Crichton Central Cafe in Dumfries & Galloway

Staff are always well mannered and professional. The food is always of the highest quality and it is great value for money.

My wife and I discovered the Crichton Central Cafe about 2 years ago and have visited whenever we go to Dumfries and have had many good experiences with food, drink and pleasant staff. However, we visited about a month ago on a sunny Sunday lunchtime, sat outside and a waitress came and took our order. We sat patiently and waited and saw food and drink being served to others who had arrived after us. After waiting for 25 minutes I went inside and asked how much longer our food and drink would be. The waitress who took our order looked rather sheepish, checked the info on the electronic till and said that there was no order alongside our table number. There was no apology. I was asked to repeat my order and told that it would be served as a matter of urgency. When the order was brought to the table the same waitress said that she had taken the cost of the drinks off our bill and added that we could have a free traybake each. Still no apology. My wife had ordered a BBQ chicken salad, which clearly stated a boiled egg within the contents. The salad arrived without a boiled egg but we couldn't face having to complain again. We ate up, paid our bill, collected our traybakes, got an apology at last, and left. We had intended to refrain from using the place again but were missing the place so returned, again on another sunny Sunday. We both ordered a salad bowl, and asked the waitress if it included a boiled egg and were re-assured that all salads were served with a boiled egg. The menu also stated that the salad bowl contained a serving of cous cous. When our food arrived, both salads were completely eggless, which was bad enough, but neither of them had any cous cous. We did notice that there was some kind of bean medley in the bottom of the bowls. When we paid the bill and questioned the omissions we were told that chef had run out of cous cous so had put some beans in. When we asked about the eggs we received a shoulder shrug. I find this behaviour unacceptable. It is my belief that we should have been informed that two in gredients were missing and asked if we still wanted a salad. Also there was no reduction in price due to the omissions. In fact on the way home we realised that we had been overcharged by £2. We won't be returning, such a shame because prior to these two experiences we loved the place.

The food was outstanding and the service was good as well, I would really recommend visiting this place for lunch, breakfast or just a coffee with friends. It is a really good option for lunch especially, over all very good.

I played here last Saturday. Superb venue - great sound all provided by an excellentsound engineer. The staff were very friendly. All in all a very positive experience. The audience loved it.

Very rude blonde staff member, not the older one, acted like she couldn't be bothered, and overcharged. The young girl who brought our food however was very nice

Great facility, very comfortable. Food was delicious and coffee - excellent! Staff were very friendly. The area is absolutely beautiful with many interesting buildings.

Going downhill like the bistro did. About the 3rd time I’ve been here and left as service is so poor. Told by 2 staff members they will get someone to take my order. Still waiting 20mins later!

Popped in today for a hot drink and cake, lovely place comfy relaxing chairs, we were asked if we were dining in or takeaway said we were eating in, we were asked to take a table anywhere and we will be served there. Lovely staff order taken after 5 mins very quick service even though it was busy, will come back again and have lunch as the sandwiches and jacket potato’s looked good.

Very nice cafe , and dog friendly, great coffee and a selection of cakes did visit about 2pm and they had no scones left the only downside is a wee bit slow ( not very busy at time of visit)

* The staff are very friendly and attentive * Great food at a reasonable price * It is immaculate * The surroundings are beautiful

Excellent value for money! Great service, Great food! Very friendly young waitress! All round super experience

Great spot, great coffee and great prices. Lovely setting and pleasant staff. Will be back for the soup and sandwich combo again soon!

Scone was stale. Service was terrible I counted 7 staff for 3 tables and still took 30 mins to get served.

Staff friendly,food excellent,spotlessly clean.Will definetly be back.Thank you Kylie,Sam,Russell and Kirsty

Very nice place. Lovely food and quick service. The seating is very comfortable in the lounge and the view is great.

Lovely food, nice casual atmosphere and friendly staff! Bonus points for pram space and the best views!

Great venue and great service! 😊Samantha and Niamh were fantastic. Will definitely be back 🍳 🍰 ☕️

I visited the cafe on 4th August with two friends and while we were there the chair I was sitting on collapsed because the chair leg broke. Fortunately there were no broken bones but my right foot hurt for a few days afterwards. The staff did not handle this well and I decided to write a letter of complaint to the events manager. To date I have had no reply to my letter.

Nice food but shocking service, sat for a good 10 minutes and finally had to ask for the order to be taken, the waitress had a right attitude issue

This is a wee gem, beautiful surroundings, the food is lovely, and the service was excellent. It is a comfortable place to sit inside, well laid out, and the outside area for you and pets is perfect.

after several visits i can be assured that the harassed waiting staff will not bring you what you ordered . the food is ok - the surroundings ok, nice to sit outside . lacks any attempt at cheerful service or attention to detail .

We had a lovely lunch at the Crichton Central Cafe in beautiful surroundings. We were greeted by the manager with a warm welcome and friendly smile and she saw us to our table and took our order. She was good enough to modify the menu...

First time we have ever been and we walked from the city centre to it. It was a long way but worth the walk. The place was set in an absolutely spectacular location. The Cafe boasted great outdoor seating and lovely cosy indoor areas. The...

Staff at this cafe that advertises itself as a family friendly venue found it accepted to berate my 1 year old and 2 year old for walking around the shared space when we were getting ready to leave, the staff member must assume I am...

I went to this cafe once last year and it wasn’t too bad but I went there last Monday with my husband and it was terrible.. The waitress was miserable, service slow. My husband ordered a combo of carrot and orange soup and tuna mayo...

Today our family of four visited for lunch. What a wonderful place to eat the table was well cleaned the service was 1st class and as for the food it was excellent. We will certainly be visiting again in the near future. Excellent value for...

I have been twice now. Food was fine, basic cafe food and lovely coffee. Can recommend the scones and pancakes. Both times the service has been very friendly and efficient. Please note that if a table is reserved for a wheelchair user then it needs...

Very slow , poor service , uninviting staff, badly organised has definitely got worse from when it first opened, will not be back !

When you are in Dumfries and walking in the Crichton grounds looking for somewhere nice to have your lunch then the place that I'm about to review is the place for you, and that place is the Crichton Central Cafe. I visited Crichton Central yesterday...

A marvelous place to stop - had wonderful coffee, used the free wifi, took a few mins to walk around the grounds with my dog, and then started my day. A wonderful resource on The Crichton Estate for coffee, sandwiches, lovely cakes, soup and other...

While visiting the beautiful Crichton Gardens, my husband came across this super cafe. He enjoyed his morning coffee so much he took me there for lunch later in the day. So glad he did as it was great place for lunch too. There were plenty...

We visited today for coffee, and were very impressed. We'd been at an earlier café in the same premises, which was nice enough, but this was a big improvement. It was light and airy inside (though actually we sat outside). The espressos were excellent. I...