The Stables

Been meaning to try this place out for the past year, as often drive past it. Popped in for dinner a few days ago.
The starters were tiny — really overpriced. My starter of battered mushrooms consisted of two mushrooms, halved, and a smear of mayonnaise for the princely sum of £3.95. My companion’s was not much better. The waiting staff should be wearing Dick Turpin masks!
Main course, steak with a blue cheese and mushroom topping was not as advertised. The blue cheese was a tiny slice of cold cheese which measured about 2 cm long. Most of it was rind. Actual cheese was undetectable. I asked the waiter about this who offered me a sauce instead. I opted for the mushroom sauce which was essentially some undercooked mushrooms in water with some flour. It was completely tasteless. The meat itself was very nice. The chips were frozen — soggy on the outside, powdery on the inside.
My companion’s mixed grill had several items missing. We queried this with the waiter who apologised, shook his head and wandered off, not to be seen again. He did at least communicate with the second waitress, who offered us a free dessert, which was appreciated and was better than the preceding courses. Our second round of drinks was also knocked off the bill.
I won’t be hurrying back here though. The service was average, the décor a bit shabby and the food shockingly bad. And it’s not cheap, either. Don’t waste your money — keep driving and go to the Boathouse at Auchinstarry — another 20 min drive but a world apart in quality!

This place was lucky to get 2 stars sorry but the waitors and waitresses where lovely service was pretty ok even though it did take a while the fish was good I’ll give them that but the chips where kinda burned the toilets had more atmosphere than the actual restaurant that’s no joke it’s ok if your walking past and fancy a drink on a nice day but that’s about it I forgot to mention I look into the kitchen and there was all sorts of health violations

Very disappointed! Not really sure where to start! The oil with the bread and oil was about a teaspoon full! My sisters chicken was bone dry, my battered fish was so oily I couldn’t eat the batter and the teaspoon of tartar sauce I got was no were near enough. Our waiter was a nice guy but he piled up plates and at one point almost threw a fresh set of cutlery across the table.
Such a shame

My mother and father in law live in Bishopbriggs and so when the weather forecast looked half decent we decided to take the bikes and combine a wee cycle with a visit to Grandma and Grandpa. Ok this is really a cunning plan to make sure we don’t have to spend the whole day with Grandma and Grandpa, thus ensuring that I don’t have to go on a wee holiday to Cornton Vale.
The plan was to cycle from their house along the canal path, have a bit of lunch in the Stables and then cycle back. Oh Grandpa’s had 2 hip replacement ops and Gradma has rheumatoid arthritis so unfortunately they can’t cycle and had to stay home mwah ha ha.
Despite it being mid September the beer garden was very busy — hooray for the extended summer. However, we were really lucky and managed to arrive just as a table were leaving. The table had been cleared but was in desperate need of a wipe, covered in crumbs with the odd chip wedged between the slats of the table — nice!
With most of our party (of 3!) needing toilet breaks it was decided that we’d get a drink and menus and go back and order food in a bit. So we didn’t loose the table we of course played loo relay — professional beer garden goers here!
As a member of staff was heading back from delivering food to another table I asked if she could pop back and wipe our table. I’m guessing they were a little under pressure because I didn’t get a sunny ‘here to help’ smile in response. When g asked for menus he was told he wasn’t allowed to take them outside, we would have to look and order at the bar. I have no problem ordering at the bar — it makes more sense when eating outside but seriously no menus outside…
So we got drinks and with the table still manky were reaching the conclusion that maybe we’d just spend a bit longer with Grandma and Grandpa and see what we could find there for lunch. To be honest it could have still gone either way, neither of the adults were particularly looking forward to the whole afternoon in Bishopbriggs! Then we saw the burgers being delivered to the next table. Anaemic limp buns, patties and fillings that couldn’t be seen so small they were and stingy portions of floppy looking frozen chips.
We finished our drinks and got on our bikes — literally! So thank you Stables I got to spend a ‘lovely’ afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa having their views on the referendum rammed down my neck, learning far more about an elderly relatives bowel problems that I would ever have wanted to know and trying to bite my tongue as my child is fed more sweeties and goodies than Hansel and Gretel in the witches house.

