The Olive Retreat - Castle Douglas

Edited... Wow that was a great response sll takeaway slots until 7.30pm gone and no more roasts left!

We have a few roast dinner takeaways available (chicken/beef/lamb supplied by Henderson Butchers ) as well as our normal menus if anyone's not sorted dinner out tonight. Delivery available. Open for dining - last tables 7.45pm 😃

Big Town Raffle Update.....

Over 100 letters have been distributed to local businesses! We've received a great response so far. The Forward Rotary Group and myself will be collecting donations over the next 10 days then we'll hopefully build some fantastic hampers again 🤩

A huge thanks to the first generous businesses to donate:
Tessara - stylish large glass bowl
Sulwath Brewery - Beers gift set
Kings Arms Hotel - £25 Voucher
Corney & Barrow Wine Merchants - £100 wines
Ernespie Farm - £20 Voucher
Douglas House - B&B Voucher
Tesco - Large selection of Chocolates/Biscuits/Alcohol
Colin Davies Sweet Treats - Cake

We're now looking for volunteers to sell lucky numbers please 🙏🏾 ideal locations would be high st businesses, children's nurseries, charity shops/organisations, sports clubs/gym groups, pubs, legions, hotels, cafes, visitor attractions etc. Please get in touch if you'd be up for selling a few sheets of numbers to help us reach the £10,000 target needed for new Christmas Lights, we'd be incredibly grateful 😍🎄

A big thank you to Smallprint for printing our posters FREE OF CHARGE and to Beckie Eastham-Buckley for her great artwork skills with all the letters/posters/online material 👏

Lucky numbers will be on sale wherever you see these posters. Locations and photos of prizes will be shared next week. All hampers will be on display at The Olive Retreat - Castle Douglas. Thanks to everyone getting involved 👌

💖🫶Community Spirit 🫶💖

Exciting progress....

Donations are starting to arrive for this year's Big Town Raffle. Letters have been distributed and emails sent out. If we missed you here it is....

🤞for a great response so we can create a fantastic raffle for The Forward Rotary Group who have been working alongside other volunteers and businesses to raise funds for new Christmas Lights 🎄

Feel free to comment or drop me a message regarding collections of donations. 💖

Fully booked for tables and takeaway tonight.

Sorry folks..... we are open tomorrow if you're missing out tonight!

Happy Ssturday ☀️

Very limited availability for tables and takeaway tonight please get in touch if you would like to book.

Tomorrow we are open for Brunch, Lunch and Dinner. Don't forget our very popular Sunday Roasts are also available as takeaway and delivery is available.

Roasts are: Beef Brisket, Slow cooked Leg of Lamb or Roast chicken and Stuffing. Once they're gone they're gone! Takeaway price £12.95

Another great night with absolutely lovely diners! 💖 It just makes all the difference to our hard working team when diners are pleasant and chatty 😀

Again... so many diners turned away though tonight 😫 Please book in advance if you can.

We have recently taken details at customer requests if we receive cancellations so if we do reject your booking and you would like us to keep your details if a cancellation occurs please reply to the online rejection email and we'll do our absolute best to fit you in, especially if tables are in and out if they are going to the theatre or elsewhere.

We sadly had a couple of 'no shows' tonight but was able to fill one with a call back and the other with a walk in but ideally it would be great if diners could give us a quick call if they are unable to make their booking. We understand that sometimes things crop up and this is absolutely fine but demand for tables is high at the moment and it's disappointing for others and us if we are left with vacant tables for a long time and we contact the booking number and they don't answer.

Our last tables are 9pm but we occasionally stretch it out if we have a few late tables in but bookings are greatly appreciated as the team start their clean down after the last booking has been served.

I apologise if this sounds like I'm whinging, I'm not... I'm just trying to get as many visitors fed so they enjoy Castle Douglas 💖 It's important for all the businesses that visitors enjoy the town and return the following year.

Open 7 days for lunch and dinner and Brunch on a Sunday from 10am.

Thanks again to my team who are awesome👌

Edited - we now have tables available from 8pm onwards

We are now fully booked for dining and takeaways tonight.

We have some availability over the weekend but please book in advance to avoid disappointment.

