2. Mabie House Hotel

As you drive up to Mabie House you are surrounded by beautiful Scottish countyside and magnificent views over the hills and valleys. I visited on a busy Sunday lunch ... the restaurant was full, and glad we booked. We were briefly greeted, sat and handed menus, and offered drinks. The food on the menu all seemed very appealing, but being Sunday lunch expected a yorkshire pudding somewhere. I ordered the monkfish , everyone else went for Scottish beef with a whiskey and marmalade gravy. When the food arrived we all looked on in amazement. It really did look like it had been scrapped out of a boil in the bag microwave packet. Still looks aren't everything, but unfortunately in this case they were. My monkfish was complete with slimy, slivery skin and a piece of ginger, overcooked to the point of rubber. My companions prodded their beef about. The mother in law managed to eat hers stating it was really nice, the father in law hid his under a load of potatoes, and the husband (being a chef) made no attempt at all to disguise the fact he couldn't eat it. The wait staff made no effort in resolving the situation, and simply removed our plates without asking, or questioning why most of the food was left. Maybe we choose poorly, maybe the chef couldn't cope with the amount of covers he was having to do, or maybe the chef wasn't there even, but there's no maybe about Mabie house food, it was very disappointing after being enticed into the beautifulness of it's location. Next time if there is a next time, we'll stick to the bar snacks, sandwiches and hot chips.