Strathpeffer
The Museum Coffee Shop is located in the old Strathpeffer train
station. It is a quaint setting, with 2 rooms available to sit in or you can
eat on the old platform outside on a nice summer’s day (so you’ll probably
eat inside). The shop is open from 10am to 5pm in the summer but winter times
are different and they aren’t advertised anywhere we can find. We assume the
breakfast is served all day as it doesn’t state otherwise however the menu
does state that ‘Breakfast may not be available during busy periods’,
nightmare! There is also a vegetarian breakfast option.
We were seated instantly and the service was excellent, with our breakfast
cooked within 20 minutes. We were also asked whether we would like our tea
served now or with the breakfast which was a nice touch. The breakfast
appeared grilled and it filled the plate well. The fried egg was well cooked
with a runny yolk. Unfortunately you aren’t given the option of poached or
scrambled. The bacon was cooked just right and the fat had been trimmed off
it, meaning there was no faffing about removing it yourself, if you’re that
way inclined. There was only one sausage served with the meal which was the
standard breakfast sausage, nothing to complain about and nothing to make it
memorable. What was memorable though was the haggis, it was delicious and
large and moist and we wanted more! The black pudding was also of a similar
size to the haggis but not as tasty as the haggis, it wasn’t the tastiest
we’ve tried but it certainly isn’t the worst, it was just nice. The tattie
scone was good along with the 2 tomato halves, mushrooms and beans. We were
given the option of white or brown toast with our breakfast, we opted for
brown. The toast was really nice and you are given 2 slices with butter that
was just at the right temperature for spreading.
This breakfast is definitely the ultimate Ryanair of breakfasts,
beating the Ship Inn, Invergordon by a country mile. The standard breakfast
for £4.95 includes 2 rashers of bacon, a fried egg, one sausage and some
toast. If you just ordered this I feel that you might have gone hungry and
you would have probably cried. Thankfully you get the option to add extras,
with haggis and white/black pudding costing £1.20 extra each. The non-meat
extras cost 80p extra each including a tattie scone, tomato, mushrooms and
beans. Tea or coffee is also £1.80 extra. Since we are hunting for the
Ultimate Full Scottish Breakfast, we opted to go for everything on the list
minus the white pudding. All together including tea/coffee the breakfast
comes to a whopping £12.35, the most expensive breakfast to date. The
non-meat extras are greatly over-priced, a tomato doesn’t cost 80p or a few
mushrooms and tattie scone, a tin of beans might but we only got half a tin
each. Maybe include the non-meat items in the £4.95 price? A final point to
note is that they do not accept cards for payment.
In the points review this breakfast loses marks for not including the
choice of egg and for not including a lorne sausage in the extra options.
After the breakfast was ordered we noticed that you can have a lorne sausage
roll, so the item was on the premises. If it had been included in the extras
you would have got another £1.20 out of us. The breakfast gained marks for
including haggis, tomatoes and mushrooms as an option. Weighing up all the
points, this breakfast scores a 4/5. We only judge on taste, cooking and the
amount of items, so points aren’t lost for cost.
This was a very filling breakfast once all the items were added. The haggis really made this breakfast stand
out, otherwise the breakfast would have been on par with the majority of
other 3 star breakfasts. What lets this breakfast down though is the cost, I
can’t stop going on about it as the cost is a bit ridiculous. To advertise a
breakfast with only 3 different items and toast on it is quite poor for
£4.95. It is a real shame as a 4 star breakfast should be applauded, but at
that price it is only a disappointment.
Recommendations for the Owner
to achieve Full Scottish Breakfast Greatness:
(In order of priority)
1. Include beans, tomato, tattie scone and black pudding in your
£4.95 breakfast and increase the price by a £1 if necessary. See Basic Scottish Breakfast must haves and the Price comparison page. Charge extra for haggis and
mushrooms – but it would be better if they were included.
