Ballathie House Hotel

R & I visited Ballathie Country House Hotel in Perthshire for an overnight stay in October en-route to Aberdeen. As part of our Autumn Break package, we had a four course dinner in the hotel's 2 AA rosette restaurant and it was the best meal I've had in a long time and quite possibly one of the best steaks I've had in the UK.

The hotel is stunning

After checking in we headed to the Riverside Building which is a short walk from the main building and it has views over the River Tay. We were on the first floor with a small private balcony.

Some of the rooms are gorgeous, like this four poster bedroom which I think is in the main building.

The decor of our room wasn't to my taste, but the room itself was lovely and spacious. It was a bit tired in places which was disappointing but it was clean which is the most important thing. I regret now not taking the room in the main building which was available when I made my booking. Anyway, here are the photos I captured of our room:

After unpacking my bits and bobs, I got cosy and watched some TV with a cuppa. It was lovely to get a chance to relax without feeling pressurised to do housework or laundry which always seems to happen when I'm at home!

Our room had lovely fluffy robes and I was super excited about having a nice hot bath to relax before going to dinner...

But if you were seeing my tweets on the day, then you'll possibly remember that there was no hot water! I was gutted. So I got dressed for dinner without washing and we headed to the main building for dinner...

Make-up on and ready to go!

The hotel lit up at night

Celebrating my new job with a glass of champers!

We started our meal with an amuse bouche which was a haggis ball if I remember correctly. We then had warm bread brought to our table with smoked butter. The smoked butter was absolutely to die for. Delicious!! All the food was presented beautifully and I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

Starter - waldorf salad with goat's cheese

Seriously the best steak ever

Chocolate fondant pudding with ice cream

After the most amazing meal ever, we retired to one of the sitting rooms for coffee & petite fours in front of the fire. It was bliss.

Unfortunately the next day there was still no hot water which did put a dampener (!) on things. Thankfully I wasn't too cold during the night (which is usually the case with me and my Raynauds!). We got up & dressed and headed back to the main building for breakfast. I had a fabulous breakfast of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and bacon. Yum!

The customer service at the hotel was absolutely fantastic; knowing that we were disappointed with regard the hot water/heating situation we were given money off our stay without even having to ask. I felt a bit awkward about it all and don't like having to complain, so I was pleased with the way that this was dealt with.

So, my closing thoughts on Ballathie... the dinner definitely was the selling point for me - can't stress enough what an amazing experience it was. I'd happily recommend the hotel for a weekend getaway and I will go back, but next time I'll go for a room in the main building.

(This wasn't a sponsored post; I just wanted to share my experiences with you as I loved the food so much!)

{Review: The Mal on Sunday}

Extra! Extra! Read all about it...

I was delighted to be asked along to try Malmaison's new Sunday Lunch menu - The Mal on Sunday. I loved the little newspaper that was at each table setting instead of a menu. Really well done and rather amusing!

I've stayed in a few of the Malmaison hotels before but have rarely eaten in the restaurants. I do love the Aberdeen Malmaison, my home town!, and have enjoyed the odd G&T in the MALBAR ;-)

Anyway, back to Sunday Lunch...

The Mal on Sunday is the "king of Sunday lunches" and guests can start with an unlimited hors d'oeuvres table featuring a selection of cheeses, ham, smoked salmon and individually prepared omelettes, eggs, pancakes & waffles. And that's just to start!! There is then a selection of main courses which include huevos rancheros, swordfish, steak frites and the traditional prime rib or chicken roast with all the trimmings, followed by desserts such as Crepes Suzette, Creme Brulee, sticky toffee pudding and the Mal Sundae.

My sister, @the_grey_house, and I arrived at The Mal shortly after my daughter's 2nd birthday party ended and we were looking forward to enjoying a proper catch up before she had to drive back to Aberdeen later that afternoon.

The impressive Malmaison building in Glasgow

On our way down to the Brasserie

We were shown to our table and invited to help ourselves to the Chef's Table. We did go and have a look at the table, but the chef wasn't there and the area wasn't lit very well so it wasn't easy to see what was going on and without someone to tell me what was what, I wasn't sure what I was doing!

The Chef's Table

We both opted for the soup of the day anyway as we loved the sound of apple & celeriac... and it didn't disappoint. Yum!!

Perusing the menu!

Decisions, decisions...

Apple & Celeriac Soup

The soup was creamy & delicious. It wasn't served with bread (probably just as well when you see what's to come!!) but perhaps this was on the Chef' Table and we didn't spot it. Portion wise, the bowl was massive, as you can see...

Enjoying the starter :-) 

(I think I look a bit frazzled, but that's a result of entertaining six under 5 year olds that morning!!)

We then moved onto the main course. Seeing as it was Sunday Lunch, I chose the traditional roast prime rib of beef with all the trimmings and Ali went for the wild mushroom risotto with tarragon and mascarpone. 

The plate was wider than me!!!!

The beef was beautiful although for me there wasn't enough gravy with the dish and as a result the Yorkshire pudding and potatoes were a little dry. I was going to ask for more, but didn't manage to catch the attention of our waitress. As you can see from the portion size, I struggled to finish it... I had to leave two of the three roast potatoes! Ali on the other hand demolished her risotto.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

For our final course, I had to choose the Sticky Toffee Pudding (I'm on the search for the best sticky toffee pudding!) and it was delicious. Ali ordered the Creme Brulee.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Creme Brulee

The atmosphere in the Brasserie was relaxed which I really liked. I could imaging sitting reading a book or catching up with friends over a long lunch. I also liked the music that was playing in the background (so much so that I wrote a few of the tracks down - Whitney Houston, Dusty Springfield, Mary Wells, The Spinners...).

The newspaper wasn't wrong... by the end of the meal I was ready to pop!! 

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I wish now that I had tried a cocktail, but there's always next time!

I loved my starter and dessert, but the main course for me was average. I think I possibly could have made a better selection as I'm loving the look of Briony and Graeme's mains in their review (which you can read on The Glasgow Food Blog here). I think next time I'll be having the burger thank you -  it looks amazing!

I received this complimentary Sunday Lunch for two in exchange for an honest review. Opinions as always are my own. The Mal on Sunday is available from 12 noon - 4pm and is £19.95 per person (kids under 12 are £7.95 each).