The Old Pier Tearoom

Popular with locals and tourists alike, Robert and Lindsay Marr's tearoom provides snacks, cooked breakfasts and afternoon tea. While from the outside the Old Pier Tearoom doesn’t look spectacular, inside the food and atmosphere tell a different story. Wooden panelling and nautical decorations mirror the pier-side location: the lunch menu is basic yet appealing – soup, home-made bread and sausage rolls, sandwiches – with cakes and Arran ice cream milkshakes the real stars.

Listed in the Ayrshire Larder – order a print copy (free + p&p).

The location at the end of a pier might suggest it’s a good stop-off point but the cakes and bakes are so good it’s much more than that. The owner aims to have three gluten-free cakes on offer at any one time and the Tunisian almond and polenta cake, scattered with rose petals and cardamom pods, is both moist and beautiful. Favourites like lemon drizzle and Victoria sponge sit alongside scones, tray bakes and, in the summer months, Arran ice cream. Their philosophy of doing simple food well ensures they are always busy and the menu offers favourites like homemade sausage rolls, macaroni cheese, eggs and chips, as well as sandwiches. They also make and sell their own chutneys and marmalades.