2. Give the customer the choice of how the eggs are cooked.
3. Include a lorne sausage in the options – we know you have it.
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Breakfast served at times
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10am - 5pm Mon - Sun (Summer months)
Unknown times (Winter months)
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Breakfast advertised as
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Breakfast
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Price
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£4.95
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Breakfast contents
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2 Bacon
Fried Egg
Sausage
2 Toast – choice of brown or white
Tomato – 80p Extra
Beans – 80p Extra
Mushrooms – 80p Extra
Tattie Scone – 80p Extra
White or Black Pudding – £1.20 Extra
Haggis – £1.20 Extra
Vegetarian Breakfast available for £5.95
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Tea/Coffee Included
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No
Tea/Coffee £1.80
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How cooked
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Grilled
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Service Time Queuing
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0
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Service Time Waiting for Order
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20 mins
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Star Score
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4/5
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Points deducted for
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No choice of how eggs were cooked
No lorne sausage
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Website
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None
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Facebook
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None
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Museum Coffee Shop
The Seaforth
Ullapool
The Seaforth bar and restaurant is located in the centre of Ullapool
close to the ferry terminal. The All day breakfast, as it is advertised, is only
served between 0900 and 1200. I think you should probably change the name of
this. The restaurant/bar has plenty of room in it but it is still cosy with a
nice open fire near the bar, which is stocked with plenty of whisky, enough to
make anyone thirsty. We were seated immediately and the food arrived within
15 minutes.
The breakfast was served with toast, but there was no choice of brown
or white. There was also no choice of eggs. The fried egg that was served was
over cooked as the egg wasn’t runny and it was probably cooked at too high a
heat as the bottom of the egg was crispy. The breakfast appears grilled but
it only comes with one sausage which was a bit tough however the black
pudding was good. One slice of chargrilled bacon is served with the breakfast
which tasted excellent, it’s just a shame there was only one rasher though.
Mushrooms and a grilled slice of tomato was also on the plate along with
stingiest amount of beans ever seen on a breakfast. The beans also looked
like they were re-heats as they were clumpy with no bean juice. Finally the
tattie scone was the nicest we have tried with a dash of pepper on the top to
enhance its flavour. There is also the option to add a lorne sausage for £1
extra but we only noticed this option once it was too late to order it.
The cost of this breakfast is £6.25 or £7.25 with the lorne sausage.
Tea or coffee costs £1.50 extra which takes the total to £8.75.
The breakfast contains quite a lot of ingredients and is only missing
haggis, the choice of how you would like your eggs cooked and a choice of
white or brown toast in order to be eligible to achieve 5 stars. However the
quantity of the ingredients leaves you hungry as there was only one rasher of
bacon and one sausage where usually you get two, there was also very few beans.
The breakfast gained points for having a tomato and mushrooms, although there
was very few mushrooms. If you remove the toast from the plate, the breakfast
looks really small, and it was, as we were all still hungry. There were some
beautiful flavours coming from the bacon and tattie scone but the over cooked
egg, clumpy beans, tough sausage and small portions lose this breakfast
another point. If the portions were bigger and all the food was cooked to
perfection then this breakfast would easily score 4 stars but it only scores
3 out of 5 for now.
In summary this is a breakfast that has some of the best cooked
produce we have tried and also some of the worst cooked – eggs, beans and
sausage. The amount of food on the plate also lets this breakfast down quite
substantially as this could have been one of the nicest we have tried.
Recommendations for the Owner
to achieve Full Scottish Breakfast Greatness:
(In order of priority)
1. Increase the portion size of bacon, sausages, beans and mushrooms.
2. Improve the cooking of the fried egg.
3. Improve the quality of the sausage.
4. Give the customer the option of how they would like their eggs
cooked.
5. Add haggis to the menu of add on options.
6. Give the customer the option of brown or white bread.
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Breakfast served at times
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9 - 12 am Mon - Sun
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Breakfast advertised as
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All day breakfast
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Price
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£6.25
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Breakfast contents
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Fried Egg
1 Sausage
1 Rasher of bacon
Black Pudding
Tomato slice
Tattie scone
Beans
Mushrooms
Toast
Lorne Sausage £1 Extra
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Tea/Coffee Included
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No
Tea/Coffee £1.50
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How cooked
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Grilled
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Service Time Queuing
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0
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Service Time Waiting for Order
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15 mins
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Star Score
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3/5
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Points deducted for
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No choice of eggs or bread
No haggis
Cooking quality
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Website
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Facebook
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Tesco
Dingwall
Tesco in Dingwall contains its own café which is open every day from
8am until the evening. The café is the standard supermarket layout and the
breakfast items are laid out under hot lamps. We didn’t wait long to be
served and it took around 5 minutes from start of serving to reaching the
till to pay.
The Great 8 breakfast advertises a pre-selected choice of items, 2
sausages, 1 bacon, tomato, beans, fried egg, mushrooms and a hash brown.
However you don’t have to choose these items and you can choose 8 of
anything, including; lorne sausage, fried bread, scrambled egg, plum
tomatoes, black pudding and a tattie scone. The only thing they didn’t
include was a slice of haggis. If you want more items you can pay 65p extra
for each of them. We opted for all the ingredients that are included in the
Ultimate Full Scottish Breakfast, minus the haggis, which was a total of 9
item plus toast.
