Marmions Brasserie — Restaurant in Scotland

It's like walking into a restaurant and then feeling like you've imposed on an acquaintance's home kitchen. I smiled at a man eating by himself and received an empty stare back, only to realize later that it was the owner. And the servers were... his partner and teenage kid? As they say down to their own dinner at a nearby table after serving us our plates.

Nothing wrong with that in a small town, but the male owners grumpiness is inhospitable.

Crap commercial beers on tap. Zero craft beer; even tho Tempest, the big local craft brewery, is a 10min walk away.

It would be a 2 except for the decent portions of protein (fish, chicken). The veggies of cauliflower, carrots and broccoli look exactly like the prewashed bags I get myself at Lidl. (At least they are serving some real veggies).

Sorry for your stresses, but as Yoda said, Do or do not, there is...

Melrose is a favourite charging stop for us on our way south from Edinburgh... but this time we needed an evening meal. Arriving 7.20pm, the staff made us welcome and we sat on a pavement table in the evening warmth. As a vegetarian I'm used to slim pickings in the borders - however they were happy for me to take 2 starters - a delicious caramelised pear, walnut and feta salad, and by contrast, courgette and gruyère fritters with a sultana chutney. Both fresh and tasty - and only marred because Mr Wasp decided to join us, and I got stung on the hand. (The staff were really helpful with ice and sympathy.) My husband ordered a small haddock and chips - and our only criticism was that the haddock really was very small (smaller than his hand) and the chips a bit "generic". Would definitely go...

After a saga of trying to find somewhere for a late lunch in the small town of Melrose, a local directed us here.

This place is one part coffee shop, one part restaurant. My fiancé and I ordered the lamb wrap from the lunch menu, and his parents ordered the chicken panini. The lamb was nice and tender, and beautifully charred too, and arrived with a generous portion of skinny fries. The paninis were enormous, using ciabata bread, and also with a healthy helping of skinny fries. My fiancé's parents had great difficulty finishing, but absolutely loved it.

This café come restaurant also serves fresh cakes that are baked locally. Unfortunately, I was so full from my lunch I was unable to sample any! 😭 Next...