The Loft

Delicious food! Lovely intimate environment. They’re burgers really yummy, and the waitress was kind enough to stay open later for our group to finish eating. Great service and dealt with our gluten free and vegetarian requirements with ease.

You didn’t think you were going to get away with today’s assault (a-​salt?) on brunch.
We’ve been here before fellow Unilocaler’s, when I love a place, I sing my praises from the rooftop. When I don’t love a place, well let’s just say if I sang my praises from the bottom of the sea. It would at least be a salty enough place to do that.
The venue itself is nicely decorate and fairly well laid out. We were a little to close to the radiator perhaps, but the seating area was comfortable enough.
No waiting around as for most of the time it was just the three of us.
Considering however my friends had eggs (scrambled & béarnais) and I had toast the 18 minute wait was excessive.
I started with a simple White Coffee and was disappointed when it needed sugar, but it had a pleasant enough taste with a little extra milk.
The service was proficient, if a little curt.
The food. I may have already mentioned but the main ingredient in each of the dishes was salt. I had toast. How can toast be too salty you ask? Simple, both sides of all six slices were slathered in thick, salted butter. Even the overly sweet jam was no match for the salty flavour of the bread, which was so heavily buttered I left with greasy lips and an insatiable thirst.
Sorry The Loft, but quite frankly if you can’t do toast right, I don’t want to give you a second chance.

So, my Unilocal relationship with The Loft so far has been rockier than rocky. (See past reviews!) But since my first few visits were not long after it had opened I figured it was best to give The Loft another go in the form of Sunday brunch.
We arrived to a brunch menu with different prices from the current one on their Facebook page. The options were substantially more expensive than the prices to be found online. That’s not to say it was an expensive meal but just not what the online menu had stated. A disappointing beginning!
The brunch menu itself is simple with several interesting options like the Breakfast Tortilla with sautéed potato and fresh herbs. I opted for the Poached Eggs Béarnaise and one of my friends chose the cooked breakfast whilst the other had toast and jam.
Everything looked delicious. And so, the excitement of brunch killing us, we began to eat. ‘Oh, it’s very salty!’ said my friend, commenting on his cooked breakfast, in particular the scrambled eggs. And as I began to eat, I had the very same thought. Whilst the eggs were delicious, the Béarnaise sauce was overpoweringly salty. Salt, salt, salt. There’s a time and a place and this was neither. We had to laugh when, even my friend having the toast, commented on the saltiness of the bread. Overly salted butter with toast and jam? Oh dear!
And so we left, dehydrated from the sheer sodium content of a disappointing brunch. This time, when I say ‘we left with bad tastes in our mouths,’ I mean it quite literally.

Good to see new businesses in Stirling but sorely disappointed. The Italian burger was fine, not brilliant, but the chips were undercooked, the onion rings were cold and therefore greasy, the ‘apple and caraway coleslaw’ was bog standard coleslaw (and a tiny portion for more than £2, at that). Service was rubbish. I asked if I could order dessert while he was clearing our main dishes and he said to wait. Then he seemed to forget about us, mooching about and moving pepper shakers. We called him over and ordered another drink and my dessert and he didn’t bother to smile or anything.
Considering this place has items on the menu for £17, perhaps their service should be a little more attentive. Also, what sort of place has paper napkins and a diner feel with dishes for £17? I think they need to re-​evaluate what they want to be.
I would give this place another chance, though, because I had heard good things about it. Fingers crossed it’s a bit better in the future.

Been back twice since my first visit, and I maintain that it’s 5 stars!
After having tried the grilled halloumi burger the first time, I went for the brie and grape sandwich on my second visit. It came with a small salad, and the amount of brie cheese on it was very generous. Quite the delicious combination of flavours! For dessert, I ordered the cheesecake of the day, which was oreo. Very good!
And on my last visit, I ordered the herb goat’s cheese burger. I really enjoyed it, but as far as vegetarian burgers at The Loft goes, I think I’d get the halloumi burger again rather than the goat’s cheese burger. Still very good, but I think I just prefer my burgers hot than cold!

We stopped in here for a late lunch today because the place we wanted to try was closed up and emptied out… no longer existing in this world…
Super — duper glad we did!
The Loft is a fantastic place to get gourmet burgers, chowders, soup, fish & chips, and sandwiches. I was looking for them here on Unilocal and other places but couldn’t find them anywhere — turns out they just opened about a week ago! Seriously good burgers.
We had the Thai Burger and the Hog Burger, one with chunky chips and the other with sweet potato chips.
.God. lick your plate clean YUM. The flavors were spot on, the Pineapple & Peach Salsa was fantastic, the Chunky Apple, Cider, & Tarragon Sauce was delicious, the chips were top notch, and the service was pleasant.
The interior was finished off with a reclaimed wood style that really made the place feel comfy and welcoming.
If you’re in Stirling living or visiting you should pop on in for some really great food. It’s right down in Old Stirling — easy walking from Stirling Castle. Do it!
They have free WiFi, too!
The actual address is down and around the corner from Baker Street, ½ down the walking street on the left: 3 Friars Street, FK81HA Stirling