About Encore Inverness
Fully refurbished, brand new bar grill.
Reviews
L I V E M U S I C
Join us this weekend for some live music at Encore.
Friday, Craig Robertson 8,30pm... Saturday, Kevin Fraser 8,30pm
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Don’t forget to join us tonight for some Traditional Music 🎶🎻 and great food !
Starting 8:30pm tonight, see you there!
Ceilidh Party Nights
Dust off yer kilts folks & join us for some dancing true Scottish style!
Every last Saturday & the big one ... Mad Friday!
C O M I N G S O O N !!!!
Stay tuned for we have big changes coming our way! 😉
No one said it has to be the weekend to enjoy a delicious Cocktail. 🙌🏼 🍹🍸
#frenchmartini
🚨 IPA Alert 🚨
Glenfiddich Scotch Hop IPA & Single Malt IPA now available at Encore.
Special introduction, Enjoy both for £9!
... Why not add a Cuban cigar to make it extra special👌🏼.
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Well done France 🇫🇷! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
We are proud to serve the finest Scottish seafood in Inverness ! 🍤🍤🍤🍤
Calvin Prior will be playing for us LIVE this Friday! 06 July 2018. 9pm-12pm.
****OpenTraditional Scottish Session****
Every Thursday we have highly talented locals bringing their instruments or voices and have a wee tune together.
The atmosphere is Encore feels amazing while the music is playing and people from all over the world are tapping their feet while dining and wining or simply having a drink in the bar.
... We are child friendly folks so bring the family!
Everyone is welcome to join us at Encore.
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*****New lunch Menu*****
£9.95 Two courses £12.95 Three courses
... Monday to Friday 12-3pm
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Live Music! Schiehallion Friday 9pm-12pm
Every Saturday night at Encore Inverness 9pm-12pm.
What a great turn out we have for Encore Summer sessions tonight!
Join us every Thursday from 8:45pm and don’t forget to bring an instrument along !🎻🎸🎺🥁 🎷
Join us this Thursday for an , Open Traditional Music Session!
Yet again another delicious meal . We run a b&b and recommend all our guests to eat here .
What a fabulous experience! My wife had a delicious salmon dish and I had the highland chicken. This was our favorite restaurant and best meal in Scotland. Highly recommend!
We were recommended several places in the vicinity of our hotel. They were all booked or had interesting (not good menus). We found this little gem in the midst of the rain, late at night and were more than pleasantly surprised. We even went there twice during our stay in Inverness! Food was great, service was fanstasic. Very friendly staff and atmosphere, very welcoming! Highly recommend!
I love this place I have stayed in inverness on business and have eaten here 4nights in a row and the food is fabulous so tasty and both menus would appeal to everyone and you definitly get what you pay for, so hat off to the chefs. The staff are friendly and very attentive. The manager needs to just smile more but very professional . I would recommend to everyone visiting inverness 🖒
Awesome place, great ambience and good craic with the staff.
Had the sea bass and loved it , great taste and texture with crispy skin , which I love and recommend as a health kick idea.
Go and check it out , will definitely go back soon.
�������
Amazing food and great service! Will definitely be back.
Absolutely fab! Honestly one of the best places in town.
Had meal for Valentine’s Day, beautiful cosy place and the service was incredible!
Absolutely amazing food, beautifully presented and tasted incredible. I had the mushroom and goats cheese, risotto, and cheese cake -with glitter somehow? Staff were lovely and attentive; 10 of us pre-booked on a Friday night and everything came relatively on time, being seated at 8 and finishing our meals at 10. One at our table received a soup spoon with her cheese cake (in a glass) but it was easily laughed off. Will most definitely be returning!
Went in for lunch yesterday , it was very quiet and when we were ready to order there was no one at the bar, so had to go for someone to help. Looking at the menu it only had one Gluten Free item - a dessert & no mention of any other options, we decided to see if they had Gluten Free bread We eventually got a nice young waitress , who checked to see if they had Gluten Free bread & found out they had , she then took our order - Club Sandwich - all good.
