Café Rhubarb — Restaurant in Scotland

We visited this café as a family after spending a lovely weekend in Pitlochry. Although the café had little to no social media presence and no website, we chose Café Rhubarb due to their good reviews and were excited to visit and support a local business!

Upon entering the café with my partner, we quickly picked up on a very unwelcoming atmosphere which was then backed up by a very dismissive, what seemed to be manager, who mumbled at us to sit down. We very quickly felt like an inconvenience.

The café itself was not well maintained. The décor was chic but needed updated/maintained. There was a major ventilation issue as there was condensation covering every window and there were plug in heaters around the floor of the restaurant with cables draped over the booths – not a nice atmosphere to relax and enjoy some coffee in, let alone sit and eat breakfast!

Our family then arrived, and we asked if there was a way we could sit together, the manager suggested pulling over an extra table if we were to move to another booth. This was a great suggestion, appreciated by myself and my family but what wasn’t appreciated was again, being made to feel like an inconvenience due to the managers dismissive nature. The manager explained that staff had let them down. I can only imagine that with the customer experience being dreadful, the employee experience isn’t much better so understand why there are staffing issues.

At this point, we were all taken back by the service so far as it is certainly not what we expected, certainly with our experience of smaller local businesses (usually keen to leave an impression to ensure customers come back!). We thought that maybe the food would make up for the poor welcome… we were wrong. The menu was very limited, pretentious and overpriced. We are willing to spend more on a good meal however the food was not worth even half of what the café are charging. My 9 year old niece ordered banana pancakes without syrup, she was served banana pancakes WITH syrup and was disgusted to find a long blonde hair on top of her breakfast. We sent the meal back and had it replaced with a fresh plate. My partner pulled a long hair out of her coffee, so did not finish the drink. The food in general was very basic and not worth more than what you would pay in a supermarket.

Salmon gate… My sister ordered a salmon and cream cheese bagel. When served to her, she immediately felt uncomfortable eating the salmon due to it dull and lifeless colour, not to mention the brown coating on it! We, as a family, enjoy salmon and have NEVER seen salmon look this disgusting. My sister took the meal to the manager and politely explained that she did not want to eat the salmon and had lost her appetite so didn’t want to order another meal. The manager, again, dismissively returned the plate to the kitchen where the chef loudly expressed her frustration with the plate being returned. This was HIGHLY unprofessional and created a, what seemed like it couldn’t get any worse, terrible atmosphere.

When paying the bill, the manager rudely interrupted me to say the salmon was taken from the bill which was the least the café could do after an awful experience. The chef then marched out for the kitchen to, again, defend the nauseating salmon. A note to the chef, please simply google how salmon should look, no article online will confirm that salmon should have brown lining/spots. I calmly explained that the price the café pay per kilo for that specific salmon was irrelevant to me, what was important is that my sister was served a meal she did not feel comfortable to eat and that the café had no interest in providing any sort of service to make her feel more comfortable or improve our customer experience.

Needless to say, unless the management staff in Café Rhubarb can swallow their unwarranted pride, listen to their customers, we will...

A Warm and Welcoming Dog-Friendly Gem – Café Rhubarb

I had the pleasure of visiting Café Rhubarb on a Saturday afternoon, and from the moment we stepped inside, we were met with a wonderfully warm welcome. Despite arriving after what must have been a busy period, we were greeted straight away with a friendly smile from the chap making coffee, who we later discovered was the owner. His kindness set the tone for our visit.

One of the highlights for me was how dog-friendly this café truly is. My large-breed dog was welcomed in without hesitation and even offered a treat, which instantly made us feel at home. It’s always a joy to find places that genuinely embrace four-legged customers as much as the two-legged ones!

Although we arrived after the kitchen had closed, that wasn’t an issue, as we were in the mood for drinks. We decided to try their specialty hot chocolates—chilli for me and orange for my friend—and wow, they were absolutely delicious. Rich, indulgent, and topped high with whipped cream, each came with a generous serving of mini marshmallows. For the quality and portion size, I was pleasantly surprised by the price, especially compared to what I usually pay in Glasgow.

The cakes, all homemade, looked incredible, making it tough to choose, but we finally settled on a classic Victoria sponge. It did not disappoint—a perfect example of a classic Victoria sponge, with a moist, slightly dense texture and a deliciously sweet filling. A real treat!

Beyond the food and drinks, the café itself has a lovely atmosphere—warm, cosy, and full of character. The décor is quirky and inviting, making it a perfect spot to relax and unwind. What truly makes Café Rhubarb stand out, though, is the people. Every member of staff was laid-back, friendly, and welcoming, creating a space where you feel like a valued guest rather than just a customer.

If you’re looking for a charming, dog-friendly café with excellent service, delicious homemade treats, and a relaxed, welcoming vibe, I can’t recommend Café Rhubarb enough. We’ll...

As a group of three couples with a yong child, we were all excited to visit Cafe Rhubarb, the reviews were good, as was the cafe’s location in Crieff.

Unfortunately from the moment we walked through the door our experience was poor and only got worse. The staff were all quite rude and the atmosphere was unwelcoming. We very quickly felt like an inconvenience.

The menu looked great, a bit on the pricey side, but we were happy to pay more based on the foot being of good value. Unfortunately, the food that was served did not reflect the quality, the price or the reviews. We ordered pancakes with banana for our wee one, it arrived with a long hair - which later was made clear to have come from the chef - who came out without a hairnet. The salmon bagel arrived in an undesirable brown colour, the £7 two slices of french toast were both burnt, and we had to remind the waiting staff of drinks that were not delivered. We also had to ask for cutlery, salt and sauces after the food had been delivered.

We were happy to leave the salmon without a replacement meal. The chef made loud comments about the salmon, which could be heard from the kitchen. It was made unpleasantly clear that she (the chef) was unpleased that our party didn’t wish to eat a the salmon.

The cafe itself has an evident condensation issues. As all the windows, mirrors and even the toilet walls/mirrors and floors were soaked in condensation. The humidity was quite uncomfortable and did not make for the nicest environment to enjoy a meal.

My partner being a National customer experience trainer, tried speaking with the server about removing the salmon from the bill. We were met with a very rude and defensive chef and server, who were very loudly and rudely defensive. This created a very uncomfortable atmosphere for my group and undoubtedly for the the rest of the cafe.

Some of the food served was lovely and quite enjoyable, so we really hope that the cafe re-consider their approach to health and safety as-well as their...