The Balgarth Pines Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Scotland

A Mofis Local Guide • 94 reviews • • • I've been trequenting this place tor years and everything has always been brilliant however today. Me and my partner both ordered fillet steaks. Partner asked for mash and fried onions instead of fries and mushrooms and tomato. Hers came back no onions came with veg and mashed potato and funny enough fries that looked reheated and all weird colours and a crispy piece of batter as an onion ring full of grease. And a whole potato. She asked for steak well done with no pink or red it came back charred and pure pink in the middle she gave it to the dog we had with us. Mines came with mashed potatoes with which I didn't want no veg no onion ring and a small button mushroom sliced into 3 little minute pieces. And the chips too which we didn't eat as looked terrible and reheated. We also had a table booked for the Thursday with which we promptly cancelled after complaining. I went to pick my plate up with dessert I ordered and it was full of custard underneath the plate my dessert was a pavlova no custard In that dish. Also had to ask for cutlery for our steaks. We have frequented this place for years as we visit our holiday home a lot and the food had always been great. I was advised by waiter this wasn't their usual standards I hope not because there's something amiss here on this visit. Balgarth contacted my partner saying you should have given us a chance to sort it out after all we are only human lol. They should have sorted it out when I complained when paying the bill yday we are human also but they are in the business of serving decent food well serve it then and take the criticism when you fail.Pity it took an honest review to get a response from the balgarth regarding this matter we found your response quite cheeky and defensive. Certainly won’t be back with that attitude and service.Glad we cancelled plenty of other places locally that will want to provide good food and most of all a good and pleasant service to its customers. Booked a table at chestnuts hotel restaurant Ayr when I cancelled our table at the balgarth pines it was absolutely top class service and food compared to this...

Disappointing Experience – Needs Improvement

We visited Balgarth Pines for the Father’s Day three course meal deal, arriving at 12:55 and not leaving until 3:15pm nearly two and a half hours late largely due to incredibly slow service. While the staff were generally pleasant, the service lacked the basic courtesies and attentiveness you would expect in any standard restaurant setting.

No one checked in with us to see how our meals were or whether we needed more drinks, and between each course, I had to go to the bar myself to ask for plates to be cleared and for the next course to be brought out. Each course took roughly 45–50 minutes to arrive, which made the experience drag unnecessarily.

As a vegetarian, I found the menu very limited. There were no vegetarian options listed, and although the waitress did point out there was salmon on the menu, I explained vegetarians do not eat any animal products. Eventually, I was told the chef could prepare a butternut squash ravioli, but by then I had settled on just having a starter. Meanwhile, two members of our party couldn’t even eat the beef served as part of their main course, it was so tough it was inedible.

At the end of the meal, I had to walk up to the counter to request the bill myself. There was no polite inquiry about how our meal was, just a brisk “cash or card?” which felt a bit cold and impersonal.

All in all, the experience was underwhelming. The food quality, service speed, and attention to customer experience were all lacking. The staff, though friendly, clearly need more training in standard service etiquette. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend returning based...

We recently held our ‘happily ever after’ party at Balgarth following our elopement, and it was absolutely perfect from start to finish. The staff were so welcoming the morning we arrived to set up — a lovely man and woman helped us move tables multiple times without complaint (I can be quite fussy!), and nothing was too much trouble.

On the night of the party, the staff member working (I believe her name was Kristen or Kirsten) was so polite, professional and friendly. We even saw her again the next morning while collecting our decorations, and she was just as lovely.

Martin, the owner, truly went above and beyond. He offered us drinks while setting up, and when we ended up staying longer than planned, he surprised us with complimentary Prosecco. He also made scrambled eggs for my friend’s young son — again, completely free — and took time to interact with him, which meant a lot. The next morning, after checking in to see how everything went, he even covered our breakfast in the beer garden, which was such a thoughtful gesture.

The buffet was fantastic — we had so many compliments from guests and it was very reasonably priced for the quality and amount of food. The garden area was spotless and such a lovely space to enjoy the sun until 9pm. We also loved the idea of offering our guests a drink on arrival using tokens, which allowed them to choose their preferred drink — a brilliant suggestion from the staff!

We genuinely couldn't have asked for a better venue or team. Everything was seamless, warm, and incredibly well looked after. Thank you so much to Martin and all the team at Balgarth for making our...