which she enjoyed. I had monkfish in butter, served with puy lentils, artichoke puree and herb sauce. The fish was delicious however puy lentils may be an acquired taste which I unfortunately haven’t acquired a taste for as yet and there were quite a lot of them! Dessert consisted of Lemon amoretti cheesecake with a berry compote for my wife and White chocolate panna cotta and a doughnut with an apple sauce for myself. My wife thought the berry compote drowned the other flavours and I thought my dish was just ok. Full marks for the setting, food presentation, service and pricing (our bill including wine was £85 ex tip) but we were slightly disappointed with the flavours of some of the food overall in comparison to our previous meal on the estate at the former Stables Restaurant. At time of our recent visit the restaurant was only open Thursday to Sunday. It is a possibility that in future this restaurant may only be available for private functions, with another being opened within the hospitality centre so we were glad in the meantime to have dined in the House in such exclusive circumstances. Sadly we were escorted off the premises!"