Porter & Rye — Restaurant in Scotland

Unfortunately our visit did not live up to expectations for various reasons related to surroundings, service and food quality.

When we arrived at our allotted time, the restaurant was not full. We asked if it was possible to sit at one of the booths near the entrance. It took some time and the involvement of two staff members to make a decision but we were eventually told 'no' as apparently the booths were needed for tables of 4. We were then shown to a table at the rear of the restaurant, next to the toilet and positioned so that the person sitting on the banquette was on an uneven join between two cushion sections.

We were then served by two different waiting staff, both of whom seemed in a hurry to get our order, the distinct impression being that table turnaround time was their priority.

Having placed our order, we were then left unattended for some time until our starters arrived, the staff seemingly preferring to gather at the front of the restaurant. This meant quite a wait with empty drinks glasses as we were unable to attract anyone's attention. However, the starters arrived, we were able to order more drinks and the food was enjoyable at that point.

When our mains arrived, a fillet and a rump, we realised shortly afterwards that the fillet steak was cold. The staff were once again congregating at the front of the restaurant, oblivious to the three tables at the back next to the toilet. One of us eventually got up and went over to them to alert them to the problem.

After initial discussion with a female member of waiting staff, the manager, Craig, came over. He suggested replacement steaks for both of us so that we would still be able to eat together. This seemed reasonable and we agreed. However, when the steaks returned, they were the same ones reheated. This was rather sheepishly confirmed by Craig when we asked. Obviously this meant they were no longer cooked to the degree initially specified and had toughened in texture. Based on the experience so far, there seemed little point in complaining again so we ate our meals.

After the plates were cleared away, we were offered the dessert menu and decided to have a look. When the menu arrived, we were informed that we could choose one each on the house. However, neither of us really felt like having anything more to eat and we just ordered coffee. In a very awkward exchange after that, the female staff member returned to the table to say that the one of us who had been drinking wine could have a free cocktail since we didn't want dessert. We hadn't been drinking cocktails and didn't have any desire to. It seemed a very odd suggestion.

We had our coffee and asked for the bill. When it arrived there were some drinks missing from it, deducted, we assume, by the manager, although there was no...

Just had a birthday meal here on 02/09/23 with a friend, her son and my husband. Welcomed in and shown to our table on the mezzanine, a booth for 4. Our server Katie and gave us the food /drinks menu and gave us time to browse the same. She returned and explained the small plates and larger dishes. The guys had 2 pints of morretti beer while my friend had a diet coke and I stayed with the iced tap water. I had a starter of roasted bone marrow and ox cheek which came in a hollowed out beef bone and was accompanied by pesto, mignonette and beef crisps. The meat was melt in the mouth quality and beautifully rich that I'm afraid that I couldn't taste the pesto on top. The mignonette of shallots, vinegar and pepper on the lettuce leaf was unfortunately not to my taste but its sharpness did complement the meat. This came with beef fat crisps. William had the confit of wild rabbit shoulder with olive tapenade, capers and miso aubergine which he really enjoyed. My friend had beautiful thick toasted slices of bread with what looked like whipped butter but only managed 1 piece out of 4... For mains myself and my husband had the so tasty aged beef dripping rib-eye burger on a ciabatta roll with beef dripping chunky fries (which we both could not finish), crispy onion, lettuce,Pickle and finally truffle mayo which all tasted absolutely brilliant. My friend had the 8oz rump steak cooked medium with the huge fries and migas crumb,she opted not to have the pearl onions or lettuce. My friend said that her steak was divine. The final steak was fillet, cooked medium rare with skinny fries and again with lettuce, pearl onions and migas crumb and again melt in the mouth quality. As folk were coming and going the kitchen below us was certainly in full swing and the buzz about the place helped the atmosphere. Would like to go back and...

My partner and I visited Porter & Rye on a Wednesday for our second Valentine's Day; we visited other steak restaurants previously but decided to try out Porter & Rye despite the slightly higher costs.

We were seated on the ground floor table, with a view into the kitchen and their meat cabinet. The service was very friendly and quick as can be.

The food was nothing short of spectacular; probably the best steakhouse I'd ever eaten at. I'm a person who swears by a medium rare steak with bare minimum seasoning, but Porter & Rye's sauces took it to a different level. There are a variety of starters, or small plates, to choose from. Beef, pork belly, veggie, venison, pigeon; choose your choice of protein, they'll serve it to you in its tastiest form. We did not get to choose the cut of steak, as we went on the meat-up Wednesday deal, however there was absolutely no complaint on the steak. The sauces were mind-blowing; we ordered the Chimichurri, Macallan & peppercorn sauce, Béarnaise sauce, and Bone marrow & black truffle butter. The most surprising part of this experience is that I did not expect the butter to be any special but I was proven wrong. I'm no wine expert, but whatever red wine we were served, we managed a full bottle of it. Lastly, my partner wanted to end the dinner with a Scottish Coffee; this was not as abhorrent as I thought it would be but it almost wiped me out.

I will definitely revisit Porter & Rye in the future; they are a premium restaurant that serves premium quality food at a premium price (for a damn good reason). If you are a fan of steak nights, I highly recommend visiting on one of their special deal days to get the best value.

Thanks to Porter & Rye, I cannot buy Aldi steaks and cook them myself anymore as I know I'll just be...