Central Cafe in Dumfries & Galloway

Enjoyed this place, a clean tidy spot with brill staff. Food good, at a reasonable price, loved the cakes good exhibition attached. All in all a really good visit.

Fresh & Tasty Fish supper, drove short distance to enjoy with a sea view at Isle of Whithorn. Thankfully as the only local chippy, we were not disappointed & we all enjoyed.

Excellent haggis supper. Enjoyed two really good haggis and chips on the last night of our holiday in the area. Friendly staff and clean premises. Will be back.

Food was below average and dearest fish supper ive had £10 horrible never again owner and wife are rude people

Lovely as usual. Everything cooked fresh and done perfectly. Nice, crisp batter, perfectly done haddock and no grease. Chips are nice and fluffy. Massive portion as well. Everybody in the shop is really friendly. One of my favourite chippies, always come here when in the area.

Since being refurbished during Covid, the Central ha re-opened solely as a take-away. The fish and chips are now much more how I remember in the past; probably the best in the area. Fresh, tasty, crispy - and always friendly service.

Incredibly rude and obnoxious staff. Every time I've tried to buy fish and chips they make you wait for ages then tell you to come back in 45 minutes to an hour. How they remain open with their attitude is a mystery.

Very good place to eat I got some take away chips and they were great but for a large it wasn’t a very big portion but other than that great.

In the village for just a few days and arrived as they were closing up. We took the last piece of fish, and 2 portions of chicken nuggets with chips and curry sauce. Ages since we'd had a chippy take away. We were as you'd expect worried that it might not be great, last dregs,but took it all back to our cottage and devoured it, the chicken was pure chicken breast and the fish was in a lightish batter and delicious . The owner I think ? was not happy to give us the last bits of food and clearly had high standards throwing In some onion rings for free and dissapointed we weren't still here when they reopened so he could give us the freshest food. Really impressed with the food, high standards, and excellent service. If we're ever back here again we'll definetely be stopping by, Thanks guys 😊

It was a Sunday (when most chip shops are shut) and' fancying fish and chips we read the previous reviews of Central Cafe and decided to head there. The staff were friendly and the fish and chips were among the best I had tasted. My eldest daughter is a vegetarian and in the past it has been hard to find things for her to have with her chips at other similar eateries. For example in Yorkshire earlier this year she just had to have a bag of chips as there was nothing else which did not contain either meat or fish. Myself and my wife had fish and chips, my youngest daughter had the sausage and chips children's meal and my eldest had the veggie burger. After getting our meals (it was busy but after we paid the staff brought the food out to us in the car) we drove to the Isle of Whithorn and had our food overlooking the sea. They also have a slush machine which was a bonus as we all love a slush, especially in the summer. They had strawberry and raspberry (with mixes of the two available). They also had a variety of chocolate bars available at reasonable prices and sold ice cream. If you are in this part of south Scotland (Newton Stewart / Wigtown), pay this chippy a visit. Great tasty food and friendly staff - what more could you ask for?

We visited the Isle of whithorn for our Staycation this year which is stunning. Got the most amazing fish and chips from Central Cafe in Whithorn, 5 minute drive, with proper mushy peas 👌. This was followed by homemade ice-cream with raspberry sauce. Amazing friendly staff and great take away service, brought to the car outside due to Covid restrictions. Support your local businesses they're trying so hard in these difficult times.

Took a lovely drive 40 miles down to the machars and to Whithorn to order our fish and chips from the central cafe. Food was beautiful and the service was very friendly and second to none. New layout is fresh and immaculate as usual. Thanks Paul, liz and staff. Highly recommended.

Excellent fish and chips cooked traditionally and clearly with care. The home made ice cream is outstandingly good: I have eaten ice cream all over the globe and the offering here ranks amongst the best.

Having a short camping break just outside Whithorn and chanced upon the Cafe while shopping. Very happy with the delicious food and friendly service. Highly recommend for anyone looking for fast food or snacks

Staff in kitchen spent time talking to their friends that hung around kitchen door rather than cooking orders for customers. Noisy, poor quality food, took a long time despite being only customer in the place. On the market, the sooner it is sold and someone else who actually cares about customers takes over the better.