Only frustrating thing - dressing on the salad - please put it in the side so that people have the option to add it if they require it. If it's not used, it can be used for someone who does want it.
Plus say you have Gluten Free Bread - by looking at the menu there was no mention of it , other than on Chefs Selection and that was a dessert.
There are a lot of people now Gluten Intolerant , so you are missing vital business opportunities.
Fantastic Xmas meal, everyone in our group was extremely impressed, great value. Great atmosphere and had a real blast. Only reason did not give 5 stars is because music too loud to have a conversion across the tables and even when asked to turn it down, it wasn't 😡
I was able to get a table for three on a Saturday night which should have given me an indication. The service was sketchy and the dish was lacking. I would not recommend it’
Had lunch today with my friend and my 2 year old daughter. Our meal of fish cakes was nice although was a bit cold. I ordered the fish for my daughter, it arrived with chips and salad, the fish was huge but on inspection it was 70-30 raw batter to fish.
When the plates were eventually cleared I had to ask for the ice cream as part of the meal deal, we waited 10/15 mins for this to come... got fed up waiting and so asked for the bill. The waitress did ask if we wanted to take it away with us (why??) but we declined.
Service is pretty poor and kids menu needs to be reviewed.
Went in last night for a drink around 9.00ish and was completely ignored trying to get a drink. Only one person serving, I was the only other person waiting for a drink. The manager who was washing glasses looked at me a few times but continued with what he was doing. The other barman then disappeared. After one and half songs played by the male musician I give up and left.
Since I moved here I have wanted to try this place out because a) I have been told to go and b) when you walk by it has a great look and ambiance from the outside.
I popped on the website to see the menu and saw I could make reservations online. I attempted this, but it did not work. I phoned up and had to try it 3 or 4 times before it wasn’t busy.
We got there early and chose to have a drink at the bar before sitting down. The old map of Inverness on the ceiling is brilliant. And like any good bar, it had hooks for purses, coats, etc. Once the lighting was turned down for the evening, it had a nice ambiance.
We were seated promptly at our reservation time. The chairs are small bar/cocktail chairs so not the most comfortable when having a dinner, but that is just my preference. I wish there would have been hooks for coats/purses because of the size and shape of the chairs it is hard to drape your coat on them, again a personal preference and an attention to detail that not everyone is always concerned about.
Overall:
They have a great concept and ambiance. They make it out to be a higher end establishment with cigars, a variety of whiskies, some of their food selection, prices, etc. and while they have made sure the overall experience with feel of the place is nice, the lack of attention to detail with certain items and lack of service make it more of a “scene place” and not a place you frequent because of the quality of food and service.
Some of the flavours of the food were very good and I did really enjoy it. However, for our date night to start with a somewhat unpleasant experience like this, I am in no rush to go back.
If I were to go back it would be for the bar to have some drinks and some starters.
Service:
The service was slow, poor and lacking overall. We had to go to the bar to get drinks, they did not check back in an appropriate amount of time so we had to wait when we wanted something, they did not clear the plates. We saw the server had just taken an order for a bigger table and we told her we could wait a minute thinking she would be back after she put in the order. We waited and waited; finally my partner went up to the bar to pay the tab. He saw our server standing there at the bar sipping on what he presumed to be water.
We had given just over 2 hours to be able to be at our next stop for the evening. Because of the slow service at times we were unable to order any after dinner drinks or dessert. The reservation time was the one that was suggested by the gentleman who took the reservation on the phone.
I will note that the original server we had appeared to be someone for the bar and eventually we had another server. The second server was a little bit better at checking in, but at times appeared unsure of what to do. She did look like she was a little overwhelmed and may have had too many tables. I am not sure.
