to think Loch Fyne has turned into a total cheeky rip-off and ask if you've been lately?

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

I used to go as a treat and their sharing platters were really nice. I went today, they have a new menu, and they have a 'best of Loch Fyne' platter for 22 quid to share as a starter, or one as a main. So quite a pricey dish, same as their lobster main. We were told what was in it - langoustines, oysters, mussles, clams, 'and lots of other shellfish'. Lovely.

We got it and it was mussles (much less in total than the guy on the next table had as a main dish of moules marinieres), two oysters, four small langoustines. That was it. So we had an oyster each, a couple of langoustines and .... mussles. Which are cheap as seafood goes.

My main course was scallops. I don't expect to get lots of scallops, but it was 16 quid and there were four of them, minus the corals. For a main course.

We did say (nicely) that the sharing platter didn't actually have what they said on it, and were told 'chef has been warned by upstairs not to put more than three clams on'. We pointed out there had been none. They said sorry but didn't take anything off the bill.

I'm a bit gutted TBH. We paid just over 60 quid for two courses each, no wine. That's a lot of money for us.

AIBU? Has anyone else been recently and did it seem like a rip-off?

I read this and thought it was the scottish loch fyne too and couldn't understand! In fact i want to go tonight now!

haha i thought you meant the loch itself too - i was worried they'd started charging to drive past or something

i think there's a loch fyne restraunt in leith but generally they're not common in scotland.

I went to Loch Fyne near us with DD (then 4 and DS then 2) and had a lovely meal, plus their children's menu which was lovely and well priced.

I was so impressed that I went back again with the kids and their Dad (we are divorced). During the meal, DS choked on his fish and was sick over the table and floor around our table. When I'd finished changing my son, the waitress came over, surveyed the damage, handed me a big pile of paper tissues and a bottle of cleaning spray and said "There you are, you can clean it up with that". I actually didn't mind cleaning up, as I felt a bit 'my child my vomit', but they didn't move the kids and my ex to another table, (or cordon off the table from the other customers, who I felt really sorry for) so they had to eat their meal surrounded by sick, while I spent the entire meal on my hands and knees scrubbing up vomit from the floor and furniture. By the time I'd finished cleaning, my meal was stone cold.

We still had to pay full price for the meal (maybe this was fair, I'm not sure, since only two of us actually ate a meal) but by the time I got home, I was quite upset. We rang them and explained what had happened and they told us to write in, which we did, and I never heard anything back from them.

I just can't bring myself to go back...

hopkinette ah a fellow loch fyner!

I worked at one in London and it was by far the worst waitressing gig of my life. Lovely customers, lovely free food , but the managers were psychotic and the pay sucked.

morebeta, I am not an idiot, and I know the price of fish. Forgive me, but if you think 'fish is expensive' justifies four coral-less scallops for 16 quid, you're being had.

As I said in my OP, mussles are not expensive as shellfish goes, so to pay just under 24 quid for a dish mostly made of mussles is a pisstake. It really is.

The cooking in Loch Fyne restaurants is generally good and compared to most chains they do have a better quality and consistency. But having eaten in them for over 5 years i have noticed some changes. Most of which have happened in the last 2 years.

Bread is no longer complimentary.

Portioning is more frugal.

There's no Bradan rost dish!

It's not enough to stop me eating there, i just do so less frequently. To be fair to them the set lunch menu is very good value.

Never been in Loch Fynne ao can't comment but two things to bear in mind.

Fish is a very expensive ingredient so you will not get a huge meal made out of fish anywhere. The biggest margin restaurants are pizza and pasta because people are willing to pay £7 - 10 for a big plate full of food that fills them but for the same price you get very little fish.

The other thing is a more general issue that really leaves me seething and that is property costs so much now for a restaurant to rent that it makes it near impossible for anything but mass market pizza, pasta, burger, coffee chains to make any money.

We came away very disappointed form a restaurant last week that basically served a chicken supreme (half a breast plus wing) and a few veg for £16. It was misdescribed as a whole chicken breast and the wine was also misdescribed as 2010 when it was a 2011. It was clear they were just squeezing margin wherever they could and I would not go back. Shame as it was a restaurant in a nice setting.

We really need a commercial property crash and commercial rents to halve before restaurant going becomes worthwhile again. The rent and rates on a mid sized restaurant on a high street in a provincial town is easily £100k a year even before you open the door.

I fell for their vouchers a few times before realising it was a rip off. £10 and literally all you got was a piece of fish and a choice of the tiniest portion of potatoes OR sald. So you end up paying the same price as a main meal when you add in extra sides, but you get less food.

I hate restaurants that lure you in witha voucher but don't try to impress you enough to come back and pay full price.

So glad I read this thread as I was planning to take DP as a anniversary treat. I think I'll try elsewhere having read all this

I would only in go there for oysters and a glass of wine / champers. The mains are overpriced, too small, and don't taste that great either.

nod nod masons yes. Do you think that they know we're talking about them?

turns lights out just in case

Shops, I meant, not shod!

would that be the 'Masons' Mrs C?

Does it have shod as well as restaurants? Cos there was one in Wimbledon which closed down recently. Even the investment bankers couldn't afford to buy their weekly omega 3 rations from there - you needed a second mortgage.

You know there will now be news reports of women all over scotland flashing silver sports cars and causing accidents!

Very very wise.

I still think we should all perfect some sort of mumsnet wave/nod. Like that men's secret society that isn't secret whose name completely esacapes me!

the car I am coming in is the silver one, 2nd pic on my profile. I expect flashing from scottish mumsnetters

MrsC I shall wave at you as I pass Glasgow. Feck to the weather as I shall be packing kaguoules etc anyway.

Sadly no, not the real one! Although that restaurant was the original one, it's no longer part of the chain, it's an independent entity (and apparently very good!). I work for the chain, which is owned by Greene King.

hopkinette What, the actually one on the shore of Loch Fyne? Shall I say hello to you when I'm there in a couple of weeks? How shall we know each other?

I shouldn't laugh but i'm going to! Hopefully the weather will have turned by the time you get here but even the weather reports have been woefully off.

If it all goes quite wrong and you have the wrong outfit there's a cracking shop at the marina in portavadie for joules sweaters etc!

I work at Loch Fyne. Literally the worst place I have ever worked.

oh blimey.... and I'm travelling in tiny classic sports car so limited wardrobe options