Ropes in South Ayrshire

The Ropes Restaurant had an ultra modern contemporary feel to the place 100% satisfied with my January 2024 day trip visit. Apart from the fine lunchtime dining, what struck me most was the quaint leisure harbour, with Ayrshire's breathtaking rolling hills adjacent [Carrick Braes], and beyond on to cosmopolitan towns [like nearby Prestwick] indeed included in the backdrop. I visited this fine establishment on opening day, albeit some time ago, My word, management have got their act together pronto. First class, and indeed a very much improved venue in my subjective opinion. The beautiful Ayrshire County is well ‘kent’ worldwide for Scotland's National Bard, the world famous Rabbie Burns. Indeed, Robert Burns was voted Scotland’s greatest ever Scot. The Bard’s beautiful, quaint birth village of Alloway is only 15 mins drive and also highly recommended, as is his very own world famous thatched cottage, and heritage site.Not to mention the world class Turnberry Golf resort, only a ‘stone throw’ away, as was the local shop/post office. Incidentally, the Post Office has probably the most extended opening hours anywhere in Scotland in my opinion. At the delightful Ropes Restaurant, I ordered a light lunch ‘soup and sandwich’ deal for well under a tenner, remarkable value for sure, and great tasting freshly made, local cuisine. The staff were friendly, and swift to attend to my needs being a disabled patron myself, very much with a ‘can do’ approach to diners’ that day. I understand that this fine establishment is recently famous as an inaugural wedding venue, personally my son Scott is to be married in 2025, and I would have no hesitation in recommending this venue to him and his bride. Especially considering this fine dining establishment benefits not only from panoramic, romantic views. Nevertheless, a glass, substantial roof canopy outdoors would keep patrons dry in case of inclement weather. In short 100% satisfaction at this, licensed, most picturesque of fine dining establishments. Plus disabled, and pet friendly too, being a blue badge holder myself. Thomas [Mid January 2024]

Visited out of curiosity. Arrived after 11am, and considered getting a light bite. Informed chef arrived around midday. Told a panini could be offered. Stayed for hot drinks. Perhaps in more seasonal circumstances the pre midday catering offerings are increased but cannot say. There may be a market for offering breakfast/brunch menus?

Right from the start staff not very welcoming. Asked what we wanted before even giving us a menu. We were looking for lunch - this was at 11.50am. Told no-one in kitchen until 12.00. Not given the option to look at the menu and have a drink while waiting. Decided to have a scone and coffee instead. Scone was obviously bought in, and stale. Not home-made as expected. On way out we were asked if we wanted lunch now! We travelled on and had lunch elsewhere where we felt welcomed. Didn't find it good value at all. Not a good experience which is a shame because it is in a lovely spot.

Great place for a lunch.Adequate outside seating area.Ideal in this warm weather and plenty of shade if required. Lovely friendly,attentive staff. Great choice of menu and food and coffee was most enjoyable. But most of all,and I have lunch out regularly…the prices are by far the cheapest I have seen.For the same panini, as I had today and not nearly as nice,some £2 dearer,in an establishment a few miles further south! First visit,won’t me my last. .

Super little lunch spot overlooking Maidens , lovely terrace tasty food great coffee and efficient friendly staff

Had a couple of trips to The Ropes whilst visiting my Aunt & Uncle in Maidens. Including lovely surprise birthday drinks with the rest of the family! Great service from the girls, particularly Rachel, who were accommodating when we kept moving tables! Thanks for your patience 😉 Cocktails and wines are great and reasonably priced and the pizzas are lovely. It may be small but a lovely use of space and nice outside area with views over the Maidens Harbour! Look forward to next visit ☺️

Right from walking through the door the service was terrible, seemed like the staff would rather do anything else at all than serve us or speak to us. We waited a long time just for menus at our table, and even longer to order. When the food finally arrived the food was just laid down in front of us with no words said by the server. There was no check back whatsoever and my girlfriend had to shout to someone just to ask a simple question. We got fed up of waiting on someone to come over that we could ask for the bill that we just went in and paid. Will definitely never be back which is a shame as it’s a beautiful place and food is nice enough.

We always make a trip to Ropes when we visit Turnberry. Staff are friendly, lunch options are simple and pleasant and the views across the harbour and town of Maidens are very special. Make sure you get an Empire Biscuit as a treat.

We stumbled upon this restaurant whilst visiting Ayr. It has an amazing balcony, that is sheltered from the wind and rain. We ordered the soup and sandwiches. Delicious. Home made soup & freshly made sandwiches. Nice glass of wine and coffee for the driver. I highly recommend if you are in the vicinity. Well done team. Most definitely see you again one day soon.