Food:
Mussels – The creamy, garlic sauce was amazing! That is why we wanted more bread because we wanted to enjoy that more. When we ordered more bread it wasn’t the crusty bread we had been given originally and what it states on the menu, but it was nice.
Out of the big portion of mussels that was ordered, quite a few of them were empty which was pretty disappointing. They also did not bring a bowl for the empty shells, an important attention to detail. The butter they brought out with the bread for this starter was cold so it was hard to spread and it was in a plastic packet. Soft butter in a ramekin would be one of those attention to detail items that would make the experience nicer and fit more into the feel the establishment is going for, higher end.
Black Pudding and Goat Cheese Bonbons – The flavour of these were very good. The goat cheese complimented the black pudding nicely. You only get three for almost £7, which I thought, was a little pricey.
Bread, Olives & Dips – The crusty bread (4 slices), which appeared to be tiger bread, was very good. The olives were fabulous and the dip was olive oil and a drop of balsamic vinegar. When I saw dips on the menu I saw plural and thought there might be more, but there wasn’t. The olive oil the olives came in was a good dip as well so that might be where the plural came from for the dip. The small ramekins they served the olives and O&V in were pretty small and not the easiest to get the olives out and dip the bread.
Ribeye:
The peppercorn sauce was so good. The chips had a nice roasted flavour to them. The steak had an all right flavour. One thing I have noticed here in the Highlands is chefs are afraid to use a little bit of salt and pepper to help bring out the flavour in the steak. Maybe they did add it and I just couldn’t tell.
The way they were cooked was disappointing. The rare was more of a medium rare and the medium rare was more of a medium to medium well.
Came in to watch the rugby at around 20 past 4 for a 4:45 kick off. Found a table and got ourselves some drinks. Half 5 comes and someone comes and sticks a reserved sign on the table for 6 without saying anything. Terrible customer service!
We were here on Saturday 13th Jan for a wee get together with 14 of the volunteers I work with for a charity. The place has lovely decor, very friendly bar and waiting staff but unfortunately the chef completely let them all down with his poor customer service and unprofessional attitude!
My mother suffers from chronic anaphylaxis due to having Angioedema and Urticaria so this limits the foods she can eat so we had asked if it was possible if she could have a plain omelette and chips? Not difficult right? Well it was simply too much for this chef! He refused to do it and let someone in a table of 15 sit there without lunch because he couldn't be bothered. The poor waitress was mortified! Now, had it been my booking,I would have taken all 15 of us up and out of the place but out of respect for the ladies that had arranged the get together, we bit our tongues.
Now the menu caters for vegetarians, vegans and gluten free options but the man can't even rustle up an omelette? It is laughable! Returning business is obviously not what this business needs.....although they are certainly alone in this approach to customer service! So, now I am left wondering if he can even actually cook ......or if it is all coming in pre prepared in his deliveries.....it really does beg he question?
All in all, we managed to have a nice afternoon but we certainly won't be back! The chefs God complex is much bigger than his abilities but at those prices I would have expected better!
This was a fab bar/restaurant at one time then Tommy left.
The staff now are rude they ignore you and chat amongst themselves when customers are waiting to be served.
Staff need lessons on customer service for sure we shouldnt have to wait 30 mins for a drink at the bar when its quiet.
We definately wont be back and we wont be recommending
If I could give 0 stars I would.service not just slow but was going backwards , have been waited over a hour n 20 for food n when ask where our order was staff where about as much use as a chocolate fire guard . Will not be returning and certainly would not recommend . P.s still waiting for the food �����***update*** food finally came and was very nice we also got a free round of drinks n 20% off the bill . So would add another star but still not going back !
I can’t believe this lovely place has gone down hill so quick, we went for dinner last night, the food was uneatable, the fish was so hard I couldn’t cut it, my daughters chicken was rock hard, that bad a knife couldn’t cut it. The sea bass came burnt (black). The managers reaction was a grunt and shocking he has no respect for his customers and no manners. Would not recommend this place to any one.. avoid
Yet again another delicious meal . We run a b&b and recommend all our guests to eat here .
