The Highlander — Restaurant in England

12/01/2025

Another beautiful meal at The Highlander yesterday. Both the food and the service were fantastic, despite being busy. I'd absolutely recommend the place, and will definitely be going back.

07/01/24

Came here for a meal with family this afternoon for Sunday lunch, as I had heard good things since it reopened. The inside has been refurbished to a high standard. It's a gastro type establishment, so isn't really somewhere you would go for just a drink. The service was attentive, and plenty of waiting staff were on duty. We all enjoyed our Sunday roasts; which were perfectly cooked and portioned. The sirloin of beef was delicious! The only minor blips to the experience were that they forgot about one of the desserts we ordered, so my mum was sat waiting for my dad's to be brought out, and we had to chase it down. The second blip was that the two espresso coffees we ordered were not really espresso. It would be good if the company sent the staff on a training course to learn how to pull good espresso shots, as the coffee was a bit of a let down.

Overall, the quality of the food, the ambiance, the interior and service was very good and we will definitely go back again. A few things mentioned above that can be improved upon, but all in all, a...

The highlander near Belsay visited Friday 4.4.2025First visit since it reopened. Was my fav place to eat many years ago. 4 staff on duty in the pub, drink order quick then food order by a friendly lady, impressive quick service. Had one staff to take drinks, one to take food order, another to serve food. Was very impressed with speed and efficiency. Pie of the day and sirloin steak ordered. There was a sauce with a steak which I did not know what it was and asked, staff huddled around an iPad at the bar to google as they did not know either (thought asking the chef would have been a better choice). Food arrived and was amazing! Steak perfect, best homemade onion rings, and a proper pie (not filling with a puff pastry topper) Then it went down hill. Table cleared, requested dessert menu (place not busy) wait, and waited while staff stood chatting at the bar. Had to go to and ask for the menu. Got an apology and menus brought over. No-one returned to take dessert order. After about 10 minutes we paid and left. Left feeling disappointed as there was no organisation in to who was seeing to what table and I didn’t get...

Went when it was pretty much empty but fire was on, nicely lit with candles etc. Really inviting. Food came promptly , hot and no complaints about that at all. Really fresh and tasty. Kids enjoyed their meals too. And actually cheaper than I’d expect. Only criticism would be the hands off service approach. Despite being empty , we had to go to the bar (when they convene) to ask to order, and once served no one returned to check on us. I had to go to the bar to ask for extra dips etc and I felt a bit of a nuisance to them. At the end someone did come to clear up and brought us the bill. I asked about a card machine but that never came, even though the gent came back to collect more dishes. I ended up taking the bill to the bar to pay. Lady didn’t ask me how the meal was or anything at all. Just paid and left. Don’t really understand this. Staff don’t seem to be bothered about the customer experience. Thankfully the venue and food are good so I’ll likely return, but if I was managing this place I’d really do thinking another the culture of the place and whether the staff actually care about the...