We were looking forward to enjoying the 50% discount from Top Table and thought we would be getting top notch food with a Scottish flare for a steal. However, the whole experience was somewhat disappointing. The staff were friendly enough for the most part, if somewhat disorganised, not even knowing which table was reserved for us. The service was distinctly slow. We were a party of four, and were not drinking excessively quickly, as were drinking both wine and water, a second bottle of wine was offered before they had even served the starter! We were also confused by the menu and restaurant not particularly having a Scottish feel to it, with the only Scottish items being from the Scottish speciality section of the menu. The majority of the rest of the food did not even seem to be sourced from Scotland (Icelandic Cod?)

When the food eventually arrived, the starters were quite nice, the warm goat's cheese tart particularly enjoyable. The scallops were well cooked, but unfortunately any flavour was drowned out by the pea puree. We were particulary looking forward to the main course, as two of us had ordered the signature fillet of beef. Considering the price of the dish (before discount) we were expecting something special. However, the cut proved to be somewhat chewey, and although a nice dish, was definitely somewhat short of spectacular. The beef came with just a few (over buttered) vegetables, and potatoes were at an extra cost.

The toilets, although well appointed, were a number of flights downstairs through the bar and shared with the Doon cocktail bar. We decided up until the end, that the food was worth the price we were paying at the 50% discount, but if we had paid the full price we would have been sorely disappointed. The experience was a bizarre mixture of fine dining (the price) and gastro-pub (ambiance).

However, the evening ended on a low point when we received the bill, and the “optional” service charge of 12.5% had been charged at the full price of the… More