The bacon was very dry due to the hot lamp it had been placed under
for who knows how long. The lorne sausage looked dry too but was actually
quite moist and the links sausage was also ok. The black pudding was ok but
they ran out of it by the time the whole review team could grab a piece, with
no option of having more freshly cooked, with an hour of breakfast time still
to go. The fried egg was freshly cooked but if you wanted scrambled egg, it
was stored in a dish under the hot lamp. The tomato that was served was a
little on the small side but you are served a good portion of beans and
mushrooms. There was no complaints on the quality of the tattie scone. Some
of the team opted to have some fried bread but were extremely disappointed,
as it was like “plywood”, not cardboard but plywood!
Unfortunately the breakfast doesn’t include toast and you have to pay
99p for it but you do get the choice of white or brown. You also have to pay
£1.19 extra for tea. In total for 8 items with tea and toast it will cost you
£7.17. If you add all the 9 items minus the haggis for the Ultimate Full
Scottish Breakfast it will cost you £7.82.
In the points review, the breakfast starts with the base of 2 stars
as it contains all the ingredients for the basic breakfast and also gains
marks for extra items such as lorne sausage, tomatoes/mushrooms. It doesn’t
gain any further marks as they don’t have the option of a poached egg or
haggis and the produce was only average. The bacon was also dry so it loses a
mark there. After weighing up the positive and negative points, this
breakfast scores 3 out of 5 stars.
Overall a decent sized breakfast only let down by the food not being
freshly cooked and missing haggis. Not bad for a supermarket though.
Recommendations for the Owner
to achieve Full Scottish Breakfast Greatness:
(In order of priority)
1. Include haggis in the breakfast.
2. Option of a poached egg.
3. Don’t leave food under the hot lamp for too long as it becomes
dry.
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Breakfast served at times
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8am - 11.30am Mon - Sun
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Breakfast advertised as
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Great 8 Breakfast
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Price
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£4.99
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Breakfast contents
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2 Sausages
1 Bacon
Tomato
Beans
Fried egg
Mushrooms
Hash brown
OR Pick 8 for £4.99 from the above plus
Lorne sausage
Fried bread
Scrambled egg
Plum tomatoes
Black pudding
Tattie scone
Extra items 65p each
Toast brown or white – 99p Extra
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Tea/Coffee Included
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No
Tea/coffee £1.19
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How cooked
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Fried
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Service Time Queuing
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5 minutes
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Service Time Waiting for Order
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5 minutes
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Star Score
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3/5
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Points deducted for
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No haggis, charging toast and no option of a poached egg.
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Website
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Facebook
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Crazy Horse Coffee Shop
Invergordon
The Crazy Horse Coffee Shop is located in Invergordon High Street and
seems popular with local residents. There is nothing striking or memorable
about the décor but the setting is pleasant enough. We were seated
immediately and service was instant.
The toast arrived quickly and the bread used was nice, however we
weren’t given the option of brown or white bread. We did hear the other
customers being offered the choice between brown or white, so the waitress
must have forgot to ask.
The breakfast is served on a large plate which was maybe just slightly
too large for the contents, as it looks empty in places, however this is
deceptive and the breakfast is filling. The breakfast was fried and some of
the items were slightly over cooked. This breakfast came with 2 fried eggs,
we weren’t given the choice of poached or scrambled. The eggs were cooked
just 30 seconds too long and half the yolk was runny and the other half not.
They were also too greasy and some of the oil should have been allowed to run
off before plating. The 2 sausages were good and the 2 rashers of bacon were
slightly burnt on the edges – but still edible. Unfortunately the black
pudding served was probably the worst we have tasted and could only be
described as a bit rubbery. The tattie scone was ok but the hash brown wasn’t
the greatest tasting. The final item on the plate was beans, which were fine.
The breakfast did lack one of the basic ingredients for a full Scottish,
there was no tomatoes or mushrooms.
Tea and coffee aren’t included in the price and cost £1.50 extra.
This takes the cost of the breakfast up to £7.95, which is working out at
about the average price of breakfasts we have reviewed so far. The Crazy
Horse also offers the Mini Rig Breakfast for £4.95 and includes all the
ingredients listed above, but with only one of each item (you get more than
one bean though).
In the points review this breakfast loses a point for not including a
basic ingredient, tomatoes or mushrooms. Including either one of these would
allow this breakfast to start off with a base score of two stars, but
unfortunately it drops to one star. The breakfast is also missing a lorne
sausage and haggis to meet the ultimate Full Scottish Breakfast requirement.