We arrived to Whithorn late after a long journey. We received a warm and friendly welcome on our arrival and our food was cooked to order. A delicious meal.

Make sure you phone your order through to make sure it is being cooked to perfection. Fish suppers for the traditionalists, chicken bites pizzas and a whole host of other things for the whole family in the evening . Good value and very tasty just make sure you get there early on as they don’t stay open too late in the evenings

Made my day; was my birthday and I was not having a good day. Went in for a takeaway coffee and the twinkly eyed man came out of the kitchen and made me laugh! Thank you

Why can't fish and chip places in Dumfries and Galloway get it right?? Soggy craggy thick in cooked batter on a thin piece of white fish. I soooo wanted to like this sit down lunch because it's a genuinely nice wee place with lovely folk. Chips were just ok, but I just couldn't eat anymore than a mouth full of the battered fish offering. Sorry.....

Couldn’t ask for a better welcome from lovely staff. Food delicious & lovely a atmosphere. Nostalgic visit for my father in law Pa Broon, thank you xx

Popped into The Central Cafe for a quick bite with my 13 year old son before going to The Isle for a short stay. Lovely little cafe with a wide range of food options. I had a bacon sandwich and my son had a chip butty ( which was massive ) which were great quality and great value for money. The owners were great and had a good chat and readily gave us some local tips. 100% you should visit.

This is a perfect place for homemade sandwiches or afternoon tea with lovely friendly local staff. Lots of gift ideas here too as well as local information. We availed ourselves of the free wi fi too. Return trips definitely planned for next year!

We popped in here for lunch today, really impressed! We had been on a long drive around the coast and were just nipping in to grab take away drinks, but so glad we decided to stop for lunch.Lovely place, and even lovlier staff. Genuinely nice people and were good with our 2 fussy eating children. Nothing was a problem. We all had different meals and they were all great, my daughter said her pizza was probably the best she had ever had. We had ice cream to take out too and it was freshly made and very tasty.You are missing out if you drive past this place!

......giving a bad review. BUT tonights attempt at take away battered haddock was disgusting. The fish was dry. ..probably kept heated for hours and the batter was like well cooked glue.(I cook my own chips as their chips are too soggy for us) .Over the 17 yrs we have lived here we have OCCASIONALLY been lucky and the fish has been reasonably good on the occasions we were unable to do our own cooking.But tonights was the final straw. Never again They usually only have to cook ONE thing..how come they can't get it right? On the plus side. It is dirt cheap! And the dog loves it! The cat is fussier....pulls her whiskers up at it, but that's cats for you.

pleasant staff and pleasant setting. meals pretty average, certainly filled a gap. yoou need to order at the counter and staff bring food to you

Used to serve brilliant fish and chips, but returning to the area after an absence of 3 years or so we have been sadly disappointed with the drop in quality. Greasy chips, soggy batter and on one occasion strange taste to fish. 3 chances were enough - we will be waiting for the chip van in future. (Ice cream is stll great tho)

Disappointed- tasteless chips AND fish which was supposed to be haddock, slightly stale tasting tail end. Would not go here again! Left most of chips and the dog ate the fish......

To an Ayrshire born Scot like my husband this place brought back happy memories of his youth. We came upon the Central Cafe by chance in our search for homemade ice cream. Run by 3rd generation Italians, it is like stepping back in time. After trying the coffee and ice cream, we came back for takeaway fish and chips and then dropped in for breakfast on our last morning. We can vouch that the ice cream is homemade as we watched Paul make it as we had our bacon rolls.

Another great visit to an authentic Italian Cafe right in the middle of Whithorn! Great atmosphere, food and welcome - of course brilliant home made ice cream!

