We’ve just returned from a family holiday from the beautiful location of Dumfries & Galloway in Scotland. We visited several eateries and this post will review the start of our food journey at The Crab Pot located in the village of Colvend, in Dumfries and Galloway. Then followed by some fantastic restaurants over the course of the five days we were on holiday for. In total we enjoyed three stunning evening meals, one breakfast brunch and a takeaway in the comfort of the lodge that we stayed in.
Our first review, features The Crab Pot, the first restaurant we went for a meal. The bonus for this place was that it was a two minute walk from our lodge. The lodges are located nicely at Barend Holiday Lodges in Sandyhills, Dalbeattie. Which is a beautiful area!
First Impressions of The Crab Pot
The overall location of The Crab Pot was handy being located near to our lodge. Visitors also have access to a decent-sized car park.
Inside, the restaurant exudes a rustic, old-cottage vibe throughout the building. The wooden beams across the ceiling delivered that almighty warm country vibe.
Also if you’re a family that enjoys entertainment, The Crab Pot in Colvend hosts live music events on certain days throughout each month.
On one side of the restaurant was the bar, which was stocked with your generic lagers. But if you’re expecting Scottish beer, you may have to travel further afield, which in our eyes was a shame as our Beer Connoisseur Luke couldn’t enjoy his first ever Scottish beer.
On arrival into The Crab Pot it felt like there was a welcome spark missing in general. Rather than the traditional ‘please wait to be seated’ instruction or any instructions at all. Realistically, The Crab Pot lacked that touch of welcoming guests into their restaurant, which was a shame.
However, things improved throughout the night once the staff acknowledged us at our table, allowing us to enjoy some amazing food.
Main Review of The Crab Pot
One of the waitresses at The Crab Pot guided us to our table and kindly approved our request to sit in the corner. This was due to our dog Eddie who is nervous in new environments. Whisky the cockapoo on the other hand enjoys sitting wherever he can.
Prior to sitting down, we bought drinks at the bar, so we now had the enjoyment of scanning the menu and figuring out what we wanted. The menu was very appealing to the eye, there were plenty of options if you fancied sea food or you could’ve gone down the route of having one of their burgers.
As it was our first evening out, we felt it was only right to do starters as well as mains. Luke went all out and opted for the Crabcake Bon Bons followed by the Fish Pie. His wife Isobel, also went down the fish route and trialled the langoustines for her main course. For Luke’s first time ever, he couldn’t resist not trying one for my first time. It tasted delicious!
After finishing our starters, it was time to order another drink. There was however, no cask beer for both our Connoisseurs, Luke and Chris. Instead, they both enjoyed a bottle of Tiger 4.8% ABV Asian lager beer. Strangely, you wouldn’t expect to see a bottled beer like this in a pub. They are hugely popular in Chinese, Thai and Indian restaurants. However, Tiger did make up for no cask beer being available, so this was an added touch.
The only downside when we ordered the bottle of Tiger, we did have to ask 10 minutes later to see where the drink was. The restaurant wasn’t very busy, so we assumed the staff had simply forgotten our drinks.
Our main courses turned up promptly after finishing our starters, everything was piping hot and tasty. The deep-filled fish pie featured prawns, cod, and salmon, topped with a cheesy mash potato head.
In one thought, I wished I went for Isobel’s option, however you do need to have the skills to take these giant prawns apart so you can get to the good stuff.
Once we finished our main course it was time to debate pudding. Truthfully, we felt stuffed, and in my eyes, a cup of tea inside the lodge was calling.
Conclusion of The Crab Pot
One thing for sure is that the food from The Crab Pot was amazing and presented nicely. But, there were some points we all agreed on that could be improved ever so slightly. We then discussed that this would make this restaurant better overall.
Firstly and most importantly, ‘The Welcome’, which in any restaurant is key! Because the staff didn’t properly greet us, we felt like lost sheep, standing in the doorway unsure of what to do on our first visit.
Also, it was a shame as being a Scottish restaurant there wasn’t much choice in terms of local beverages. We love visiting new restaurants and sampling different cask beers or lagers, but this feature was regrettably missing. However, this wouldn’t stop me or Chris from stopping by for a beer if we really wanted to.
Finally, the service just lacked in several areas, as mentioned throughout the review. Even while we were eating, the staff made no effort to check if the food was okay, even from a safe distance because of Eddie, and they didn’t deliver the attention we were expecting.
If you’re tired after a long journey The Crab Pot in Colvend is well worth going to, easy and convenient, with a good menu choice and the food is perfectly adequate for the price. But if you’re looking for that special meal out, there are alternative venues nearby. But they all require more driving and that may not be worth it.
Cheers
