The Craft Diner — Restaurant in Great Britain

Been here a few times and the food is nice. Unfortunately today we placed an order. We know there is a wait so asked if we could place the order, yep fine not a problem will be half an hr...asked if it was OK to come back while we popped to the shops and paid for the food...also yep no problem. We then returned and still waited 20+ minutes. My mother in law came and asked will it be much longer as he said half an hr?? Well the chef was the rudest person I have come across in the food catering business! My mother in law had asked for the plain Burger on the menu, to which she was told no as it was not cost effective, that's fine she said. When she had then asked nicely about the time we got the response, I am not a robot, I am on my own, my mother in law explained I know that but you did say half an hr! You are just angry he said because I did not let you have that burger! No it was nothing to do with that is was 45 minutes wait for a cheese tosty and a burger and all she was doing was asking a question. She got told to F off, go somewhere else for food and was a despicable human being. From the man who proceeded to swear at a customer infront of other customers and young children! Other customers asked if she was ok and they could not believe how he had reaponded. Yes you are a one man show, yes your Burgers are nice but I can honestly say with that attitude In Dunkeld you will not last if you continue to be a rude individual to your customers. Customer service is part of the job, behave like that In any other establishment and you would not last. Yes it is your business to run as you choose but you will only have a business if you have custom and attitude like that will certainly not get you much eventually. I think he only is still around because dunkeld is visited by passers on the way up or down from the A9, to survive on regulars you would have been gone a long time ago. I had seen an article on how he found people rude to him.... maybe they were responding to how you were to them you get back in life what you put out. Try not swearing and being rude and you might not get complaints. There have been food places in Dunkeld much longer and they are lasting for a reason. Maybe try taking some constructive...

I visited here recently after months of seeing the hype, divisive reviews, disputes with the local council, varied comments about the owner's mannerisms / manners and the claim of rats being present (there were absolutely no signs of any vermin when I visited).

The main draw for my visit though was the food, always keen to find great places to eat and great food to recommend to others we stopped in when passing.

Now I know I may receive a backlash for this comment, however, my burger was okay at best but not something I would write home about.

I opted for the Classic Smashed burger (double smashed patties, grilled red onion, melted coloured double cheese and plain mayo, £11.50).

As I waited, I spoke briefly to the owner and got short responses in our conversation but I do think this is just his personality.  I actually have time for people who don't mess around and are straight to the point so no issues here.

I watched my burger being made freshly (which it was) before being built efficiently and slid to me with a short "have a good day" from the owner.  Again, this appears to be his manner and I have no issue with this at all.

Sitting to eat in the nearby beautiful surroundings, I opened the box and the burger looked the part, if a little thick for my idea of a "smash burger" (thin patty, lacy crispy edges - check out George Motz, Burger Scholar).

As I began biting into the burger the fat began to run out of the meat, dripping back into the box and running down my hands.  This caused everything from here on to feel greasy and we had to give our hands a good wash afterwards (my wife had a bite too).  I have seen that the meat has a high fat content from previous social media posts but this was more than I expected and a little unpleasant.

For me, the grind on the meat was quite coarse too, leaving more gristle and chewy pieces throughout than with a finer ground meat.  This, again, is entirely down to personal preference and just what I enjoy.

I found the burger I had to be good, in terms of freshness and value for money (considering the amount of meat involved) but overall it was a middle of the road experience for me, being neither...

Rats and mice. We ordered our food and sat at one of the three benches to the side of the diner. Whilst awaiting our food, I saw a mouse run under the diner. We are in the woods, in the countryside one mouse, fair enough. I’ve lived on a farm and in the countryside, mice are to be expected. Then a rat ran out from under the diner to the decking that the three benches we were sitting on. At this point, my mum went to sit in the car and I stood at the front of the diner awaiting the food. I then started to see mice and rats running between a large tree at one side of the diner to under the diner and then from the diner to under the decking with the three benches. The two bins at the front of the diner didn’t have their lids closed and were overflowing. The owner was pouring cooking grease in to an open container behind the diner. At the front of the diner, I was stood next to a couple and a woman herself who also noticed the micr and rats and we were discussing same, I honestly cannot believe that there are no reviews about this. The mice and rats running about became too much for me and although we had paid for our food, I walked away and didn’t end up waiting on same. We enjoyed a lovely lunch elsewhere in Dunkeld. After speaking with local business owners, I learned that the recent mice/rat situation at the diner was well known...