Ordered a chicken tikka pizza and battered burger(which came without a bun) & the “chicken tikka pizza” is an absolute joke

As part of a family trip to the area, we had a lunch and a breakfast in here. Last here over 25 years ago with my own parents so great to see it’s still running and still owned by the same family. Friendly service and no complaints about the food.

We popped in today as my husband frequented this cafe over 20 years ago when visiting family. I had a yummy egg sandwich and kids had chicken nuggets very generous portions chips were fabulous - can highly recommend the curry sauce and the fab vanilla ice cream (not together!)

We are regular customers especially loving the home made Italian Ice Cream! Staff very welcoming and friendly and a great place to go!

Fab fish, chips peas and curry as always here! Been visiting for years now and always a fab treat. easily located on main street, bit quirky as they sell all kinds of other stuff!

Lovely welcome and great food, even catered for children and great ice cream. Loved looking at the history of the family who originated from Italy, I was interested as my Father is from Italy.

Popped in for ice cream and so glad we did! It's amazing and you also get the offer of homemade raspberry sauce-perfect! Loved it so much we took a tub to enjoy later at our holiday cottage. Owner was so friendly and welcoming. Can't wait to return on our next holiday in the area.

Nobody should miss the opportunity to have an ice cream. I recommend a single nougat. Seriously the best

Great Ice Cream and Fantastic Chips which were just the way I like them. A wee trip of nostalgia can be sampled here.

Came in for an early dinner after visiting the Roundhouse and Museum. We had fish suppers all round, the food was made to order and delicious. Very friendly and helpful staff, highly recommend.

Great wee fish and chip shop and cafe which also does excellent Italian gelato and good coffee. It's not posh but the food is good and great value.

Have been having ice cream here since I was a child, just as good as ever recipe never changes. good fish suppers, so tasty

Just had the best chippy tea in ages and the ice cream beautiful! The food was freshly cooked and tasted amazing.

Siendo la única cafetería que sirve pescado y patatas fritas por 15 millas usted podría esperar la calidad para ser un poco malos. No en todos. Pasta ligera que rodean bacalao fresco cocinado y patatas fritas macizos de color marrón. Sólo un salto en una comida para llevar, pero había una cola de gente esperando pacientemente y visitantes para el pescado fresco frito. El servicio era rápido y amable, la comida y el precio era muy deliciosos razonables. Toda la familia estaba más que feliz.

Realmente queríamos pescado y patatas fritas y estos no me decepcionó. La cosa es lo tranquilizador que esperar así que cómo recién cocinado kow todo es excelente masa.

We stayed in Whithorn for a holiday and enjoyed the really fresh and crispy chips supplied by the Central Cafe. everything piping hot and presented in an insulated polystyrene container so everything was still piping hot when we got home - which, admittedly, was only about 100 years down the road in a formnerly mediaeval terraced house3, restored and now managed by National Trust for Scotland and first class - to be recommended! The staff were very friendly and everything was freshly cooked in the order of the customers arriving, so if you wished only chips and there were others before you, their orders were attended to first, which was quite correct.

The fish and chip tea is to die for. This includes haddock, chips, mushy peas, bread and butter and tea or coffee. And to finish you get own made Italian ice cream. Mmmmmmmmm.I have to say that I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to chippy's, and this place has to be one of the best. To quote an old saying off a old advert, showing my age here, hardly a grease mark on the paper. Well this is better not a grease mark anywhere. The cafe itself is an old fashion type, where you can buy sweets chocolate and even cigarettes. So if you decide to visit this beautiful part of the British Isles please call here. If not for the fish and chips then have the ice cream, you won't be disappointed, that's for sure.