With no choice in how you would like your eggs cooked, is another reason this
breakfast would fail to be the Ultimate Full Scottish Breakfast. This
breakfast did nothing to gain any additional points as the produce wasn’t the
best – the sausages were good – but everything else remained average and the
food was slightly over cooked.
Overall this is a disappointing review and can read a bit harsh, but
it is our honest opinion after sampling many, many breakfasts. This is our
first breakfast to score below the base level score of the basic Full
Scottish Breakfast. With this score we would say that the breakfast is
overpriced for the quality of food and should include tea and coffee to
justify the price.
Recommendations for the Owner
to achieve Full Scottish Breakfast Greatness:
(In order of priority)
1. Included mushrooms or a tomato – preferably both.
2. Include tea/coffee in the price of the breakfast.
3. Find a better supplier of black pudding.
4. Include lorne sausage and haggis.
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Breakfast served at times
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9.30am – 3.30pm
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Breakfast advertised as
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Big Rig Breakfast
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Price
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£6.45
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Breakfast contents
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2 Sausages
2 Bacon
2 Egg
Black Pudding
Tattie Scone
Beans
Hash Brown
Toast
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Tea/Coffee Included
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No
Tea/Coffee £1.50
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How cooked
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fried
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Service Time Queuing
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0
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Service Time Waiting for Order
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15min
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Star Score
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Points deducted for
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Lack of mushrooms, tomato, lorne sausage and haggis.
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Website
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Facebook
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Platform 1864
Tain
Platform 1864 is located in the train station at Tain, which was
recently refurbished and opened at the end of 2015. The Platform has a good
vibe about it and the décor shows the history of the station, while still
remaining modern. We were seated straight away and orders were taken quickly.
The breakfasts took 15 minutes to arrive, which is the average time
for delivery of a cooked breakfast. The breakfast is advertised as a full
breakfast and contains 3 sausages, which were tasty. It was good to see 3 sausages
as they were the skinnier type rather than a chunky Cumberland sausage. It
also included 2 rashers of bacon, a tomato, beans, and a nice black pudding.
The mushrooms that were provided, were the best I have tasted since sampling
breakfasts and I could have eaten more, they were that good. We were also given
the choice of eggs which were nicely cooked. The toast that was provided was
also very good and it was placed on the plate, instead of a side plate. Had
the toast been on the side I feel like the breakfast would have looked quite
small. Unfortunately the breakfast didn’t include a tattie scone, which is a
must for a basic Scottish breakfast and this would have filled the plate if
the toast was on the side.
This breakfast was really good but it was a tad expensive at £8.95. Tea
and coffee wasn’t included in the price and the tea cost £1.85 extra. The
total price came to £10.80 for breakfast and tea, which is £2.15 more
expensive than our last review – which was deemed expensive. If the tea and
coffee was included in the breakfast price then I feel that this high price
would be more reasonable, but it would still be the most expensive breakfast
reviewed so far.
In the scoring, the lack of a tattie scone lost the breakfast a mark
as this is a basic must have item. However the breakfast gained marks for the
quality of the produce and the great taste. Therefore the Platform 1864
scored 3 out of 5 stars. The breakfast couldn’t be scored any higher than
this due to the lack of a lorne sausage and a haggis, which are required for
the Ultimate Full Scottish breakfast. If a tattie scone was included then
this would easily have scored 4 out of 5.
Overall this was a very tasty breakfast, with the downside of being
very expensive. The inclusion of a tattie scone and tea included in the price
would make this restaurant a first choice for me.
Recommendations for the Owner
to achieve Full Scottish Breakfast Greatness:
(In order of priority)
1. Include tea and coffee in the price.
2. Addition of a tattie scone.
3. Addition of haggis and a lorne sausage.
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Breakfast served at times
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10 - 2.30pm Mon - Sun (Winter)
8.30 - 2.30pm Mon - Sun (Summer, after Easter)
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Breakfast advertised as
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Full Breakfast
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Price
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£8.95
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Breakfast contents
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Choice of Fried Egg, Poached or Scrambled
3 Sausages
2 Rashers of bacon
Black Pudding
Tomato half
Beans
Mushrooms
Toast – choice of brown or
white
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Tea/Coffee Included
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No
£1.85 for Tea
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How cooked
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Grilled
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Service Time Queuing
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0
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Service Time Waiting for Order
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15 min
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Star Score
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 |
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Points deducted for
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Lack of a tattie scone, lorne sausage and haggis.
