Willows — Restaurant in Scotland

Came here for lunch today and the place is absolutely gorgeous. Food and service, however, were disappointing at times. Both ordered the burger, and although on the menu it does say ‘plain and simple’ we did not expect it to be THAT plain. The burger consisted of a bun, 1 leaf of lettuce, less than a teaspoon of burger sauce and a burger patty with no seasoning (or salt) whatsoever. No matter how much salt I put on it it was still tasteless and definitely not worth the £15. When asked for ketchup we got a toddler sized portion and Mayo was not available. The side of fries and the halloumi fries we ordered were stunning, though. We initially waited to be seated and after being ignored when staff were clearly standing at the bar and not busy, decided to sit outside and just waited. We were greeted by the loveliest server (didn’t get her name, but she had black hair and a leather grommet belt). Lovely girl - so kind and bubbly and very helpful with the menu! There was a fault in the system which meant that our order didn’t get put through (not an issue, these things happen!) and although we didn’t mind waiting, the server gave us a 20% discount which was highly appreciated and extremely kind. Thank you! Unfortunately, the blonde girl who also served us looked like she didn’t want to be there and was quite frankly impolite and rude. No greeting or warm welcome at all, no smile, and not hospitable at all. I would understand the service more if it was busy however there were at least 6 members of staff on the floor and the restaurant did not seem busy. A little disappointing. Otherwise, the drinks and atmosphere...

Pleasant environment and staff were efficient.

I ordered the special ciabatta with chicken and bacon, alongside a flat white coffee.

The ciabatta seemed a little on the small side to me, though in observing the other clientele, I was probably a little out of place to be honest - that includes my appetite.

In my opinion Willows seems more geared towards 'ladies who lunch', high teas maybe, or cocktails before the theatre. I'm more of a messy plate of dirty fries with a burger kind of guy... if you know what I mean, and I certainly don't mean any disrespect with that observation.

The ciabatta was good and flavourful. The salad was very good and varied, the dressing was nice and rich too. I enjoyed the coffee and the final price, between 10 and 11 pounds was reasonable and expected.

Accessibility wise, there is seating outdoors but there are steps inside to reach other parts of the restaurant. The chairs and tables may turn into obstacles for wheelchair users, particularly solo users, because they are quite close together. I'd recommend booking ahead to help the staff prepare a good table if you have any accessibility requirements.

Personally, I did feel a little out of place at Willows, but that was more of an observation than any true feeling of discomfort. I will keep Willows in mind if I go to lunch with a girl I want to impress, for example, and I'd definitely recommend it for anyone wanting afternoon coffee, cakes, or a cocktail before the...

Went for a pre-theatre meal rather than a coffee during the day. The staff were great, the food was well presented (though not quite as advertised) and the decor gave the impression it didn't really know what sort of place it wanted to be.

Decor: mix of cafe and restaurant. Plush light fittings hanging from the ceiling and the heavy, solid furniture contrasted with the dessert cabinet and poster on the wall advertising a cinnamon crunch coffee.

Atmosphere: relaxed, family-friendly.

Food: the general feeling from my table of 4 was that it was a bit lacking in flavour. The gourmet lamb and mint burger didn't have a hint of mint and instead relied on a helping of caramelised onion, which was nice, but not what I'd been led to expect. The sesame bun had the slightly sweet flavour of the kind you get at drive-thru places under golden arches. My friends all had the fish & chips which they agreed was lovely and light. The tower of Perthshire haggis, neeps and tatties was lovely and very well-presented, though the haggis could do with being a big spicier and flavoursome.

Service: efficient and very friendly. Well done!

Would go back: for a tea and cake. If going for dinner, we'd probably try some of the less standard options as perhaps they'd involve a little more individual care and flavour. £13.99 for 2 courses and a 175ml / 1/2 pint was...