The Hawes Inn

First of all, what I love about the Hawes is the coziness, and warmth, and it’s the perfect location on a cold winter day if you want a hot chocolate and quiet dinner.
What I strongly dislike about the Hawes… hmm…how long have you got?
First of all the attitude of the staff ranges from either inattentive and incompetent to straight-​up snooty. The manager has a very noticable falseness too her and she is on total autopilot. No warmth to her at all. When I came to her with a frustration she was not very friendly and clearly is not capable of dealing with situations that lie outside her pre-​programmed parameters.
The staff frequently get orders wrong or just don’t pay any attention to you. Even on quiet days the tables will still be uncleared and dirty long after guests leave. On my second-​last visit we were given 3 different waiters and the last one, despite making about 2 trips to our table, seemed disappointed that he wasn’t getting a tip!
This is not a place that relies on repeat business. It’s geared toward the tourists who want a drink after getting a picture of the bridge. They are not interested in making your visit a nice experience, they just want your money.
Avoid.

We ended up here after doing the Shore walk from Cramond. It was a Sunday and it was very, very busy. It was very obviously the staff were flat out either because it was so busy or they were short staffed. I completely understand so I can’t be too picky since having worked in customer service, I really felt bad for them. However, they did manage to come clean the table and eventually came back to take our food order.
Getting our drinks at the bar was very quick, so that was a plus to at least have drinks sorted quickly. We only ordered a few nibbles, which includes a cheese board, the Mediterranean bread board and the beef pie. The cheese board was good and we a nice thing to share. I didn’t try to beef pie, but the group thought it was okay. Very big size, but very sauce filled. It was not the thick filling one would expect from a pie, and looked more like gravy. The breads were okay, but nothing special as it was just served with olive oil.
It is a very quaint pub and a nice warm place to stop after the long walk in he cold, but as far as dining goes, it is not really my cup of tea. I think it would be nicer if it wasn’t as busy, so maybe on a weekday for an afternoon stop.

This is a friendly and welcoming inn, although hesitant about their refit about 8 years ago which removed a lot of the beams which were scrawled upon supposedly by Robert Louis Stevenson, it hasn’t changed much and the back room remains where Stevenson drank, there are pictures and memorabilia relating to Stevenson and the Ferry (South Queensferry). This room can be segregated for small functions (around 20 seated).
The menu has recently changed and apart from the usual pub classics (scampi, steak, bangers and mash, prices start from 6.95) they now offer lunchtime specials where one course is 5.95 and two courses are 7.95. The choices include soup of the day, breaded mushrooms, steak sandwich and chips, other lighter bites, ice cream and apple pie. The specials board usually has at least one fish dish, locally caught. The staff are friendly and helpful and nothing is every any effort for them.
The drinks on offer are the usual bar drinks and a reasonable selection of soft drinks including mixed fruit juices (cranberry and orange is a popular favourite). Coffee is fresh not instant. The Christmas lunches and Sunday lunches are very popular (Christmas lunches 12.95 and Sunday lunch 7.95), with very ample portions. This Inn even boasts an open fire, the two tables adjacent are always busy on cold days.
Views out over the bay give you a good view of the Forth Rail Bridge. The car park (to the rear) has ample parking for around 40 cars, although if entering the car park from the Edinburgh road (not the main road adjacent to the shore), then please be careful of the potholes when driving down this single track road to the car park. This entrance road is just that, an entrance road it is not an exit. Exit is by the road adjacent to the shore (this can also be used an entrance to the car park although drive slowly as this is next to a busy car garage). In the summer, park away from the trees at the back of the car park, sap from the trees ends up on your car.
There is a small beer garden outside the Hawes both to the front and the rear although being right on the main road the garden at the front gives you an amazing backdrop to your lunch.

Went to the Hawes Inn for dinner and it was fine, but not good enough that you’d be rushing back.
The food is quite typical pub fare — fish & chips, pies etc. I had the scampi which was pretty decent and the steak pie also looked quite nice — there’s a comfort factor in knowing what you’re going to get with pub food and in this respect it didn’t disappoint.
The service wasn’t quite so good — our waitress was lovely, but seemed to be the only one working across the restaurant area, so attracting attention was always a hassle. This becomes frustrating when you have to wait for the menus, then wait to order, then wait for your bill…
If I was planning to come to South Queensferry for a meal, I’d try to book into Orocco Pier along the road or one of the other restaurants in the High Street rather than the Hawes Inn, however as a backup it’s handy to have.