What a fabulous experience! My wife had a delicious salmon dish and I had the highland chicken. This was our favorite restaurant and best meal in Scotland. Highly recommend!
We were recommended several places in the vicinity of our hotel. They were all booked or had interesting (not good menus). We found this little gem in the midst of the rain, late at night and were more than pleasantly surprised. We even went there twice during our stay in Inverness! Food was great, service was fanstasic. Very friendly staff and atmosphere, very welcoming! Highly recommend!
I love this place I have stayed in inverness on business and have eaten here 4nights in a row and the food is fabulous so tasty and both menus would appeal to everyone and you definitly get what you pay for, so hat off to the chefs. The staff are friendly and very attentive. The manager needs to just smile more but very professional . I would recommend to everyone visiting inverness 🖒
Awesome place, great ambience and good craic with the staff.
Had the sea bass and loved it , great taste and texture with crispy skin , which I love and recommend as a health kick idea.
Go and check it out , will definitely go back soon.
�������
Amazing food and great service! Will definitely be back.
Absolutely fab! Honestly one of the best places in town.
Had meal for Valentine’s Day, beautiful cosy place and the service was incredible!
Absolutely amazing food, beautifully presented and tasted incredible. I had the mushroom and goats cheese, risotto, and cheese cake -with glitter somehow? Staff were lovely and attentive; 10 of us pre-booked on a Friday night and everything came relatively on time, being seated at 8 and finishing our meals at 10. One at our table received a soup spoon with her cheese cake (in a glass) but it was easily laughed off. Will most definitely be returning!
Went in for lunch yesterday , it was very quiet and when we were ready to order there was no one at the bar, so had to go for someone to help. Looking at the menu it only had one Gluten Free item - a dessert & no mention of any other options, we decided to see if they had Gluten Free bread We eventually got a nice young waitress , who checked to see if they had Gluten Free bread & found out they had , she then took our order - Club Sandwich - all good.
Only frustrating thing - dressing on the salad - please put it in the side so that people have the option to add it if they require it. If it's not used, it can be used for someone who does want it.
Plus say you have Gluten Free Bread - by looking at the menu there was no mention of it , other than on Chefs Selection and that was a dessert.
There are a lot of people now Gluten Intolerant , so you are missing vital business opportunities.
Fantastic Xmas meal, everyone in our group was extremely impressed, great value. Great atmosphere and had a real blast. Only reason did not give 5 stars is because music too loud to have a conversion across the tables and even when asked to turn it down, it wasn't 😡
I was able to get a table for three on a Saturday night which should have given me an indication. The service was sketchy and the dish was lacking. I would not recommend it’
Had lunch today with my friend and my 2 year old daughter. Our meal of fish cakes was nice although was a bit cold. I ordered the fish for my daughter, it arrived with chips and salad, the fish was huge but on inspection it was 70-30 raw batter to fish.
When the plates were eventually cleared I had to ask for the ice cream as part of the meal deal, we waited 10/15 mins for this to come... got fed up waiting and so asked for the bill. The waitress did ask if we wanted to take it away with us (why??) but we declined.
Service is pretty poor and kids menu needs to be reviewed.
Went in last night for a drink around 9.00ish and was completely ignored trying to get a drink. Only one person serving, I was the only other person waiting for a drink. The manager who was washing glasses looked at me a few times but continued with what he was doing. The other barman then disappeared. After one and half songs played by the male musician I give up and left.
Since I moved here I have wanted to try this place out because a) I have been told to go and b) when you walk by it has a great look and ambiance from the outside.
I popped on the website to see the menu and saw I could make reservations online. I attempted this, but it did not work. I phoned up and had to try it 3 or 4 times before it wasn’t busy.
