Mains Of Balquharn Brewers Fayre in Aberdeenshire

Four of us had lunch here, and all enjoyed it. Service prompt and good. Food was plentiful and good. No sign of any starving customers.

After a very tough week for the family I thought it would be nice to get out for a lunch and take everyone's minds off things for a while, we sat in the bar area where there was one other couple finishing drinks where it was nice and peaceful, restaurant didn't seem overly busy which was good. Ordering food at bar was pleasant and hassle free however that's where the positives end, nobody likes to wait forever on their food however it's also a major worry when it's arriving not long after you having the first sip of your drink and the temperature of the food made it absolutely obvious this wasn't freshly cooked to order. Two upgrade mixed grills arrived with every piece of meat barely lukewarm, undercooked greasy chips and onion rings and eggs that would have bounced if they slipped off the plate, poor attention to detail that one was missing gammon steak that appeared on the returned plate after less than a minute later, mash with the steak pie option was a cold congealed lump and the chips with the scampi were again undercooked and greasy, all very obvious signs not freshly prepared, since nobody came to check how our meal was and having had such a tiring stressful week we ate and left, on this experience I think in future we will stick to going out usual eatery at altens, a change obviously isn't always a good option and better the devil you know

We are regular diners here , taking advantage of the two meals for £12.99. We visited on Good Friday only to be told this deal was not on offer . We ordered fish and chips , which was overcooked and greasy, skin still on fish . My point is, if the deal is not on offer, then why leave the menu on the table ? Or at least put a notice on the door to say there is no deal on due to Easter .(Still confused as to why it makes a difference to the deal as it was a Friday after all !) So, in effect we were overcharged for a less than satisfactory meal . Normally the food is excellent but on this occasion I feel compelled to complain . Friday is Friday, regardless of the date (unless it's Christmas ). We would have been cheaper elsewhere .

Portions are shrinking but it's the same everywhere.

Visited here with working in aberdeen for 2 nights, food amazing and staff very friendly

Fantastic service, very pleasant and helpful, special mention to Stephen and Gemma who went the extra mile to make our evening a very pleasant one 😀

Great place great food very polite and helpfull staff they cater for families and people with disabilities. They have a soft play area where parents can eat whilst there children can play safely

Brilliant choice of food Staff very helpful and pleasant This place is like my second home

Went into mains of Balham Sunday afternoon, went for the carvery and it was awful, they obviously had the food out for hours under the hotplate, the Yorkshire puddings was rock hard, never bothered finishing my meal

Lovely place, amazing with the soft play. The staff are great and we tried the feed the family for £20. It was amazing we got 2 full adult main course and 2 kids plates. The soft play area is right between the tables, so you can watch the kids from your table

Dissatisfied with constantly waiting and being ignored by staff, in the end told them to cancel the rest of my order ( on meal deal) as couldn't be bothered to wait any longer.

Cheap and Cheerful microwaved fayre

Appreciate it’s a drop it in the deep fryer job, but try taking it out before it goes rock hard! Mushrooms for starters, don’t use a fork unless you want to give it to your neighbours. Main of fish again batter as hard as nails. But I guess this is what you get for cheap food.

Betty always gives a fab service every time we visit.

This place is part of the premier. I only had one meal in there and it was very nice The fish was mossive and good value for money

Fantastic meal tonight, pizza and steak. All fresh, well cooked, perfect. Lovely staff as always thank you so much

A very friendly welcoming atmosphere and great value for money fresh food.Jodie and her team do a great job.I always look forward to visiting Mains of Balquarn.

All staff were delightful Very enjoyable experience Try to apply for the 25% of as we stayed 5 nights but it didn’t work

My partner and myself always eat here when we stay at the Premier Inn next door. Jodie and her team do a great job. All staff are friendly and welcoming and nothing is too much bother. The carvery is always hot and the veg etc is always fresh. I cannot recommend Mains of Balquarn highly enough. Well done Jodie and all of your staff for always making us feel welcome.

when we walked in we waited 8 minutes to be seen as nobody was going about, when went to go get breakfast there was hardly any food and no scrambled eggs at all and no coffee cups, when I asked for both I waited awhile the girl said wait a minute, not ok I will go get some for you, also food was dry and solid.

Value for money when using their offers. Good service.

Two contrasting experiences over the weekend Dinner one night - decent food and service Breakfast next morning - poor service, average food at best, staff seemed stressed and rushed.

