Mar Hall Golf & Spa Resort

A home-cooked Sunday lunch is a thing of beauty.

Apart from the shopping, prep, cooking and washing up. Plus the risk of overcooked meat, underdone roasters and an overheated cook.

Let someone else do all the work while you kick back and enjoy a spectacular Sunday lunch for two in the elegant Cristal Restaurant at Mar Hall Golf and Spa Resort in rural Renfrewshire.

The dining room is beautiful with 20 foot windows looking out over the rolling countryside; stunning decorative ceilings; refined modern fabrics and eye-catching art by Archie Forrest.

With an accent on the finest Scottish produce, the food is as captivating as the surrounds.

This treat, it goes without saying, would be a thoughtful Christmas gift idea for anyone who appreciates a crisp roast potato.

Five star hotel

Mar Hall is a world class hotel and resort which has attracted some very illustrious celebrity guests over the years.

Within twenty minutes of Glasgow yet offering an atmosphere of idyllic rural escapism, the elegant Edwardian mansion is tucked away in its own 240 acre woodland estate, overlooking the River Clyde, with views towards the Kilpatrick Hills.

Sunday specials

Available from noon to 2.30pm, the Big Deal is for a two course Sunday lunch for two people at Mar Hall. A glass of sparkling wine for each diner is included.

Choose between a starter and main course or main course and dessert. The menu changes regularly depending on the produce in season. This sample menu gives a good idea of what to look forward to.

Starters

Creamed leek & potato, sourdough bread & Scottish butter

Chicken liver parfait, apple chutney & Arran oat cakes

Fennel-cured organic Shetland salmon, Katie Rodgers crème fraiche, shallot and caper dressing, rye bread crisp

Loch Eishort mussels, white wine garlic cream sauce, sourdough bread

Mains

6oz sirloin or lamb rump with all the trimmings

Roast Peterhead hake, roast shallots, potato purée, toasted pumpkin seeds, parsley oil

Free range Gartmorn farm chicken breast, skirlie mash potato, buttered kale & whisky sauce

Wild garlic & sage gnocchi, spinach, sprouting broccoli & asparagus

Desserts

Pistachio & dark chocolate brownie, pistachio ice cream

Warm sticky toffee pudding, butterscotch sauce & vanilla ice cream

Vanilla crème brulée, chocolate chip cookies

Supplements may apply to some dishes.

Happy diners

The Mar Hall Resort has attracted plenty of enthusiastic feedback for its cuisine on TripAdvisor. These are recent reviews from guests, edited for length:

‘Amazing food. The food was amazing and the wine was lovely too! There’s a nice atmosphere in the restaurant… would definitely go back.’

‘Fantastic food and service… Dinner was amazing the food was beautiful. The service was first class and very relaxed… Highly recommended.’

And this is from the 5pm Dining page from Cristal Restaurant:

‘An absolute gem of a restaurant in a lovely location. An absolutely fantastic restaurant in a lovely hotel. The staff were very attentive and very friendly and the food was mouth-wateringly scrumptious… One of the best meals I have had in a long time! We will definitely be back. Thanks again for a wonderful lunch.’ Rating 5/5

Festive gift

Today’s Big Deal of a Sunday lunch at the Mar Hall Resort introduces diners to an idyllic Edwardian world of elegance.

With availability until the end of March, it would make an excellent Christmas gift.

Of course, it would also be a thoughtful way of saying thanks to Mum and Dad for all those Sunday lunches they have made over the years.

Even the ones where the roasties were burnt.