Uplawmoor Hotel and Restaurant

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

Far enough out of town to be on the way somewhere (in this case, the Ayrshire coast) but close enough to town to warrant an escapist dart, the Uplawmoor is the kind of place any traveller on the road southwest from Paisley would do well to know. An 18th century coaching inn, it has been run as an independent hotel for some 16 years now by Stuart and Emma Peacock, who, along with chef Paul Brady, have guided it to a point at which the culinary offering is significantly more impressive than you might expect from a whitewashed village hotel. From the relaxed restaurant's à la carte menu a twice-baked blue cheese soufflé or monkfish served with hot gazpacho displays ambition and confidence, while the signature Gaelic steak Uplawmoor, flamed in whisky, is served with a haggis crouton and an onion garlic sauce. Bold stuff. The bar menu is broad-ranging and reliable, with sizeable salads and various pies standing out. There are 14 neat bedrooms in the hotel, there's a CAMRA-recognised selection ales in the bar, a garden patio that's bound to tempt you to linger longer on a summer's day, and, if lingering isn't an option, you can even take away their home-made pizzas to keep younger travellers occupied for the final leg home.

• High point: A wayside option with lots to offer
• Low point: Wish it was warm enough for the patio

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