When we saw this place from the outside we were not sure what to expect. It was 3:30pm(ish) and we were hungry. In Europe this is a less than normal time to eat out unless you go fast food. In Scotland, we didnt see many fast food places so we took a chance on this place and we are glad we did. Not only is this place quaint, small, and inviting...but the owners (clearly a couple) are very friendly. It was clear after only a few minutes that this was a local favorite stop for candy and quick drinks. I saw at least two guests pop in while I waited for my sit in meal and talk to the owners using their name. I had a family of four, three of us eating as my infant was too small to eat but she did cry a bit which they didnt seem to mind. My husband ordered a fish and chips platter, me the spicy chicken plate (I was kindly warned of its spicyness), my 6 year old the chicken nuggets (or whatever they were called) plate. It did seem to take a minute for our food to be cooked, since it was all fried I expected it quickly...once it arrived I knew why. It seems only my plate was not hand-breaded. My husband was presented with a generous portion of what he called 'absolutely delicious' fish and fries. My sons plate consisted of a generous portion as welll, which after tasting also seemed hand breaded, delicious! My plate however, while yummy and only a bit spicy (I love spicy things!) had what looked like frozen patties of spicy breaded chicken. It was good, I ate it all. The fries were crisp but the color of them was different, I couldn't tell if their oil needed to be changed or if they made their own fries. Regardless they were delicious and we're eaten! They provided a surplus of condiments at the table. Packets of ketchup, malt vinegar, and euro style mayo...and also something called 'brown sauce'...of course I was curious! This sauce could be totally normal for Scotland but as an American traveling abroad, I can only say it kinda tasted like bbq sauce mixed with maybe mustard and vinegar; I didnt love the sauce but it was a fun try.Upon payment, after we ate it seemed wild expensive...the walls priced were not outrageous, alas somehow all three of us costed £30?! Not what you would expect from a corner candy store cafe. Of course we paid it, didnt argue. I also wanted to try their candy...I saw something in a bag called 'treacle candy'...tbh I had no idea what a treacle or treacle candy was. So I asked, he (the owner) humored me...trying to describe a clearly normal UK candy. Afterwards I felt as if I had asked something absurd like explain what a butterscotch candy tastes like?!I tried them, mannn were they addictive! All around we were content, and felt full aside from the cost of the food. I would recommend stopping here if you are in the area for a yummy fried dish and some friendly folk.

Popped in here after searching high and low for somewhere to eat, and wow!!! I had a tuna and onion toaster, my husband had a cheese and ham toastie and we had the best ice cream oysters with traditional Italian ice cream!!! This place has real history behind it and has been passed down through the family, it hostess a variety of chocolates :) toffees and drinks a better variety than some of the shops near by, we will be coming back before we end our holiday, this place is a must!!! Xxxxx

Used the cafe for take away fish and chips and ice cream very nice friendly staff and spotless cafe .

All food is freshly cooked whilst you wait. We got three pizzas and was around £16. Only thin base so deep pan lovers avoid. The fish and chips smelled beautiful. Only downside is no toilet facilities which I didn't need at the time but others may need.

Great haddock & chips cooked fresh to order. A fascinating tale & photos from the owner of the history of their family shop - a Mediterranean background. My husband only ever eats cod and no other fish! The proprietress said haddock's the favourite in Scotland.! The fish,chips & mushy peas, bread & butter, pot of tea were gorgeous. Cafe bright, fresh, clean and a lovely welcome. And guess what - next time we're up there we'll definately be back there - can't wait.

Small café which served a nice lunch, I had a fish fillet Bap, it was a big bap with a slice of fish, quite unexpected the quality of the fish fillet.

The cafe opens as a chippy in the evenings and offers some of the best fish and chips i have ever had.All food is cooked fresh to order and the range is extensive, they offer the normal fish and chips, along with sausage, black pudding and chicken etc.My wife also recommends their Pizzas, which are very tasty and generously topped.The homemade ice cream is a must for desert.

Stop here as it was the only place we could find open to get some food on a Sunday night pizza was great and the chips are easily the best I've had

Love a wee trip to get an easy tea. Great menu with plenty choice. My favourite is king rib. Also kids love an ice cream from here to.

Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area. We always make a point of having a take away but never get past having fish suppers as they are just so good.

