Kilmartin Museum Cafe in Argyll & Bute

Six of us for lunch on a busy Saturday...table reserved as asked, and was shown to our table by helpful lady. Lovely choice of specials/soup/pasta etc, something for everyone. We were informed they were very busy and there would be a short wait for our food which was fine, good to be told in advance. Food was delicious, we had a range of lunches and we all enjoyed it. We could not resist a coffee and cake afterwards, what a choice, just lovely. Highly recommend this lovely Bistro. Keep up the good work folks.

Firstly, why close a cafe at 3.30? Secondly, having angry signs which say 'Don't move the furniture' is just not hospitable. Food average, atmosphere, unfriendly, and certainly not welcoming. What a shame, such a great missed opportunity here.

We stopped off for a coffee and a cake. The lady who served us was lovely. However we were extremely put off by the female chef who nibbled at the food including crisps and salad as she was plating up the meals! Otherwise we might have stayed for lunch.

Please ensure your website has accurate info! We always stop for lunch, or cake & coffee at Kilmartin Museum cafe during our week at Melfort Village. This year, we stopped twice and read the 'not open today' sign. On the 3rd stop, the website said it closed at 5pm, but when we stopped, a sign on the door said closing at 3.30, so we missed it.

Cafe closed!!!! Why when museum is so busy ? Almost everyone was asking about it. Even a self service machine would have helped. Considering how good the caravan service during the construction phase was..... great selection of food all day. You're missing a trick folks!!

Quality food at competitive prices. There is a good range of savoury items and cakes which I believe are produced on site. Note food is brought to your table and when busy there is a little bit of a wait, but nothing significant. We were there at 12 noon This represents what you should properly expect from a well run cafe.

We had a baked potato and a toastie for lunch when we visited the Kilmartin Museum. The potato was limp and not very big, and the toastie was tiny. The cakes looked good so it might be OK for an afternoon cuppa.

Didn’t even get in to the cafe as we were just after 3pm. Despite the museum being open until 5pm, the cafe shut at 3 and so we didn’t get to go. Really disappointing, especially as we were not the only visitors around.

So bank holiday weekend. Car park full, the glen full people everywhere. Walked from the temple wood car park. Cafe closed at 3pm well we got there at 2.50 and closed.. at least 13 people came after us.. BH Weekend... Think it through

Popped in for lunch with the kids. Fairly busy, but found a table in the conservatory. After a few minutes, we cleared away the previous customers plates and cups and gave it a wipe with a napkin. As you have to find a table and order at the counter, arcing staff don’t really know who is arriving and where, so it’s a bit disorganised. Ordered a pasta, sandwiches, drinks and a couple of bowls of chips. 45 min wait time for food with 2 hungry kids was a long time! Friendly member of staff apologised and gave us some iced water while we were waiting. Food ok-ish. Pasta carbonara was good, sandwiches were ok (egg and cress came as egg & spinach - suspect kitchen were running out of some things). Tepid chips served in cold enamel dishes with frying oil oil pooling at the bottom not great. Drinks fine (tea & cold drinks). Would we go back? Well, we’re local, so we don’t need to make a special trip. We’d rather go to the Kilmartin Hotel for lunch or dinner, but will probably end up coming back for a coffee and cake, (when it’s it’s quieter though, as the kitchen were clearly struggling).

Drove past this 3 times but currently only open 11-3 due to covid!Finally managed to make a trip out there, and sadly a very limited selection of cakes (again, likely due to covid and limited footfall) - tea loaf, flapjack and a ‘chocolate truffle bar’ which was calorific but tasty.Overall, a good little pit-stop if passing.

Got lunch and cakes to takeaway due to Covid 19 but the food was very tasty and the staff were very friendly and helpful - thank you to them!The cafe had lots of good lunch options (including for veggies), tasty cakes and good cold and hot drinks. Can recommend the toasties, hot chocolate and banana bread! They had good Covid measures (hand sanitiser, a one way system, masks, taking names and numbers, food waiting areas marked out).There are toilets as well - which were very clean.

