Emma The Loans Inn near Troon
The Loans Inn is a country pub, restaurant and hotel situated just outside Troon in the village of Loans, Ayrshire. The site has recently had a makeover – both the decor and the menu.
Led by SimpsInns’ executive head chef and local resident, Ewan McAllister, the new-look Loans Inn is now serving up a tasty and refreshed menu to showcase local and seasonal produce. We have previously eaten at one of their other restaurants, The Potting Shed at Si! in Irvine, which we both enjoyed.
At the back of the building there is a large car park, the number 10 bus from Kilmarnock and the 14 from Irvine to Ayr stop on the same street. There’s also a beer garden, which we made use of, and a roof garden.
The interior is in the style of a Scottish country house with tartan, accented lighting, and a clear gardening theme using artificial plants and tool shed shelving. There are some William Morris-esque fabric patterns as well as landscape and zoological pictures on the walls. It looks and feels welcoming and comfortable.
Food Menu
A variety of dishes are on offer which will surely keep every family member happy. With dishes from the world such as tartiflette and harissa spiced chicken with more Scottish options like steak pie and beer battered haddock.
They have chargrill options as well – steaks, burgers or cajun chicken.
And a pie of the week, and curry of the week, which were chicken & ham hough and chicken makhani respectively.
What we ate and drank
We arrived on a sunny evening, which called for visit to the beer garden before dinner and so a refreshing G&T and a glass of Californian Zinfandel rosé were ordered. The beer garden was a popular spot to catch the sun so after we’d obtained our recommended daily allowance of vitamin D we headed inside for dinner.
Toasted sourdough with whipped burnt butter and Blackthorn salt. This didn’t look like nor taste like sourdough, but it had a good crunch and chew, and there was plenty of flavoursome butter in this serving.
Crispy Gnocchi with a romesco sauce. An unusual choice of appetiser, which is why we opted for it. It was very snacky, the gnocchi were crispy and chewy. While the sauce had a strong red bell pepper flavour. Why isn’t this dish more common?
Crispy corn ribs. Looking a bit like Nessie, these were spicier than expected. Full of flavour, from the maillard charring, spicy sauce and fresh coriander, we always love ribs of corn, again it’s something that should be on more menus!
Ham hough and chorizo. The presentation possibly doesn’t sell this dish but the three crisp bon bons had a smooth and smokey interior. We’d eaten the chorizo pakora at Murphy’s Pakora Bar in Glasgow a few weeks before and this was much more enjoyable.
Troon landed langoustine scampi served with lemon mayo and chilli oil. This was a starter that we decided to have a main so it is starter portion size but a right good one with none of the watery scampi you may find elsewhere. These were meaty pieces of langoustine.
Roast Ayrshire hake with a hasselback potato, charred tender stem, mussels, root ginger sriracha and butter sauce. A delicate piece of gently cooked hake served with a deliciously luxurious creamy sauce, which was perhaps overshadowed by the star of the show, a full potato that had been sliced and cooked hasselback style. This is possibly my favourite way to serve potatoes due to the crispy-fluffy taste and texture that is achieved, and this was oh so moreish. Also on the plate were plump mussels, crisp tenderstem broccoli and a substantial amount of caviar.
We were struggling after eating all this, however we spied a dessert that we both wanted to try.
Rhubarb, cardamom and lemon posset with shortbread. A tart lemon posset covering a thick layer of even tarter rhubarb served with buttery shortbread. This was perfect to share at the end of the meal.
Verdict
❤️
A heart and a thumbs up for the delicious food which came with really friendly service in relaxing surroundings.
The Loans Inn has rooms available so is ideal for a relaxing foodie night away, or longer. If you are visiting Troon or Ayrshire and looking for a place to eat then you should consider The Loans Inn for excellent quality dishes.
Book a table at The Loans Inn
Where
31-33 Main St, Ayrshire, Loans, Troon KA10 7EX
