Bay Cottage in Argyll & Bute

I was in need of lunch today. I was passing through the area and this place looked inviting from the outside. However, everything inside was horribly disappointing. I read a notice which informed me that I should order my food at the post office which was at the back of a shop - the restaurant was in a section to the right. It was cold, lacked any atmosphere and apart from two customers it was empty. I checked the menu, there was a plethora of rolls and sandwiches listed, but apart from that, there was soup, or fish and chips. I went to the post office and asked for the fish and chips and was told by a very unfriendly person that they couldn't do that because they were not putting on the fryer. So I went back to the restaurant and checked over the menu again. I chose a simple cheese and onion toastie. When it arrived, it looked very unappetising, and had no garnish at all. It was utterly tasteless, chewy plastic cheese and even the onions had no flavour. How is that possible? It was completely inedible and I left most of it on the plate. I paid £9.70p for the toastie and a pot of tea for one. On the menu the toastie was priced at £4.45 and the tea was £3.35. So I was OVERCHARGED into the bargain. Don't try it unless desperation is pushing you.

The Bay Cottage is an odd place. It's like a cafe appended to a shop. The tea, coffee, and snacks we had were fine and we have no complaints. However, I do wonder about lunches or full meals.

Cozy place serving very good food. We had a delicious cullen skink, a cappuccino and a cake. The place is in a small village and it offers a lot compared to what it could be, considering that the area is not too populated outside summer time: I really don't understand the complaints of some visitors (or maybe I do...). I wish to find always places like the Bay Cottage on my way! Excellent food, well equipped shop and, most importantly, amazing people will make it a safe and peaceful stop. Highly recommend.

Stopped here, waited 25 minutes here, realised food was not worth waiting 25 minutes for, won't be back, students and school kids playing at wee shops,get your act together

Popped in for a tea and scone with my teenage son during the Easter holiday. It looked quite inviting from the outside with a sign advertising home baking. The set up itself is very strange, a tearoom to the right on entry and a shop and post office straight ahead as you come onto the building. You order at the till. Menus were in the tearoom which was cold, dull and lacking in atmosphere. The prices are horrifically expensive, but we thought the quality of produce would compensate slightly. The home baking was very poor. Tea for one, a hot chocolate, a scone and cake cost us just under £16!!! Incredible. The toilets were shocking. If you are visiting Strath Lachlan I would advise heading to Inverary. We left disappointed and felt rather cheated. Left a really bad feeling for the rest of our day to be honest. Not good. Probably one of the worst experiences I've had in going for a cup of tea somewhere.

Never had a toasted sandwich like it- bread had been so squashed it was the thickness of a piece of paper and the same colour as paper. Eventually sandwiches arrived with no garnish. I eventually had to ask again for drinks so once our food was all eaten my coffee arrived and a good 5 minutes later my husband’s arrived. We won’t be returning

Called in for coffee and cake after a busy day walking. Sat in the 'courtyard' which isn't the most attractive setting, more like a big back yard and no view whatsoever. Service was slooooow, as previous reviews mentioned but we weren't in a rush, just as well! Eventually borrowed the menu from one of the only two other couples there, went in to order. Coffee and cake arrived 15 minutes later - how long does it take to cut a slice of cake?. Coffee decent, both cakes were dry and very average at best. Not a place we could recommend, especially when 2 coffees and cakes cost nearly £14. Definitely over priced !!

We stopped for a bite to eat and ordered a roll and a sandwich. It took ages to arrive although we were the only people there. They brought 2 sandwiches and 2 tap waters, apologised that they made a mistake and made sandwich instead of roll, which of course is not a big issue, until you see sandwiches made on cheap white bread with basic fillings with no garnish not even some crisps and where then charged £10 for the pleasure. Disgusting amount to charge for two basic sandwiches.

My friends and I stopped for a quick coffee break - and we were not disappointed!! The service and atmosphere was lovely and the food and drinks delicious!

We have popped in here for takeaway soup a few times recently. It has been splendid, piping hot and tasty with a nice buttered roll Well done

We had the breakfast which was lovely. Service was good and the staff are very friendly. Would definitely return again and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. 😊

Really enjoyed our drinks and cake. Handy having the shop next door. Staff were friendly and helpful. Can eat inside or outside.

Popped in here for some food to prepare us for our 6 hour drive home after an amazing week in Scotland. What an absolute disappointment. We waited in an empty room for 5 minutes before anyone came to take our order. Drinks arrived about 20 minutes later and a further 15 minutes for food. And it wasn't worth the wait. We ordered 2 Scottish breakfasts at £10.50 each excited to try one. They were greasy, overcooked and tasteless. The one egg was horrific. No catering establishment with any pride whatsoever would serve it like that. I paid a fiver for a ham and cheese toastie which was made with no care and looked like something my 10 year old would make. The presentation certainly didn't warrant the five pound charge. Then we waited another age for someone to come out to ask for the bill, to be told to go to the till in the adjoining shop. We then queued there waiting to pay while the customer in front had issues with their stuff not scanning. The whole experience took over an hour and we really wish we hadn't bothered. The only positive was my son's hot chocolate which looked nice (£3.95) and his BLT roll looked okay too.