Popped in for a quick drink. Menu looked inventive and the food being delivered to other tables looked delicious. We just had a couple of cocktails from the drinks menu. Very tasty. Would visit again. Service a bit slow

Played golf at Turnberry with 3 friends and after the game went for light lunch at Ropes. The service was excellent, the food was very good and a lovely outlook. Well done Ropes we will be back!

Great dog friendly bistro cafe with outside seating and amazing views over the harbour. Ordered snacky lunch and drinks and came back for pizza a bit later

Fully recommend this lovely coastal cafe, fabulous coffee excellent customer service beautiful lo strong by the sea.. 5 star... I'm currently walking the coast for the RNLI charity and was welcomed in and given a free cuppa. Ladies thank you. The cafe is clean quirky organised food smelled delightful and cakes look ravishing . Do t miss popping in here if you're in the area😊

A stop off as we were passing through around lunch time and spotted this wee place. Good lunch options with choices including soup, toasties, paninis, sandwiches, cakes etc. I had the toastie which was nice although noticed in some photos who had side salad with theirs - that was missing from mine and I love side salad to complement the toastie. Nice stop off and beautiful view of the coast with the option to sit outside on a nice day

Coffee and cake on the patio. Service was friendly and attentive. Cafe was clean and nicely styled. Toilets spacious and very clean. Called in the morning for coffees. Sadly they had sold out of scones, but the millionaires short bread was nice. Sunny morning nice view of the port.

We popped into Ropes Cafe/Bistro for a coffee and a bite to eat in the middle of the day. It’s a stylish cafe, tastefully designed with both indoor and outdoor space. Sadly for us the weather was poor so it was inside for us, but...

This is the third time in six months on the way from Cairnryan to Glasgow we have stopped off in this lovely little beach side cafe/wine bar. We have found the service attentive and friendly. Good gluten free options. A great find.

This cafe has so much potential but sadly let down by inattentive staff. Came in with the family for coffee and food. Stood for 10 minutes waiting to be shown to a table. 2 tables free inside but covered in dirty plates etc. therefore wait....

Evening started pleasantly enough, nice surroundings, attentive hostess. We then spent an evening battling to hear conversation over a group of drunken louts who, for some reason had the televisions remote control. The group clearly had a very limited vocabulary (mostly F words) and seemed...

Excellent place for coffee,lovely food ,great views from outside seating, very reasonable prices and helpful staff. Wish I had discovered earlier and will definitely be back.

Second visit to Ropes and as per first visit were greeted by friendly staff, excellent service and good food. Menu is not extensive but perfect for lunch or late snack. We had panini and the salt and chilli chicken strips. Prices very reasonable, licensed and...

Sat at the table pointed to us on arrival as being available. 10 mins pasted without anyone coming to give us a menu. I had to approach the waiters for a menu. When order arrived (Pizza as that is all they sell after 5 pm)...

I feel I had to disagree wholly with a lot of the reviews!! We arrived at lunch time and although not incredibly busy were made to feel welcome,with a choice of indoor or outdoor seating!( staff all very nice) The decoy is modern and views...

Had been looking forward to trying this “bistro” we were in the area on holiday. Wanted to go for dinner. Saw on fb it serves meals on Fri & Sat so phoned Fri afternoon to book a table when was advised walk ins only. I...

Stopped here for a coffee whilst out for a walk. Lovely spot on the terrace, lots of bowls of water outside for the dog, he thanks you! Coffee was really good flavour, would have liked a piece of cake, but nothing vegan.

Absolutely brilliant place. Some of the negative comments are very unfair and totally unrealistic. You want fancy food go to Wilding!!!!!! You want a bowl of soup, sandwich, pizza with a great pint or glass of wine go to Ropes. Really! some people need to...

What a lovely location over the harbour. We arrived at 1 o’clock to have a drink Ann our server brought us a menu she explained food had a bit of a wait. We order drinks and a pizza to share drinks came right away ....

We would just like to say Thankyou for our loverly lunch today , tasty food , friendly service , loverly clean environment . We really enjoyed our stop off , during our honeymoon trip . Anita &Jeremy Deaville oh and Isla( cocker spaniel) from Leek...

Answer is simply Ropes. Went here for a evening meal but menu served was extremely limited for a "bistro". Nibbles, sandwiches, soup and pizza. Not even fish and chips. It was a lively time owner said not always like this 😋 so conversation was difficult...

Lovely food ,dog friendly and the decked area outside had some view of the sea!! Will be back soon as the weather is always better down there!

We had a lovely lunch here. Pulled pork nachos and toasted sandwiches. They’ve launched a new menu with more variety. The service was much faster than previous visits. I was particularly jealous of the ladies behind me who were sipping pornstar martinis. They looked fab!...