Food wonderful. Toasties spot on and hummus salad delicious. Staff hard working and pleasant. Luckily weather sunny and dry. Toilets spotless

Staying near Oban but went for a drive for the day. Ended up in Kilmartin mid afternoon feeing hungry. It was choice between here and the pub and as we weren’t too hungry chose here. Good decision as the cheese toastie I had was one of the best cheese toasties I have ever had. I also had a scone with clotted cream and jam which was delicious. Hubby had the soup and a piece of truffle cake. All fresh and tasting lovely. Only downside, we couldn’t sit in due to COVID restrictions but that was no fault of the cafe.

Stopped by here to get lunch and even in these testing times had a simple but great lunch. Service good and the food well prepared.

Freshly decorated accommodation with annexe bathroom & toilet. Quiet for drinks, but when dinner time comes, it transforms. Very comfortable and friendly.

A great little place to stop for a small bite at lunch time - sandwiches and light platters, garnished with very nice salad (especially considering it was December!). Good service. Delicious!

We have visited several times and always enjoy tea and lovely homemade cakes in the conservatory. Worth a visit.

Been here a few times now on our trips to Scotland - always a great stop for tea and cake. The gift shop is well stocked and the location in general is just great. We'll be back!

Had lunch here - wholesome homemade soup and the bread was delicious. Great service with very friendly staff. Well worth stopping for.

Just had take out cakes icecreams and drink but friendly staff and menu looked nice. Dogs are able to sit outside but not in the cafe

It's got a lovely conservatory with a view over the valley and does great homemade food. Soup of the day was sweet potato and red pepper and kale. It comes with homemade crusty bread. Yum. Scone was lovely too but don't sit outside with your jam in wasp season!!!

We had a family lunch on a rainy day here and it was brilliant. The cafe is small but cosy. There were a few tables reserved which speaks to the well earned reputation. I had the platter which was lovely, the highlights being the warm fresh bread and their own pickled gherkins. My eldest had soup of the day (leek and potato) which I tried and was possibly the tastiest soup I’ve ever eaten. I’d highly recommend this place.

They have the best lentil soup I have ever eaten. Simply amazing food and the staff was friendly and so kind.

A great cafe in the fascinating Kilmartin area. Good scones, coffee and soups and great service too. Well worth stopping here.

This was undoubtedly one of the best afternoon teas I’ve had anywhere and as it happens, it was also almost totally vegan (apart from the clotted cream I piled on the gorgeous vegan scone). Fantastically chocolatey, melt in the mouth slice, deliciously moist almond and lemon slice and excellent raspberry jam. I’ll be back!

We stopped here for (vegan) scones and a drink after a lovely walk in the glen. The scones were very good with vegan spread and jam. They had a number of savoury vegan options on the menu too.

We visited here 2 years ago and wanted to check in and see if it was still as good as last time

It is just over a year since I visited the Kilmartin Museum Cafe. In the interim a new lead has been appointed in the kitchen. However the magic still remains. The menu was a combination of old favorites augmented by a wonderful array of daily specials. As a (mainly) vegetarian it is a joy to see interesting vibrant dishes bursting with imagination, flavor and colour. No trip to this watering hole is complete without a coffee and cake. Being a coffee addict I always want more - perhaps offering cafetieres could be considered. When it came to the cakes I would happily have eaten any of the offers, but I settled for the date flapjack. You can wait a wee while as food is prepared fresh - if you are in the green oak conservatory, just enjoy the view of the Glen. The staff were mainly teenagers, but were attentive and competent. This amazing place still racks as one of my all time favourites.

If you like being ripped off for pretentious food this is the place for you. I went with friends and saw what I thought would be a lovely piece of banana cake - wrong.

Lovely place, really nice staff. BUT not too impressed with the soup! Sorry folks but as leek and potato it did nit rock my boat! It was not hot enough and, if I am honest, pretty tasteless. However, perhaps it was just an off day.

