Lovely meal, friendly staff, great locationVegetarian options: Mains and starters plenty of options but not many dessert options. What we had was lovelyKid-friendliness: Kids menu was nice. Not just your sausages/nuggets.Parking: Plenty of parking
N5AGS
We are difficult customers. I am "foody" and other half has an eating disorder. So we eat out of the normal eating hours. The times when the kitchen is trying to "prep" dinner and front of house is trying to rest. My experience of hotel food is set low. The Bankend at the Holiday inn in Dumfries has laid waste to my preconceived notions - it is exceptional. It is now our restaurant of choice for eating together in Dumfries and Galloway. We have now been 6+ times First Service: On each and every visit we have had very friendly greetings, attentive (but not over-bearing) service, memory of our likes and dislikes from each and everyone who has looked after us. Service is hard graft at the best of times and to maintain this level with fussy people time after time is so appreciated. But the interest in our well-being does not stop there. (Kitchen) The Chefs remember our preferences as well. Not only that but they come out to check that we are happy, to see how we are and to check how they did. They are cheerful and keen to help. The food is consistently good but more than that they will go off the "route map" if we ask. I guess that is a benefit of eating "outside normal hours" as it would be unfair to expect the attention we get in the middle of a busy session. Even so very few establishments manage this level attention even when they are not busy. There is a "can-do" attitude and the teamwork is evident. That takess good individuals and good management. The facilities are always spotless. The dining room and the surrounding environ (ie dining room and gardens) are memorable. Normally for us eating out is a challenge. The Bankend Brasserie makes it a joy. To paraphrase some minstrel "Don't go changing - we love you just the way you are"
Michelle Rodgers
Went here with my boyfriend for my birthday. Beautiful place, nice view from table. Staff very welcoming and friendly. Food was delicious and had good selection for vegetarian options. Had a very enjoyable experience, would definitely come back.
Dawn Turnbull
Truly impressed- food was great, staff are so helpful/ great young lady on reception, nothing too much trouble- thanks everyone - 2 nights and Pup friendly- beautiful
grounds to enjoy too
Crichton campus x
TheShis
We had 2 breakfasts here as guests of the hotel. Compared with the dilapidated state of the hotel, breakfast was pretty decent. The barman serving alcohol in the evening was lovely, too.
Fiona Owen
Staff really friendly and welcoming, dinner was ok, some elements of b/fast was fine others not so good, would def come back
ashuk
After a day travelling and shopping we were just too tired to go out for dinner so opted for the "3 courses for £22" at the BANKEND Bar & Brasserie attached to the Holiday Inn, Dumfries (see separate review). I asked for and quickly received the wine list but it was another 12 minutes before anyone came back to take the order. The wine list has 6 reds and 6 whites plus some champagne and rose all grossly overpriced e.g. some very ordinary reds at £24 (Tempanillo) to £35 (Rioja Crianza); and in terms of the whites, the mid price offering was a basic Chilean Chardonnay for £30! I asked the waiter to put in an order straight away for a bottle of the Valdepenas (not because it was the cheapest but because we like spicy forest fruits) and the waitress brought two glasses and the bottle immediately, all of which she sat on the table and was about to walk away. Now, if you're paying these kind of prices for ordinary wine the least you might expect is for the waitress to open the bottle even if she hasn't been trained to ask you to taste the wine but I did her job for her. We both ordered the Tomato and Oregano Focaccia starter which was fine. Apparently my wife's Beer-Battered Fish and Chunky-Cut Chips tasted better than they looked as did my slightly soggy Goats Cheese, Red Onion and Spinach Pizza, which only had 2 or 3 small pieces of spinach and no red onion but a large quantity of chutney (see pictures). My wife described her Sticky Toffee Pudding with Custard as "pretty average/not the best one I've tasted" and my Caramelised Biscuit Cheesecake was more like a musse with caramel sauce. The Tempranillo Valdepenas was very poor. I've drunk better supermarket reds in Spain for €3. I doubt it would get shelf space in its home country and here you couldn't possibly sell it for more than £5. Holiday Inn are probably buying it for £3 or £4 a bottle and selling it with a 500% to 1,000% mark up, which is ridiculous even for a high end hotel but in a 3-star hotel with a "happy food" menu is just outrageous. We have been touring the Borders and Dumfries all week and at £68, this was easily our most expensive dinner and easily the lowest standard. Overpriced and decidedly average all round.
