Duck Bay Marina - Alexandria

The menu was impressive and packed with options, making it difficult to decide what to order. There was also a wide selection of wines, beers, and cocktails available. While we waited for our starters, which included mussels in a Thai sauce and haggis bon bons, we chatted contentedly and watched people jet skiing, kite surfing, and paddleboarding among the boats. The appetizers were delicious; the mussels' sauce was particularly remarkable, bursting with flavors of coconut, lime, and chili—so good I could have sipped it. For our main courses, we enjoyed chicken satay skewers, spiced lamb casserole, and a duck bay Scottish seafood grill. Everything was cooked to perfection, and we all left feeling satisfied and full, wishing we had room for dessert and coffee.

We ordered a couple of appetizers, which arrived fairly quickly and were satisfactory. However, our main courses took over 40 minutes to arrive, and the waitstaff didn’t check on us during that time. By the time our food came, I had already finished my single malt scotch, which I had ordered earlier. When the main courses finally arrived, my oxtail was lukewarm. My son enjoyed his beef burger, but my wife had to endure a dry, overcooked chicken breast. The staff never came to see how we were doing. I eventually had to signal a waiter to clear our empty plates, and after several minutes of waiting, someone finally came over. After even more time, my son managed to get a waitress’s attention to order sticky toffee pudding, which she handled promptly and it arrived quickly. Overall, I would recommend avoiding this place unless you enjoy a noisy environment, lukewarm food, and minimal service.

That said, the food runner, a friendly young blonde woman, was a highlight, and the gentleman who took our coffee order and served it at the end of the meal was also very pleasant. However, the lack of cohesive service in a restaurant that was not busy was disappointing. On a positive note, I appreciated how they coordinated serving a cake we brought for my mother’s birthday, and the food itself was good. Despite these positives, the coldness of the service and the initial mishap with the whiskey menu set a sour tone for the evening. The stars awarded here 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...