Visited this afternoon with my niece. There was only one other customer in the cafe when we arrived - they had already been served. We each ordered a toastie and I also ordered a coffee. The coffee arrived within 5 minutes but it was a full 20 minutes (perhaps slightly longer) before we received our toasties. During this time the 3 members of staff in the kitchen were just standing around doing nothing apart from one who attended to 4 new customers serving them coffee and scones. When we finally did receive our order it was brought to the table by a very sullen young woman who when asked if she could bring us cutlery did so very grudgingly....she almost threw it onto the table! The food itself was nice enough but very pricey for what it was. £9.55 for a very ordinary toastie with a few salad leaves and a coffee. The cafe itself is nice enough and the young,lady on the till was pleasant enough if not very talkative, however good and prompt customer service is essential and it was sadly lacking.

We called in today after a visit to the museum and were tempted by the delicious looking vegan cake which turned out to taste as good as it looked. We sat in the conservatory overlooking the cairn and enjoyed our visit very much indeed.

The cafe is very lovely with interesting decor and comfortable seating. The staff were friendly and helpful. The service was a bit slow and we waited 40 minutes for a toastie. When the food came, it was hot and well prepared but was nothing special.

Even on a rainy day (not uncommon there) the cafe is light and airy, with just enough plants to feel connected to the garden but not enough to feel imposed on. If nothing else, we'd suggest at least tea and scones.

What more can one ask. A good spot to get advice on the Neolithic monuments nearby.....don’t forget the church next door!

As a regular visitor to the museum it is very disappointing to find the toilets are unusable , smelly, dirty, urine on the floor, etc etc. I have reported this to the staff twice in the past 3 weeks , but still having visited this morning , nothing changes. The toilets are disgusting !!!

What a wonderfully friendly cafe - we were greeted with warm, genuine smiles, the cheese and bacon toasties were fabulously tasty and the Victoria sponge was worthy of a place in the GBBO.

A bit understaffed on this gorgeous spring day. Salmon, cress, and potato salad was scrumptious. Tried the Irn Bru...sugar free Fanta-like drink.

Lovely cafe attached to the museum. There is a very good selection of cakes, we tried several! The soup looked and smelled very appetising, but we were full after the cake!

We first came here in the nineties; this was our third visit. We had coffee/tea and cakes before walking through the linear cemetery, followed by lunch of soup and a hummus plate. The gluten-free cake tasted really nice, not like some. The soup was hearty and filling, while the hummus was definitely home-made. Cheerful, friendly service. Overall, the museum and the premises need a revamp but they are in the middle of an appeal for funds, which I hope they manage to get.

Lovely cafe attached to the museum in Kilmartin Good coffees and a great selection of cakes. Downstairs in the cafe is lovely - peaceful an idyllic.

We have eaten here three times in the last week. Home made dahl, wraps with haloumi and avocado or with curried cauliflower, along with lovely salad. Beautiful quiche with wholemeal pastry. Cakes, all home made are really nice, especially the polenta cake. The downstairs part of the cafe, with lovely plants, looks out over Kilmartin Glen. The staff are so friendly. My only improvement I would really "ike to see is that the chairs have cushion pads with barely any padding and they could be changed to make it more comfy.

It was March and we had been looking for an open coffee shop for miles. There it was with an "OPEN" sign, but it does not look particularly attractive from the outside. However the cafe itself was bright and clean, with lunch being prepared. We only had coffee and scones, but they very very good. Service was friendly and efficient.The larger part of the restaurant has very good views across the valley.The only downside is the toilets which would be better sited in the adjacent museum.

A lovely little museum with lots of interesting exhibits and information. We only had a cup of tea in the cafe but the soup smelled lovely and there was a nice selection of cakes

I have eaten here three times on visits to the area this year, most recently in November 2018. Each time I have come away conscious of the fact that there were all these really dishes and cakes that I hadn't tried and would just have to wait until next time. On the last couple of visits I've had the homemade soup and sandwich combination. Excellent soup on both occasions in a generous serving and decent sandwich with good range of fillings. The cakes are great, clearly home made and with interesting flavour combinations and ingredients. Choosing to stop here for a light meal or coffee and cake is a no brainer.

My husband and I stopped for lunch after touring the area. The food was simple but tasty. Great salads!

Just for a tea/coffee and cake on a Sunday, but hugley impressed. The range offered was more than adequate, and nothing disapointed. The staff were attentive, but not overly so, and the views across historic Kilmartin Glen are engaging and fascinating. Attached is a nice gift shop, stocked with an impressive array of books relating to the area and prehistory. Will be returning, especially for the books.....