Having recently moved to the area, I have driven past The Stables many times, and walked through their beer garden on my way to the adjacent Forth & Clyde Canal.
So yesterday, we finally got around to trying out The Stables for a Father’s Day lunch celebration. I was really impressed.
The Stables was built in 1812 to serve the watermen and horses using the Forth & Clyde Canal. Today it is a cosy and welcoming country pub and restaurant with a fantastic beer garden adjacent to the picturesque Forth & Clyde Canal.
I would give the staff here 5 stars for their service, as they were so friendly and attentive.
The food was super, the only reason I didn’t award 5 stars was because the desserts were a little disappointing.
For my main course I chose Half Roast Hunters Chicken, which was a half chicken served quartered with peas, bacon and BBQ sauce with cheddar-​topped seasoned chips. This was delicious! The chicken was beautifully moist, with just enough BBQ sauce (usually love plenty of sauce but BBQ can be overpowering if there is too much — this was just right though). Major brownie points for cheesy chips too!!!
For dessert I ordered a raspberry crème brûlée. I was a little disappointed with this as I love a crispy caramel topping on crème brûlée, whereas this came with a little sprinkling of sugar only very slightly caramelised so I missed out on the satisfaction of crashing through the classic lovely crunchy caramel topping! I also felt the raspberries were a little sparse with not much flavour.
Overall, a great experience — only the desserts need a little improvement.
This is a great spot on the Forth & Clyde Canal, perfect for refreshments after a walk along the canal itself on a sunny day, and I imagine lovely and cosy in the Winter months too!
I highly recommend this place, a lovely place for a weekend visit for those of you living in the centre of Glasgow who want to get out into the countryside, and experience some beautiful canal walks followed by a tasty meal and liquid refreshments!

Had looked forward to taking a cycle to here, stopping for dinner then heading home to burn some calories hoping this could be a regular summer jaunt but was not to be.
Situated on the canal side, the overall feel of the place was really nice with a traditional rural feel which made for a great escape from Glasgow.
The staff however were miserable! Not a single smile from one of them from the moment we arrived.
Arriving at 7.15pm we were obviously on a tight turnaround time as we wanted to get back to Glasgow before dark. We placed our order at twenty past 7. One order ventured out 20 mins later but further 2 orders didn’t arrive for 45mins. By this time we were starving and anxious to be on the road.
Overpriced and underwhelming is the two words I could use to best describe the food here. The menu looked great with some tantalising descriptions of sumptuous ingredients that made the mouth water but what appeared just didn’t match up to the hype.
I ordered the Chicken and ham pie in a puffed pastry with thick cut chips at £9. More puff than pie. my Friend had the Wild Boar and Chorizo Burger @ £11!!! Having experienced the most amazing Meathammer burger this week at a fraction of the price in in Nice n’ Sleazy, the steep price at the Stables should have excelled. When it finally arrived it looked disappointing and didn’t taste much better. It was supposed to arrive with chips and coleslaw but the coleslaw was nowhere to be seen. They said they had forgotten about it so arrived 5 mins later. I’ve never tried a more tasteless coleslaw ever… How hard can it be!
A further recommendation is if your starving dont go for the Spinach and Ricotta Strudel, its tasty but ain’t much of it.
The waitress miserably asked if we would like any sauces with our meal. We asked for tomato and vinegar. She casually ambled off to arrive eventually with a tray of condiments. Keeping grip of the tray whilst we took what we needed, off she went, tray in hand. If you wanted a top up at any point you were stuffed unless you called the waitress back over which certainly wouldn’t have been done with a smile.
All in all an extremely disappointing experience. As its a great cycle route I may pop in for a very quick drink on passing in the future but won’t be going near their menu again.

This is the best bar in Kirkintilloch, even if that if a little bit loose given that its about ten minutes outside the main street of the town.
Located on the bank of the Forth and Clyde Canal at an old locke, this is a very picturesque and traditional bar with a brilliant restaurant inside where you are likely to meet an old man with his dog and be sat comfortably beside an open fire.
Whilst sitting outside on a cracking summer’s day, we noticed an obscure barge outside the bar called the ‘craft raft’ which people can rent out for days doing things like pottery.
The prices are fairly average, however I’d encourage anyone in the area considering The Stables to stop for lunch as the food really is the best in the town.