We got there early and chose to have a drink at the bar before sitting down. The old map of Inverness on the ceiling is brilliant. And like any good bar, it had hooks for purses, coats, etc. Once the lighting was turned down for the evening, it had a nice ambiance.
We were seated promptly at our reservation time. The chairs are small bar/cocktail chairs so not the most comfortable when having a dinner, but that is just my preference. I wish there would have been hooks for coats/purses because of the size and shape of the chairs it is hard to drape your coat on them, again a personal preference and an attention to detail that not everyone is always concerned about.
Overall:
They have a great concept and ambiance. They make it out to be a higher end establishment with cigars, a variety of whiskies, some of their food selection, prices, etc. and while they have made sure the overall experience with feel of the place is nice, the lack of attention to detail with certain items and lack of service make it more of a “scene place” and not a place you frequent because of the quality of food and service.
Some of the flavours of the food were very good and I did really enjoy it. However, for our date night to start with a somewhat unpleasant experience like this, I am in no rush to go back.
If I were to go back it would be for the bar to have some drinks and some starters.
Service:
The service was slow, poor and lacking overall. We had to go to the bar to get drinks, they did not check back in an appropriate amount of time so we had to wait when we wanted something, they did not clear the plates. We saw the server had just taken an order for a bigger table and we told her we could wait a minute thinking she would be back after she put in the order. We waited and waited; finally my partner went up to the bar to pay the tab. He saw our server standing there at the bar sipping on what he presumed to be water.
We had given just over 2 hours to be able to be at our next stop for the evening. Because of the slow service at times we were unable to order any after dinner drinks or dessert. The reservation time was the one that was suggested by the gentleman who took the reservation on the phone.
I will note that the original server we had appeared to be someone for the bar and eventually we had another server. The second server was a little bit better at checking in, but at times appeared unsure of what to do. She did look like she was a little overwhelmed and may have had too many tables. I am not sure.
Food:
Mussels – The creamy, garlic sauce was amazing! That is why we wanted more bread because we wanted to enjoy that more. When we ordered more bread it wasn’t the crusty bread we had been given originally and what it states on the menu, but it was nice.
Out of the big portion of mussels that was ordered, quite a few of them were empty which was pretty disappointing. They also did not bring a bowl for the empty shells, an important attention to detail. The butter they brought out with the bread for this starter was cold so it was hard to spread and it was in a plastic packet. Soft butter in a ramekin would be one of those attention to detail items that would make the experience nicer and fit more into the feel the establishment is going for, higher end.
Black Pudding and Goat Cheese Bonbons – The flavour of these were very good. The goat cheese complimented the black pudding nicely. You only get three for almost £7, which I thought, was a little pricey.
Bread, Olives & Dips – The crusty bread (4 slices), which appeared to be tiger bread, was very good. The olives were fabulous and the dip was olive oil and a drop of balsamic vinegar. When I saw dips on the menu I saw plural and thought there might be more, but there wasn’t. The olive oil the olives came in was a good dip as well so that might be where the plural came from for the dip. The small ramekins they served the olives and O&V in were pretty small and not the easiest to get the olives out and dip the bread.
Ribeye:
The peppercorn sauce was so good. The chips had a nice roasted flavour to them. The steak had an all right flavour. One thing I have noticed here in the Highlands is chefs are afraid to use a little bit of salt and pepper to help bring out the flavour in the steak. Maybe they did add it and I just couldn’t tell.
The way they were cooked was disappointing. The rare was more of a medium rare and the medium rare was more of a medium to medium well.
Came in to watch the rugby at around 20 past 4 for a 4:45 kick off. Found a table and got ourselves some drinks. Half 5 comes and someone comes and sticks a reserved sign on the table for 6 without saying anything. Terrible customer service!
We were here on Saturday 13th Jan for a wee get together with 14 of the volunteers I work with for a charity. The place has lovely decor, very friendly bar and waiting staff but unfortunately the chef completely let them all down with his poor customer service and unprofessional attitude!
