The Fox & Willow — Restaurant in Scotland

We arrived here on Saturday, booked a dome in advance, there was 6 of us, myself, my fiancé, our 2 kids, my brother in law and mother in law, on arrival no one approached us. We had to ask a guy who worked there but was busy laughing and joking with a female colleague to acknowledge us. We gave him our booking name, he led us to our dome, Said “that’s yours” and promptly left, we waited for about 15 mins, didn’t know how to work the AC machine, No menus, no one even bothered to tend to us, my daughter had to go get menus from the bar, 20 mins later a girl appeared with more menus and asked if we would like a drink long story short. We ordered the food and drink at that point, food could not be faulted to be fair, half way through the main course we ordered another bottle of wine and another round of soft drinks. Wine came after our main dishes were cleared, soft drinks 10 mins after that so basically 20 mins after we ordered them, at that point I had seen in there social media some drinks with little ducks in them. My fiancé asked politely if I could have a little duck to put in my jd as I’m a big kid and was told she will go and ask, she came back and said they only have 5 left, so she can’t give me one. At this point we had been there 2 hours, ordered 6 starters, 6 mains, 2 bottles of wine at £35 a bottle, and 8 soft drinks. I responded by saying that you have a 50p duck there but we weren’t getting one and she replied “yes” unless you order the cocktail at £10, at this point I was a little bit miffed. Our bill came to £301 and they couldn’t give us a 50p duck, my family have been in hospitality at the highest level for 34 years and we know what it takes to sustain it, when I went and spoke to the “manager “about who runs the place he replies with a guy called “Allan, why??”” At that point I just let it go. It seems like a group of young arrogant people playing at “restaurant” but as I say, the food was amazing. Service and attitude disgusting and may I add this was 5.30pm on a Saturday, Hardly rush hour

To the owner, you have a place that has great potential, please take the points on board and change things or be more involved, even a sporadic presence, again I may be wrong but this staff on the one night I encountered them were far from what I would expect you to accept, contact me privately and I would be more than happy to discuss it, I did ask your management while i was there who ran the venue looking to speak to you there and then and eradicate the need for this, as soon as I was told “a guy called Allen, why” I knew this guy standing in front of me didn’t have the pedigree, class or experience to be running a restaurant, I had already been on to customs house and knew that “a guy called Allen” is not listed as either of the...

Turned up this evening for my wife’s special birthday. No steak, limited fish choice. Very disappointing. Waste of time and effort.

In response to your comment below

I would not have chosen to go into detail about our experience with your restaurant tonight but your dismissive response reflects a misunderstanding of our experience tonight.

Having booked a dome for a very special occasion, it seems surprising that you did not anticipate that some of the party would have ordered a steak.

You suggest there were a few fish options on the menu but that was restricted by there being no sea bass available either.

Our guests could not find anything special on the menu that suited them as was the same with us.

The waitress in an unapologetic manner advised there was no steaks or sea bass as you had run out. She was not particularly perturbed about this. We asked to speak with the manager. He repeated the same as the waitress

You suggest that ‘some people’ don’t have it in them to say anything positive but on this occasion there was nothing positive to say. I think if you look back on the times we have dined with you before and we have always given a positive review

I suggest you put yourself in our position tonight with guests from abroad and for a special occasion and being unable to find food from the menu choice available.

With respect to my google comment, I think my experience merits this and quite frankly we were embarrassed by how far the restaurant fell below our expectations.

We chose not to dine with you this evening because the menu was impaired.

I suggest with respect that all complaints should cause you to reflect on what you were offering for a special occasion menu

Finally, I expect to receive reimbursement of the £40.00 deposit made to book the dome a number of weeks ago. You may be interested to know that we were fortunate enough to be accommodated by Piersland Lodge in Troon where we enjoyed a top class...

Just back from a late lunch in their glass Domes out front. If you haven't been, think Northern Lights vibe in a glass igloo, just right in the middle of a busy town. £30 upfront non refundable deposit to book one. Deposit then deducted off final bill. Road noise is not that noticeable as each dome has its own tunes, heater/aircon and fleece blankets (nice touch). Our tip: grab a dome at night when the road has quietened down, dome lighting is in full effect and overall, it's a more nostalgic experience.

As always, food is very nice and of a high quality and great flavour... although always a little on the pricey side hence why we don't visit quite as often as other venues (Buzzworks, RAD etc). Today's a la carte menu (not the festive one that was also available) had probably one of the best desert menus we have seen at this price point in a very long time. Dessert cocktails won the wife over and Mellis cheese is a rarity to find in Ayrshire establishments. Well done on the menu - great choice available.

Domes now have much improved seating since our last visit for dinner, adding much more comfort than the old "picnic tables" of the past. They domes are however starting to show signs of age and the effects of our lovely Scottish climate with horizontal rain...the roof jointing around the glass is green with algea and a bit dirty and inside is smelling a little mouldy/less fresh than they did at the start. A deep spring clean is all that's needed to bring them back to their former glory.

Overall a lovely ambience with heated dome, Christmas tunes and good food with the family.

£100 for family of three, two adult courses, one dessert cocktail, no desserts + 3 courses for 1...