Visited Kilmartin on a very rainy day, and after hours of tromping through mud, wanted food! Opted to have lunch here, and was so glad I did. My game and cheese toasty was excellent, but the real standout was the accompanying salad. Not just some greens thrown on the plate, but carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, etc. It did seem to take a while just for a toasty, but the food was excellent. Did not have any of the cakes, but oh, they looked so good. I thought my lunch a good value to be in a place with few choices. Would definitely return!

The best cafe I’ve been to! The staff were nice, seating was comfortable inside and out and the gluten free cakes, for which we returned 3 times, were heavenly!

The food is great but the place needs a very, very good clean. Tables were sticky, window seals and floor dusty. Not sure how as here were 4 staff on. A shame as it's a fantastic spot. Hopefully this can occur as I would recommend otherwise.

Loved the museum and the coffee shop was a great surprise. Coffee and cakes are of a high standard, friendly staff and beautiful view. Would highly recommend and will be back!

Called here for a snack and drink. People in front of me were served food but I was told 2/3 minute later the food was put away , all I could have was a drink. I left .

We ordered two coffees and earl grey teacake and millionare cake and sat downstairs as upstairs didn't have a view! We waited 15 minutes but nothing arrived even though it wasn't busy. My husband went back upstairs to check and they had forgotten our order. Not very good service but they did apologise. The cake and coffee was really good.

In at 415 and there was only soup on, would be nice if they had sandwiches as well, but as we were late don't know if we missed their lunch hour. Soup was delicious, bread was home baked and substantial, and sweets were very rich. We had to take ours home. Two levels accommodate plenty of different-ability visitors, and servers were quick to clean up and friendly when delivering order.

I came here with my partner for food although they weren't serving food until 12 noon, we both ordered a scone but they only had one left, there was a good selection on cakes however I have a nut allergy and all the caked were next to each other so I couldn't risk trying any. My partner did enjoy the scone though. I would recommend this cafe for a coffee and a cake as long as you don't have a nut allergy.

Da wir in unserem Urlaub ein kleines abgelegnes Cottage in Kilmartin gemietet hatten und wir den kleinen Ort etwas erkunden wollten, hat sich das Kilmartin Museum Café geradewegs für eine kleine Pause angeboten. Jeden Tag steht ein neuer Pie, eine neue Suppe oder verschiedenste Torten und Scones auf der Karte. Die Bedienung ist sehr freundlich und das kleine Café hat einen Wintergarten von dem man aus die Schafe auf der Weide begutachten kann. Selbst für ein Kännchen Tee lohnt sich der Besuch allemal.

I popped in here for morning coffee and had not intended to have a cake but when I saw them I could not resist and it was very tasty.

Nice little cafe to call in after visiting the museum. The museum is very informative then to come into the cafe round everything off nicely.

Great lunch at this cafe, reasonably priced and cheerful,efficient staff. Super views looking across the valley floor of Kilmartin Glen. Outside clean toilets and easy parking area.

this is one of the gems of argyll

They were very accommodating when we turned up at 5pm but still served us teas and coffees and cake, albeit in paper cups. Their vegan chocolate brownie was to die for. Great cakes but huge portions - maybe share?

I came here after a rripmto canassirie castle. I was tired and warn 9ut and was pleased with the food and drink I was served. However after finding out the prices of the cakes I was quite shocked. The cafe offers a nice view of fields where I enjoyed watching the animals in the fields.

We enjoyed our meal here and it was fabulous sitting outside and watching the local birds. It was peaceful.

Lovely little cafe near the Kilmartin Museum. Delicious and creative meals at an affordable price. The goat's cheese toastie and the smoked salmon salad are taste treats. As are the scones and coffee. Would highly recommend.

We visited Kilmartin last Saturday afternoon. Although we had arrived after the cut off time for hot food the staff happily made us two delicious toasties with an interesting and imaginative salad. It might be a little dearer than other cafes we have visited but the food was freshly prepared and we didn't have to wait long.