Lovely sunny day with thankfully nice weather. Place was quiet only two other tables with a total of 3 people who had already been served. Ordered two lattes and two irn bru, with two cooked Scottish breakfasts, one roll and bacon and a cheese and ham toastie. Lattes arrived warm (more cold than warm) about 20 minutes later food arrived.

We were too late for a bar lunch at the nearby local hotel on April 11th and found this little place, and decided to stop in for soup and a sandwich instead. Decor nothing special and menu very basic. We both opted for the Cullen Skink and a tuna sandwich with peppers (extra). and some tea to follow. Food duly arrived: Cullen Skink had the consistency of a blancmange and was basically insipid. Any flavour was more of cornflour and potato than of smoked haddock and leek. The villagers of Cullen would have been ashamed. Tuna sandwich... maybe by definition. Tuna more or less straight out of the tin pasted between two slices of unappetising lifeless looking white pan bread. No seasoning or mayonnaise. Three slivers of yellow pepper adorned the interior of this gastronomic non delight. Fortunately there was a handy sachet of Heinz mayonnaise in the sauces receptacle on the table, used to make the offering more palatable. The service was provided by an uninterested waitress, who due to her inattentive manner allowed a chap and his two children to walk out due to lack of service. We should have really refused to pay for the “meal”, but I honestly think that this is their normal operating standard. Yes, it was soup and a sandwich, but I honestly thought that this 70s level of Scottish fare and hospitality had become extinct. Oh dear! Give it a miss!

A welcome break after a long drive. Stopped for late lunch of Cullen Skink with chunky bread. One portion had to be returned to kitchen as it lacked fish. It seems I got a double portion ! The bread was very dull white. All handled very good humouredly and efficiently. It was delicious. Good tea to drink but unfortunately came with a chipped cup. Very friendly and helpful.

Come here regularly on a Sunday outing with the bikes. Food and service always top class, incredibly accommodating even when soaked from the weather. Perplexed at some of the negative reviews. Stunning views too!

we stopped for breakfast on the way to Dunoon and ordered two full scottisch breakfasts. what arrived 20 minutes later were two plates each with one burnt egg which tasted of old fat and with bits of black on it, the pieces of bacon with the same, the lorne sausage was harder than my shoe, the black pudding dry, no beans, no toast ,one button mushroom split in four. As you can imagine I didn't eat that and complained but the male behind the till was not interested to hear anything. we paid over 20 pound and left very dissapointed and hungry .do not waste your money there

Enjoyed a late breakfast at Bay Cottage this week, Food was very good,,,,,pancakes bacon and maple syrup were delicious! Friendly staff and good service too, Highly recommend it so pay a visit if you're in the area,

Bien, tengo que decir que esta es mi primera crítica que he hecho en TripAdvisor ... La razón!! Tienes que probar este lugar tan encantador., mi pareja y yo fuimos con nuestros 2 hijos adolescentes, nos tomamos los cafés de desayuno escocés completo y mi hija me quedé impresionado con selección de finos zumos ... limonada Rosa ganó ... creo que disfrutamos y servido con una sonrisa ... volveremos.

Visitamos hoy con mis hijos mientras que paso. Pedimos desayunos completos que era fresca, deliciosa y a un precio razonable. Nuestro camarero era agradable y servicial, y el café en general estaba limpio y acogedor. Parecía que eran parte de la familia y volveremos si estamos fuera otra vez.

Hicimos 3 niños pequeños y 3 adultos para el desayuno en nuestra escapada reciente de octubre, y el precio era absolutamente chocante!! £62,93!!!!!!! £2 por un pequeño vaso de plástico de zumo de manzana para cada niño. £2 por un vaso de Fanta, y tuve que pedir por el resto de la puede!! La comida estaba bien preparado, pero con el desayuno escocés completo no había tostadas incluido. El salmón ahumado y huevos revueltos hecha, y el frío de tostadas. La comida de los niños estaba hecha y no lo suficientemente jarabe para los panqueques. El servicio era sencilla y muy básica, cuando pregunté si todo estaba bien, el servidor masculino caminamos fuera antes de poder decir nada. El 'comedor' era frío y con necesidad de decoración. La casa de la bahía está en la orilla del lago Fyne, pero la única vista disponible era de los contenedores de 1 ventanas y la carretera de otra!!En general, la experiencia fue pésimo y muy, muy pobre en todo, así que si su paso o planificación de parada, no te molestes ahorra dinero, ahorra tiempo, no merece la pena.