Mains of Balquharn delivers to the usual Brewers Fayre standard. Good choice of meals as normal. Gammon Steak was vg, staff knew the ropes and we're helpful and attentive. Bonus Club comes up trumps too.

We recently hosted a birthday party here, and overall, it was a delightful experience. The venue itself was beautifully decorated and had a warm, inviting atmosphere, perfect for our celebration. A special mention must go to Kris, who truly went above and beyond in ensuring that everything ran smoothly. Despite the clear pressures of managing a busy event, Kris remained calm, professional, and attentive to all our needs. His exceptional service did not go unnoticed, and we were incredibly grateful for his dedication and positive attitude throughout the evening. However, one aspect we wish could have been more flexible was the timing. It would have been wonderful if our guests could have stayed a bit longer without the fear of incurring additional charges. A little more leeway in this regard would have made the event even more enjoyable. All in all, Mains of Balquharn is a great place for celebrations, and with a few adjustments, it could be truly outstanding. Thanks again to Kris for making our event so special!

Staff were helpful and pleasant. Let down by the food. Had the smothered chicken and still trying to work out where the bbq sauce was on it...

Always good value, Friendly staff quick service, good soft play area but there is a nominal £3 charge per child to use it.

Won't be back.,... very expensive

Asked to reserve a table for 8:30pm and nothing was mentioned about last orders being at 8:30 until we went to order food and was told kitchen had closed and nothing was available. Staff did not care they had made a mistake and kitchen is supposed to be open till 9 but had closed early.

Great service and food good for value.

Had the mixed grill steak was brilliant and cooked perfectly 👌

I've been here a few times and the food can be a bit variable but it was good on this occasion. The staff were pleasant and helpful. It's a modest offering in its nature but no issues for me.

Fancied a carvery tonight........we were greeted by an individual who had extreme body odour. Which i was surprised at being a food establishment.........disappointed to be told there was no beef. There was little in the way of veg , the roast potatoes and parsnips were very well fired...there was no yorkshire pudding and the gravy was the consistency of water with no real taste. I took a small plate only because I was hungry and couldn't be bothered to go elsewhere.....I thought it might taste better than it looked. As far as carvery 's go this was the poorest I have experienced. I can't recommend the place, they need to raise standards quite a bit.

Was here for a kid's birthday hangout. Great place! Ample parking area.

Visiting from Abroad. Nice & cozy. Good food. Staff are very nice and accommodating to special requests. 🙌🏻😎

Food was nice but ordered nachos and chilli . When it arrived it was cold , they did take it away and replaced it but it was cold 2nd time round . Asked to speak to chef but he wouldn’t come out . Manager took over finally I got my food warm 3 rd time . But was left eating alone as others I. My group had finished .

Great place me and my 4 pals have been a few times great hotel next door and then get our supper and breakfast at mains of balquharn. Staff are great Vinnie (stephen) and co always make is feel welcome great menu lots of choice we will be back soon our next weekend away

Ok meals just not hot enough and we waited almost an hour to eat!!!! 😭

Extremely dissapointed - we were on holiday in Aberdeen with out three young Grandchildren so chose to use mains of Balquharn due to it supposed to be child friendly - play facilities closed at 7pm children can still eat after that time - this did not make for enjoyable time - all the children in the restuarant were upset - there were other families there also - staff were not tolerant when the children got out of their seats - door to play area not locked so kids kept trying to get in - service was slow and table was left cluttered with dishes - we had to ask three times for the kids deserts - poor show all round

Too many eating seats and not enough seats to actually just chill after a long drive and long days work, and whu call last orders at such a stupid time,, everything's rushed, staff are efficient and friendly though food menu is very limited when you eat in Premier Inn adjacent pubs every week,,, at least this one was better than average 👍

Went hear for a meal on the first night of my honeymoon. The staff were all polite and the food was good. Some good deals on in the week. The manager on shift, Jodie, even gave me and my husband some chocolate for free as she could tell we were newly weds.

great service thank you betty:)) food good nice time today

Nice meal, steak was tender and gammon was too and not salty, good burgers too and good service.

Family food with children, good service, good menu, very nice place and the children had a great time in the playground

Lovely meal. Betty was great and kept us right with the vegan options. Will definitely go back.