Thanks everyone! 💖

We have limited availability tonight for dining and takeaways so it's best to book ahead rather than chance a walk in. You can book via our website oliveretreat.co.uk

Our classics have been popular with families in the school hols. Can also be purchased as takeaways. 😊

As we head in to the cold Winter season in October trade reduces somewhat and we need a little rest..😴

We've not had a closure in years as I've managed the team remotely from my holiday destinations but after this extremely busy Summer I've decided to close for 6 days in October. I'm taking our wonderful daughter Emily (who has been my rock in the business for the last few years) on a girls holiday with some friends to Spain to celebrate her birthday.

Our whole hard working team all deserve a break too as they have worked so hard recently.

We'll be closed 4th to 9th October back open on the 10th October.

We'll hopefully open as normal for the rest of October but in November our KITCHEN opening hours will be:

Monday- 12 - 3 / 5 - 8.30
Tuesday - 5 - 8.30
Wednesday - Closed
Thursday 5 - 8.30
Friday 5 - 8.30
Saturday - 12 - 3 / 5 - 8.30
Sunday 5 - 8

We'll open for group bookings of 10+, christenings/funerals/birthdays etc - please contact us direct.

Unfortunately with wages, utilities and food costs the way they are we need to be busy or not be open at all and we want to support our local cafes/tearooms by not trying to share the reduced local trade. 💖

We do hope you'll support our opening times and takeaway collection/delivery options over the Winter period.

Dec/Jan we'll be open on more dates as trade picks up again. 💖

We often get customers asking about local taxis around Castle Douglas so everyone in the party can enjoy an alcoholic drink with their meal. Holiday makers usually have a shock that we have no uber or large taxi firms and some times it's really hard to arrange a taxi. These are the taxi firms that are available in the evenings that we know of.... please add yourselves in the comments if you operate in the evenings around CD 😀

Another fantastic full restaurant last night and had to call in the emergency services to help out (don't worry it's just my other half... has to come straight in on his way home from his fire service shift to work the bar and mix lots of cocktails🍸🍹🤣)

As it's still Summer hols for the English and we have lots of visitors from across the globe we urge you to book tables/takeaways even on weekdays. Again we had to turn away diners and turn off the takeaway app last night as we were full to capacity with bookings and orders.

A huge thanks to our team for their continued hard work, they've been truly amazing and we've managed 7 days a week the whole of the Summer 💖

Thank you to everyone who dined/ordered with us today, it's been a fantastic day with delightful customers 😍

I'm sorry we had to turn the takeaway app off at 4.30pm, we just had so many pre-order takeaways and a fully booked evening in the restaurant. Sadly we also turned away over 30 diners this evening who didn't make an early reservation 😢

The good news is we are open 7 days at the moment so you can always visit/order with us tomorrow! Book/pre-order in advance if you would like to guarantee a time. You can use our app at

Home - The Olive Retreat The Olive Retreat 139 King Street, Castle Douglas. Facebook Instagram Tripadvisor Youtube Google Our Resturant elegant & fame Welcome to The Olive Retreat, your gateway to an authentic Mediterranean culinary journey, right in the heart of Castle Douglas, Scotland. Nestled in the picturesque surround...

Check out our Brunch and Sunday Roast offerings tomorrow. All other menus available too.

Open from 10am. Service stops at 3 - 4.45pm to allow the team a well earned break. Last tables 8pm.

Please pre-order takeaways using the app link on the website. Sunday Roast takeaways are £12.95 and very popular. All Sunday Roast meats supplied by Henderson Butchers 🤩

🌟🌟🎄🎄💡💡🤶🤶🎄🎄💡💡🤶🤶🌟🌟

HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR NEW CHRISTMAS LIGHTS FOR CASTLE DOUGLAS!
(If the 10k needed isn't secured we won't have any lights up this year 😫)

We all know the town likes to play part in The Big Town Raffle... so this year it supports this great initiative....

The New Christmas Lights Fund is organised by The Forward Rotary Group and us at The Olive Retreat want to support their hard efforts!

This small group of volunteers have been working really hard to raise money for many months to secure a new set of dazzling Christmas Lights for CD.

Letters to local businesses will be distributed over the next week to welcome donations to the raffle. Please donate if you are able 💖

Lets make it a huge successful raffle as new lights will offer our town the Christmas atmosphere we will all enjoy 🤩

Thank you in advance 💖

We've had a fantastic Summer at the restaurant.... sadly can't say the same about the weather 😭☔️

Tomorrow we only have tables of 2 at 4.30/4.45/5.00.

