Friend of Mine in Stirling

Visited for Sunday brunch and sat right at the back. The restaurant was absolutely freezing. Just about everyone had coats or jackets on. Food was good, always consistent. The majority of service was good, host was lovely. When I asked for a macchiatto the male server asked me if I knew what that was, yes I said. He said, I don't know how to explain this but it's not a latte and was OK was that? Yes, that why I asked for a macchiatto. Sigh! So FOM, turn on your heating when it's less than 10 degrees outside and make sure you servers don't treat people like they don't know what they are ordering, a bit patronising.

FofM is consistently high end for service, food & atmosphere. It’s my regular place to go & I am welcomed by Suzanne like a VIP! I do visit often because there are always good options for a gluten free vegan. I believe it’s all home made which is important to what I want.

This is a delightful spot! Two in our party had bao and both varieties were delicious. Another had venison and another a chicken sandwich. Everyone enjoyed their meal and the service was excellent.

Excellent food and friendly efficient service

Extremely busy at lunchtime but service was very good. Food is a bit out of the ordinary not the usual old stuff. Very well prepared and presented. French toast with a difference and unusual combo of ingredients on tacos.

All good, excellent brunch menu quickly served by friendly staff.

Great food and service. Just a bit noisy when the restaurant is full.

The food is fantastic and caters for all tastes. Decent selection, from starters to desserts. And a good choice of drinks - not over priced. The staff were great, despite it being busy and looked after us well. It’s good value for money, and the portions aren’t small. Second visit and will go back. I would recommend booking a table as it seems very popular. All ages from 4 - 70 👍

Delicious meal. I love the menu in this wee place. Really inventive with good veggie options. We both had bao buns and some delicious loaded fries. Service was pleasant and efficient and the place was (quite rightly) full on a Friday night.

Lovely flavours and interesting menu choice. Highly recommend.

Fantastic place to eat! Services a bit slow but we were in no hurry

Although not a huge choice what was available was very good. The food was very fresh and tasty.

Lovely and efficient service, and great advice on what we order. Food was also delicious, we had the pork boa buns and rosemary salt chips and yum!!

Another great visit to Friend of Mine, service was just right, food amazing, love it!

La comida era decepcionante - plato de batata carecía de condimento y podría haber pasado como una de sus opciones de plato pequeño, pero era parte del menú principal del brunch. El arroz frito no sabía como si hubiera haggis en él. Matcha Iced Latte era increíblemente dulce y carecía del sabor real del matcha. Decepcionante como habíamos oído cosas buenas sobre este lugar.

Delicious food, well worth a visit

Always an interesting menu with really tasty vegetarian food. Meals you wouldn;t cook at home. Small plates and main meals available. Nice wine and good service.

Our favourite place ever! Amazing, unique and tasty food that blows you away. Especially the gluten free and vegan options that are out of this world

Cute cafe with the most incredible brunch and lunch menu and great coffee. We decided to have a little day to us even though this cafe is dog friendly and will visit again as we enjoy a little walk around Stirling uni grounds (they have some lovely trails) I really enjoyed my dirty chai (if you know me, it's my go to) and Ally had a really great ice Vietnamese coffee, the sweet hit of condensed milk was lush. Ally opted for the Haggis XO fried rice and would not stop mmmm'ing at it and refused to share I had spied on their socials a new special hitting their menu, and this was exactly what I was having. It was bite for bite, beautiful We shared some fries and these were packed full of flavour, I loved the way the tofu was crumbled on the fries it almost reminded me of poutine, obviously just not as wet with gravy, but the fries packed a kick and the welcome freshness of the mint uplifted the sweet and spiciness of the fries It was a busy lunch service and we managed to get a table as it was heading towards the later side of lunch but by the time we were leaving the restaurant was full again, and I can understand why, the food is full of flavour, the menu offers some really great dishes and the coffee is fantastic. Staff are lovely and were working their socks of to keep on top of everything. It is definitely worth a wee day trip from Glasgow (around 40mins) you can make a day of it by exploring the beautiful little independent shops, a walk around the uni, or a visit to the Wallace Monument

Amazing food! Place was packed with people and it seems to be an extremely wanted to place to have food or drinks. Quality of all the food was super good and prices were not crazily high. Big recommend!

Great food and great atmosphere.