I’ve been there few times. By myself, with kids, with family and at the party. Always feel warm welcome, with a right service, tasty food, fab time and delicious coffee. Definitely recommend this place for every occasion and part of the day. Special thanks to waitress Betty who made the most amazing service to us and having a lot of people around to treat. For sure I’ll be back!!!❤️

Had a lovely lunch for my grandsons birthday.The play area was brilliant.

Good food, you have to order and pay at the bar and no one tells you

Served by Betty, always pleasant and friendly and with a smile.

We had dinner here, mixed grill and fish and chips. Everything on the mixed grill was cooked to perfection and really great value for money. I had the fish and chips and really enjoyed it. Lovely crispy batter and gorgeous white haddock inside. Service was quick and friendly as usual.

We went to visit this place because of the soft play area. Its a simple soft play area and excellent if you just want a place where your child can play. The food was not the best. I mean it's edible but if you have a certain preference for a certain aesthetic this might not be for you. The place and plates were not as clean as I'm used to. You ever been to a place where you want to start wiping down the tables yourself. This was me. Otherwise, honestly it's not a place I would visit again unless I was desperate. It's budget friendly. I ate the chicken salad.it was ok.

Myself and my child have been here many times to the children's play area over the last year and it is always a great experience. Food was amazing as usual, despite the price being up a tad from last time. There was a gentleman serving in the children's area I don't recognise but he was fantastic, very accommodating, and was doing a great job keeping the area tidy.

Basic food staff friendly and helpful

Worst greasy fish ever totally soaked in horrible grease Vile

This was the best lime and fizzy water I've ever had. Food was very nice with a good portion for the price you pay. £15 for 2 people with drinks with a nice clean atmosphere 👌🏿

Catered to Ayrshires finest fans, as long as we beat the Dons we’ll be back, KTID!!

Had a lovely birthday dinner with the family. Booked for 12 noon but had to hang around for a while as no one was about to show us to our booked table which was disappointing but once we spoke to a chap we had good service.

Thoroughly enjoyed a family meal tomight, food great, good selection of drinks and service first class. Thanks guys, see you all again soon

Love this place been several times always good food wether it was breakfast or the carvery on a Sunday

We chose here so our little girl could use the play facilities. In the end it cost us £58 for food, for 4 and then another £9 in the play area (not sure how it got to this price when we were staying for food, but that's another matter). Staff were really friendly and helpful though. Plenty space for parking. Wheelchair friendly too. Just not so sure we'll be back again.

Good brewers fayre but understaffed making it slow.

Worse breakfast I’ve ever had and woman who greeted us rude. No bacon or scrambled eggs, had to wait for more to be made. Continental consisted of croissant which were very small and hard. Not a big selection . Do poor compared to abroad.

we are enjoying our frequent visits here because of our favourite two waitresses Anna and Betty. That are more like friends now and nothing is ever too much trouble for them.It's a pleasure to come and have our lunches here.The music is good too, so is atmosphere.We feel very welcomed here and it's always a joy to dine here.

The food was pretty good, staff were friendly. 2 meals 2 puddings and 2 alcoholic drinks for £ 50.50 definitely a good price.

We dined with Brewster's fayre today and took advantage of the children's play area. Over seeing the children's safety was Lauren. Who is amazing with the kids, polite,friendly and full of banter. Please acknowledge this feedback and give Lauren the feedback she deserves she was a wonderful host. She was minding the desk, clearing/cleaning all by herself as well as interacting with children and parents. She was doing a 5* job. Would recommend to friends and family.

Do not get the nachos if you expect anything more than a smidgen of cheese. Dry is an understatement. It was fish as a special on the night we were there. This was not too bad as were the chips, bit dry but the mushy peas were shocking. Staff were excellent

Worst place I have ever eaten over 2 hours toi get the food avoid

Festive menu is absolutely delicious, plenty of food, great taste. The staff are always friendly, and helpful great service all round

Every time we go the kids area is closed even though we check ahead of time

Staff shortages and turning customers away. Fortunately I was staying in hotel so was given a table.

When I stayed they were running a restricted menu so limited choice. What I did have as a meal was good tasty Pub Food. Staff very helpful.

Will definitely be my go to for pub grub. Super fast service with a smile . Steak was cooked perfect

Food is standard pub grub but the staff were very friendly and went the extra mile to help me as a disabled person

Just had drinks in the beer garden.

Not the best Brewers Farye Very limited menu for a snack lunch, no sandwiches or toasties ??