Parking: 50
Lovely meal, friendly staff, great locationVegetarian options: Mains and starters plenty of options but not many dessert options. What we had was lovelyKid-friendliness: Kids menu was nice. Not just your sausages/nuggets.Parking: Plenty of parking
We are difficult customers. I am "foody" and other half has an eating disorder. So we eat out of the normal eating hours. The times when the kitchen is trying to "prep" dinner and front of house is trying to rest. My experience of hotel food is set low. The Bankend at the Holiday inn in Dumfries has laid waste to my preconceived notions - it is exceptional. It is now our restaurant of choice for eating together in Dumfries and Galloway. We have now been 6+ times First Service: On each and every visit we have had very friendly greetings, attentive (but not over-bearing) service, memory of our likes and dislikes from each and everyone who has looked after us. Service is hard graft at the best of times and to maintain this level with fussy people time after time is so appreciated. But the interest in our well-being does not stop there. (Kitchen) The Chefs remember our preferences as well. Not only that but they come out to check that we are happy, to see how we are and to check how they did. They are cheerful and keen to help. The food is consistently good but more than that they will go off the "route map" if we ask. I guess that is a benefit of eating "outside normal hours" as it would be unfair to expect the attention we get in the middle of a busy session. Even so very few establishments manage this level attention even when they are not busy. There is a "can-do" attitude and the teamwork is evident. That takess good individuals and good management. The facilities are always spotless. The dining room and the surrounding environ (ie dining room and gardens) are memorable. Normally for us eating out is a challenge. The Bankend Brasserie makes it a joy. To paraphrase some minstrel "Don't go changing - we love you just the way you are"
Went here with my boyfriend for my birthday. Beautiful place, nice view from table. Staff very welcoming and friendly. Food was delicious and had good selection for vegetarian options. Had a very enjoyable experience, would definitely come back.
Truly impressed- food was great, staff are so helpful/ great young lady on reception, nothing too much trouble- thanks everyone - 2 nights and Pup friendly- beautiful grounds to enjoy too Crichton campus x
We had 2 breakfasts here as guests of the hotel. Compared with the dilapidated state of the hotel, breakfast was pretty decent. The barman serving alcohol in the evening was lovely, too.
Staff really friendly and welcoming, dinner was ok, some elements of b/fast was fine others not so good, would def come back
After a day travelling and shopping we were just too tired to go out for dinner so opted for the "3 courses for £22" at the BANKEND Bar & Brasserie attached to the Holiday Inn, Dumfries (see separate review). I asked for and quickly received the wine list but it was another 12 minutes before anyone came back to take the order. The wine list has 6 reds and 6 whites plus some champagne and rose all grossly overpriced e.g. some very ordinary reds at £24 (Tempanillo) to £35 (Rioja Crianza); and in terms of the whites, the mid price offering was a basic Chilean Chardonnay for £30! I asked the waiter to put in an order straight away for a bottle of the Valdepenas (not because it was the cheapest but because we like spicy forest fruits) and the waitress brought two glasses and the bottle immediately, all of which she sat on the table and was about to walk away. Now, if you're paying these kind of prices for ordinary wine the least you might expect is for the waitress to open the bottle even if she hasn't been trained to ask you to taste the wine but I did her job for her. We both ordered the Tomato and Oregano Focaccia starter which was fine. Apparently my wife's Beer-Battered Fish and Chunky-Cut Chips tasted better than they looked as did my slightly soggy Goats Cheese, Red Onion and Spinach Pizza, which only had 2 or 3 small pieces of spinach and no red onion but a large quantity of chutney (see pictures). My wife described her Sticky Toffee Pudding with Custard as "pretty average/not the best one I've tasted" and my Caramelised Biscuit Cheesecake was more like a musse with caramel sauce. The Tempranillo Valdepenas was very poor. I've drunk better supermarket reds in Spain for €3. I doubt it would get shelf space in its home country and here you couldn't possibly sell it for more than £5. Holiday Inn are probably buying it for £3 or £4 a bottle and selling it with a 500% to 1,000% mark up, which is ridiculous even for a high end hotel but in a 3-star hotel with a "happy food" menu is just outrageous. We have been touring the Borders and Dumfries all week and at £68, this was easily our most expensive dinner and easily the lowest standard. Overpriced and decidedly average all round.
Friendly helpful staff. Food was lovely ?
nice menu with tasty food. staff are lovely
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