The best restaurants in Lowlands

This is a modern styled café with an attractive view over the River Nith and Criffel, about 5 miles outside Dumfries. Getting to the location can involve a pleasant rural/coastal circular drive taking in attractions at Caerlaverock Castle and the wildfowl Nature Reserve. There is a free to use public car park at the site. On a solo visit in September 2024 I dropped in without pre-booking and managed to get a table despite the fact the place was quite busy. There was a quirky choice of snacks on the menu, as previously experienced, and on this occasion I had the Huevos Barqueros (£9.95) which was toasted sourdough topped with crushed avocado, (mild) Harissa, rocket lettuce, creamy feta cheese and a poached egg. The flavours were good and the overall snack was tasty however the poached egg was barely warm and the overall portion was not large. On that occasion there was a limited choice of cakes on display however I had a piece of roulade with a meringue outer edge and Black Forest filling. This slightly different treat was filling and tasted good. By the time I had added a fruity flavored low alcohol IPA to accompany the lunch my bill came to just over £20 which I thought was okay. Service was pleasant and the timing of delivery good. I followed up the visit a month later with a reservation to meet up with a couple of relatives for lunch. They were delayed about 30 minutes en route and whilst I had a coffee and admired the view, staff were understanding and there was no pressure on me to give up the table which was appreciated. Once my relatives arrived, we had a pleasant tasting lunch which was able to satisfy my relatives particular dietary requirements in a relaxed atmosphere. On both visits I noticed that the menu was a bit dog-eared and grubby looking and could probably have been better protected by being laminated or inside a plastic covering. The toilets in contrast are very well maintained! There is a small shop on the site selling a limited number of products.

23/12/24 Booked in for the 'Festive Menu' & it was the best Christmas dinner I've had in a long while. Very well presented & tasted absolutely gorgeous! We ate in the bar, all beautifully decorated & a lovely atmosphere. All the staff were very friendly & accommodating. We are new to the area & will definitely be dining here again.

Food was excellent!! All fresh and really tasty!

Can't comment on the rooms as I was only in for lunch, but they have an exceptionally good menu with great choice of pies (game pie displayed with duck+haggis).

Best fish and chips around crispy, fresh, and delicious!

I order from Phoenix regularly, always friendly service from Lisa, the Peking Chicken is really good as is the Chicken Fried Rice and Garlic Chips. We usually get the same meals so haven't tried alot of the food.

The food might be incredible here, in fact I suspect it is, because despite trying over 50 times to get through on the phone the number was constantly engaged and we couldn’t get through at all.

ordered a meal for 1 person at 18.30 was told it would be delivered with in an 1-1.5hr called back at 20.00 asked about my meal was told driver went out 10mins previous so I waited and at 20.30 called again to ask where the meal was to be told it would be soon, I told the person on other end of phone that when driver arrived he could take it back , while on the phone 20.35 the door knocked and I was still on phone I walked down my stairs to answer the door and slipped on my stairs, I picked my phone up as it dropped to say sorry I just slipped on stair case to hear the person hang up. answered the door the driver had heard me falling and immediately asked if I was OK I said yes but I'm not really as I have not a sore knee, arm,back. I told the driver he was to take the meal back and explained while it was going back. will I phone for a delivery from them absolutely not, will I go into there take away absolutely not. in my opinion they should not tell you how long you should wait, 40mins after leaving fei wong it wouldn't have been hot probably Luke warm I will not be back service awful. delivery driver was only person that was nice the fact as well is that the person on the other end of the phone didn't even wait to see if I was OK, I could have been injured and lying on the stair unconscious etc

I went to collect a takeaway on Sunday after 4pm. The restaurant was not busy and it was just me in there when I went to collect. I ordered chicken tikka masala, chips and a naan bread. The container was half filled with what looked like watered down sauce. I could count 6 pieces of tiny chicken and I could count the chips because the portion was so tiny. The naan bread was soggy and seemed like it had been microwaved. By the way the photo was everything on the plate bar the naan bread, and no I haven't half eaten it. I'm sorry but how is that good value for £13.75?

Beautiful place brother in law got married to his beautiful wife was a great day

Had lunch was very good staff nice good setting next to harbour

Came for lunch which was delicious. A lot of options, I had the mussels and my friends tried the burgers, fajitas and more and really enjoyed. Only downfall was it was very expensive but expected given the area. Was at the end of our hike so a lovely location with a bus stop near by. Good service and friendly staff, no booking was necessary for 8 of us mid Saturday.

The food was really nice and the staff were lovely but they needed to be slightly more attentive. The atmosphere was relaxing and it was very authentically Italian. Overall it was a nice evening out maybe a little pricey for what you get though, but would still highly recommend it.

Brilliant food Superb home made Ice Cream.

There are two small cottages. We stayed in one. Downstairs was a spacious living room and kitchen and upstairs there were two bedrooms (a double and a single bed) and a spacious bathroom . There was a small fridge, supplied with cold bottled water, 2 cokes and a jug of milk to go with the tea and coffee facilities. Biscuits and a box of chocolates really made us feel welcome. We had breakfast included and ti's was delicious. Lunch was not necessary after a full Scottish breakfast with toast. We also had evening dinner on two nights and were pleasantly surprised at the quality. A very good chef in the kitchen and the waiting staff were excellent. The ambience was wonderfully too. The restaurant was also a public bar and it is frequented by locals and the buzz was great. We have visited Moffat often but we never visited the Balmoral before. We won't be looking any further when we come to visit again.