Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Piperdam Leisure Resort restaurant: What did I think of worst reviewed restaurant in Angus?

Just outside of Dundee, Piperdam boasts beautiful lochside views, but guests say the food doesn’t measure up. So what did Courier food and drink journalist Joanna Bremner think on her visit?

I couldn't eat more than a few bites of my Piperdam Prawn Cocktail at Piperdam Leisure Resort, Angus. But how was the rest of menu? Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.
I couldn't eat more than a few bites of my Piperdam Prawn Cocktail at Piperdam Leisure Resort, Angus. But how was the rest of menu? Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

At the bottom of the list of reviewed Angus restaurants on TripAdvisor, sits the Room With a View Restaurant at the Piperdam Leisure Resort.

With seven scathing reviews on the website, people are advised not to visit Room With A View.

But should the opinions of seven people really make or break a restaurant, which is rated 1.5/5 as a result?

I wanted to test out the offering to see for myself if the reviews are a fair assessment of the quality of the menu.

So, I headed along with a pal to taste the food.

Room With A View: the service and the food

There have been complaints about the resort itself, with guests complaining about a lack of running water at their lodges back in August 2023.

We didn’t have high expectations, therefore, when myself and my colleague, Poppy Watson made our way out of the city to the resort.

The countryside setting is beautiful and on the crisp winter day of our visit, the log cabin-style doorway looked warm and inviting from the outside, if a little dated.

We made our way to the restaurant and, having made a booking in advance, were directed to a table for two by the window.

The beautiful lochside view from the window seat in the Room With a View, Piperdam Leisure Resort. Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

There certainly is a gorgeous view from the Room With A View Restaurant, but once seated, our first interaction with the staff wasn’t particularly inviting.

We weren’t asked how our day was going or any of the usual polite chit chat. We were immediately asked if we knew which items were not available on the menu.

There were a total of eight items missing from the menu, including the Sunday Roast. Far from ideal if you have travelled there on a Sunday – like us – especially for that.

This wasn’t a great start.

However, our mocktails arrived promptly.

The Virgin Passionfruit Martini at Piperdam Leisure Resort. Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

I enjoyed my Virgin Passion Fruit Martini (£5.34), which was tasty and well-presented. The flavour was the perfect combination of sweet and creamy.

While Poppy’s Raspberry Ripple mocktail (£5.25) had a nice tang, she found it watery.

The Raspberry Ripple mocktail at Piperdam Leisure Resort. Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

After ordering our starters and mains, a server returned after a few minutes to tell us that an item we had ordered was also missing from the menu.

How were the starters at Piperdam’s restaurant?

Poppy’s Vegetable Tempura starter (£7) arrived well before mine, but despite this, her dish was lukewarm.

The veg (bell pepper, carrot and broccoli) had a nice thin batter which had a great crunch to it, and it wasn’t mushy on the inside.

The Vegetable Tempura Poppy ordered was tasty but cold at Piperdam Leisure Resort, Angus. Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

When my starter arrived several minutes after Poppy’s, my face fell.

Do not order the Piperdam Prawn Cocktail (£8.05) on your visit to the resort.

The description on the menu stated there would be a Marie Rose sauce, but there was none in sight.

There was a watery layer of something at the bottom of the plate, but it seemed more like juice from defrosting prawns rather than the creamy sauce I was anticipating.

I couldn’t eat more than a few bites of my Piperdam Prawn Cocktail. Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

The small Atlantic prawns were chewy, and the few larger prawns did not have an appetising flavour to them.

This was very disappointing and I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. Perhaps the prawn cocktail should have been one of the items missing from the menu.

I wasn’t asked if everything was alright with the food despite the fact that I hadn’t eaten more than two bites.

NSFK – Not Suitable For Karens

Our main dishes were on the colder side too. I joked that certain “Karens” wouldn’t be pleased with the standard of food or service.

Poppy’s main dish, the Vegetable Risotto (£13), was also disappointing.

Though the menu stated there would be chargrilled veg, she was a little aggrieved to find out this only meant three pieces of broccoli.

The risotto itself was bland and sloppy for her, and she only managed three or four forkfuls.

The Vegetable Risotto was not enjoyable for Poppy on our trip to the Room With a View at Piperdam Leisure Resort. Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

The side of Millionaire Fries (£7) she ordered was huge. Not many people would be able to finish off the huge portion, even if sharing.

Though the truffle oil, Italian cheese and garlic mayo on the chips was tasty, we would have both preferred thin, crispy fries, not the thick, cold oven chips we were served.

The Millionare Fries was a huge portion, but still a little cold. Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

However, much to our surprise, my main was a welcome success.

As they were out of Sirloin Steak, I ordered the Ribeye Steak (£23.25) with peppercorn sauce (£2.70).

The dish, while a little cold, tasted brilliant. I was pleasantly surprised after my unappetising starter.

My ribeye was surprisingly tasty. Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

There was great presentation, and the peppercorn sauce was perfectly creamy. The mushroom was cooked well and had lots of flavour to it.

Colour me impressed.

Sticky Toffee Pudding didn’t hit the spot

Though we were both pretty full at this point, we decided to share a dessert to find out if it would be another hit or another miss.

The Sticky Toffee Pudding (£6.95) was sadly another miss.

One of the best parts of this dessert usually is the contrast between the hot pudding and the cold cream or ice cream.

The Sticky Toffee Pudding at Piperdam Leisure Resort was sadly another disappointing dish. Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

But sadly, the pudding wasn’t anything more than lukewarm. It arrived after a delay with the comment: “Sorry it took so long, I don’t know why.”

The ice cream was lovely, with a strong vanilla flavour, but unfortunately neither the ice cream or the pudding itself tasted homemade.

Poppy’s Americano coffee (£2.50) was perfect, though it took too long for us to get staff’s attention to order this. She eventually went up to the bar to place the order.

Poppy’s Tall American coffee at the Piperdam Leisure resort restaurant, a Room With a View. Image: Joanna Bremner/DC Thomson.

The verdict

There were ups and down to this visit. However, I don’t think it is the worst restaurant I have ever been to.

The staff were friendly, if a little forgetful and at times disinterested in us.

The venue is so gorgeous and in such a great location. It is a shame that the food doesn’t match that standard.

Information

Address: Fowlis, Dundee, Angus, Scotland, DD2 5LP.

T: 01382 585000

W: https://www.piperdam.com/

Price: £85 for two mocktails, two starters, two mains, one soft drink, one coffee and one dessert

Scores:

  • Food: 2.5/5
  • Service: 3/5
  • Surroundings: 4/5

The restaurant did not respond to requests to get professional imagery taken, as is standard with our published reviews.

A spokesperson for the owner of Piperdam Leisure Resort, Away Resorts said:

“We’re sorry and disappointed to hear your dining experience was not satisfactory.

“Whist we’ve encountered some unexpected challenges, including staffing at our Room with a View Restaurant, we’re embracing the opportunity to make positive changes.

“A dynamic new General Manager has recently been appointed, bringing fresh perspectives and a future dedicated to elevating our customers dining experience.

“We remain committed to providing a great service and we thank customers for their continued support as we navigate through these adjustments.”

Conversation