Sambuca

26/06/2026

We've had a busy month behind the scenes setting ourselves up for a busy Summer so we've had a little break from facebook recently.

Here's a wee update with what we've been up to...

A few weeks ago many of our team completed a fire safety course with Norman Davies. Over ten staff now hold a fire safety awareness certificate after completing the practical and classroom training - I'm so grateful to my team for showing such commitment to our new business. I'd highly recommend the course if you're a business in the town.

After the short spell of hot weather at the end of May we decided to improve our kitchen fan systems. We also added some industrial fan units to the back kitchen and potwash room earlier this month which was just in time for this weeks heatwave. The restaurant itself keeps rather cool with it's open plan space and high ceilings. We've managed fairly well but I'm glad that we were closed yesterday as that was a scorcher! I gave our prep chef the day off yesterday as I felt it was just too hot so today we won't have a couple of items on the menu until a bit later this afternoon.

Monday was an exciting day as we worked with the great Kim Ayres to complete our new photo portfolio. We'll be updating our website, menu's and socials very soon! I never have time to take snaps during service and I'm useless with a camera so it's great to get it all done professionally. Our neighbours at the Imperial Hotel and their customers enjoyed all the free samples of the tasty meals that were cooked up. I hate waste so I'm pleased folk got to eat it!

We've been working on a couple of sponsorship packages this month... all will be revealed soon.... we're inundated with sponsorship requests all year round. I like to support individuals, events and teams that are self funded. We don't sponsor clubs/businesses with their own assets as I'm just a small restaurant business with a lease on a building.

We hope the footy fans in Sams Bar have enjoyed all our buffets for the games this month. The homemade pies and our special spanish sausage rolls were apparently devoured on Wednesday night 👌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Last but not least we had a group of Castle Douglas Soap Box Derby organisers in last Thursday. They enjoyed a Sambuca Tapas Meal to share whilst they held their meeting to put the final touches to the big day! This will be the event of the year in CD and I'm delighted to have a great viewing point from the restaurant. We're sponsoring the team with a food package so we can keep all the volunteers well fed and hydrated all day long! 🏎

As we hit the main season I won't be posting regular availability updates on facebook. Our availability changes all the time especially Fri - Sun as we do a nine hour service each day with 60+ dining capacity at any one time. Facebook posts become outdated very quickly with bookings coming in, the odd booking cancelled and numbers on bookings increasing/decreasing. We've had a huge increase of walk ins the past couple of weeks so the restaurant has been very busy despite sometimes not having a mass of bookings at the beginning of service. We are receiving lots of bookings for July so we always recommend that you book early. Please feel free to try your luck if you're passing by, we'll try our best to accommodate you or arrange a later time. If you have a dog please ensure you book as we may have to turn you away if there's other dogs in close proximity to where tables are available.

Lastly, a polite request to diners... if you can't fulfil your booking or your numbers change please just let us know as soon as you can. If you turn up early and we're able to seat you please don't expect to be served food early if it's busy. We can't prioritise you over a table that showed up on time however, you're very welcome to enjoy a drink and socialise whilst we do our best to get your order in as soon as we can. Bookings of 8 or more require a £10pp deposit to book the table and then a pre-order the day before. If you book online please make contact via phone or pop in to pay the deposit.

Stay hydrated guys it feels like another hot one today 🥵

17/06/2026

I'm not a big professional footy fan myself but I'm loving the excitement and hype in the town for the Scotland team. One thing I love about you Scottish is the passion you have for your country 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿❤️

To help you's enjoy the match at Sam's Bar on Friday we're providing a free hot supper at 10.30pm so get yourselves down their early and get your table. If you fancy a pre-cocktail before heading to Sam's feel free to pop in Sambuca and sample our menu 🍸

08/06/2026

This year we're proud to support The Soap Box Derby and provide their amazing volunteers team with their food/drink requirements on event day and also their celebratory meal afterwards.

We love a good community event and this hardworking bunch of people are the best example of community spirit and hard graft.

They don't just put on The Soap Box Derby but they help folk in the community whenever there's a call for it. ❤️

The Soap Box Crew are looking for volunteers to help out on the day and one of the perks to working at the event is that you get free food vouchers to use at Sambuca on event day 🤩
If you can spare a few hours please get in touch with the crew via their page.

