As “Priestfield” its history dates back to the 12th century but in 1681 it was burned to the ground by anti-Catholic rioters who objected to the name. What are folk like? It was rebuilt six years later and the name changed to “Prestonfield.” It became a hotel in the 1960s and in 2003 it was bought by restaurateur, James Thomson. He owns the atmospheric Witchery by the Castle restaurant and much of the sumptuousness of Prestonfield is largely due to him.
one half of the Rhubarb restaurant
It started with a post
This is the quintessential Edinburgh place to indulge and celebrate. So what are you two doing there you’re wondering?
Rhubarb was introduced to Scotland here and now adornes their plates
Well, we can hardly believe it ourselves, but this is our 500th post on allabouttthescones.com. How mad is that? Perhaps, even madder, is that so many of you have been with us as budding bloggers right from the start. That was at Palmerston’s Coffee Shop in Dunkeld back in early 2015 … incredible! We are sure you would agree that such an auspicious occasion deserves to be marked in some way. Why not a scone at Prestonfield House eased down with some Billecart Salmon champagne? We can do decadent!
Good company
one of the drawing rooms
We decided to have our afternoon tea in one of the drawing rooms rather than the famous Rhubarb restaurant. A good decision as it happens because we had the company of three lovely Scandinavian girls on their first trip to Scotland … talk about doing it in style!
Eating rotten things
We don’t normally like the sort of formal subservient service you can sometimes get in places such as this however the young chap who was looking after us was delighfult. He was Spanish and had been here six years. He explained everything we were getting in great detail but with such a strong accent that we really didn’t catch much of it. No matter it all looked fantabulous, the sight of it was quite enough, . One three tier stand with sandwiches on the bottom, cakes on top and scones in the middle. In addition there was a separate plate of savoury goods which included some haggis treats. Only one of our new found Scandinavian friends dared take a little nibble. Goodness, did they not know the celebrated status of haggis in Scotland … and these Viking types eat rotten fish, don’t they?
Anyway it probably will come as no surprise to all you sconeys to learn that this was a topscone. We weren’t able to eat all of them because we felt they were a bit on the large side for an afternoon tea, but that was our only criticism. They were beautifully soft with that crunchy exterior we love. lots of jam and clotted cream as well.
Barefoot
We didn’t think we would ever mention Thatcher twice in one post but she dined here, as did Churchill and a host of other celebrities. More importantly perhaps, Sandie Shaw once strode barefoot across these marble floors.
Deluded as Trump
Boris says that he will be back as PM within a year … we’ll have a pint of whatever he’s drinking! Folks who worked alongside him when he was with the Telegraph say he just made stuff up for his column. Who would have thought it? And although they knew what he was writing was completely false, the newspaper never once offered a retraction. Says it all about British politicians and media.
Colin for PM
The last time we were here they had a lot of peacocks roosting in the trees however we were told there is only one left now … Colin. We went to look for Colin to tell him that we would rather see him running the country than any of the current contenders. We couldn’t find him…opportunity missed!
The path leading to the Stables … no horses these days, it’s an events venue
This place is described as opulent, eccentric, flamboyant, cosseted, and decadent, does that sound like our kind of place? Of course it does! Obviously, these are all words that could easily be ascribed to ourselves never mind Prestonfield House! We’ve been here several times before. It’s not exactly our ‘local’ but if we were as wealthy as an Arab sheik or a Tory politician, it might be.
Not that they would care, but that’s not going to get them very far in Scotland. Here, the word “Thatcher” is usually expressed like some sort of swear word and Brexit is regarded as an unmitigated disaster. Did you know that the nickname ‘Tories’ originated in the 16th century in Ireland and derives from the Gaelic word ‘toraidhe’ meaning plunderer, robber, thief, barbarian and yobbo. Just saying!
Not that they would care, but that’s not going to get them very far in Scotland. Here, the word “Thatcher” is usually expressed like some sort of swear word and Brexit is regarded as an unmitigated disaster. Did you know that the nickname ‘Tories’ originated in the 16th century in Ireland and derives from the Gaelic word ‘toraidhe’ meaning plunderer, robber, thief, barbarian and yobbo. Just saying!
He was Spanish and had been here six years. He explained everything we were getting in great detail but with such a strong accent that we really didn’t catch much of it. No matter it all looked fantabulous, the sight of it was quite enough, . One three tier stand with sandwiches on the bottom, cakes on top and scones in the middle. In addition there was a separate plate of savoury goods which included some haggis treats. Only one of our new found Scandinavian friends dared take a little nibble. Goodness, did they not know the celebrated status of haggis in Scotland … and these Viking types eat rotten fish, don’t they?
He was Spanish and had been here six years. He explained everything we were getting in great detail but with such a strong accent that we really didn’t catch much of it. No matter it all looked fantabulous, the sight of it was quite enough, . One three tier stand with sandwiches on the bottom, cakes on top and scones in the middle. In addition there was a separate plate of savoury goods which included some haggis treats. Only one of our new found Scandinavian friends dared take a little nibble. Goodness, did they not know the celebrated status of haggis in Scotland … and these Viking types eat rotten fish, don’t they?
Anyway it probably will come as no surprise to all you sconeys to learn that this was a topscone. We weren’t able to eat all of them because we felt they were a bit on the large side for an afternoon tea, but that was our only criticism. They were beautifully soft with that crunchy exterior we love. lots of jam and clotted cream as well.