We have 2 takeaway slots left at 5pm and 5.15pm. We're very busy with multiple large tables tomorrow night hence why we're so full.

Thank you for all your support since we opened in April. 💖

Open now for Brunch

Pancakes
Build Your Own Breakfast
Hot Rolls
Omelettes

Full menu available for lunch and dinner including Sunday Roasts for £16.95 (£12.95 takeaway)

Takeaway available - please order in advance to guarantee a slot as we always have a rush of takeaways between 5pm -6pm and can't always manage them on time.

Due to a cancellation we now have a table of 4 available tonight. We can take a booking at 4.45pm, 6.15pm or 8.15pm on this table so it doesn't clash with other bookings.

Our only other availability is 5pm or 8pm onwards for a table of up to 4 people only

Please get your takeaway orders in early on the app as once we're at max capacity we'll need to turn the app off.

Don't forget we open for Brunch tomorrow at 10am then lunch and dinner service with all menus available including Sunday Roasts (Beef/Lamb/Chicken).

Have a great weekend everyone 😀

Please share 🙏🏾

As we reach the end of Summer and our student team members head off to college and university we are on the look out for two permanent team members:

1 x Front of House Server (age 16+)
1 x Commis Chef (age 16+)

Full training can be provided but experience preferred. These can be part time or full time but must be available some evenings and weekends as we work a flexi rota to enable everyone to have some weekend time off.

Must be a great teamplayer who is energetic, reliable, hardworking and honest.

Pay will be related to age and experience and the opportunity to increase your pay after training is available.

Additional benefits are:

Flexi rota
Holiday pay at an extra 12.07% added to your wage if you prefer.
Equal share of tips every month
Not stuck to statutory holiday allowance
Food certificates paid for
20% staff discount on takeaways/dining in
Meals on shift at cost price
Pension available

Commis Chef - Training will be available for all aspects of the kitchen service including use of all equipment. Preparation of sauces, dips, dough making and rolling, bread making, dessert preparation (brownies/STP/baklava etc). Training on dishes such as stifado, tagines, bbq pork etc. Cooking of seafood and steaks.

FoH Server - Training will be available for all roles FoH including bar work, rotating and restocking, dessert presentation, operating the till and card machine, setting and clearing tables, managing the bookings diary, greeting and serving customers.

Excellent customer service and delivering delicious meals cooked to a high standard is what we pride ourselves on so you must have high standards in your work and be eager to learn. We are a large friendly team who thrive on good banter and encouraging one another especially on busy fast paced shifts.

To offer an indication of pay a starting wage for someone inexperienced at aged 21 would be £11.44 + hol pay + approx £2 per hour tips = approx £14.82ph. Opportunities for pay increases available.

If interested please email across your up to date CV to [email protected] 😀

Hello locals and visitors,
We hope you're enjoying the dry weather 🌤

Our only table availability is 8.30 onwards this evening.

Unfortunately we have no more takeaway slots available for this evening so the app will be switched off.

Don't forget....we open at 10am for Brunch tomorrow and then our full menu kitchen times are 12 - 3 for lunch and 4.45 - 8 for dinner. Booking recommended but walk ins welcome if we have room.

Our Roasts tomorrow are

Slow cooked Beef Brisket with rich beef pan gravy and horseradish
8hr cooked lamb shoulder with redcurrant, mint and rosemary
Roast Chicken, thyme, redcurrant and stuffing

All served with real roasties, sage & black pepper Yorkies, root veg mash, honey parsnips, roasted red onion and peas

Family/dog friendly with separate menu's for GF/DF/Vegan 🐾👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

A huge thanks to my team for their hard work! Hospitality is an incredibly tough trade as you're watched and rated for every service and meal delivery. Right now is a particularly hard time as it's just so busy and staff work extra hard to meet the demand.

I'm just delighted we have received 13 x 5* Google reviews on the bounce! It's incredible.🤩

It's impossible to get everything right all of the time especially with new team members learning on the job but we're trying our best and I'm really proud of my team 💖

Our only table availability is between 4.45 - 5.30 for 2 hours or 8pm onwards.

Lunch walkins welcome!

Please place orders for takeaway in advance to guarantee your slot.

