Dean's of Huntly Ltd — Restaurant in Scotland

This establishment gave me the impression of being far from Welcoming - there are an abundance of "Industrial" style WARNING signs, throught shop and dining area. Multiple; coloured, plastercised signs, in many languages and large, bold typeface, forbiding the taking of photos, warnings about balcony hand rails and other hazards. It is a safety officer / Health & Safety department running riot and spoils the ambience, and experience of what in fact is a nice gift shop and tea room. The establishment claims to be "dog friendly", I'm glad our dog can't read, as it seemed to me to be far from it - it lets dogs in, apparently under sufferance. There are an abundance of dog information and warning signs - each a typed complete A 4 page of bullet points, comments and instructions. The tea room is over two floors, dogs and owners are limited to a back room / viewing corridor, on the first floor. Having read the warnings that dogs are not allowed on the shopfloor, owners must choose a route around side of sales items and up a flight of stairs, to the "back room", and wait in isolation to be found by a member of staff. There were no water bowls, inside, nor outside the premises. The foregoing is a pity as it detracts from good food, and nice staff. As to the village; it is a shade shabby, and pretty much dead. Not worth turning off A96 for. Best advice is to drive slightly...

Excellent food let down by poor customer service.

Had a visit yesterday after a lovely trip to Huntly Castle. Our food was lovely, freshly prepared and great quality and I did really enjoy it, however I did feel let down by the customer service when it came to my daughters meal. I know that fish comes with bones but within 2 bites she had found 3 (quite large) bones and was unable to continue eating. I mentioned this to one of the staff behind the counter and was told "We're not really responsible for that." and while I see what she was getting at, if you're preparing a dish and serving it to customers there is always a responsibility, doubley so when preparing a dish for a child. I've prepared fish many times and it's fairly simple to check a fillet over for large bones. The staff member advised she would pass on my concerns but never offered to take my details should someone higher up decide to contact me about my complaint. My point that we had purchased a meal my daughter was unable to eat was basically dismissed and I felt this was a bit disappointing given the very high standard of every other aspect of our visit.

EDIT: I would like to add that I later spoke to a Dean's representative who was extremely understanding and professional and I'm very grateful for thier...

Visited with my inlaws for a pre booked afternoon tea. The service was faultless even though they were really busy, Leanne was the person we saw most, but other staff spoke to us when she was busy and they were all fantastic, we really felt everyone cared. I'd pre informed them about an allergy, and they were totally on the ball avoiding using the food that causes the issue. The food was delicious, all the sweet treats, scones and pancakes were homemade, and there was a generous pot of whipped double cream with lovely wee jars of jam. The sticky toffee pudding cake was on another level of good, and there was a lovely selection of sandwiches. The coffee and tea was spot on, and we were all given a second cup at time that suited us, such a lovely touch. We picked up some delicious shortbread in the shop afterwards, a nice end to a thoroughly...