Helmi’s in Argyll & Bute

Didn't expect to find halal food on the island. Tried their Syrian breakfast platter which was very close to the food I've had at my Syrian friends. The staff was very lovely and welcoming.

Such a friendly place an I had (arguably) my best wrap ever - Chicken Shawarma - absolutely fantastic. My wife had the last Paris Brest ( should had popped in as soon as we got off the ferry for a greater choice) and that was fabulous. I thoroughly recommend Helmi’s and will definitely visit it again the next time we are up that way.

I am from Glasgow. I recently visited Rothesay on a one-day family tour. I found a halal food cafe called Helmi's. This business is run by Syrians and offers halal food, great hospitality, tasty food, a fantastic atmosphere, and reasonable prices. I highly recommend this cafe. If anyone visits Rothesay, they must visit this cafe for delicious food at a reasonable price.

Although it says on reviews this cafe is not dog friendly however Gather Deli next door is shame as we fancied some of Helmie’s cak s

Friendly, relaxed atmosphere, delicious coffee and cake. Best chicken wrap I have ever tasted. I will back.

Nice atmosphere and lovely cakes and coffee

Came here on recommendation for their apple tart, which they had sold out of! … picked up a selection of cakes to take away and all were sensational. Looked and tasted special, delicious treat!

Probably the best wraps we’ve ever had. Chicken shawarma was spiced beautifully and the indulgent Paris Brest was delicious. Fine coffee as well. Really friendly people and just a pleasure to visit. Thanks !

Great cup of coffee, beautifully steamed milk and great presentation! Hard to find!

Lovely bright, clean cafe, excellent homemade strawberry tarts and a good choice of teas and coffees. Friendly staff and decent prices, well worth a visit, sit in or takeaway available.

Really good lunch/cake spot! Highly recommend, staff were very nice and food was fresh and very tasty!

Fantastic place, always come here when I'm in Rothesay. The cakes are lovely for a treat, the food is fantastic. Plus they do proper Arabic coffee. Nothing better than sitting in the sun drinking one, takes me right back. Great staff too and the shop's origin is a wonderful success story.

Charming sea front cafe. Nice cappuccino and scone breakfast. Lemon tart was delicious! All the pastries looked good.

Just popped in and had cake and coffee only, as was waiting for the next ferry. Service was good and the coffee was good along with the cake.

Visited Rothesay Tuesday 6th August for 6hrs after getting off the Waverley…early afternoon we popped in and asked when was the last order for food I was told 4pm. My husband & I had a wander around the town and went back at 3.40 hoping to get something to eat before getting back on the Waverley….but was told by the girl behind the counter that they had stopped serving food!! BUT our gain was having a lovely cheeseboard, wine & coffee at The Gather Deli next door and they were lovely & welcoming

What a beautiful card. Food fantastic

A must visit. The cakes are amazing. Great choice of food and very tasty. The staff are very friendly and helpful

We saw Helmi's on an episode of The Hairy Bikers Go West - so we had to visit! We were not disappointed- the cakes and coffee were excellent,so good in fact we went twice while in Rothesay .

Beautiful cakes to look at that taste delicious. The award winning carrot cake, was understandably excellent. Light, fluffy and not too sweet. The apple pie was also brilliant, with a good balance of flavours and spice. Service was friendly and we will definitely return.

Delicious fresh food at reasonable prices, highly recommend the Zatar roll or wrap. Staff are lovely as well. Great vegetarian options too.

We went for lunch and found the food / coffee to be super. The selection of baked goods was awesome. The prices were very reasonable (10% service charge if you sit in but worth it). Clean & cosy venue. Would definitely recommend a visit. July '24.

We had take away cakes, red velvet and lemon and blueberry. Both were delicious. It's a pity that the man who served us didn't seem happy to be there.

Very nice lunch highly recommend this cafe

A lovely wrap. So stuffed full of chicken it was more dinner than light lunch. Beautifully spiced and very tasty. Young girl serving was very helpful and polite. Cakes looked delicious but had no room left for one. Next time....

Coffee was good. Cake (carrot and chocolate) tasted amazing but were a touch dry. They are somewhat limited by how many cold drinks they can make due to the small batch ice maker. Very friendly staff and nice interior. Overall would recommend!

Fantastic coffee. Good cakes but it was the chicken shawarma that is a must try.

This place is full of rat , I was doing some work for them seen afew rat there , stay away from this place That's why u feel sick after having something to eat on this place

The most delicious lemon meringue pie

Great atmosphere with very pleasant staff.

Brilliant place with helpful staff. Highly recommend it!