Don't forget tomorrow we open at 10am for Brunch and then we are open 12 - 8 for dining (including our tasty Sunday Roasts)

Good news! You can now order a takeaway online via our page using the 'Start Order' button at the top or via the link https://www.restaurantlogin.com/api/fb/_ny5ed

💷Job Opportunities 💷
We are looking for 2 chef positions.
1 x Trainee - no experienced required
1 x Skilled Chef of Commis/Sous Chef standard - experience in cooking seafood, steaks, homemade pizzas. Full recipes and training provided for our main course dishes such as stifado, tagine, imam, sauces etc
Looking for reliable, energetic and hard working individuals willing to learn new skills and join in the team banter 😃

Hours can be flexible but some Fri/Sat evenings are compulsory. I am looking for a commitment of 30+ hours a week (extra are available). In September we move to our Autumn/Winter hours and will close Sunday/Monday so you will have 2 days off together per week.

Hourly rates BETWEEN £10ph - £11ph - for age 16 - 20 trainee chefs plus 12.07% + generous tips so a great wage for a young person looking for full time work. Wage increases after two month training upto £2ph.

For chefs with experience rates of pay vary from £11.44ph - £14ph plus 12.07% holiday pay plus equal share of tips. AGE 18+

Pay can be discussed at interview

Send a messenger if interested

It's that time of year again....🤯🤯

I'm absolutely blown away with the locals/business support since we opened on 1st April. Thank you all so much ❤️

We're heading in to crazy season with both English/Scottish school hols in play for four weeks.

They'll be some quieter days but the majority will be busy for many restaurants/hotels/cafes/tearooms in the town and we'll all wish we didn't have to turn away diners when we are at full capacity.

I do my best to divert diners to other places when we are full so they enjoy their holidays and return to the area. If I can book diners in elsewhere I will, it's so important to keep us a bustling town.

Hotels/Guest Houses - if you have arrivals who are booking a late check in and your kitchens are closed we will feed your guests if you can't if we are open. Our last food orders are 9pm but we do close our kitchens earlier if our last tables are served. I can't justify having staff on shift with no late bookings so, if possible please ask them to pre-book.

We've accommodated quite a few disgruntled visitors to the area this past week who were staying in the town, some who dined... some who accepted takeaway. I've cooked as late as 9.45pm to feed visitors staying in New Galloway that have travelled from the USA for the Troon Golf. They were astounded that they couldnt be fed anywhere local and weren't advised from the hotel manager.

I'll do my best to keep supporting visitors but can't guarantee meals if we've cleaned down and due to go home. I'm certainly not complaining just trying to improve service and business for us all.🤩

After speaking to staff at Jewel in The Crown, Castle Douglas they are enduring the same and not leaving until 11pm after experiencing random walkins from hotel guests and holiday lets.

Diners are taking time to find us and it would benefit us all if they knew where they can book after 8pm and to book/dine as soon as they arrive to the town or before.

Tomorrow our latest table booking is 5.15pm.
Takeaways only between 4.45 - 6.15pm

I'm delighted to be so busy... thank you everyone! Amazing town ❤️

Big shout out to Laurie from Heating Care who attended to our faulty oven. He was straight in the morning after my communication to quickly assess the fault, ordered the parts and was back in my kitchen at 7am yesterday to complete the repair. Great to hear these guys are expanding their business as their service, timescales and skill is top notch! Cheers Sarah Maxwell for recommending them and thank you also to The Market Inn Hotel who on the night we experienced a small fire rang up to see if we needed any support with food storage etc. These acts of kindness really stick with me and make me grateful for living in such a great community!

We were back up and running to full capacity last night just in time for a huge pizza order for someones get together 🍕🥳

Open at 10am for Brunch! I suspect there maybe a few sore heads in the town so if you are wanting a breakfast delivery please drop us a message. Only £1 per mile delivery. See menu below 🤩

Kitchen Times - 10am - 8pm. We'll close after last tables leave so please book your tables as we'll not be taking walkins after the last booked table.

Unfortunately we have no gyros takeaways available until Tuesday as its been so busy we have limited pitta left and no chicken gyros meat!

Roast dinners are roast chicken (Griersons), Slow cooked lamb (Hendersons)and beef brisket (Griersons)whilst stocks last. Available for takeaway please pre-order to guarantee your meal.

Thank you everyone 💓

What an absolute blast of a day! Castle Douglas you are bloody fantastic. Loved the parade... so much effort and fun put in to it. A massive well done to the Civic Week Team and everyone who contributed you've done the town proud 👌👌

A few tables left this evening and we have takeaway collections and deliveries available. You can book/order online oliveretreat.co.uk