Dumfries Arms Hotel

Masala Indian

➤ 14 Ayr Road, KA18 1DW, East Ayrshire, United Kingdom

Carte • Pizza • Sushi • Asiatic • European

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"Not the greatest food you'll ever eat. To be fair, I visited quite late on a Sunday night so perhaps I wasn't getting the best food they can offer and I was the only one in the restaurant although I imagine more people get takeaway food. I wasn't exactly impressed though. The mango lassi didn't taste of mango and had some odd fibres in it presumably from the mango? Hard to tell. It wasn't what I was hoping for though. I had the vegetable dhansak with pilau rice which didn't really taste of anything and was generally quite bland. I put quite a bit of salt on it! Not really spicy at all though. The rice was a bit odd in that it came served on my plate for me already, when I was expecting a small dish of rice but rice is rice, it was fine. Poppadom was good but the sauces with it were odd, i had onion salad but couldn't figure out what the other was supposed to be. They kept turning the music up and down or off entirely and it was just a weird experience. Might be better when it's busier but I won't be returning to find out. It was literally the only place still serving food which is the only reason I ate there in the first place. As with all Indian restaurants, there were both gluten free and vegetarian options."

The Thistle Inn

➤ 22 Glaisnock Rd, KA18 3AB, East Ayrshire, United Kingdom

Carte • Pizza • Kebab • Sushi • Cafés

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"On holiday in the area and found this place online for somewhere to eat. Menu looked great. Arrived and the impression we got with the mess around the building continued indoors. Lady who took us to our table was lovely but then it went downhill again quickly when we were given the menu definitely not what it was online). It was litterly falling apart and only a fraction of what was on the online menu. We ordered food and while waiting 2 women with 5 children came in. Noise from the children was heard as soon as they got to the front door. I don't believe any of the children were at fault as the women didn't try to get them to be just a little quieter they both just shouted louder to hear each other. Both my teenage daughter and I expected the waitress to ask them to maybe just turn the volume down just a little but it turned out she knew them and like the mums she just shouted louder to be heard! Food arrived hot. Steak pie was very tasty but pizza was the kind I can buy in supermarket for about 50p. Desserts of cheesecake and sticky toffe pudding both tasted odd. We didn't eat them and just left to get away from the noise. I totally understand the staff can't dictate who frequents their establishment but they could ask rowdy customers to lower the volume instead of shouting over them. Food was nothing to shout about and we left wishing we had just stopped at the local chip shop instead"

Library

➤ Dumfries House Estate, East Ayrshire, United Kingdom

Carte • Pizza • Cafés • Seafood • British

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"As we were staying at the Dumfries House Lodge for a couple of nights we took the opportunity to visit the Library Restaurant which is a short stroll away from the guesthouse in Dumfries House itself. Little did we know as we approached the magnificent Robert Adam building in it’s glory on a bright and peaceful evening that we were about to have a private dining experience! By absolute chance there were no other reservations that evening and we had the restaurant to ourselves. Despite my attempt to convince my wife that I had paid a fortune for the privilege I don’t think she was entirely taken in for more than a few seconds. We understand that the following night was fully booked. The setting is quite unique as you are led from the visitors entrance through to the library which had a cosy atmosphere with a log fire burning, the grand mantelpiece surround, the comfortable settee, subtle lighting and a small bar. With our bottle of NZ Pinot Noir ordered and a glass poured we were able to browse the menu in comfort. There were five options for each course and all reasonably priced from starters at £6 £7, mains £12 £22 (steak) and dessert at £5 or cheese for £7. The young waiter, who was attentive but discrete throughout the evening was friendly and efficient. The dining area itself beyond was lined with book shelves and ten or so tables stylishly set with good spacing between although in the circumstances there were no issues with other diners! For starters my wife had Goats cheese with red onion and tomatoes whilst I opted for the Confit Duck Pie with duck scratching and salad. The duck was served in a ramekin style dish topped with mashed potato which was a surprise although the duck was tasty, as was my wife’s goats cheese. Mains for my wife was Chicken Ballantine stuffed with Shitaki served with parmesan gnocchi and spinach which she enjoyed. I had monkfish in butter, served with puy lentils, artichoke puree and herb sauce. The fish was delicious however puy lentils may be an acquired taste which I unfortunately haven’t acquired a taste for as yet and there were quite a lot of them! Dessert consisted of Lemon amoretti cheesecake with a berry compote for my wife and White chocolate panna cotta and a doughnut with an apple sauce for myself. My wife thought the berry compote drowned the other flavours and I thought my dish was just ok. Full marks for the setting, food presentation, service and pricing (our bill including wine was £85 ex tip) but we were slightly disappointed with the flavours of some of the food overall in comparison to our previous meal on the estate at the former Stables Restaurant. At time of our recent visit the restaurant was only open Thursday to Sunday. It is a possibility that in future this restaurant may only be available for private functions, with another being opened within the hospitality centre so we were glad in the meantime to have dined in the House in such exclusive circumstances. Sadly we were escorted off the premises!"