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Website
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Scoring Criteria Change
Following several reviews, quite a few breakfasts were scoring 3.5 and there were no breakfast scoring 1 or 2. We felt that this wasn't using the full range of the star scoring system, so we opted to change it slightly.
The base level for the basic ingredients required for a full Scottish breakfast now starts at 2 and not 3. All previously marked scores with 3.5 have been changed to a 3 and all 3 stars have been changed to a 2.
This will give a better representation of the best breakfasts in the area.
The base level for the basic ingredients required for a full Scottish breakfast now starts at 2 and not 3. All previously marked scores with 3.5 have been changed to a 3 and all 3 stars have been changed to a 2.
This will give a better representation of the best breakfasts in the area.
Ship Inn
Invergordon
The Ship Inn is located on the Shore Road of Invergordon directly
opposite the Service Base. The restaurant/B&B has recently been
refurbished and it looks great inside. It has plenty of seats and has an open
fire that was lit, which made for a cosy atmosphere. As this was the morning,
the restaurant wasn’t too busy so we were seated instantly. We were also
served immediately. The breakfast is an all you can eat buffet with all the
items laid out, except for the eggs, these were cooked to order, so there is
only a 5 minute waiting time for these and they were cooked to perfection.
The downside to a buffet is that the food can be overcooked or dried
out by the time you get to eat them. The item that suffered the most from
this was the beans. They were what I would describe as ‘clumpy’, there was a
small film of bean juice on top of the beans and all the juices had dried up.
The black pudding seemed to have also suffered slightly and it was quite dry.
The sausages and bacon were fine though. The breakfast also included a hash
brown and it was also great to see a lorne sausage – this is the first one we
have come across in our breakfast reviews. Overall the breakfast appeared to
be grilled apart from the mushrooms. The meat produce provided could only be
described as average – there was nothing more-ish about them – but the bacon
was good, you can’t go wrong with bacon, can you?
The breakfast is advertised as an ‘All you can eat Breakfast’ on the
board outside for £6.95, but it fails to mention that toast is an extra 50p
and the tea and coffee costs an extra £1.20. For £6.95 I would expect them to
be included, after all they aren’t expensive items and certainly not £1.70
worth. Unfortunately this breakfast is more like the Ryanair of breakfasts,
with added extra costs that you weren’t expecting. In total you will have to
pay £8.65 for a breakfast with items that you would expect to be included in
the breakfast price, therefore this is the most expensive breakfast we have
had, costing 70p more than its next competitor.
In the points review, the breakfast loses a point for not including a
tattie scone, which is necessary for the basic ingredients in a Full Scottish, however the breakfast is not advertised as such. To achieve the
Ultimate Full Scottish Breakfast, tomatoes and haggis would also have to be
provided. The breakfast gained a point for having a lorne sausage though and
the hash brown was a bonus. The breakfast failed to gain any more points on
the produce as it was only average and the items weren’t all cooked to
perfection – probably due to the hot plate. If all these items had been
provided, the score would have been higher, maybe a 4 but unfortunately not a
5 as the items were not freshly cooked and the produce was not the highest of standard. Therefore the breakfast only scores a 2 out of 5.
This breakfast would be better if it was cooked to order, but it is
understandable considering the market they are catering to. Workers from the
service base wouldn’t have time to wait 15-20 minutes for a cooked breakfast,
so a buffet is the best option. The food is in no way bad and it was a good
feed. I did think that the breakfast was overpriced, and £6.95 would be
reasonable with tea and toast included. I had expected greater things from
the breakfast as the lunches in the Ship Inn are superb and well priced –
possibly the best lunches in Invergordon.
Recommendations for the Owner
to achieve Full Scottish Breakfast Greatness:
(In order of priority)
1.
Don’t charge extra for tea/coffee or toast.
2.
Include a tattie scone.
3.
Include tomato and haggis.
4.
If you can – cook to order.
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Breakfast
served at times
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8am-11am Mon-Fri
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Breakfast
advertised as
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All you can eat Breakfast
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Price
|
£6.95
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Breakfast
contents
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Unlimited Amount
Choice of Fried Egg, Poached or Scrambled
Sausages
Lorne Sausage
Bacon
Black Pudding
Hash Brown
Beans
Mushrooms
Toast – choice of brown or white – 50p Extra
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Tea/Coffee
Included
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No - £1.20 Extra, unlimited refills
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How
cooked
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Grilled
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Service
Time Queuing
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Instant
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Service
Time Waiting for Order
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5 minutes
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Star
Score
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2/5
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Points
deducted for
Website |
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