Stirling
The Oak Tree Inn

The Oak Tree Inn

Yarm Rd, Middleton St George, Darlington DL2 1HN, UK, G63 0JQ, Stirling, United Kingdom

Pub • Food • Steak • Pizza


"I had lunch with my Spanish in laws and wife during our honeymoon trip to Loch Lomond. The food was nice, portions decent and bar staff friendly. However, I have decided to give a 3-star rating because of my experience with the establishment following this. We parked our rental car in what I now know is the Balmaha overflow car park. For anyone reading this, I would urge you to avoid this car park and use the official council run car park nearby cheaper with clearer terms). The overflow car park is run by Civil Enforcement but owned by the proprietor of Oak Tree Inn. I received a PCN from CE for parking in the overflow car park despite having a valid ticket that more than covered the length of our stay stay 4 hours, ticket valid for 12 hours) and patronising the Oak Tree Inn. I appealed to CE but they declined on the basis that although I had a valid ticket, I had purchased it 25 mins after entering the car park and not within the 10minute period they mandated. I was unaware of this stipulation but had already notified them that prior to purchasing the ticket, I had to hurriedly take an unwell dependent passenger to the nearest public bathroom, whilst the other passengers waited in the car for us to return. Predictably they didn’t care. Having taken advice from POPLA, I emailed the management at Oak Tree inn to explain the circumstances so that they could instruct CE to rescind the ticket. They issued a one line response stating that as I had launched a formal appeal to CE, they could not help although according to POPLA as the land owners who contract CE to operate the car park this is untrue). Once my appeal was rejected by CE, I wrote several further emails to the Oak Tree management seeking their help that were ignored. I did manage to speak with the proprietor who kindly let me know he would look into the matter, but one month later have heard nothing concrete back. Rather than risk escalating costs, I reluctantly decided to pay the PCN. So having paid Oak Tree Inn £70 for a lunch for 4, we are a further £95 out of pocket £5 parking ticket, £60 PCN, £30 car rental admin fee due to paid PCN) despite having a valid parking ticket to more than cover our visit and simply because I needed to briefly attend to an unwell dependent passenger. As a hospitality business, I can’t help but feel you have a duty of care to your patrons, to meaningfully engage with them when they turn to you for help, and to operate an independent corporate governance framework that seeks to protect them from unjustified financial exploitation. We feel let down by Oak Tree Inn in this regard and our visit has left an unnecessary dark cloud over what was an otherwise lovely honeymoon in Loch Lomond."

Cromlix

Cromlix

B8033, FK15 9JT, Stirling, United Kingdom

Food • Coffee • Seafood • Lodging


"We have always experienced top quality service, atmosphere and food at Cromlix House whenever we have visited. Over the past five years, we had visited Cromlix for lunch, afternoon tea and an overnight stay. It was because of our positive prior experiences, and it being a perfect location for a small wedding, coupled by what we deemed to be competitive prices for a five star venue, that we held our wedding at Cromlix in May 2022. The organisation of the day, with the aid of the in house events coordinator and their team, was efficient and effortless. The day ran smoothly and any queries were addressed quickly. Nothing appeared to be an issue for the Cromlix team. We ate an evening meal in the Garden Room the day before the wedding, which was from the a la carte menu, and the food and wine was exceptional. The food that we had chosen for our set wedding menu was also exquisite in flavour and presentation. Using a frozen hollowed blood orange half as a bowl for our lychee sorbet (palate cleanser) was innovative it was a great talking point. We received numerous compliments from our guests on the food. Cromlix catered for dietary requirements with ease and the food that these guests received looked equally incredible. I could not recommend Cromlix enough for any occasion. My one very small gripe would be the lack of built in sound system. Nevertheless, they have a portable bluetooth speaker. I would recommend using this if you're having a private meal in the Garden Room for enjoying background music."

Pizza Express

Pizza Express

1, 3 And 5, Thistle Centre, Murray Pl, Stirling FK8 2BX, UK, United Kingdom

Pizza • Vegan • Italian • Vegetarian


"We chose to visit on a Wednesday to take advantage of the 2-for-1 pizza offer for Orange customers, which also included 2-for-1 on doughballs, making lunch very affordable. I particularly loved the vibrant color scheme and the summery vibe of the restaurant. The bright plastic glasses were appealing, but I did notice that they didn’t appear very clean. The doughballs were tasty, although the garlic butter was quite heavy and could have benefited from another flavor, as it felt somewhat bland. I had already used my cutlery for the starters, so it would have been nice to receive clean utensils for the pizzas, which weren't pre-cut. While the pizzas were decent, they didn't stand out as anything special. Midway through our meal, however, there was an incident that disrupted the experience; a waitress tripped in the restaurant, leaving her visibly shaken. Following that, it seemed there were some issues back in the kitchen. We even overheard the restaurant manager exclaiming, "What is actually wrong with this restaurant?"—a moment that echoed across the dining area and created an uncomfortable atmosphere. Additionally, I noticed the manager handling paperwork in large piles on one of the dining tables, which detracted significantly from the restaurant's ambiance and felt quite unprofessional. These hiccups seemed to stem from typical challenges faced during a restaurant's initial weeks of operation. While I would have rated this experience one star due to the overall discomfort, I did appreciate the apologetic and kind demeanor of the waitress, who remained gracious despite her distress from the fall. Overall, it was a disappointing lunch."