I think at one time this place used to be the RB Buffet, then the Drookit Duck, then the Edge public houses. That was before being transformed into Baristas Coffee House  in Falkirk. Like so many coffee houses it faces stiff competition from the plethora of other such places that seem to spring up suddenly .. and disappear just as suddenly.  The multinationals have deep pockets and they have the art of baristaing (is that a word) down to a fine art. Independents like this have to be good to survive.

This place is certainly trying hard,  a big airy space to the front and another large area to the rear. They can certainly accommodate a fair bit of business if they need to. Nice friendly service and easy WiFi access, so plenty to like. We were just after coffee and a scone and were slightly taken aback when confronted with one of the biggest scones we have seen in a long while. It was quite something to behold and, with its dusting of sugar, held out a lots of promise. Sadly it did not live up to expectations. It was pretty solid and seemed to be lacking in taste … disappointing. Pat did not get through much before deciding to leave the rest. Pity really because Barista generally gets good reviews on TripAdvisor and we would have liked to have done the same. So bigger is not always better!

Is bigger better?

Surprisingly, to us at least, the American Presidential election has always, without exception, been won by the party with the biggest electoral budget. Maybe in the US bigger is better, however, just look where it gets them. Here it seems to be more complex. Party spending on the GE in Scotland has just been revealed and shows that in spite of spending twice as much in almost every seat, Labour still got thumped. Except in the one seat they managed to hold onto where they spent three times more than their nearest rival. In Edinburgh SW the Conservatives spent the most of any party and still managed to come third. Make of it what you will but sometimes quality matters more than size. That applies to scones … and everything else.

FK1 1HS                  tel: 01324 671222                  Baristas FB