Simply love this place. Great for first dates and relationship celebrations as well as just meeting up with friends. Love how friendly the staff are and how welcoming they are. Plus the food is delish!! Wonderful pre Valentine dinner, thank you

Always a fantastic dining experience - breakfast roll and the chicken waffle for us today 😋

Comida sabrosa y bien preparada. La atención al detalle era evidente. Disfrutamos de nuestra cena de 2 platos y estamos encantados por el sabor y la presentación de la comida, gracias por el excelente servicio que estaremos de vuelta.

Excellent brunch, fry up and french toast, perfect set up for a day's walking in the Ochils...

Food was 10/10, pork belly bao, Mongolian chicken bao and pig out fries. Highly recommend booking, you will not be disappointed.

Estamos decepcionados con una visita a FOM! Mi compañero y yo compartimos 3 platos pequeños para empezar (¡El plato pequeño de Salmón Curado fue un particular sobresaliente! ) y ambos tuvimos una hamburguesa y compartimos una porción de papas fritas para la red. ¡Tenía la nueva hamburguesa de pollo de Nashville que según recuerdos es la mejor hamburguesa de pollo que he probado! Mi pareja tenía la hamburguesa de tofu que también disfrutó mucho. Lavado con un par de cócteles Hugo Spritz para una maravillosa comida del sábado por la noche. El servicio como siempre es genial también! Recomiendo a fondo 👌🏻

Food is great but my God some of the portion sizes for 'mains' are miniscule, nouvelle cuisine style but pricey so if you're hungry and looking forward to a main meal for lunch, you could be disappointed. You really need to ask about portion size before you order. I paid £16 for a 'main' that was 'starter' sized, 3 light bites on a side plate which probably would have cost about £6 elsewhere. I don't mind paying for a nice meal which I could have got somewhere else, certainly for that price. I resent being short changed. Sorry Friend of Mine but disappointed customer

I came in today 8th Feb with a friend for lunch. We ordered two dishes from the Mains section. My friend ordered a walnut salad and I ordered the Cauliflower Rare bit. Well my Cauliflower certainly was a 'rare bit'. It came on a side plate and was barely 3 bites of food, a miniscule portion, hardly a main. Both my friend and I were quite shocked, her meal was twice the size. I don't know what the portion sizes of the other dishes are but this was ridiculous! And for £16!? I've been in many times and yes the food is lovely but I really feel rather ripped off, customers could feel very short changed. I know times are hard but £16 is more expensive than many other places in terms of portion size and you need to be a little less stingy. Don't charge main meal prices for starter sized portions. It was tiny!

Took our student son here for lunch on an impromptu visit. We received a warm welcome and despite being a busy Friday lunchtime we didn’t have to wait too long for our food. Everything is cooked freshly to order and we had the chicken burgers, Korean Bao buns and a side of rosemary fries and freshly squeezed orange juices. Beautifully presented and greats flavours. It’s no wonder this is a popular spot.

Always great food, service, and ambiance! Thank You!

Amazing food every bite delicious... Staff were friendly and attentive... Definitely recommend dinner here

The team is just great in there, chilled, welcoming atmosphere, and always great food.

Burger was great, as was beetroot and fetta, but not a fan of tofu

Really enjoyed our visit to Friend of Mine that had a great menu with lots to choose from. Chose the salmon Benedict and the taste and flavours were great. Hot roast salmon with beautiful poached eggs - shall be back. Also had the breakfast bap which is more than a handful. There is passion in the kitchen and it shows. Good service and a busy place which shows that everyone appreciates the quality being offered.

Great food, fantastic atmosphere and excellent service as always.

Fabulous banana bread and a lovely smooth coffee

Lovely place in Bridge of Allan, we called in here a couple of times. Fabulous coffee and very tasty Cinnamon Rolls.

Had a lovely lunch with some friends. Place was hopping but the staff coped really well and we were all served in good time. Food was delicious as usual .

Lovely food. Great service. Lovely staff

Nice place, food was good, not cheap 😋 I'm afraid, a lunch for 4 persons with no alcohol was £90, which I thought was quite expensive for 2 burgers, 1 x vegetarian ceaser salad and a chicken bao, and 4 coldrinks, very busy so they must be doing something right? Service was OK, it did take a while coming to the table. All in all it was OK.

Beautiful food I could not fault it 👌🏻The venison was just delicious,keep up the good work guys!

I've tried Friend of Mine twice now and I won't be rushing a third time. Service was bland and basic, no check in half way through meal. Food took 35 minutes which yes it's fresh and tasted lovely but not worth the wait. Quite pricey for a burger then to add on the fries, which were frozen and not real, I guess that's how meals go now.

Lovely food, nice occasion however the Service was a bit calamitous albeit the young lad was very apologetic.