Amazing bakes extremely well presented, called back next day for more to take away wish it was closer to home in Bearsden. Coffee was very good as well

The lentil soup had a Syrian twist and was delicious, but the accompanying roll was very chewy, to say the least, and not to my liking.

Good food suitably priced and friendly service.

Fantastic food and coffee, the cakes are amazing, we will definitely return!!

The cakes are yummy but the service was shocking. Took an age and the waitress really did not know left from right. The cakes were yummy. Cost £15 for two with coffees

Outstanding delicious cakes, lovely clean cafe and very well priced for the amazing quality. Would highly recommend!

Delicious desserts and pastries. Shared an apple pie and a lemon meringue with coffees. I even got some baklava to go.

Truly excellent cakes and pastries and the staff were really friendly. Highly recommended!

Just exquisite. What an asset to Rothesay and Bute!

One of many great eateries on Bute, we make a point to drop in whenever we arrive on the island.

Love this wee place. Friendly staff, good food and amazing cakes. Beautiful place to sit and watch the world go by. Stunning views over the waterm

Delicious food, great value, overlooking the harbour 😍

Good coffee. Light cakes. The BEST lentil soup. Good prices too - though as a Londoner, my benchmarking might be askew.

Asked if they had gluten free, was told no they didn't. Asked did they have soya/alternative milk, no they didn't. My partner had black tea, I had a cup of tea. Sadly nothing there for us.

Best Coffee and sweets in the isle! The wraps are also amazing.

Best cakes we've had, so light and airy, felt like you could have eaten loads of them. Coffee was to a high standard. While we were there a regular customer came in for cakes and asked for a strawberry tart. There weren't any made but the owner instantly said it was no problem and within 5 minutes had produced 4 strawberry tarts. Now that's what I call customer service!!

Wonderful bowl of lentil soup and a lovely soft roll, served with a smile and great value for money. Went back after our cycle for a strawberry tart and a cappuccino. All delicious.

Visited early in the day for coffee and cake. Staff were happy for us to sit even though they were still opening up. Amazing cakes, we could have ordered them all! Paris Brest was delicious. Owner was so friendly especially with our two kids.

Lovely cafe, fabulous cakes and coffees, very friendly and welcoming. Excellent place for cakes and coffee, just the decor needs to be refreshed.We would definitely recommend and visit again and again.

Good wee caff - very clean friendly and decent home made food. The baklava is highly recommended.

Very good lentil soup , crisp sesame roll and delicious chocolate eclair. Handy for the pier. Obviously a very popular baker and takeaway shop.

Very pink and white decor and with a sea view. Tea and a tart was wonderful. Both the lemon merengue and the strawberry tarts were amazing. Staff friendly and helpful. Home with a box of baclava. We loved it.

The wraps were reasonable. The tea was served deconstructed i.e cup of water and tea bag on the side. Service was okay until I went to pay the bill. I was overcharged and pointed it out to the assistant. She advised her colleague I didn't want to pay the bill as tendered. Her colleague then told me that basically, the system says one price and our menus/chalk board says another, not our fault, we haven't got round to updating it. It was only 50p extra per item. so what was my problem. I pointed out the legalities and she agreed to deduct the £1.00 but told me she was now adding 10% service charge so that the bill would cost me more. I asked why there was a service charge as it wasn't advertised and she pointed out that it said on the board table service. I explained the difference between table service and service charge, pointed out that that addition was advertised nowhere, advised her to charge me illegally for whatever one she wanted , paid and won't return. Whatever happened to sorry, we got it wrong and the customer is always right, especially when he is.

Following a lovely walk through the woods above Rothesay my wife and I time ed our arrival at Helmis perfectly as it soon filled up.Excellent coffee. Raspberry and pistachio cake.

What a delight, great coffee a proper flat white but most exceptional was the croissant, superb 👌. Staff were also very welcoming.

Brilliant little café Syrian patisserie, very friendly (dog friendly too) great sandwiches and cakes. Highly recommended

Friendly and excellent customer service. Wouldn’t return due to cost. £8.75 for a cappuccino and some harissa cake.

We went mob-handed for a family lunch with a toddler. The food was on excellent and the staff could not have been more helpful. The prices were very reasonable. I can heartily recommend Helmi.

Delightful cafe which served up good food for all of my family when we recently visited. A particular mention to highlight the shawarma wrap with a perfectly strong Americano ☕️👌🏻. The waiting staff were warm and welcoming and couldn’t be more helpful. Overall definitely worth a visit.

All their cakes are really nice and fluffy 😍 they aren’t too sweet which is good. I really liked the pistachio cake as that’s not something you can find anywhere and the pistachio taste was quite prominent. A refreshing change from the sweet dense desserts from normal bakeries

Visited twice when in Bute, had wraps first time then coffee and lovely pastry the second time, excellent

Very welcoming. Lovely cakes. After 2 years of covid it is great to be able to support local businesses like this again.

