This week the team was headed to Crafter's Barn on the Mound. Formerly the Scottish Burger Bistro, the owners have decided to recently rebrand this place into a Belgium beer cafe. The interior of is quite modern, with stone walls and high seats. On a warm day like the one we visited however, the temptation to sit in the pleasant courtyard to the side was too strong!
We were handed both an extensive looking drinks and food menus to peruse. The beer menu, being almost exclusively Belgium beers, featured 4 draught beers, and a large selection of bottled beers, one costing just shy of £40! Food menu looked quite interesting as well, there was a section of small plates including a Belgium fish stew and an unusual selection of pizzas including Thai green curry.
I enquired if they had a lunch deal on offer that I had seen advertised the week before outside when I had been passing. I was told this was normally Monday - Thursday (it was a Friday) and they would not have it on during August (implying when the festival was on). It being a full week before the festival even started, this was very frustrating for our group and we were concerned about the value of the meal ahead.
Unfortunately after this, the service started to go down hill. The waiter on taking our order insistently asked if we wanted bread, making you think it could be complementary. After rejecting this several times, our group agreed and we were surprised when we had an extra £8 charge for bread and olives on our final bill.
The majority of the group ordered pizza which did taste good and was freshly made with good quality ingredients. My pizza had feta, olives and squash which was an unusual combination but one which worked. Others in the team were happy with their food choices.
This place comes close to the line of being a generally good place to recommend. Where it falls short is in its service delivery (or certainly this was our experience). With the tourist season in full swing, you felt like you could have been drinking overpriced coffee with a view of the Eiffel tower. I feel confident with is location halfway up the Mound, that the Crafters Barn will make good money off the tourist crowd making their journey up from the train station to the Old Town. The question they need to ask themselves is do they want to alienate themselves from the local population in the process?
With some friendlier service, a good value lunch deal and some Scottish beers on offer, this restaurant could be a frequent name on our lunch time list. However, given the team reviews, we may be unlikely to return.
We were handed both an extensive looking drinks and food menus to peruse. The beer menu, being almost exclusively Belgium beers, featured 4 draught beers, and a large selection of bottled beers, one costing just shy of £40! Food menu looked quite interesting as well, there was a section of small plates including a Belgium fish stew and an unusual selection of pizzas including Thai green curry.
I enquired if they had a lunch deal on offer that I had seen advertised the week before outside when I had been passing. I was told this was normally Monday - Thursday (it was a Friday) and they would not have it on during August (implying when the festival was on). It being a full week before the festival even started, this was very frustrating for our group and we were concerned about the value of the meal ahead.
Unfortunately after this, the service started to go down hill. The waiter on taking our order insistently asked if we wanted bread, making you think it could be complementary. After rejecting this several times, our group agreed and we were surprised when we had an extra £8 charge for bread and olives on our final bill.
The majority of the group ordered pizza which did taste good and was freshly made with good quality ingredients. My pizza had feta, olives and squash which was an unusual combination but one which worked. Others in the team were happy with their food choices.
This place comes close to the line of being a generally good place to recommend. Where it falls short is in its service delivery (or certainly this was our experience). With the tourist season in full swing, you felt like you could have been drinking overpriced coffee with a view of the Eiffel tower. I feel confident with is location halfway up the Mound, that the Crafters Barn will make good money off the tourist crowd making their journey up from the train station to the Old Town. The question they need to ask themselves is do they want to alienate themselves from the local population in the process?
With some friendlier service, a good value lunch deal and some Scottish beers on offer, this restaurant could be a frequent name on our lunch time list. However, given the team reviews, we may be unlikely to return.
Quality Food 7.80
Quality Drinks 8.40
Value 5.00
Service
Ambience
Bill - Pizza, Pint beer, Bread, Tip - £18
Comments:
- NIce place, decent food, good beer choices, maybe better in the evening than for lunch, and better when the festival is not on or about to start.
- Unusual pizza (thai green chicken curry with peanuts), but it was nice enough. Not sure that north facing beer gardens with no sun are the way forward.
- Feels like I have been tourist slapped due to proximity of festival. Good food and drink just a shame about the attitude about the place.
- Bit disappointing there was no lunchtime deal. Pizza took a while to arrive. Was tasty though.
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