Not fulfilling its obvious potential. Ok it was average busy but we waited 45 mins for coffees and staff didn't seem bothered. What annoyed us the most was that they served carry-out customers first. The table we had was small but adequate for coffees except...

First visit today and it won't be the last What a smashing wee welcoming place to eat. Went with my partner and our friend who was over visiting from Pasadena. We had a super tasty lunch of soup and beautiful filled sandwiches. The 2 girls...

Visited with my mum and daughter for coffee and cakes. Lovely service and great atmosphere, as always. On previous occasions I've sampled food from the menu- sufficient choices are offered for a light lunch or snack. Great location too.

We visited here previously and the service was poor but the setting and food ok so thought we’d give it a 2nd try. Sadly no improvement and we won’t be returning. Food is average but service slow and the whole restaurant disorganised with staff not...

We pop in most days when we are in town visiting family and we are so pleased Ropes has opened. We like walking along the coastal path, stopping in at Ropes for food and drinks and then going down to the little playground with the...

We visited for lunch today after a walk on the beach, 2 adults and 2 young children. As it was almost 2pm we didn’t think it would be too busy but we were wrong. The two young girls running the place were totally out of...

Firstly I’m only taking the time to write this in the hope the owner reads it and can turn it around. This is a Hit and Miss cafe by the sea. Limited menu, generally poor service (unorganised chaos) but nice views outside in the summer....

Been here a couple of times, first time we had drinks outside then the next time we had coffee and sandwiches inside. Location is excellent, great views, Turnberry lighthouse is a 30 minute walk way. Food and service was very good, will definitely be back...

We were looking for a W/C for our youngest daughter and therefore stumbled across this place, I'm glad we did. Very good hospitality. Clean facilities. Great food albeit limited due to ongoing C19 restrictions. Chocolate fudge cake was delightful. Would definitely go back if in...

Nice venue but poor service. We were seated outside on a chilly day and waited 15 minutes to have our order taken. We then waited, and waited, and saw tables who were seated after us get their orders. To rub salt to the wound, the...

Great place big shout to Pete and all the staff really great addition to the maidens again location great light bites nice Guiness went down a treat and used to be a dry village Brilliant

My first time at Ropes was not put off by the negative feedback. If you are looking for a lite bite this is the place. Staff very friendly and a causal atmosphere. Ordered soup and sandwiches excellent filling, And if you wish you can also...

We came especially as had read good reviews. Arrived @ 3pm was busy . Sat at a table outside looked at the very limited menu. Wished to order 2x soups however were told it wasn’t available. Then told there’s no egg for sandwiches but we...

We popped in to this lovely spot for the first time on a recent visit up to Scotland. Lovely location overlooking Maidens and the terrace is a great spot to watch the world go by. Nicely decorated, clean and modern it's got great potential. Service...

Visited recently for a light lunch prior to an overnight stay at the nearby Wildings Hotel. Had soup and a tuna wrap with drinks which was fine. Maybe a little more thought to increasing the menu would be nice. Surroundings and view are excellent, when...

Called into this gem of a place for the first time.Food was well cooked and presented with a smile. Bottled ales also available Outside seating overlooking the Harbour. Easy access for disabled visitors. Toilets even have a shower if needed Inside seating very cosy Staff...

Came here on a blustery November afternoon, and warmed myself up with a toastie and coffee. Staff welcoming and friendly, food and drink tasty. Must be a good spot on a sunny day when you can dine outside.

Lovely looking clean place with lots of potential, such a great setting! However menu was really lacking, could count on one hand the choices they had available. Also need to take in to consideration vegetarians and absolutely no options for vegans. Soup was unfortunately tasteless...

Went to Ropes for dinner as we are staying local. Had some nice drinks and pizzas. Food was nice and service was good and friendly. I would recommend if you are looking for a nice informal lunch or dinner. Great views.

Great wee place, friendly, prompt and courteous service and delighted at their superb COVID safety arrangements, despite these not being well received by some customers who felt they might not apply to them…. ! Staff ensured quality arrangements snd safety for all, as well as...

If you’ve got a dog You enter from a Gate at side quite a few tables and you overlook a bowling green it’s a wee suntrap as well very clean and Staff very attentive I had Coronation Chicken Sandwich and a pint of best £7.25...

Arrived & ordered 2 coffees, a chicken Mayo sandwich & asked for a bowl of water for the dog. Coffees arrived & were fine, sandwich had 2 small chunks of chicken in it & an obscene amount of ‘Mayo mush’ , couldn’t have more than...

Fantastic location with amazing views, but good choice very poor, sandwiches (4 types - coronation chicken, tuna Mayo, egg Mayo or cheese), soup or cakes, only gluten free option was tiny scones or prepackaged cake, no sandwiches, this place has so much potential to be...

