Scottish Borders
Simply Scottish

Simply Scottish

6-8 High Street, TD8 6AG, Scottish Borders, United Kingdom

Steak • Vegan • Coffee • Cheese


"we called for lunch well known that it was a regular place, not a veg / vegan only eat. After a dame was shown in a few minutes on a table, she returned and asked if we wanted menus. I looked like a thought reader or a bright watcher. we ordered 2x roasted sandwiches with roasted vig and mushrooms, 2 ginger beers. eating lasted 45 minutes to arrive, no advice that it would take this time, the place was not busy. cute as if it were a choir. cute in 2 paper napkins. not placed per person. has she been a customer in a restaurant or caffe? further disappointment was the toast normal supermarket square white brot. the mushrooms and the veg. were good, but it could have been so much better with the “Profi” brot from a local baker. was the sauce in a sandwich vegan? hmm. salat was the usual boring eisberg plus tomaten etc. No one asked if our eating would be in order, no one asked if we wanted something else, coffee or tee. I waited to pay as soon as it was obvious that no one came to the table again, a long wait. the same server asked if we wanted to sit outside or inside. she was completely obsessed that she served us. completely unintentional of personality or ability. the owners of the place can not be very switched on if they cannot see that the staff is so poor. Maybe it was their first job, but either they hadn't done any co-workers training or she just overhauled the job or vegan. they simply do not go home with expectations to anything they do not themselves in a quarter of the time, but better."

The Allonton Inn

The Allonton Inn

Main Street, TD11 3JZ, Scottish Borders, United Kingdom

Pubs • Dining • British • European


"So, we had booked one of Allentown’s pods for our evening meal some time ago, opting for a pod as we had our hound with us, the establishment having a no dogs policy. Fair enough. When we arrived in the pouring rain, the manager told us in no uncertain terms that due to the rain her staff would not be serving food in the pods and that our dog would have to stay in the car as the dog going inside “would upset the locals”. We said this was not an option. The way this was put across by the manager can only be described as hostile. We were told 5hat if the dog misbehaved we would be told (not asked) to leave. Had we not prepaid a deposit for the seafood platter, we would have turned around there and then. We were put on a perfectly acceptable table, served by a slightly over-compensating and embarrassed waitress and had a very tasty meal. One drink, no starters no dessert and a hasty exit followed as our evening had been spoiled. Absolutely shocking and shabby customer service. Purely because of this, I rate one trip adviser blob. If I could rate zero blobs I would. Dog owners beware and take heed of this tale. It was not our fault it was precipitating down; if there was a problem us having a dog then we should have been called beforehand. There was no respect for us as customers and we will never darken their door again. Finally, the food was great. But the manager left a very sour taste that we cannot shift."

Hoot N Cat

Hoot N Cat

5A The Knowles, Scottish Borders, United Kingdom, TD5 7NQ

Tea • Lunch • Coffee • British


"I arrived with my friend and we waited at the ‘wait here to be seated’ sign. Multiple members of staff ignored us while we waited. The older waitress on the nearby till didn’t acknowledge our arrival so we edged forward thinking that she hadn’t seen us. She eventually said hello and asked us if we wanted to pay. When we explained that we were waiting for a table, she very rudely told us off for not having waited behind the sign. When we tried to explain that we moved forward because nobody had seen us she patronising told us that we needed to remember the importance of adhering to social distancing during the pandemic. (Just to point out that we hadn’t recently landed from Mars and are perfectly aware of the global pandemic that is currently raging). She clearly didn’t like non-locals as she was uber-friendly with other patrons who were clearly regulars including allowing a pair to completely ignore the sign and wander in. Who new there was one rule for locals and one for visitors? They should have included it on the sign! When we were served by a more friendly young waitress we tried to make an order but their jacket potatoes were not available so we changed our order to soup and sandwiches. The soup was very bland and could have been improved by salt and pepper but these were not available. I have been to other cafes and restaurants who can offer seasonings on the table. We decided to eat up quickly and leave, not ordering coffee and cake like we would have done. I would have scored this review as terrible if it weren’t for the young friendly waitress."