Good meal , nicely presented and very tasty

Great food, great place, brilliant breakfast, especially our servers millie and Jodie

Food was amazing and there was great atmosphere, and our servers Millie and Jodie were amazing

Stoped for the breakfast. Big mistake. Only thing I enjoyed was coffee.

Handy place to call in for breakfast.

Only ate breakfasts which were plentiful, but why no Lorne sausage? Its in Scotland and should be on the menu.

We had birthday party for our grandson lucas on 19th August 2023 the young man David did fantastic job hosting his party everything well organised was very much appreciated.

Ate two nights in a row while staying at Premier Inn next door. First night, good food and service but second night waited almost a hour for food only for it to be delivered minus chips as frier not working. That information in advance would have been nice with option to change dinner. My food was hot but my husbands was cold so we asked for a refund. To be fair it seemed everything was going wrong that night so won't judge harshly on second night

Stay here often, always friendly and food is always good

Didn't have that great an experience this time, asked to be sat somewhere quite as we don't have kids which the server did but put a family with 2 loud kids 10 min later, slow service and the food was overdone.

A nice brewers fayre. Everything you’d usually expect, busy evening we arrived just after 5pm, got busy from 6pm. Potato dippers were a big starter, good to share! We had 2 mains for £9.99. Sausages weren’t very warm, all the others mains were good I was told Polite abs helpful staff

Noisy because of the play area. Food wasn’t great. 2 meals for 10. But for. 5 quid it was good. You get what you pay for! Also had breakfast there nice all you can eat.

Food was quite nice had the gammon steak cooked nice, not a bad size either. However, the starters were massive! Which made it very good for value. Very cheap, and a decent place to go.

Good place to well eat and relax while kids playing in soft play 😁

We only had breakfast here. I felt the set up was a bit haphazard the food was properly cooked but it wasn't warm enough. Never once saw it being probed,. It was put into the Bain Marie then forgotten about. Only saw one girl clearing tables. No-one about to help with toast, tea,or coffee if you were struggling. Need a bit more attention .lovely dining room. Plenty of room and tables nicely set up.

Delicious meal, warm environment. Large parking space Friendly staff Prompt service.

Will not eat here again over 40 minutes wait for our main meals altering having to ask how long it will be. I ordered my stake blue, and it came well done. Ended up leaving my mains as it was so bad. Had the loaded nachos for starters and then are not loaded they just have a bit of cheese melted in them and a bit of garnish again left them as they was dry. The only good thing about the place was leaving. Will not be eating here again.

The staff at this establishment are in desperate need of the company support and further training. Or possibly the restaurant should limit what they serve. Our experience was awful. We arrived at 8:30pm and ordered within 10 minutes of being seated. We over heard the table next to us complaining they were still waiting for starters. Our starters arrived and they were edible except I'm not really sure that a load of salad thrown in a bowl constitutes as salsa. We had asked for our 3 year old to receive his food at the same time - no such luck. By this time the other table has their main courses minus 1. The manager came and took our starter plates and asked if we wanted any tea/coffee or dessert........we asked if we could maybe have our main course and the 3 year olds meal. As he left our table the other table were well into the main meals with 1 person still not been fed. Our main meals arrived at the same time as the opposite table. Pink chicked, solid steak , a brick of stuffing. Still no food for our 3 y/o. Eventually it arrived but by this time we were too tired of waiting and the 3 yo was getting restless so we barely ate and left. Give the manager his due he volunteered a refund and was very apologetic but quite simply seemed under immense pressure and could probably use a bit of support. This restaurant is always very busy with the hotel being attached and they don't really seem to have the training or equipment to deal with it. We will not be returning.

Really nice friendly staff I am on a gluten free diet and the staff were really helpful

As ever a warm welcome from Beata. Her desire to deliver excellent customer care is second to none. She explained the drink refills and kept an eye on us throughout our meal without being intrusive. Her colleague Anna was also on hand and extremely helpful. The food is fine; tasty and reasonably priced, however, it's the front of house staff who elevate The Mains and keep clients coming back.

Food not ready, chef takes a break when customers waiting for food... terrible experience..

Had a tasty cheese & bacon burger. Friendly service. Tried a drink called 'watermelon sweet' (see photo). Cool, refreshing, sweet! & non alcoholic.

would recommend! Betty our server was great! Always happy to help with any enquiries and always has a smile on her face!

We always enjoy our softplay visit with food. Thanks Betty.

My daughter loves going there for food and a play. Food is good and price is even better.

Lucas was a very attentive waiter 👍