The Stair Arms Hotel

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops. This review is taken from the 2007 edition.

Suspicious diners may wonder - with essentially two distinctly different menus on offer - if the Stair Arms Hotel has a slight identity crisis. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. A family restaurant with its roots firmly planted in the local community, the Stair Arms knows itself and its customers well. The first menu - featuring items such as chicken stuffed with haggis and steak, and ale pie - is the standing 'bar-meals' menu. The second menu, offering a brief choice of starters, main courses and desserts is the daily-changing prix-fix menu. It is within this second menu that the creative flair of chef Grant Ramsay is in full view. With three courses on offer at a staggeringly low £9.95, diners may get off to a delicious start with Ayrshire black pudding with crispy bacon, poached egg and a cherry tomato salad, or escalope of blackened salmon over stir-fry vegetables with lemon and coriander crème fraîche. Not to be outdone, main courses such as a toad in the hole with caramelised red onion gravy are brimming with wholesome, stick-to-your-ribs appeal. The emphasis throughout is on family, from the sourcing of produce from local farmers (including manager Claire Prentice's father) to the recent addition of an indoor kiddie play room, giving parents a place where adults and kids alike can unwind. No day out would be complete without something sweet, and the perfectly chewy Aga baked meringues (made by Claire's mum, no less) are well worth every last melt-in-your-mouth-moment.

• High point: Those sweet, chewy Aga-baked meringues
• Low point: Sweet, chewy toad in the hole