My mother suffers from chronic anaphylaxis due to having Angioedema and Urticaria so this limits the foods she can eat so we had asked if it was possible if she could have a plain omelette and chips? Not difficult right? Well it was simply too much for this chef! He refused to do it and let someone in a table of 15 sit there without lunch because he couldn't be bothered. The poor waitress was mortified! Now, had it been my booking,I would have taken all 15 of us up and out of the place but out of respect for the ladies that had arranged the get together, we bit our tongues.
Now the menu caters for vegetarians, vegans and gluten free options but the man can't even rustle up an omelette? It is laughable! Returning business is obviously not what this business needs.....although they are certainly alone in this approach to customer service! So, now I am left wondering if he can even actually cook ......or if it is all coming in pre prepared in his deliveries.....it really does beg he question?
All in all, we managed to have a nice afternoon but we certainly won't be back! The chefs God complex is much bigger than his abilities but at those prices I would have expected better!
This was a fab bar/restaurant at one time then Tommy left.
The staff now are rude they ignore you and chat amongst themselves when customers are waiting to be served.
Staff need lessons on customer service for sure we shouldnt have to wait 30 mins for a drink at the bar when its quiet.
We definately wont be back and we wont be recommending
If I could give 0 stars I would.service not just slow but was going backwards , have been waited over a hour n 20 for food n when ask where our order was staff where about as much use as a chocolate fire guard . Will not be returning and certainly would not recommend . P.s still waiting for the food �����***update*** food finally came and was very nice we also got a free round of drinks n 20% off the bill . So would add another star but still not going back !
I can’t believe this lovely place has gone down hill so quick, we went for dinner last night, the food was uneatable, the fish was so hard I couldn’t cut it, my daughters chicken was rock hard, that bad a knife couldn’t cut it. The sea bass came burnt (black). The managers reaction was a grunt and shocking he has no respect for his customers and no manners. Would not recommend this place to any one.. avoid
Yet again another delicious meal . We run a b&b and recommend all our guests to eat here .
What a fabulous experience! My wife had a delicious salmon dish and I had the highland chicken. This was our favorite restaurant and best meal in Scotland. Highly recommend!
We were recommended several places in the vicinity of our hotel. They were all booked or had interesting (not good menus). We found this little gem in the midst of the rain, late at night and were more than pleasantly surprised. We even went there twice during our stay in Inverness! Food was great, service was fanstasic. Very friendly staff and atmosphere, very welcoming! Highly recommend!
I love this place I have stayed in inverness on business and have eaten here 4nights in a row and the food is fabulous so tasty and both menus would appeal to everyone and you definitly get what you pay for, so hat off to the chefs. The staff are friendly and very attentive. The manager needs to just smile more but very professional . I would recommend to everyone visiting inverness 🖒
Awesome place, great ambience and good craic with the staff.
Had the sea bass and loved it , great taste and texture with crispy skin , which I love and recommend as a health kick idea.
Go and check it out , will definitely go back soon.
�������
Amazing food and great service! Will definitely be back.
Absolutely fab! Honestly one of the best places in town.
Had meal for Valentine’s Day, beautiful cosy place and the service was incredible!
Absolutely amazing food, beautifully presented and tasted incredible. I had the mushroom and goats cheese, risotto, and cheese cake -with glitter somehow? Staff were lovely and attentive; 10 of us pre-booked on a Friday night and everything came relatively on time, being seated at 8 and finishing our meals at 10. One at our table received a soup spoon with her cheese cake (in a glass) but it was easily laughed off. Will most definitely be returning!
Went in for lunch yesterday , it was very quiet and when we were ready to order there was no one at the bar, so had to go for someone to help. Looking at the menu it only had one Gluten Free item - a dessert & no mention of any other options, we decided to see if they had Gluten Free bread We eventually got a nice young waitress , who checked to see if they had Gluten Free bread & found out they had , she then took our order - Club Sandwich - all good.