Lovely place. If your having more than coffee and cake however the menu is a bit limited, but what is there is done well.

Stunning cakes and scrumptious hummus. Will definitely be back next time in Rothesay!

Best lunch in town, no need to go anywhere else.

Fantastic food and coffee, plus friendly staff made for a very pleasant visit. Would definitely recommend a visit.

I went here for a Syrian breakfast and was really impressed, as someone who previously lived in the region and loves the food. It was excellent value and very tasty. This was a wonderful find and I would highly recommend it, not least as there are options for everyone. The decoration and atmosphere inside is very comfortable.

Amazing selection of snacks and cakes to die for, lovely staff, always visit when on the island.

Wow! Lovely selection of cakes on display and a fantastic latte.

Th cakes are tasty, although the variety is limited and nothing like the Google maps photos

Exellent place for a drink very friendly young men that run it the cakes are delicious worth a visit gets busy but quality always does

Small and compact. Good friendly service Excellent coffee and pastries.

So good we ordered twice in one day! Kebab was so delicious we had one in the morning when we arrive d then again on the way back to the ferry. Would love to go back to try some of the cardamon tea and cakes.

Strawberry tarts are amazing 10/10

Excellent food, cake and coffee.

Lovely coffee and the chicken shawarma wrap is a must try! The manager/owner was really friendly and polite despite being run off his feet as the place is so popular! We went back twice , so nice to have the addition of Syrian culture and cooking in the Scottish isles 😊

Wonderful cafe Coffee and food amazing Loved the Syrian platter Very friendly service

Delicious, freshly prepared food. Syrian breakfast and wraps are my favourites. Cakes and pastries are superb especially strawberry tart and apple pie. Simply a must :)

Very popular. There's a good selection of food at reasonable prices. All freshly prepared and at a good standard.

When last visiting a friend in Rothesay, upon her return, my better half raved about the breakfast she'd had here. Our recent campervan trip meant the mutt was with us. Thus, with no dogs allowed, a takeaway lunch was the order of the day. Nevertheless, my chicken shawarma was simply D-E-L-I-C-O-U-S! A dog sitter is required for a full sit down meal experience.

Lovely place staff very friendly and the food well absolutely delicious.

Haven't sat in for a long time but takeaway cakes and coffee are great

Simply the best strawberry tart ever! 😋

What’s that? A Syrian breakfast on a wee island off the west mainland of Scotland? Surely not…! You couldn’t write it, but you can definitely eat it. Excellent meal from start to finish, topped off with superb service throughout.

Tried the Shawarma wrap, absolutely delish 😋 fabulous flavours but not nippy or hot. Had to have one of their superb cakes,top class and lovely coffee ☕ too, to top all this the service is excellent,you can't visit this beautiful Island without going to Helmis!!!!

Beautiful cake, good friendly service, if a wee bit disorganised. Recommend a visit though.

We had Shawarama Chicken wraps and a selection of cakes. Absolutely delicious and reasonably priced.

Beat place for cakes and coffee on the island of

You gotta try their pastries and cakes etc, they’re very very tasty! They don’t have all those five-star reviews for nothing!

Adorable little cafe with staff who are very welcoming and friendly. Clean and comfortable. The food we had was amazing. We highly recommend the Syrian breakfast, especially in this hot weather; light, delicious and healthy. Reasonably priced. Their cakes are also to die for if you're looking for a healthy treat. Do not skip this cafe!

Excellent food, great service not to be missed

Unmissable! The best cafe we visited during our 5 ferries adventure. Possibly the best cakes we have ever had! Excellent friendly service with a smile and high quality food. We ended up going back a second time, the day we were leaving, to get 5 cakes to take home with us as it was SO GOOD! A real asset to Rothesay. Thank you!

Open, airy and great food. Syrian breakfast different but wonderful

Very nice food and friendly staff

What a find! Such simple decoration and presentation but the food is fantastic. A real hidden gem. The chicken shawarma wrap is delicious, as is the breakfast platter. The cakes were an absolute delight too - full of flavour, light, moist... Wow. This place totally deserves its 4.9*.

Nice wee place. Friendly and welcoming with good service. Nice chicken wraps and good soup.

Very friendly and the food is just the best

Coffee excellent cakes delicious

Visited during a day trip after reading the favourable reviews. Had takeaway latte's and home made chocolate éclairs, magnificent. Prices are the cheapest you will find. Well done for offering takeaway during the current restrictions.

Great! Polite and prompt service!👍