Sunday brunch at Gleneagles

Last Sunday I was kindly invited by Gleneagles to sample their new brunch menu at The Birnam Brasserie. Having never visited Gleneagles before, I was pretty excited! Shawna of @exploringedinburgh and myself were picked up at Haymarket by our private cheuffeur who drove us to the heart of Perthshire. This was our first glance of Gleneagles, isn't this 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud stunning?

1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud at Gleneagles

If you have not yet heard of The Birnam, it is Gleneagles' newest restaurant - it has been open since May 2017. The brasserie is decorated beautifully in a bistro-style with pretty mosaic tiles. On the first Sunday of every month they host a full inclusive brunch between 12.30-15.30. This was the occasion of our visit!

The Birnam Brasserie at Gleneagles

We were impressed by the warm welcome we received from Conor, the general manager of Gleneagles and Karen and Chris from the marketing team. Shortly Lucy of @lucyflorals has arrived too and we kicked off brunch with some Bellinis.

For starters we could choose from a wide selection of seafood, cheese, charcuterie and salads. I went for langoustines and clams which were delicious. I had to remind myself to save space for my truffel mac'n'cheese main. Shawna picked the pea and broadbean risotto as her main and Lucy had pancakes. Other options included steak with pommes frites, moules mariniere and chicken schnitzel - just to mention a few.

Langoustines for starter

When we thought we could not possibly eat more, a whole tray of mini desserts have appeared. Our favourite was the chocolate and pistacio one, but I also tried the Eton mess and Shawna had cranachan.

Mini desserts

For those who had a second dessert stomach, there was some pick and mix waiting along with blueberry pancakes, waffels and even more of the yummy mini desserts. And an ice-cream bicycle! (No, not a bicycle made of ice-cream but a vintage style bike serving ice-cream.)

Pick'n'mix

Brunch was followed by a special treat for us. We were escorted by Chris to the gun dog school where we met Iona, the dog whisperer and the most well behaved labradors we have ever seen. The labradors of Gleneagles are pretty impressive and Iona demonstrated us how well trained they are.

She hid a dummy somewhere near the loch and then purely with instructions and hand signs she directed the dogs to find it. Mind the dummy did not smell of anything and the dogs did not know where the dummy was hidden! I was also amazed to see, whenever Iona throw away a dummy, the labradors waited patiently for their name to be called and only then fetched the dummy. 

As part of the Gleneagles gun dog experience, guests have the chance to learn how to take control of the dog from basics to retrieves. If you are interested in booking the experience, have a look at the full offer here.

Iona, the dog whisperer

Finally, I would like to say thank you to the lovely Conor, Karen and Chris for hosting us. We had a lovely first visit at Gleneagles and this certainly won't be the last. I cannot wait to come back with Mr Enthusiast and treat him with a Bellini brunch.

All photos by The Edinburgh Ethusiast (C).

Acknowledgement: Even though we were kindly offered complimetary brunch and gun dog experience by Gleneagles, the views and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and purely my own.