Hunters Lodge Hotel Restaurant in Dumfries & Galloway

Lovely little cafe on the upper floor of the old building. There are photos in the stairwell showing how the building was converted to its current use. Friendly staff serve a wide range of teas and decent coffees and a load of different pastries and lunches. Masses of parking opposite.

As it’s a small popular place booking in advance is probably recommended. We were looking for a table on a Saturday night during the Spring Fling event in the region so left a message with the restaurant whilst traveling to Kirkcudbright. The owner returned the call and fortunately, thanks to a cancellation, was able to arrange our reservation for dinner the following night - a promising start. On the evening of our visit the bistro was busy however there was still a relaxed ambiance about the place. The sole waitress taking orders and attending to the tables was pleasant and seemed knowledgeable about the menu and the only other member of staff appeared to be the owner/chef. He popped out and chatted with us towards the end of service to allow the waitress to get home as a few diners like us were finishing off drinks and still to receive their desserts and settle their bills. He seemed sociable and relaxed and clearly hadn’t adopted the Gordon Ramsay approach to the restaurant business. Being a small place we were not surprised at the outset that the menu was limited to about half a dozen items per course including specials however it gave a decent choice in our view. We both ordered a “special” for starters - Tempura Battered Prawns (£7.95). As was the case throughout the evening, the dish was served up to the table in good time. Six king prawns each with a sweet chilli sauce with a salad garnish and balsamic. It was a tasty start. For mains my wife ordered the Seabass, served with king prawns, a white wine & tomato sauce and fresh vegetables (£21.00). I had Duck a L’Orange (£21.95) which was another item from the specials board. Neither of the mains dishes would be winning prizes for presentation however most importantly they both tasted good. The fish was nicely cooked and my wife enjoyed the other parts of the dish. The duck was also good albeit the chef was later surprised I’d left the fat on the plate. I queried if people normally ate the fat and he commented that they often do and that he rendered it to make it more appealing. Thankfully this was not an overly fatty duck breast in any case but I was quite happy to leave the small amount I did on the plate. For dessert my wife had Sticky Toffee Pudding with ice cream and I had a Citrus Tart served with a small selection of fresh berries and cream. The puddings were £6.50 each and both enjoyable. Overall we liked our experience at the bistro and with our three course meal for two costing just under £72 we thought it was reasonable value for money. We had added a bottle of NZ Yealands Sauvignon Blanc wine for £25 only just keeping the bill under £100. A walk to the harbour to watch the sunset as we headed back to our accommodation rounded off the evening well.

Not certain what happened to our dinner. We had met there with our party of 6, 24 hours later we were all sick. Food also had strange sour notes and tasted off. Couldn't bring ourselves to say that we all weren't enjoying our food, but the next day we really found out how bad it was. Still recovering too. I'd advise to be cautious of when you visit this place, and try not to go during slower periods of time. It seems that their quality really does vary by how many people are visiting their establishment.

Amazing place, friendly staff and food great !

The SWI had our Christmas Meal here this year and pre ordered. I had the turkey and trimmings which was served on a huge platter and three huge slices of turkey. Everything cooked to perfection. I took the apple strudel and ice cream - great ice cream. Everyone enjoyed what they had ordered and a lovely atmosphere, and attentive serving staff who were pleased to see us and cheery.