My wife and I visited the Kilmartin House museum, just outside Lochgilphead, recently. It has been a while since we visited it, and we were delighted to see its transformation! Very well laid out, it was packed with very interesting facts and artefacts, to look at , touch and play with. In each room there was a different aspect which dealt with a specific period of time, whether that be the discovery of chambered cairns, or the use of handmade tools etc. We found the exhibition riveting. However we were let down when we visited the restaurant in the early afternoon. No hot food was served after 3pm, ( We asked for a toastie, But was told this was not possible. A gaggle of five girls stood behind the counter, chatting loudly amongst themselves, much to the annoyance of the visiting German and Dutch couples, who were waiting to be attended to. Eventually we were all served after speaking to somebody in charge. Cups of coffee are not difficult to dispense, but we were not impressed by the lack of interest by the staff.If only they realised that the visitors were the people who would ultimately pay their wages! Grrrrr!

Had coffee and cake in the conservatory area- great for even rainy days! Very pretty location. cake and coffee good. Staff friendly

Egal ob Scones oder Kuchen oder Sandwich, alles schmeckt hervorragend. Das Personal ist extrem nett und hilfsbereit. Es lohnt sich immer eine Pause dort einzulegen.

We visited this restaurant last weekend with some friends, and left utterly disappointed. The food was overpriced, and the coffee cold and tasteless (90p per mouthful). To top it all, our table was sticky. Lots of staff with most not doing anything. Really disappointing. Don't go there unless you need to use the loo,

We were delighted to stop at the Museum and have lunch at this lovely cafe. The offerings are home made and very tasty. We ate lunch here and had a nice coffee before visiting the archaeology in the area. Nice shaded picnic tables in the courtyard are a perfect place to enjoy a rest.

We toured Scotland for 10 days and this cafe gave us the best meal of the trip. Very delicious and healthy! The scenery is gorgeous too.

I went there during a particularly rainy day. I was planning to have a picnic at the Kilmartin viewpoint but since the weather did not permit it, I decided to have a hot meal at the Museum Cafe. I was glad I did because the soup was perfect and the bread was the best one I had since I arrived. They have other options as well (e.g. burgers and pastries). The place was cozy and very close to the bus stop (very convenient for visitors who are commuting), the church (and graveyard), and the viewpoint.

Try a treacle scone here, rather special. The staff were helpful at this popular cafe. There was a good choice of cakes here.

The food is unusual in that there is a lot of vegan stuff and vegetarian options. The cakes are very good indeed. Home-made jams are for sale. Not too expensive, either. The tea was a bit weak. Overall very good and very enjoyable.

There isn't a great deal of choice if you are Kilmartin and looking for food, so it is a good thing that this café is there and offers good food at a reasonable (to slightly pricey) cost.

Let me first make it clear that the food is good. However when one orders and pays for two bowls of soup, should one expect to wait 20 minutes and more for them to be delivered. The soup is in the pot a few feet behind the counter but the order is written down, stuck up with earlier ones and waits its turn (or simply gets forgotten). In the time it takes to take the payment, two bowls of soup could be dished up and handed to the customer, thus saving staff walking hither and thither. Later we ordered two cakes and a white coffee. The cakes are by the till and the coffee machine equally close but the order is written and posted as before. When the order was delivered to our table a full ten minutes later we were asked "Do you want milk?" Apart from the obvious oversight that white coffee usually requires milk this meant that the staff member had to traipse back around to the kitchen and return with milk. No wonder they appear overwhelmed. There is no organisation. They are like the enthusiastic members of a church guild holding the occasional coffee morning and falling over each other because roles have not been defined nor best practice determined.

We arrived at midday and the cafe was pretty busy - a good sign. A nice plate of soup, a tasty blueberry scone and a good cup of tea and we were ready for the rest of the day. The rest of the menu looked interesting, a pity we didn’t have the opportunity to dig in further.

We stopped here when visiting places in and around Kilmartin and were not disappointed. Lovely little cafe with friendly, hard working staff. There is a good selection on the menu. We had hot drinks and cakes / scones. Nice little gift shop is attached and clean toilets available. Will definitely call in again when next in Kilmartin.

