February at The Rhynd

May 28
3 min read

NEW WINE SAFARI AND FOREST FEAST 2026 DATES RELEASED!

We have just released more tickets to our sold-out wine safaris and forest feasts this year and, as a newsletter subscriber, we’re giving you a week to book before we announce anything on social media. Do please have a look here and get booking!

HIGH PRAISE FOR OUR NEW SUNDAY ROAST

It is remarkable the difference that reviews can make to a small business like ours. And it’s so easy to get a bad one. We once got a three-star review, which read: “We had the best lunch in the café. Food was excellent, so were the staff. However, I took a star off because of the state of the road and another star off as the event space was cold.” I was quick to point out that the road was down to the council, and that, being Sunday, the event space was closed and therefore not heated. Alas, we never got a reply.

Another favourite three-star review was courtesy of a cab driver: “Just dropping people off there (students)". Maybe the students were particularly rowdy. We have been slated for not being open on a Wednesday when someone had driven many miles to come and visit (we’ve sadly never been open on a Wednesday), and we got a glowing review once with a one-star rating. “Hi Mandy,” I wrote as a reply, “did you mean to give us a one-star review?”

“No, I didn’t, but I don’t know how to change it.”

Wonderful.

We have also been given a hard time when, quite frankly, we dropped the ball. It’s very hard to run a hospitality business and only receive five-star reviews and, as we were growing, we did receive a few less-than-complimentary reports! Having spent the last few years working hard to improve every aspect of the café, it’s been wonderful to get good reviews.

On the weekend, a customer came in for the Sunday roast and this is what they had to say. “My family and I and visited recently for Sunday lunch. Every table was occupied, which is a reflection of the quality of the food and a testament to the wonderful front of house staff. The pork from their own Tamworth pigs was tender and flavoursome, so I know the pigs lived their best life in Fife, happy pigs make tasty pork. I don’t know what they’d done to the gravy, but it was the best I’ve ever tasted. Being from Yorkshire, the Yorkshire puddings are an important component of any roast dinner, and they didn’t disappoint, they were as tall as trees and had a lovely texture. Again, I have no idea what magic they’d done to the sprouts, but they were eaten by everyone in our party. We will return.”

I nearly fell off my seat. Not because I didn’t think our roast dinners were delicious, but because it’s very rare that someone takes so much time and effort to review something they enjoyed. Truth be told, I checked Lynsey’s surname in case it was someone’s relation… Our Tamworth roasts only started a few weeks ago, but word is slowly spreading about them. The key is to book a table and say on the notes that you want one – that way we won’t run out. And if you like it? Try and hit the five-star button rather than the one-star one.

THE SCOTTISH FIELD MAGAZINE FEATURE

We’re delighted to say that we are featured in the next issue of The Scottish Field, which will be out on 6th March. The five-page article by the magazine’s editor Richard Bath covers our Cycle Supper series. Do pick up a copy in your local newsagent!