The Stables Kitchen — Restaurant in Scotland

The place was so busy and chaotic which is understandable as I went during the annual Christmas fair, it was pretty loud in the main area but as I had booked afternoon tea it was in a separate area which I was thankful for! The food was nice, there were a few bits and pieces that weren't too good but overall it was nice, the set up was okay too, although for a Christmas afternoon tea there could have been a few decorations up or something to make it feel a little more festive. As for the tea itself, I wasnt expecting 5 star service but the price per person was quite high so the few things that let it down were the fact we had a dirty tablecloth, the tea was very late to start and required queuing up in a random hallway where there were no staff, nobody to tell us how long it would be and I was with my dad who requires crutches to walk and can't stand too long so this was quite frustrating as there was nowhere for him to sit and nobodyto ask. The food was nice although I think there was a miscommunication as we were supposed to have a vegetarian tea for one (my mum) and 2 regular but we all received vegetarian-which was nice, but considering the absence of meat I wasn't expecting it to be the same price as the normal tea! Most of it did taste good, though from my own personal preference- there was a Brie and mayonnaise roll which is decidedly not a good combo! And the scones were quite doughy and undercooked inside so we all ended up leaving them. For what I was expecting it wasn't as great, but what we had was nice and maybe it was just an extra busy day, so I can't fault...

The service here is diabolical if they're busy. We went on an events day at Hopetoun and decided to go to the tea rooms first. However, for 4 people who ordered soup and a main course it took 2 1/2 hours for our visit by which point the event was actually closing!

The staff have no idea of order of service, they sit you down then eventually come take your order (which they got wrong and had to re-check) then they serve people who arrived after you and ordered the same thing before you. We had to keep flagging staff down to find out when food and drinks were to be served. We also had the tea and cakes and I have to say the cakes were just factory processed sugar treats, not homemade and definitely no flavour. Given what you got the prices are very high.

This place trades on the reputation of the house itself and not on it's own quality. We plan to visit Hopetoun in the future for events but won't be using this...

Came here for afternoon tea as part of a group visit to Hopetoun House. The café is big and spacious and there are clean toilets. We were sat at a long table but there's a choice of seating from comfy sofas to small tables and chairs. We had to wait a while to be served but the food when it arrived was lovely: a choice of sandwiches (with vegetarian options), haggis rolls and mini quiches, two little fruit scones each with jam and fresh cream and a selection of delicious cakes. Everything was fresh and good quality and there was so much to eat we couldn't manage it all! The tea/coffee was also good and our waitress kept offering us refills. A very pleasant introduction to...