Only frustrating thing - dressing on the salad - please put it in the side so that people have the option to add it if they require it. If it's not used, it can be used for someone who does want it.
Plus say you have Gluten Free Bread - by looking at the menu there was no mention of it , other than on Chefs Selection and that was a dessert.
There are a lot of people now Gluten Intolerant , so you are missing vital business opportunities.
Fantastic Xmas meal, everyone in our group was extremely impressed, great value. Great atmosphere and had a real blast. Only reason did not give 5 stars is because music too loud to have a conversion across the tables and even when asked to turn it down, it wasn't 😡
I was able to get a table for three on a Saturday night which should have given me an indication. The service was sketchy and the dish was lacking. I would not recommend it’
Had lunch today with my friend and my 2 year old daughter. Our meal of fish cakes was nice although was a bit cold. I ordered the fish for my daughter, it arrived with chips and salad, the fish was huge but on inspection it was 70-30 raw batter to fish.
When the plates were eventually cleared I had to ask for the ice cream as part of the meal deal, we waited 10/15 mins for this to come... got fed up waiting and so asked for the bill. The waitress did ask if we wanted to take it away with us (why??) but we declined.
Service is pretty poor and kids menu needs to be reviewed.
Went in last night for a drink around 9.00ish and was completely ignored trying to get a drink. Only one person serving, I was the only other person waiting for a drink. The manager who was washing glasses looked at me a few times but continued with what he was doing. The other barman then disappeared. After one and half songs played by the male musician I give up and left.
Since I moved here I have wanted to try this place out because a) I have been told to go and b) when you walk by it has a great look and ambiance from the outside.
I popped on the website to see the menu and saw I could make reservations online. I attempted this, but it did not work. I phoned up and had to try it 3 or 4 times before it wasn’t busy.
We got there early and chose to have a drink at the bar before sitting down. The old map of Inverness on the ceiling is brilliant. And like any good bar, it had hooks for purses, coats, etc. Once the lighting was turned down for the evening, it had a nice ambiance.
We were seated promptly at our reservation time. The chairs are small bar/cocktail chairs so not the most comfortable when having a dinner, but that is just my preference. I wish there would have been hooks for coats/purses because of the size and shape of the chairs it is hard to drape your coat on them, again a personal preference and an attention to detail that not everyone is always concerned about.
Overall:
They have a great concept and ambiance. They make it out to be a higher end establishment with cigars, a variety of whiskies, some of their food selection, prices, etc. and while they have made sure the overall experience with feel of the place is nice, the lack of attention to detail with certain items and lack of service make it more of a “scene place” and not a place you frequent because of the quality of food and service.
Some of the flavours of the food were very good and I did really enjoy it. However, for our date night to start with a somewhat unpleasant experience like this, I am in no rush to go back.
If I were to go back it would be for the bar to have some drinks and some starters.
Service:
The service was slow, poor and lacking overall. We had to go to the bar to get drinks, they did not check back in an appropriate amount of time so we had to wait when we wanted something, they did not clear the plates. We saw the server had just taken an order for a bigger table and we told her we could wait a minute thinking she would be back after she put in the order. We waited and waited; finally my partner went up to the bar to pay the tab. He saw our server standing there at the bar sipping on what he presumed to be water.
We had given just over 2 hours to be able to be at our next stop for the evening. Because of the slow service at times we were unable to order any after dinner drinks or dessert. The reservation time was the one that was suggested by the gentleman who took the reservation on the phone.
I will note that the original server we had appeared to be someone for the bar and eventually we had another server. The second server was a little bit better at checking in, but at times appeared unsure of what to do. She did look like she was a little overwhelmed and may have had too many tables. I am not sure.
Food:
Mussels – The creamy, garlic sauce was amazing! That is why we wanted more bread because we wanted to enjoy that more. When we ordered more bread it wasn’t the crusty bread we had been given originally and what it states on the menu, but it was nice.