On event day our normal dining menu will commence at 4.30pm. We'll be serving an affordable Derby Takeaway Menu throughout the event so do come along for your restaurant quality homecooked grub!

From 9am - 12noon we'll be serving a breakfast menu and from 12noon - 4pm we'll be serving our Derby Specials Menu.

We can cater for DF, GF & PB. Any other dietary requirements will need to be discussed in advance.

Our tables will be available for our customers wishing to eat their food indoors and our toilets will be available for any spectators/volunteers needing to use them. The bar will be open if you'd like to enjoy a beer, cocktail or glass or wine.

07/06/2026

We have a few tables left this evening and takeaway slots available too. Our delicious roasts run all day until sold out.

Your four legges friends can also indulge on a free Sunday Roast

07/06/2026

Get booked in and enjoy this promotional offer before the show! Tables need to be vacated by 6.30pm. Doors open at the school theatre at 6.30pm and we don't want you to be late!!

You can order the takeaway deal via messenger or email from 8pm - 9pm

Please share, not sure if there's a school facebook group this can be shared to so families can grab an affordable treat meal.out....

05/06/2026

During Summer 2024 at The Olive Retreat we extended our hours and added a brunch service at the weekend offering all kinds of build your own breakfasts using ingredients from local butchers and farms. It was really popular and we received fantastic feedback for our high quality produce. We didn't get to do it last year due to the fire, the question is should brunch weekends make a return for 2026?? 🤔 Here's a few of our photo's to tickle your tastebuds 😋

We have a few early tables available this evening as well as some takeaway slots.

04/06/2026

A couple of tables left tomorrow night if you'd like to join us for some great live music and food!

02/06/2026

Check out our friends new holiday let on the stunning coastal riviera of Kippford with such amazing views.

We've had the pleasure of watching the transformation of this beautiful house over the past few months which has included a new kitchen, new patio, a whole new drainage system as well as all rooms being spruced up with tasteful decor and period style features and furnishings.

An ideal picturesque property for a relaxing large family getaway awaits you and to top it off it's dog friendly with a completely secure garden and driveway. Everyone knows our dogs are top priority when searching for a holiday home 😍

Whilst visiting this beautiful hidden corner of South West Scotland you won't want to miss a visit to our fantastic rural town of Castle Douglas with many boutique independent shops, a beautiful local loch and playpark as well as The Fullarton Cinema. We also have Aldi and Tesco if you need to stock up on goods!

All bookings at 'Thornleigh Kippford' receive a lovely 10% off their complete bill here at Sambuca, all you have to do is share the code provided by the owners when you ask for the bill 👌

Our friends have been guests at this house with their two labradors for many years and fell that much in love with the house and it's location they just had to buy the property when the opportunity arose. If any owners know what guests are looking for in a Kippford coastal property these two do!

Check out their website for more details on this beautiful holiday home and give them a follow on facebook ❤️ Still a few dates left this year but they won't be around for long!

https://www.thornleighkippford.co.uk/

Check out our new website and book for an amazing stay in Kippford.

01/06/2026

On Soap Box Day we won't be operating our normal dining menu between 12 - 4.30pm due to the road being closed and no access to our car park. We can still do deliveries as we'll park our vehicle on The Imperial Hotel car park and use there back entrance. Normal dining will resume at 5pm.

The good news is we'll be offering a tasty affordable takeaway menu and the use of our dining tables for you to eat and drink at. Our toilets will also be available for spectators. We have the perfect location where the race takes place especially if we're unlucky with rain on the day!

We're thinking a simple offering of Breakfast Rolls until 12 noon then Hot Roast Rolls (Bbq Pork and Slaw, Roast Chicken with our pork and apricot stuffing and gravy, pulled lamb and mint gravy, beef brisket with horseradish and onion gravy), wrapped Gyros, Burgers, Fries and our Homemade Chips! Confectionery and canned drinks also available. Look out for our priced menu coming soon 👌

Customers of The Imperial/Sams Bar
Anyone socialising in The Imperial or Sams Bar can order food from us any day we're open and we'll deliver it free of charge. You just need to select collection on the online order system and add a comment to ask us to deliver to Sams or Imperial 🙂