Alness
The Station is located
on Alness High Street and offers the ‘Mega Sunday Breakfast’ between 9am and
12pm. The order was taken quickly and the breakfast was served within 10
minutes. During the wait a large pot of tea and a large cafetier was placed
on the table but no sugar or milk was placed on the table. A small jug of
milk and sugars on the table would have been nice – instead you have to
venture to the table with the cereal on it. The toast (brown or white) was
also served immediately, about 10 minutes before the actual breakfast, but no
side plates were served to place the toast on. It would be better if the
toast was served when the breakfast came out.
The ‘Mega Sunday
Breakfast’ also includes cereal and chilled juice and these were displayed on
a small table – but it wasn’t obvious that these were for the customer or
just waiting to be put away. The Station also advertises that vegetarian
substitutes are available. The cooked breakfast was amazing and it is cooked
to order with your choice of poached, fried or scrambled eggs – and you get
two eggs. The breakfast appeared to be grilled and there was nothing to
criticise about it. Served on a large plate it contained two tasty sausages,
a lovely black pudding, bacon, tattie scone, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans and 2
eggs. The breakfast was certainly filling but if you are not completely full
you can order more items for free, although this was quite hard to do as the
staff never once came over and asked if more food or drink was required. In
fact the staff either hid in the back of the restaurant or elsewhere in the
hotel, so extra coffee was never received.
This breakfast was
really good and has scored 4 out of 5 stars. It missed out on the Ultimate
Full Scottish Breakfast 5 star mark due to it missing haggis and a lorne
sausage. On the hunt for the Ultimate Full Scottish Breakfast marks are
awarded only for the quality of the cooked breakfast and not the service
provided, otherwise the points would have been lower. It’s important to focus
on the food and not the service as sometimes the staff has bad days – they’re
only human after all and it might be better next time.
Overall this was an
excellent breakfast which is both filling and good value for money. The
inclusion of chilled juice, cereals and refills on the cooked breakfast makes
this establishment a cut above the rest in the area and our highest scoring
breakfast so far.
Recommendations
for the Owner to achieve Full Scottish Breakfast Greatness:
(In
order of priority)
1. Include Haggis and
Lorne Sausage.
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Breakfast
served at times
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9am-12pm Sunday
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Breakfast
advertised as
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Mega Sunday Breakfast
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Price
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£7.95
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Breakfast
contents
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Unlimited refills of
any items
Vegetarian options
available
Choice of 2 poached, 2
fried or scrambled eggs
2 Sausages
2 Rashers of bacon
Black Pudding
1 Tomato – halved
Tattie scone
Beans
Mushrooms
Toast – choice of brown
or white
Cereals also included
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Tea/Coffee
Included
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Yes
Chilled juices also
included
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How
cooked
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Grilled
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Service
Time Queuing
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Quick but one of the
first few customers
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Service
Time Waiting for Order
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10 minutes
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Star
Score
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4/5
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Points
deducted for
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UPDATE
After another visit to
The Station in Alness, we had a slightly different experience. The first
point to mention is that the breakfast now includes a hash brown! We love a
bonus item. The second point to note is that we were given the choice of what
and how many items were put on the plate. Now I’m not sure if you get refills
anymore, like we were told the first time, or if you just order as much as
you can greedily manage? The third and final point is that the service was
excellent, much better than the first time. The cereals and juice were laid
out nicely, milk for the tea was brought out, side plates for the toast were
given and the waitress (different one from the last time) was extremely
helpful and attentive.
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