Chicken Balmoral
Wheatsheaf Inn

Wheatsheaf Inn

The Green Duns Swinton, Scottish Borders TD11 3JJ, TD11 3JH, DUNS, United Kingdom

Pubs • Steak • Hotels • Scottish


"I am reviewing the Restaurant in this post having also enjoyed a two night stay. The evening meal came as part of the generous package of Two course dinner when booking the room. Reception was extremely friendly and the comprehensive menu was brought to our pre prandial seats in the Bar in front of a roaring log fire. The menu was a delight to the eye and very comprehensive with, I am sure, something for everyone 's taste. I am a fan of duck dishes and the starter the first evening was a 'duck ' salad with rocket. Not what I would have normally combined but I gave it a go and have no regrets. My wife had the garlic mushrooms and says the same. For mains I thought to avoid the 'usual offerings ', Steak, Fish and Chips, Burgers etc.., and went for the Butternut Squash and Spinach Risotto as, although I AM carnivorous by nature, I wanted a change. It was gorgeous and just enough. Not overfacing at all and yet not 'twee ' in presentation. My wife had chicken and reports well on it. All washed down with a lovely Tempranillo from a limited but wide ranging list. No desserts. Gulp. I would have loved the mixed fruit crumble with custard but there was no room left. A good excuse to go back. Next evening was the same routine. I noted Crayfish as a starter and having been re-assured this was not just a fancy name for Prawn cocktail it was ordered. My wife had chicken liver pate with no regrets but I had to offer a Crayfish nibble to assuage her curiosity. We both confirmed how good it was. For mains I determined to try the Risotto again and this choice was also taken up by my wife. We both loved it. Ten out of ten. Again it went with another bottle of Tempranillo. And, sadly, again no Fruit Crumble was tried although it was offered. Memo to self. Go back soon and often. This place is too good to miss out on for long. Two of the nicest dining out experiences I have had in a long time. Not too fancy and pretentious but just good honest food, well cooked and presented."

The Blossom

The Blossom

Voco Hotel46 Torphicen Street, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Full • Cafe • Wine • Italian


"Whilst the food was nice and reasonably priced, the service left a lot to desired. We had a table booked for 8pm all as we’d expect by this point. We ordered a pint of Stella and a glass of lemonade plus a jug of water for the table, so nothing too exotic or taxing to prepare. 15 minutes later our drinks arrived, minus the jug of water and our food order was taken. So it’s now just a few minutes after 8pm and we order, again nothing to difficult, just 2 sirloin steaks; one medium and one rare. Fast forward a while to 9:20 and our food still hasn’t arrived, neither has the jug of water we ordered 1 1/2 hours ago. Now I don’t expect to be eating within 5 minutes of sitting down but neither do I expect to be waiting 1 1/2 hours for my first course. I called a waiter over to ask if he could find out how long our food was likely to be and it must’ve been some kind of divine intervention because within about 10 seconds our food was on the table. I decided to risk it and ask for another pint of Stella, big mistake. We ate our main course and our dessert was brought out about 5 minutes later. Luckily we had the foresight to order dessert at the same time as our mains. We finished our desserts at no great pace, just relaxing and chatting while we ate and still waiting for the beer I’d ordered which never materialised. Paid the bill and left around about 10:20. Whilst the venue was pleasant as was was the food, the service left little to be desired. Will I go back? Perhaps, perhaps not. We left satisfied with the food but very disappointed with the service."