Roo’s Leap in Montrose

I have often wondered where people in Montrose go out to eat. I know that may sound a little silly because yes, I have visited many of the cafes in town but I really wasn’t sure about restaurants that offered proper sit-down meals.

That is until I went for a walk towards the beach during one visit and saw Roo’s Leap, so I hopped (sorry) online and tried to find out some more information (because the mere thought of an awkward face to face interaction is enough to curl my toes) and came across the online booking form and there was not one availability for the full weekend.

A table for two. For lunch or dinner or anything in between. Absolutely nothing.

There’s not much that you can do in those situations except admit defeat but it did stick in my mind and I suppose you could consider that one of the positives of these situations, I wanted to know why.

So of course, on our next trip to Montrose, with a little pre-planning and pre-booking, we did go for lunch at Roos Leap.

I had a look at the menu online beforehand because I gathered that there was an Australian influence but I wasn’t sure how that would translate to the menu. Honestly, it’s just a good mix of international foods.

When it came to dining, I chose a hot dog, Peter chose a burger, the people behind us had a Tomahawk steak and the people on the other side were enjoying a hot fudge sundae. So there was a wide variety of food options available.

On arrival, it was very busy. It wasn’t the nicest of days and the outside area was still filled with people which I took as a positive sign. Once we made our way indoors and upstairs, it was a hive of activity, with a mixture of groups, families and couples so it seemed to be the place for both casual dining and events.

We were sat at the back, by the window which didn’t offer a fantastic view but I always appreciate a view nonetheless. We had a quick look at the Roo’s menu again as I often find the physical menu a little different to what you find online and I was very impressed, there were a lot of options that I would have gladly taken, the Thai salad or the Korean taco’s to name just a couple!

The service was brilliant and very friendly, we were left with our menus for long enough that we could really take a look but not for so long that we were wondering if we should call someone over. I think there is a really happy medium and they definitely met that.

The child inside of me always wants a hot dog when I see it on the menu and as nice as the other options sounded, that was me. Now, they did offer quite a few different varieties of hot dogs which was nice.

I opted for the Bernese Ranch Dog ‘Topped with melted Gruyere cheese, crispy candied bacon, dill pickles & ranch sauce.’ Because as well as hot dogs, I have a love for pickles. And of course, it came with a side of fries. Win-win!

Peter chose The Dirty Spaniard burger ‘Buttery Spanish Manchego cheese, sweet candied bacon, crispy fried onion strings & spicy Nduja mayo.’ which also came with a side of fries.

The food took around 15-20 minutes to be served and I was pleasantly surprised. Personally, I had expected to be waiting for a little longer as they were so busy. There were also quite a few large groups of cackling women, obviously out for a boozy lunch and a good time, which I thought may take a little longer to serve.

As far as costs go, I think it was reasonable for the quality and amount of food that we both received. Of course, if you order dishes like the Tomahawk, the cost increases significantly but as far as what we had, we paid around £10-15 which I think is standard.

The quality of both the burger and the hot dog was very high and both dishes came with more than enough food for us. I was also only hearing praise reviews from those seated around too which I think is always a good sign. We were all eating very different meals, yet everyone was openly satisfied and very complimentary.

The food was really tasty and we both really enjoyed it. If we had more time, I would have loved to have enjoyed and sampled a larger meal but we went for lunch, a mid-afternoon meal.

That just means that we have to go back so it’s no hardship and it’s only a short drive away from Aberdeeen, so perfect for a day trip.

Roo’s Leap
2 Traill Drive
Montrose
DD10 8SW