The Drouthy Laird

Poor quality food, which was very disappointing considering other reviews. Music was blaring in upstairs restaurant and we couldn’t hear each other speak. Waitress got orders wrong and was disinterested.

EDIT: I've been contacted by the venue and was politely told that there are actually 2 places with the same name in the same building - one a pub, which I've ended up in, and one a restaurant, which has a different entrance. I've looked it up on maps and I couldn't figure out where it was until noticing a sign on the side of the pub pointing towards it. This is entirely insufficient because: 1. The restaurant has the exact same name as the pub with 2 different entrances, which is evidently rare, confusing and unexpected. 2. The pub entrance has "restaurant bar" written over it, and the entrance to the bar says "great food", both of which suggest that's the entrance for the restaurant. 3. There is nothing online when booking or on Maps mentioning there are actually 2 places. 4. The sign for the restaurant is on the left side of the pub entrance so if you are coming from the other side, there's no chance you can see it. And who even stops to read all the signage around the outside of a building, especially when it's dark and rainy? 5. The restaurant entrance looks more like an entrance for deliveries than the entrance for the restaurant so even if we did walk past it, we might have not realised we should go through there. Solutions? A. Make the pub signage not mention food or restaurant and improve the signage to clarify that the restaurant is somewhere else, as well as noting that in the booking system. OR B. Name the restaurant or pub as something else and market them as 2 different businesses. So, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt and updated the review to 3 stars, as this still resulted in an unpleasant experience and there are improvements to be made by them. Original comment: We made a booking for Saturday evening here as TripAdvisor recommended it, pictures looked good and so did the menu. When we arrived, it was instantly obvious this is not a restaurant at all, but a very loud sports bar! There was no one to speak to without queueing to speak to a bartender and no table with a reserved sign on it at all so we just gave up and left. We ended up having to find a table on a rainy Saturday night which was a pain but we did end up at BrewDog which surprisingly felt a lot more like a restaurant and less like a pub than this place! If you're looking to have dinner, absolutely avoid this place.

Went as a family to celebrate grandparents birthdays. Had 8 of us squashed into an uncomfortable 6 person table. It felt cramped and claustrophobic. They wouldn’t accommodate us elsewhere. Waited an hour for food, meanwhile tables that came in after us got their food before us. Asked for a soft drinks menu, said they don’t have one. We’re unhelpful with offering what they do have. Very young waitresses, lacking customer service skills. Had 5 small pieces of vegetables on my plate. Asked for extra. After waiting through half of my meal I asked if it was coming as if like to have it with my main, told “I’m not sure the chefs are very busy right now”! Dietary restrictions: They were helpful with one of our guests who was unwell and needing something plain and customised.

Not the usual excellent food. Food cold, veg cold, few people as well as us complained, waitress apologised but still charged in full. Parking: Parking on side of building

Happy Hogmanay