Went here with my fiance for dinner in late November. Been before for lunch and got amazing pancakes and waffles. Stand outs for dinner was the bao buns and the fried cauliflower. Only issue we found was we couldnt decide between commiting to a tapas style dinner or having full plates each. 9/10

We had a lovely brunch. Everything was delicious and the staff were very friendly and attentive. Atmosphere was great. This place is doing everything right. Would highly recommend!

everything about this restaurant is fantastic - lucky to have you on our doorstep!

Excellent friendly staff. Food wonderful.

Always fantastic food, staff are excellent, atmosphere is great, wine recommendation very good as well. not 5/5 as GF options for Coeliac family member seem reduced compared to previous visits.

Excellent fusion dishes After stopping in at HAVN bakery next door, they mentioned that this was their partner restaurant, and it seems the quality is equal or better here. The food was an interesting fusion of italian and asian dishes, the chef has a real talent for balancing sweet and savoury. We had, Wild mushroom arancini, these were phenomenal! The depth of flavour from the mushrooms was unmatched, 10/10 Pig out fries, a bit more comfort food than their other dishes, but it was good to munch on and definitely filled a hole, 8/10 Xinjiang lamb, presentation was like something you get in a michelin restaurant... if it weren't for the log of meat which I'll be honest looked a little odd. I wasn't 100% sold on the cold terrine-style used here, but the flavours from the sauces, especially the apple sauce, were fantastic. If the meat has been more like an actual chunk of meat from lamb roasted on the bone this could have been a 10/10, but as it was something wasn't quite right for me, so 8.5/10 Roasted beetroot with pear and cavolo nero, this dish was wonderful, bursting with flavour, not too heavy, brilliant stuff 9/10 Overall we had an excellent experience. We actually tried to come back for round 2 another day but it was fully booked - always a good sign! We'll be back another day, don't you worry!

Lovely food, coffee and service. Would recommend!

Great food and efficient and friendly service every time we've been. Love the menu. The place has a buzzy vibe and space to sit outside if you want a quieter space and to watch the world go by.

Loved this place. Great menu all day be it breakfast/brunch/lunch. The speciality coffees are really good also, my dirty chai was perfect. I had breakfast tacos for brunch and they were 10/10 - perfect portion size and so tasty and anyway, anything with pickled red onions will be a winner for me. Definitely will be back.

Monday brunch. Great selection of brunch, lunch, and snacks. Food was so flavourful - I had the buttermilk chicken waffle which was really tasty. Nice buzzy atmosphere.

Lovely place, food great, service great. We’ll be going back .

Amazing food, wonderful service and a beautiful vibe - love this place

Great delicious food as always!

Eggs royale served with tinned salmon, never seen that before, disappointed to say the least

I've just paid 20 pounds for a burger that was so salty only my hunger got it down, and a portion of chips for my son. The burger didn't come with chips, so I went low carb today. My six year old needed two 'kids portions' of chips. Both were charged. The atmosphere is nice, just the noise levels leave me with ringing ears just like after clubbing night. Service was great, which I couldn't honour with a tip, because paying each chip individually didn't leave me with any money.

Lively lunchtime cafe served a really good Full Scottish with delicious sour dough toast from the bakery next door. Great value, lovely staff

Lovely spot Food was fresh, staff is kind and attentive, generous portions of burger and fries. We loved the oyster mushrooms starter! Bonus point for the Moretti on draught, such an unexpected find!

Amazing food and quick service, was very busy but that's our fault for going on a Saturday night.

Our time there started well, with nice staff and an exciting menu. However, my "eggs royale" arrived and instead of smoked salmon, it was essentially cold canned salmon instead, which did not make it worth the price nor did it taste good. Very disappointing. Then we ordered pumpkin pie for dessert, and the hostess lady came by and told us we only had 15 minutes left on our reservation and we were okay with that because we were sharing the pie and would eat quickly. Our spoons were dropped off for our pie. Then, within 2 minutes of the hostess telling us our reservation would be up in 15 mins, she brought our receipt and aggressively said "here's your receipt" and threw it on the table rudely. We immediately felt unwelcome so we got up and paid having not got our pumpkin pie. One of the servers asked us on our way out if we ever got our pie and I said "no, we were brought our receipt and we felt like we were being kicked out so we've just paid and are leaving" and the server said "sorry about that, would you like pie to go?" And we said no thank you and left. Very uncomfortable, unsettling, and disappointing, and do not get the Eggs Royale.

