The Bay Cottage Tearoom — Restaurant in Scotland

My boyfriend and I were driving back home from a wonderful couple of days in Portavadie, and were desperate for a "re-fuel" to set us up for the long journey, when we came upon this quaint little shop/bistro. To be honest, the place doesn't look like much from the outside, but oh what a pleasant surprise we got when we stepped into the cosy little restaurant. The tiny room was lit up with fairy lights, and on each table sat an empty wine bottle serving as a candle holder (maybe a slightly "old fashioned" touch, but one that added so much character to the room). The food was also fabulous. My boyfriend had a mammoth sized breakfast bun topped with a perfectly fried egg, and I had the most wonderful bowl of Cullen Skink I think I have ever had in my whole life. But the highlight of this stop by far for us was most definitely the amazing customer service. The gentleman who greeted and served us was so welcoming, and made us feel right at home straight away, as if we were local regulars who had popped in for their weekly lunch visit. I highly recommend this wonderful little bistro to anyone who is lucky enough to be in that beautiful area of Scotland, and we most definitely will be returning on our...

Popped in here for some food to prepare us for our 6 hour drive home after an amazing week in Scotland. What an absolute disappointment. We waited in an empty room for 5 minutes before anyone came to take our order. Drinks arrived about 20 minutes later and a further 15 minutes for food. And it wasn't worth the wait. We ordered 2 Scottish breakfasts at £10.50 each excited to try one. They were greasy, overcooked and tasteless. The one egg was horrific. No catering establishment with any pride whatsoever would serve it like that. I paid a fiver for a ham and cheese toastie which was made with no care and looked like something my 10 year old would make. The presentation certainly didn't warrant the five pound charge. Then we waited another age for someone to come out to ask for the bill, to be told to go to the till in the adjoining shop. We then queued there waiting to pay while the customer in front had issues with their stuff not scanning. The whole experience took over an hour and we really wish we hadn't bothered. The only positive was my son's hot chocolate which looked nice (£3.95) and his BLT roll...

The Bay Cottage Tearoom was our little place of refuge on a very wet, autumn afternoon — including our very wet Chow Chow. The gentleman behind the counter was warm and friendly, and even offered to put our favourite music on while we were in the tearoom. As others have said, it's essentially a cafe bolted on to the side of a local grocery shop, with a post office at the counter where you order your food. We got the feeling that the guy was on his own in the shop and so was having to juggle the counter, the kitchen and taking orders which may be one of the reasons why others had slower service times.

Our service time was actually totally fine and we were surprised that the menu had such a variety of options. Sure, the toastie/sandwich bread could be a bit thicker and come with a garnish (ours came with some crisps), and yep, we were also surprised by some of the prices considering the venue, but it's a little cafe in the middle of nowhere and it offered us shelter, handmade cakes/food and a warm reception when...