Dopo aver visitato il museo adiacente al ristorante, decidemmo di entrare e mangiare delle belle zuppe calde, in modo da riscaldarci, dopo tutta la pioggia presa durante il giorno. Il servizio è stato molto veloce e cordiale. La vista non è affatto male, se andate nella stanza vetrata, ve lo consiglio.

I had the creamy garlic mushroom sandwich and it came with multiple fresh veggie salads on the side. I have to honestly say it was one of the better meals I’ve had in Scotland. So fresh, colorful and delicious! The museum and little shop are wonderful too!

We enjoyed a really tasty lunch at the Kilmartin Museum cafe. As a family group of 5 we had the venison burger, halloumi and mushroom burger, soup and cakes. The burgers come with a generous plate of tasty salads and the soup with crusty bread and butter. Children can choose anything off the menu in a smaller portion. Brownies and carrot cake were excellent.

Dropping in during a visit to the most densely packed archeological site in Europe, we were treated to wonderful cake. Friendly staff, pleasant surroundings and conveniently next to the museum, the Kilmartin Museum Cafe is reasonably priced. And did I mention the excellent cake? Someone...

Have enjoyed lunch at the Museum Cafe each year when travelling to Melfort Village. Tasty home made soup with home made bread.

We both enjoyed soup one time and afternoon tea with cake another time. Very cosy atmosphere and nice attentive staff. After walking around in the fresh ,cold winter air it is a welcome relief and treat

We lunchten buiten op het terras van het Kilmartinmuseum. We namen een geitensalade en falafel. Goed, maar niet om in superlatieven over naar huis te schrijven zoals in de gids staat.

We decided to have a bite to eat after visiting the Kilmartin Museum (and avoid the rain!)

This cafe has a decent selection of snacks and cakes at reasonable prices. The service was very good and the premises were clean and cosy. We popped in as part of our visit to the museum and were glad that we had done so.

We visited the museum and dropped in here for a coffee. the scones were delicious as was the raspberry jam.

We were staying at the bottom end of the glen for a week 2 days for exploration of the archaeology . The Cafe is in a great position overlooking one of the cairns and is one of the few places for refreshments in the glen.The menu seemed to be exclusively vegetarian on the day we came but the soup , bread and cakes were lovely and the gluten free options were also very good.

We sat in the courtyard in the September sun eating freshly made sandwiches with a glass of white wine. Very good indeed.

Visit this cafe every time i come to tayvallich it lovely. nice cosy lovely friendly staff got good selection off snacks. Plenty to choice from you can sit out side & in side got plenty off car park space

Visited Kilmartin Museum recently - the Café is comfortable and has a lovely outlook over Kilmartin Glen. The young staff really do need to be given the opportunity of some training in customer service. It costs nothing to greet customers with a friendly smile and a welcome, rather than a dreary indifference!

We had a lovely little lunch at the Kilmartin Museum cafe in advance of our visit to the museum. The setting is lovely, with views over the valley.

It was early in the season, and much of the free entertainment for our coffee break was watching the volunteers gardening and clearing gutters. They were all so friendly. And such tasty coffee and cakes.

With a few tables and amazing little kitchen kind people come up with a great menu that keeps the soul warm on a rainy dayService can be slow but well worth the wait. you review pamphlets ,talk to the locals and meet people from all around the world in this special place.Washrooms are clean and tidy. They except a donation which is a great idea. A lot of walking can be done in the Kilmartin Glenn to work up a great appetite for their hearty quinoa dishes.

Stopped for a quick bite of lunch before heading out on the 2.5 hour guided tour. Soup (carrot/orange) was delicious and served quickly.

Had coffee and cakes here prior to visiting the adjoining historic site and enjoyed the service, cleanliness and selection.

After visiting the museum, it was lunch time - as we approached there was a wonderful aroma of cooking which we found out was the soup of the day whch we ordered - plus a hummus and roasted veg sandwich both were very delicious! When it was time to pay we spotted the home made cakes but didn't have any room to eat more! So we took some home with us....Orange Polenta cake....it was yummy! so glad we didn't miss that opportunity!!

Not worth the expense. Menu very limited and not particularly appetising, cake was a bit old. £50 for 4 bits of quiche, 4 drinks and one cake. What service there is is haphazard although the young staff are personable.