The Grapes - Dumfries Galloway

Absolute gem. Great attention to detail in well curated small plates. Understated establishment where the food is forward. Wine and cocktail list superb. Service a terrific blend of friendly and professional. Not a touristy dining experience. Gourmand’s delight.

Just passing by and decided to stop for dinner. Excellent food at very reasonable prices and staff very friendly.

Absolutely fantastic meal and my son loved his great size portion of macaroni cheese The lasagna is amazing and the deserts just wow Thank god we never drove past and will deffo. Is it again

Me and my fiancee were travelling back from a long day exploring and searched for places to eat... we found this place and googled the reviews and everything looked good so we went in. After ordering some drinks we sat down. The Worthingtons I had was perfect to be fair... but that was the one and only positive about the whole experience. We were then given some dirty menus to look through while being entertained by a TV in the corner showing some show about farming. Looking through the really random choice of food, we decided on a chicken burger and some starters to share. We were then given some greasy cutlery and waited for about 10 minutes for the food. The burger roll was VERY stale. The duck spring rolls were so sloppy on the inside and very hard on the outside like they had been cooked a few times the same situation with the deep fried haggis balls. While discovering all of this... we were still being entertained by the same farming show on the TV which had now started to show a scene of a cow giving birth... all round hilarious experience that cost us £30. I would avoid this restaurant and pop to tesco instead if hungry.

On the outside the Grapes Hotel looks very unassuming and like any regular village Hotel of its kind, but.....parked the car and went inside and we did get one big surprise. Yes its oldie worldy and thats one of the things that make this place special for us and probably many more. Small hotel but plenty of parking for the restaurant for those who are just popping in for a drink or a meal. At the moment its just changed to the winter months opening times for the bar which is around 5pm but if a guest they open the bar and they did just that for us when we arrived. Checked in and shown to our room. Yes the stairs can be a little steep but hand rails allow you to manage them and there is a landing between the floors. Key for the room and key for the outside door. The room itself was a good size even although the ceilings are low due to being in the roof space. We are quiet short people so no issue. En suite was a must for us and we had one. It was a twin room and clean and fresh enough. Bed comfy too and had a good nights sleep and the traffic didnt bother us at all from the A75. We sat in the beer garden to the back of the property in the lovely warm weather for September and had a glass or two of wine. Our stay was due to attending a hospital appointment the following day as we travelled 76.3 miles and can take 1hr 32 mins on the A75 but to ensure on time for 11am appointment we stopped overnight before and we will be using it again for the same purpose. Only 15mins to the hospital at Cargenbridge depending on traffic but arrived 30mins early which is good. Anyway a really good menu available and the special that night was Sirlion steak with chips and onion rings and we asked to hold the onion rings and could hubby have mushrooms instead and it was not any bother at all. To start I had the soup option and it was a choice of tomato(homemade) or chicken and mushroom so plumped for the tomato and it was beautifully flavoured and served with seeded bread and butter. It makes a change from just white (nice touch). Hubby had the Garlic mushrooms with salad and garlic mayo...tasty and just the right size of portion. Next the main course and I had difficulty choosing but went for the Fish and Chips and it was breaded instead of batter and again a nice change. Crispy fish with the chips and peas and only left a few chips as full up. The steak for hubby was asked for cooked Blue and although cooked rare to ensure that the steak was not cold in the middle it was beautifully cooked and very tasty and well worth the money served with chips and mushrooms. A glass of Merlot to wash it down with . I finished my meal with a glass of port. After dinner a few games of pool and a game or two of darts, drinks and then bed. Good music choice too. The inside is so cosy and homely and there are a good number of tables. Good nights sleep and breakfast at 9am and had been asked the night before whether we would want a cooked breakfast and we said yes please. Freshly cooked a sausage and bacon and black pudding and haggis and tattie scone and fried egg. Toast white and seeded and asked if we wanted more oh and a cooked tomato fresh from the greenhouse. Coffee and tea. Orange juice too. All in all a fantastic stay and fantastic meal and the best breakfast we have had in a hotel for a very very long time. Thanks Wilma and Fred .....See you soon .£69 for one night and breakfast included thats what we paid.