I have reviewed FoM before and praised it extensively. After a two year hiatus, we returned for lunch. There are a few aspects that seem to have missed the mark. Firstly, the cardinal rule in hospitality is, if people turn up wanting to eat, feed them. Do not turn them away saying "come back in an hour" because your tables are full when at least six of them are unoccupied. It was only as we turned to walk out they suddenly decided they could accommodate us after all. In the time we were there, at least five of those tables were unused at any given time. Who did they expect to turn up? Secondly, and I know this is not just a FoM issue, but letting dogs into a place of food consumption is just the wrong thing to do. I know the law in Scotland says it's OK as long as it is not in food prep areas, but the food in FoM is prepped right beside where people eat. I do not wish to trip over a dog or its lead, watch a dog lick itself when no tongue should really go, or the staff touching them, or consider all the fleas and other inhabitants of a dog's fur that could be headed my way. FoM has an outside eating area - keep the mutts outside and leave the inside clean for humans. Thirdly, the food. I'm not a vegan but something caught my eye about the "vegan fry" so I decided to give it a go. If you're a vegan, look away now. It was truly terrible. The potato scone (which I normally like) was hard, curled up and dry. It took some cutting. The baked beans were barely warm. The "haggis" was grim and I have had veggie haggis before - this was just a slice of compressed nutty and seedy stuff. The mushrooms (well done for having different varieties) were soggy and almost cold. The scrambled egg tofu - very insipid. The sourdough toast was cold. Not sure what the spready stuff was. Probably marge. The tomatoes - tepid and tasteless. The sliced avocado (conspicuously not fried) had no place on the plate so I donated it to my wife. Likewise the limp, cold spinach. The entire dish looked and tasted like it had been prepared hours ago and kept under not very effective heat lamps and then dumped randomly on the plate. On the plus side the arancini were tasty - and hot. As were the rosemary fries. Final grumble - probably not their fault - Scottish tap water. Yuk. Smells and tastes stale. No amount of lemon in the jug could disguise it. They should consider installing a filter system. I will give FoM the benefit of the doubt for this one-time slip as every other time it has been very good. But if this is vegan food - pass me the steak.

Fantastic small plates on the menu last night. Super selection particularly for vegetarians like me

Food was top notch ! Highly recommend

Amazing food, alot of choice in food. Just great!

Really nice place, the food was delicious and so many different choices, lots of locally sourced things too including drink. Gluten free also no problem with everything easily marked, didn’t feel like a problem and had lots of choice!

We visited Stirling for 2 days and ate lunch here both days! We appreciated the creative vegetarian options and extensive drink menu with smoothies, cocktails, etc. It’s easy enough to take the 23 bus to/from Stirling, and it’s a cute town to walk around. You can even walk from here to the Wallace Monument in about 40 minutes. The tofu tacos and rosemary salt fries are both very tasty. And the chocolate brownie is amazingly sweet & delicious (save room for dessert!). The food is fresh, the service is friendly and you can sit inside or outside.

Fairly busy place. Food, unfortunately, was just 'meh' - most of the dishes we had were underwhelming. However, the service was faultless.

Nice creative dishes, waitress is charming

A return visit to the restaurant. Learning from the last visit, we booked. Nice ambiance although tables are tight, be aware that there is a dog friendly policy. Interesting menu although my favourite from last time was no longer available. The menu can also take some studying as the dishes and combinations can be unfamiliar. Service was efficient with particularly friendly serving staff. A really enjoyable experience, with well presented high quality food (photos posted). Can be pricey and leave some extra time if you need parking as spaces in the immediate vicinity can be sparse.

Excellent food, friendly and efficient service. We had a variety of small plates to share and each one was delicious and well thought out. It's a shame that I don't live here as I'd be back there all the time.

Amazing food and super friendly team looking after us. Earl Gray Peach Salad is my all time fav, thanks!

Disappointed with the temperature of my food. The place itself was pleasant but I like my food piping hot. Shame this ruined my weekend with friends. Not sure I'd go back.

This place is amazing...whoever owns this place should be very very proud of their young team they have in there and run it seamlessly, in my opinion. Went in last night for dinner with my wife...we had the duck terrine, pig out fries and the Japanese burger...oh my do the kitchen team know their flavours...was amazing as usual. I am never put off by the menu wording(too many big words for me:))as been that aften that I have total faith in that, if i ordered 'blind', I would still be blown away with the flavours this young kitchen team produce in there. We then had the treacle tart and the polenta cake...normally i steer clear of polenta as its never 'managed' properly in alot of places...however this was up there with 1 of the best deserts i've ever had. Bravo Team

Polenta, apricot and pistachio cake tasted every bit as delicious as it looks! Hubby had cinnamon swirl which was also amazing! Lovely tea too!