Nos detuvimos aquí para almorzar y no nos decepcionó. La comida era muy buena. Teníamos un pollo y bacon club increíble y un pescado y patatas, todo fue muy bien presentado y estaba buenísimo. Estoy muy sorprendido por las críticas negativas nuestro servicio era cortés y eficiente. El salón de té era bastante concurrida pero el personal era encantador y no esperar mucho tiempo para nuestra orden. Le recomiendo que darle una oportunidad, comer fuera con regularidad y este es un hotelito encantador lugar para quedarse.

Tenía que escribir un comentario sobre esta pequeña joya después de leer la última crítica. Nos entrar aquí en un ( si no más a menudo) semanalmente. Los pasteles son increíbles, ni idea de donde los "migajas » pasteles podría ser!! Nos reunimos aquí para el café de la mañana, en ocasiones el almuerzo y té de la tarde muy a menudo y siempre consigue una pequeña delicia. Prueba para vosotros es altamente recomendado.

Realmente no sé bien o mal la comida es ahora. Solía ser excelente y era un lugar regular parando en mi camino de Bute.

On Tuesday around 2.30 my husband and I visited this restaurant for lunch. I chose Cullen Skink, a Scottish soup, and my husband had a fish. The meal was all right, but the waitress was disinterested and rude. Firstly, some milk spilled onto the table, and she took away the milk jug (we were still enjoying our tea), didn't bring it back, and did not mop up the evident spilled milk. Usually when I visit here, I have Cullen Skink soup with the usual fish and prawns. No prawns. When I had finished soup, the surly waitress, still not mopping up the milk, lifted up my used soup bowl, and then incredibly slammed it down on the table and said she would move it when my husband had finished his meal. On my insistence, she gracelessly removed it. Still no milk for tea, and in the end we were so disenchanted with this rudeness, we paid and left. On the way to the car park, the waitress came running out with my jacket, which I had accidently left, and shouted "There are NO PRAWNS in Cullen Skink!". We could not believe this behaviour, and will never be back. The last management were friendly and good, but unless you can tolerate rude and inefficient service, do as we will be doing, and keep away. I have never encountered such rudeness from staff before, and I have travelled widely. Lady Shaw.

We took our grandson and daughter in law for breakfast while on holiday for a treat and it was a treat.Have seen some negative posts about this establishment but cannot imagine it being the same place.We also took our spaniel who was also made welcome with a biscuit,we all had a good cooked breakfast which was wholesome and freshly cooked.Price was OK as you get what you pay for and we believed good value for money.Grandson loved the sausages.

I've been going every week for a month or two and always order a toastie and a coffee. It costs around £5 which I considered just ok. Not great value but ok. The toastie was served with a little coleslaw and some tortilla chips. The service has always been pleasant. Today I placed my usual order but was told that they don't do toasties any more and that they now do paninis instead. So I ordered a panini and a coffee. I was disappointed that the panini was much smaller than their toasties and that there was no coleslaw or tortillas, just a few crisps (and I mean a few!). I nearly fell through the floor when I was asked to pay £8.90 for the panini and a coffee (plain old filter coffee, nothing special). The panini was £6.95 which is outrageous for the small poorly presented offering I got. The owners of this establishment need a serious rethink on their pricing. It's a small village cafe,, quite dull and uninteresting, and it certainly doesn't warrant the prices they charge. I won't be back.

Went to this cafe while holidaying at Portavadie Marina, we ordered some coffee and toasties which where nice enough and price ok, but the staff where a little unfriendly the lady who served us was fine but a little short, the most awkward issue was the cook, an older gentleman in white (as he often passed the window) was complaining about other members of staff load enough for us to hear in the caffee, we were sitting at the table closest to kitchen door but a commentary of what he thinks about other staff while we eat lunch was as I say slightly awkward, I could here he had some issue with soup and also another member of staff OBVIOUSLY not in that day. Then when we went to pay at the counter he was still complaining Loudly. I just think atmosphere can make or break a little cafe like this and a bad atmosphere can change a decision of wether to come back, maybe different atmosphere with different staff but it did slightly ruin lunch but food was ok.

Full Scottish Breakfast. Order it...wait a bit..then realise it was so worth the wait...Incredible. Tea from china teapot and cups...no cheap metal tins..Extensive menu for a small but very friendly tea room. Shop next door so I could read my newspaper and drink my tea whilst anticipating the food. One not to be forgotten.

This is a lovely wee place to visit if your in the area. Lovely staff & amazing food & coffee. If you are in the area stop off as you will not be disappointed.