After descriptions of Cranachan & Crowdie being oatcake heaven, courtesy of fellow yelper and book clubber, Blythe R then I had to check it out. A well timed tweet of a gluten free product display meant I headed there at the weekend. C&C's location on the Cannongate and the 'Scottish' produce aspect of the shop means it will no doubt do very well with tourist trade. This is the place to come for Scottish food and drinks, with a (very) large selection of oatcakes, spreads, preserves, drinks, biscuits, preserved meats and cheeses. The store is actually well laid out and not too cluttered. There is a gluten free section which stocks some oatcakes and biscuits. There is more choice of the non-gluten free oatcakes and there are a few varieties of wheat free oatcakes, with just one gluten free version, which you can now pick up in any supermarket so I wasn't wowed there. Obviously being an independent shop, you will pay more for these items but I did find some brands I hadn't heard of such as Angel's and they also have the full Lazy Day range which most supermarkets stock but only in one or two options so this was nice to see. There is a good selection of beers and ciders from local and independent breweries but I didn't spot any gluten free beer options. I was however parted from my cash (biscuits first) as I then spotted some lovely balsamic vinegar which I used to always buy at the Ayrshire Farmers Market and I couldn't resist. Price wise, that was around 5 but I used to pay around that at the market anyway. I would pop back to Cranachan and Crowdie for odd items or if I had guests visiting from abroad if I wanted some 'Scottish' brands as I know I'll be able to get them here, instead of trailing round endless supermarkets in a fruitless search. I'm probably split star wise - between 3-4 for this place. Being on a budget means I won't be here often, but I will pop in every now and again for a few treats or if there is another 'savoury not sweet' event here as the venison is meant to be fab...

positive

I went in for a cut and an all-over color with Candace, which was a groupon I purchased awhile back. Oh my gosh she did and absolutely PERFECT job! I went from very long, scraggly, dry and faded hair to a short sassy bob with bangs and beautiful chocolate brown brunette with a hint of red. Candace understood exactly what I wanted and did so well with the cut and color. On top of that she is super friendly and the salon is really cute! I got to chat with her sister a bit and see her working on a client and I got the impression Jude is just as good. I've been living groupon-to-groupon for hair services ever since moving here a year ago but this place is so good I'm gonna have to just keep coming here from now on!

positive

Great food but bad customer service. They don't always answer the phone and depending on the day sometimes they don't take to go orders.

negative

This was a bridal disaster. I called to book an appointment for 7 members of my bridal party a month in advance and they did not ask for a specific time, what we wanted, or my name to hold the reservation. They responded by telling me to just come in. That was my first red flag. When we all got there, the man said they had no indication of my appointment. They showed no sign of remorse that this happened. Trying not to be a bridezilla, I contacted a few other nail salons to see if we could get in, but that didn't work out so we decided to wait it out. Three of us were able to sit and soak our feet. What a luxury that my feet soaked for an hour!!! My nails did turn out wonderfully, despite the child labor going on. Oh, did I mention that there was child labor? There were two children, no older than 12, taking credit cards, removing parrifin, and spraying alcohol on the shallac manicures. Overall, I would not recommend this nail salon, even though our nails turned out the same as any other nail salon.
negative