I stopped there for breakfast on my way from Perth to London, and certainly enjoyed the coffee and their Chicken Waffle. Staff were super friendly too!

Passing by on a tour of Scotland and randomly tried here. Had pork belly bao and the fancy fries. Phenomenal. One of the nicest meals of my life. Only sad thing is I'll probably never eat there again. Go there. It's amazing.

It is the first time we come to this place and although we have limitations (gluten and lactose) we have had many dishes to choose from. The 4 of us liked everything we ordered, so we have decided to repeat.

Really nice staff but tiny matcha latte for the price

The food is so close to being great - just need to serve the coffee hotter and avoid overcooking the poached eggs (or ask how you want them done if they are hard yolk as standard). Love the menu, but the kitchen needs to keep an eye on the details. I just want a runny yolk with brunch food 😅

Happy to find this restaurant still serving food after 8pm. Wide choice of interesting menu options and the food I chose was very tasty.

Great service and outstanding food and would recommend the burgers

Fantastic little place. Managed to squeeze us in last minute without a booking. Food was tasty, beautifully presented and came out quickly. Varied menu, with something for everyone's taste. Absolutely loved it.

Great experience here. We weren't booked so sat at the bar and loved their roast cod. Best dish I've had in Stirling for a looooong time 😊

The bloke with the back tattoo gave me the best dessert of my life

A delicous spot ! fresh, healthy, and original food, with Asian inspirations (peanut and miso sauces, Japanese burger). Yummy deserts (special shot to the Pistaccio and the cookie one). Also, very good fresh juices (the orange one is great). And finally, the waiters were really nice !!!

First time here definitely recommend, The Japanese inspired chicken burger was amazing,

Exquisite dinner. Fine food, well presented. Makes you want to come back!

High creativity in the preparation of dishes and courageous and pleasant combination of flavors.

I really enjoyed the Japanese inspired chicken burger. It had lovely flavours of miso and honey, whilst the chicken was cooked excellently and had a crunchy coating. The fries were tasty but could have had more of a crunch to them! Service was quick and the atmosphere was vibrant. This is just the kind of place Bridge of Allan needs! May it develop and continue to flourish.

Delicious food. Very well done Asian inspired meat and vegan grub. Roast cauliflower small plate was superb as were the bao buns and the tofu fries. It's a busy place , quite rightly, so is noisy and was a little slow on the evening we went due to numbers but worth the trip for sure. Great vibe.

Fabulous little restaurant in Bridge of Allan Friendly attentive staff Fantastic and different from the usual menu Food was freshly cooked beautifully served and tasted amazing . Rosemary chips were yummy Definitely worth a visit can’t wait to return

Great food. Great service. Ordered from every section of the menu to try as much as we could. Cullen Skink Bon bons were to die for. I had the steak burger which is the first time I’ve had to use a knife and fork on a burger as it was so stuffed with flavour. Drinks were great and the staff were lovely.

As per star ratings this place was well worth the visit. Great burgers, friendly service. Will be back.

Excellent fry with brunch served until 2pm

My wife and I enjoyed a weekday lunch here in June. We booked online which was efficient. Staff warm and friendly, attentive throughout. Great drinks menu and lovely smoothies. Food delicious and such a diverse menu - need to come back to enjoy all the different dishes. Enjoyed the prawns, bon bons and pig out fries on this occasion. Food arrived promptly, piping hot and hit the spot. Great value for money. Enjoy!

There is a reason why this beautiful Cafe is always so busy. The food and drink are exceptional. I loved the pork belly baos...lots of good veggie and vegan options too. The staff were extremely accommodating, hospitable and kind. We visited for brunch today and had a large table which kept growing. In the end there were about 12 of us eating. The lady manager and staff were so patient in dealing with our last minute requests. Our family and friends had a wonderful time today. Thank you for taking good care of us. We left with happy memories and full bellies of delicious food!

There is a reason why this beautiful Cafe is always so busy. The food and drink are exceptional. I loved the pork belly baos...lots of good veggie and vegan options too. The staff were extremely accommodating, hospitable and kind. We visited for brunch today and had a large table which kept growing. In the end there were about 12 of us eating. The lady manager and staff were so patient in dealing with our last minute requests. Our family and friends had a wonderful time today. Thank you for taking good care of us. We left with happy memories and full bellies of delicious food!