Cockenzie House and Gardens — Restaurant in Scotland

Really enjoyed the garden very beautiful. Nice coffee stand there too with nice cakes. Lovely set of tables to relax in nice environment. Plant sale good value.

We went to the cafe and the food was lovely and staff friendly.

We did have a couple of issues with service. They forgot the crisps with the kids sandwich meal. When the sandwich was put on the table the waitress accidently knocked off some bread off top sandwich which they forgot to replace. They forgot the bread with kids soup. The eggs benedict was ordered with ham but given with bacon (we didn't send it back). Didn't provide enough cutlery to table. We waited ages for the card machine when we paid. We had asked for the bill and told staff we wanted to pay by card but had to ask for it 3 times despite staff passing us to clear tables and we could see it was free. It just felt we had to keep calling staff over which made it less relaxing. Nothing major just mild irritations. Appreciate that everything is just opening up and so this is likely reflection of this and a learning curve. The waitress did ask if we enjoyed everything and we did feed back at the time.

Overall...

A real shame but not a good experience at the cafe today. Firstly I was very surprised at how busy the main seating area was, and that there seemed to be very little room to manouver whilst considering social distancing. We opted to sit outside and I expected that the tables would be cleaned using product rather than just wiped with a damp cloth but it wasn't the case. After a wait, and later arrivals being served before us, we ordered our food at the desk and decided to have our order as a takeaway. When the food came we were hugely disappointed. The salad wasn't fresh - not even remotely. I'd have done better picking the veg from the houses veg plot. The kids sandwich order came with the same horrible salad and not crisps as stated in the menu. The toasted sandwich ordered was a standard white bread toastie and not what was described on the menu.

The saving grace was the 5 haggis bon-bons which I enjoyed, but wouldn't recommend as a single meal but as a starter or accompaniment.

We visited often before Covid, hence why I've said it's a real shame, but from now we'll only visit the grounds or for a coffee....

Coffee, scones and cake - all great - on a wonderful sunny and warm March day, sitting outside in their rooftop cafe, served by friendly staff who'll leave you alone or chat according to your preference. For a Saturday morning it wasn't busy, amazingly, with plenty of tables. We parked round the back and entered that way, via a bit of a rabbit warren through the area occupied by many small businesses - finding your way when you're new to it, or perhaps disabled it might be a little discouraging. However, there is a lift and look carefully and you'll see signs for where to go (so, suggestion, the route to the cafe from the back could be marked up better!) Access from the front is easier, I seem to remember. They've also got a nice garden to wander around in, and access to the coast and the John Muir way along it, is a few yards away to the North. Also, learn about the history of the house and Prestonpans (famous battle!) while...