Great ice cream and fish & chips. My husband says 'best espresso in U.K.'! Lovely helpful staff. Inside seating and also can sit outside - Scottish weather permitting

Nice central situation for a relaxing drink watching life go by, small museum if wet weather, but if I could always get the weather that we had, would never go any where else

Some of the best fish and chips I can remember having, ever. So fresh and well prepared, puts chains like Loch Fyne to shame. Friendly and helpful staff too!

We went here on two occasions. The first time we were looking for somewhere with Ice Cream and saw the ice cream sign outside. I walked in and found a chippy! They only sold one flavour, vanilla, but it turns out they do that flavour extremely well! Encouraged by this we went back two days later for fish and chips. We bought 6 portions and were served quickly which was a surprise as the store was constantly busy. The food was great.

Fomos visitar esta pequena cidade e no almoço paramos neste café. Pedimos um "fish and chips ", que estava muito gostoso, tudo fresco e bem servido. Apenas demorou um pouco para sermos servidos, mas gostei!

Great for a nice breakfast roll etc. Traditional style Scottish cafe, friendly staff, and a nice little seating area.

We'd had a busy day grappling with no electricity at home. What better place to come - Paul, Liz and the friendly team made sure we were fed, watered and revitalised for the powerless evening ahead. One of the best fish and chip suppers going - full of flavour and FRESH! And their own home-made traditional Italian ice cream to finish it all off! Ten out of ten!

My brother and I called into the Central Cafe on Friday last week. We were tired and hungry and delighted with the service we received. We were warmly greeted by the owner Liz Soriani, who immediately put us at ease. My brother commented that he had never tasted chips like these since we were kids back in Ireland. He was right. Everything is freshly cooked. I strongly also advise anyone who goes there to try the ice cream. It's made from an Italian recipe handed down for generations and really is something else!! We will definitely be back for more.

We arrived just as the cafe closed but the owner reopened for us and served us really great Fish and Chips. The history of the place and the family who run it is fascinating and we couldn't have asked for a warmer welcome to the area. Everything was cooked fresh and served piping hot just what 4 adults and 5 children needed after a long day exploring.

A previous reviewer makes a round trip of 180 miles to eat here; our journey was more like 180 yards. Three of us had fish suppers and while we enjoyed them, I wouldn't rave over them. But I suppose it's a matter of context, and there are few chippies in the area. So if you are reasonably near, eat here.

Easily the best chip shop in the south west. Everything made fresh. Smokey supper & curry sauce!! Lovely. Only down side!! It's not in Newton Stewart!!!. :)

We regularly travel a round trip of 160 miles...to have a fish supper. Yes it is that good. In Mr and Mrs Soriani's café, you will have to wait, about 10 minutes or so, for your fish supper because it is always cooked fresh. But "That's the Way I Like It" and that is why I do my long journey for my fish supper. I am an experienced fish supper eater, world champions, Britain's best etc all the way from Whitby to Aberdeen, but The Central Café in Whithorn...."Nothing Compares to U".

If there's only 1 take-away / cafe near where you're staying, hope it's this one. The hard decision is do I go for fish & chips, a curry, a pizza, or maybe a bacon roll. The easy decision is to have an ice cream while they're cooking it. 5 minutes from Garlieston, 7 minutes from Isle of Whithorn.

This is always our first port of call when visiting the area. We always carry out. The fish is freshly cooked, decent sized and delicious. You usually have a 5 to 10 minute wait as everything is cooked tp order. It's worth the wait! Chips are tasty and non greasy. Would definately recommend!

We had no idea what to expect but it turned out to be the best fish and chips we have ever had in Scotland and possibly the best ever. Incredible! Ice cream was fantastic too.

The best chippy around! Lots of other great snacks too and icecream in cones to take away. A good spot to chat before exploring further

Our group of 6 all had the fish and chips and we all enjoyed them. The seating area holds 4 tables for 4 but another kind diner moved so we could all eat together. The chips are hand cut and tasty. The fish tasted fresh and the portion size was good. Two of us came back later in the day to sample the vanilla ice cream and really enjoyed it. The staff were cheerful.There is no bathroom so everyone had to pop down the street which could be a nuisance with a young family.