Austins sits at the harbour end of Knockcushan Street and is the restaurant locals mention when you ask where to go in Girvan for a proper dinner. It is small, comfortable and quietly professional — warm enough for a celebration, relaxed enough for a Wednesday — and it is the best-reviewed restaurant in the town by some distance.
The food
Seasonal cooking with generous portions and a well-chosen wine list. Seafood is the strength — garlic prawns, hake, salmon, whatever has come in — alongside carefully cooked steaks and homemade puddings. It is not showy food, but it is properly done, and it has built a reputation well beyond the town: people drive over from Ballantrae and Turnberry for it.
The photographs above are from our own visit in October 2026: a spiced salmon fillet on rice in a golden cream sauce, with chips on the side, and chicken in a cream sauce with a crumb-coated stuffing and fresh vegetables.
There are vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, and staff are used to accommodating them rather than being caught out. Children are welcome and there are children's meals.
The cocktails
The surprise at Austins is the cocktail card. There are five house cocktails, and we tried every one of them — all five were excellent, and they are the thing we would tell a friend to order first.
- Beefeater Berry Fizz — Beefeater strawberry gin with cranberry, sparkling apple and fresh strawberries. Sweet and fruity, and the only one with an alcohol-free version. £8.25, or £5.45 without the gin.
- Kraken Black Mojito — the house take on a mojito, with Kraken spiced rum and ginger ale, fresh mint and citrus. £8.25.
- Blood Orange Sunset — blood orange vodka and peach schnapps topped with sparkling tropical juice and grenadine. £9.45.
- Rhubarb & Ginger Sparkle — Whitley Neill rhubarb and ginger gin with ginger ale, a dash of elderflower and fresh lime. £8.25.
- Twisted Whisky Sour — Grant's whisky with bitter lemon and freshly squeezed lime. The menu calls it local, and it is: Grant's grain whisky is made at the William Grant distillery on the edge of Girvan. £8.25.
Prices are as printed on the table card in October 2026, and cocktail lists change, so treat them as a guide.
What reviewers say
Austins is ranked number one of thirty restaurants in Girvan on Tripadvisor, with an average of 4.8 out of 5 from 216 reviews: 182 of them rate it excellent, and it scores 4.8 for atmosphere, 4.7 for food and service and 4.6 for value. On Google it averages 4.7 from 178 reviews, and 98% of the 270 people who have reviewed it on Facebook recommend it. Those were the figures in October 2026.
The same things come up again and again: generous portions, food that is well presented, friendly and attentive staff, a good wine list and fair prices for the quality.
- Read the Austins reviews on Tripadvisor
- Read the Austins reviews on Google
- Austins on Facebook, where opening changes and specials are posted
Opening days and booking
Austins opens Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 3pm, and is closed on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Listings disagree about how late the kitchen runs, so for a later table ring and ask. Opening days have changed over the years, so check before setting out rather than assuming it is open on the evening you turn up.
Booking is recommended in any case. It is a small room and it fills, particularly at weekends and in summer. Phone 01465 714668 or email dining@austinsrestaurant.co.uk.
Finding it
There is a large car park opposite and free street parking nearby. Austins is a few minutes' walk from the beach, the boating pond and the harbour.
Where it fits
This is Girvan's date-night table and its celebration table — see places for couples and restaurants near Girvan. For a pre-dinner pint, the Harbour Bar is a couple of minutes along the same street; for something grander, Wildings at Maidens is fourteen minutes north and Glenapp Castle fifteen miles south.
