History & information
The Schoolroom is a small restaurant and coffee shop, opened in 1990 as the nursery was expanding to allow people to prolong their visit and sample the delights of our home baking and fresh herb teas.
We specialise in freshly prepared, largely local, food. We bake our own breads, and all the cakes are baked on the premises. The salads are freshly picked and if you choose fresh orange juice, although you cannot pick the oranges from the tree, you can watch them being squeezed to order in our amazing Spanish machine.
The Schoolroom has now expanded with the business. Originally a small shop was incorporated, but now the area is mainly set up for eating. We are completely open about our food preparation - you can watch it happening in our galley kitchen area. Many of the food items we serve can be found in the new Fine Food shop, and if you want to order bread or scones to take home you can - although we need at least 5 hours notice for bread!
Our reputation for home baking is widespread and includes our famous "Healthy Choices" Carrot Cake & Cranberry and Banana Loaf, our Gingerbread and our unique Herb Scones. We also serve homemade soups and a range of open sandwiches on our own freshly baked bread garnished with herb salads, straight from the garden. Also available are fresh herb teas, decaffeinated or normal coffee, as well as standard or Earl Grey tea. See our full menu on Sample Menu page. This year (2009), weare having theme weekends most weekends, which will focus on a particular local product for example cheese or smoked meat and a particular herb – with a focus on both planting and uses. Please note that we will offer a choice – although we would rather you tried our recommendations!!
Although the Scottish Healthy Choices Award has now been discontinued, you can rest assured that we will be continuing to follow its ideals, this gives you the option of choosing whether to sample our healthy food (lower in fat and sugar and higher in fibre) or simply indulge yourself in something decedent! We also hold a 3 star Garden award under the Visit Scotland visitor attraction award scheme. This award encompasses the whole place - including the Schoolroom and Shop, not just the garden, and we believe that we can offer an exceptionally pleasant experience in peaceful surroundings.