Out of the big portion of mussels that was ordered, quite a few of them were empty which was pretty disappointing. They also did not bring a bowl for the empty shells, an important attention to detail. The butter they brought out with the bread for this starter was cold so it was hard to spread and it was in a plastic packet. Soft butter in a ramekin would be one of those attention to detail items that would make the experience nicer and fit more into the feel the establishment is going for, higher end.
Black Pudding and Goat Cheese Bonbons – The flavour of these were very good. The goat cheese complimented the black pudding nicely. You only get three for almost £7, which I thought, was a little pricey.
Bread, Olives & Dips – The crusty bread (4 slices), which appeared to be tiger bread, was very good. The olives were fabulous and the dip was olive oil and a drop of balsamic vinegar. When I saw dips on the menu I saw plural and thought there might be more, but there wasn’t. The olive oil the olives came in was a good dip as well so that might be where the plural came from for the dip. The small ramekins they served the olives and O&V in were pretty small and not the easiest to get the olives out and dip the bread.
Ribeye:
The peppercorn sauce was so good. The chips had a nice roasted flavour to them. The steak had an all right flavour. One thing I have noticed here in the Highlands is chefs are afraid to use a little bit of salt and pepper to help bring out the flavour in the steak. Maybe they did add it and I just couldn’t tell.
The way they were cooked was disappointing. The rare was more of a medium rare and the medium rare was more of a medium to medium well.
Came in to watch the rugby at around 20 past 4 for a 4:45 kick off. Found a table and got ourselves some drinks. Half 5 comes and someone comes and sticks a reserved sign on the table for 6 without saying anything. Terrible customer service!
We were here on Saturday 13th Jan for a wee get together with 14 of the volunteers I work with for a charity. The place has lovely decor, very friendly bar and waiting staff but unfortunately the chef completely let them all down with his poor customer service and unprofessional attitude!
My mother suffers from chronic anaphylaxis due to having Angioedema and Urticaria so this limits the foods she can eat so we had asked if it was possible if she could have a plain omelette and chips? Not difficult right? Well it was simply too much for this chef! He refused to do it and let someone in a table of 15 sit there without lunch because he couldn't be bothered. The poor waitress was mortified! Now, had it been my booking,I would have taken all 15 of us up and out of the place but out of respect for the ladies that had arranged the get together, we bit our tongues.
Now the menu caters for vegetarians, vegans and gluten free options but the man can't even rustle up an omelette? It is laughable! Returning business is obviously not what this business needs.....although they are certainly alone in this approach to customer service! So, now I am left wondering if he can even actually cook ......or if it is all coming in pre prepared in his deliveries.....it really does beg he question?
All in all, we managed to have a nice afternoon but we certainly won't be back! The chefs God complex is much bigger than his abilities but at those prices I would have expected better!
This was a fab bar/restaurant at one time then Tommy left.
The staff now are rude they ignore you and chat amongst themselves when customers are waiting to be served.
Staff need lessons on customer service for sure we shouldnt have to wait 30 mins for a drink at the bar when its quiet.
We definately wont be back and we wont be recommending
If I could give 0 stars I would.service not just slow but was going backwards , have been waited over a hour n 20 for food n when ask where our order was staff where about as much use as a chocolate fire guard . Will not be returning and certainly would not recommend . P.s still waiting for the food �����***update*** food finally came and was very nice we also got a free round of drinks n 20% off the bill . So would add another star but still not going back !
I can’t believe this lovely place has gone down hill so quick, we went for dinner last night, the food was uneatable, the fish was so hard I couldn’t cut it, my daughters chicken was rock hard, that bad a knife couldn’t cut it. The sea bass came burnt (black). The managers reaction was a grunt and shocking he has no respect for his customers and no manners. Would not recommend this place to any one.. avoid