Came across this place as arriving in to maidens. Saw there was a gate at the side and it said not to go through the gate and there was no sign regarding dogs. So I went in with my dog to ask a question to...

Could have more variety of food. We had the chicken salted with chilli 🌶😋 pizza home made soup and chocolate cake that's made locally it was lovely and was served promptly. However, they could put more food on the menu and add some much needed...

Beautiful setting, staff are welcoming ,when they realise that you are there. This is our third visit and just did not get any better. We again had to leave without getting food that we ordered. Staff were all over the place, sometimes 3 members taking...

Firstly great views and to use as a bar, it’s really nice. Great outdoor space in nice weather. Food though incredibly basic, only soup and sandwiches today with very basic fillings and one choice of soup and no choice of bread. White or white and...

Very disappointed with lunch! We had been there previously for coffee and cake and is a lovely setting with nice staff. We each ordered a sandwich and, at a cost of £3.75 each, expected more than 2 slices of warburtons bread filled with tuna served...

We visited Ropes after a long walk to Culzean Castle. What a great welcome we got. Really friendly staff . My husband had coffee and cake and I had a Prosecco with raspberries . Wish we had found this little bistro earlier in our stay.

Quick stop here on Sunday with friends whilst visiting Maidens. Outdoor seating area with a view is lovely. COVID rules being followed. Staff were nice and service was quick. No menus as all that is on offer is soup and sandwiches which I guess makes...

Lovely outlook and nice bar to sit and have a drink. Had a soup and sandwich as this is all the food they were serving was so disappointed soup was ok however my sandwich was stale. Looking around I could see everyone was leaving half...

Ropes really is a great little bar with views to die for from the terrace. A good choice of beers, wine and spirits. Also very helpful and attentive staff.

Three visits over a week's stay in the area and made to feel welcome. Service was friendly and quick to serve soup of the day, tea and a pint of Best.

We stopped in at Ropes after a beautiful coastal walk at Turnberry. A lovely glass of Malbec, a refreshing pint of Manabrae and an amazingly good cheese board. First venture out since lockdown, nice and relaxed location.

Walked from Culzean Castle and saw a cafe at Maidens looking forward to getting there for some lunch.On entering the room I asked the waitress politely if there was a table outside and with a very dismissive tone she said there were none.I gestured towards...

Had a disastrous trip to Girvan where we couldn't find anywhere decent to eat so decided to hit the road back home to Glasgow. Took the coast road and stopped at Maidens to let the dog out for a walk. Desperate for a coffee. Saw...

Absolutely so disappointed with our Sunday visit, on arrival no one mentioned track and trace.... Although there is a piece of B paper to put your name and phone number on it.... No privacy or data protection anyone can read your phone number Staff took...

My wife and I took my elderly mother for a wee trip to the Maidens and decided to try Ropes for a lunchtime treat. Staff very friendly, food was very good, soup of the day was delicious. Coffee and hot chocolate were great and hot,...

Stopped off for coffee and cake. We sat out on the lovely sunny terrace with great views over the bay. The two girls serving were friendly and attentive, the cakes and scones were delicious. Everywhere was spotless clean and covid safe. We’ll definitely be back....

Stunning view of Maidens. Great service, and doggie friendly. Actually felt I was abroad, drinking a cool beer alfresco, after a beautiful walk to Culzean Castle. Our day was perfect, with a stunning sunset later in the evening.

Tried to get a table today for food. Stood for ten minutes before anyone spoke to us. The young guy then told us he had no tables available. Was very disinterested. I stood there thinking surely he is now going to suggest that if we...

service in ropes is dismal, staff more concerned with talking to each other. The chef who is recently recruited is abusive, rude and quite frankly down right disgusting. Food is mediocre, toasties, panini etc but very expensive. Shame to see a new business performing so...

Stopped at Ropes for lunch. The staff were very friendly and efficient. Fantastic views across the water. Had a cheese toastie and then scone & coffee. Everything was really nice. A few dogs were enjoying the views and hospitality too, nice to see. Worth a...

It looks like a Bistro but nothing like one. No home baking, cheap cakes and coffee. Asked for a strong latte and got given a double espresso and a jug of milk. As for the staff. Absolutely shocking! After their staff night out, the "chef"...

A great new addition to Maidens. Wobbly tables outside on decked area. £3 for a nothing special cup of coffee & £2.90 for a scone with butter and portion pot of bulk bought jam. Not convinced I'd return. The setting and views are the bonus...

I would like to be able to comment on the coffee or the food in this review. However as we didn't manage to secure either of these things on our visit I can only review the service standard which was deplorable. We waited to be...