Duck Bay Marina - Alexandria

Had an amazing early dinner here last week on the shores of Loch Lomond with friends. Just up the road from Cameron House. We were welcomed by the friendly staff for our booking and sat promptly. Were offered drinks and water right away as we sat Loch side on a beautiful evening looking out at the glorious surroundings. The menu was fabulous with so much to offer, it was hard to choose. They had an extensive wine, beer cocktail menu also. As we awaited our firsts, mussels in a Thai sauce haggis bon bons, we chatted happily as we watched the Loch goers jet ski, kite sail and paddle in between the boats. The appetizers were delicious, the sauce for the mussels was amazing, had such a flavor depth with coconut, lime chili, good enough to drink. We dined on chicken satay skewers, spiced lamb casserole and duck bay Scottish seafood grill. Everything was cooked perfectly and we all left happy and full. Full that we had no room for dessert and coffee.

We were staying in Loch Lomand on holiday. Wanted to try this restaurant as it was recommended by family. We had to make a reservation and were greeted by a cacophony of loud talking. Not what I expected in a nice restaurant. My wife had a gin and tonic, , which was decent enough, while my son tried to order a Sprite plug grenadine (a Roy Rogers). The waiter seemed confused by this simple request. We ordered some appetizers, which came relatively quickly and were decent. However, our main course took over 40 minutes. The wait staff made no attempt to come and ensure we were okay. I had ordered a single malt scotch, which was long gone before dinner arrived. When the main course arrived, my oxtail was lukewarm. My son had a beef burger, which was decent enough. My wife suffered through a dry overcooked chicken breast. The wait staff never came over to check on us. I finally flagged a waiter over to clear our empty plates. After several minutes, one came over to do so. After another several minutes, my son finally flagged down a waitress to order sticky toffee pudding. She was fairly efficient and the order came quickly. I would avoid this place unless you like noise, lukewarm food, and lack of service.

Come for the view, expect less from the service. I understand that large parties are not everyone's favorite, but six adults and an infant is a reasonable size. When one of our party asked about whiskey, he was told that there was no list and what they had was on the bar. Instead of the server going to check if they had what he wanted he was essentially told to go check himself. It felt like there was a batting roster for our table and with a constant rotation of staff it was difficult to build rapport with the servers. The food runner was delightful (a young blonde woman) and the gentlemen that took our coffee order and brought it at the end of our meal was very nice. The disconnect in service at a restaurant that was far from busy was disappointing. I appreciated that they coordinated serving a cake we had brought for my mother's birthday and the food was good but the service was cold and left something to be desired. The restaurant was not busy and it was disappointing that the sour note of the whiskey list so early continued to be reflected throughout the evening. Stars are for the food and the view.

I dont really know how to rate this visit in all honesty. It was the venue of choice by my bf for his birthday and after checking the menu online I decided to email ahead to find out what gf options there were as it was not clear from the menu. I got a lovely email back explaining that almost ALL of the menu could be adapted for gf so I was very pleased. In arrival we were seated quickly and although we didnt have a window seat we still had a lovely view iver the loch. After our drinks order was taken I asked one of the food servers what items could be adapted for me and he went away to discuss with the chef. A good start I thought but I was really dissapointed to be told that the chef could do me a gf batter for this fish and chips but in his words it was rotten or the chilli was gf and one of the thai curries. No to those of you not on a gf diet this may seem like a good choice however these dishes are 99% gf anyway so i was confused as to what items were being adapted I went with the thai curry and skipped the nann bread and had chips instead. The food was really nice and we were served relatively quickly. However ... around 30 minutes after leaving the dreaded gluten belly hit and instead of enjoying a wander around the sea life centre i spent the 1st part of the visit in the loo. Very dissappointed and dont think I will be back ...

I had such high hopes for Duck Bay Marina but, ended up leaving completely underwhelmed after my recent girls lunch there... I'll start with the positives though, the setting, it's a short drive out of Balloch and sits right on the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. The views are stunning there's no denying and it has plenty of outdoor seating which is great! Then there's the menu...it's huge...which is good as you know you'll not be stuck for choice, however, I often find this a bad thing as too much choice usually results in below average food as the chefs struggle to cope with the variety on offer. In the end I opted for the mac cheese, a classic, you can't go wrong with that, right? Wrong! Yes it was a decent size portion and served with garlic bread but under the vaguely crispy top was a very liquid sauce which without the garlic bread to mop it up, I would've needed a spoon for. The pasta was also slightly over for my liking but appreciate everyone is different on that one. After a short break we decided to have a sundae each, my sweet tooth taking over I had the tablet variety! It arrived with umbrella (urgh , wafer (double urgh, they're so tasteless I never see the point in them and doily (a recurring theme throughout the meal doily's may have been a thing in the 90's but their only purpose in life now should be to make paper snowflakes, not to line plates... . I counted 4 squares of tablet, 2 scoops of ice cream and a dod of almost butter like cream with some toffee sauce and was charged £6.95! £4.95 maybe, but £7!? Daylight robbery! Meal aside, staff were all pleasant, but never the same waiter twice, and it was constantly stowed; sadly I think that was more down to location than quality of food on offer. I think there is plenty potential but needs dragging into the 21st century first...