Inn at Ardgour Review

 

At one side of the Corran Ferry crossing by Loch Linnhe resides a white Inn by the name of Inn at Ardgour. Places to eat in the Scottish Highlands are few and far between. So, when you stumble across a place that looks reasonable from the outside you really hope the food and drink is going to be nice on the inside. On my recent holiday this particular Inn was one of the few places within an acceptable driving distance from our cabin. And given its close proximity to the ferry (which we used several times) it was definitely one of the most convenient places to eat.

We went there twice and we were disappointed both times.

The Inn looks quaint from the outside - it's nothing special from the on but it seemed pleasant enough.

The first time we were told we would have to wait 45 minutes before entering the restaurant (even though there were hardly any other customers there). Presumably, that's to get up to buy drinks; we were going to drink there anyway so if that was the reason it was pretty pointless. We were made to order from a standard menu in the empty bar area and were later marched into the half-empty restaurant exactly 45 minutes later. At that point it felt more like an army training camp than an enjoyable meal out but we'd yet to taste the food. The restaurant itself was fairly attractive and well-maintained. The real disappointment came when the food arrived. Between us we'd ordered a good variety of meals. Other than the mediocre haggis the rest of it was sub-standard. The venison burgers were dry and overcooked, the pie was stodgy and tasteless and the scampi was clearly deep-fried from a supermarket frozen packet. What was truly pathetic was the fact the small portions were served on such big plates. It was laughable that this restaurant tried to give off the image it was of Michelin Star stock yet it served up third-rate pub grub.

One of the barman then regaled us with a story of how he’d taken a couple to court for not paying for a meal. This isn’t the kind of thing I want to talk about when having a meal in the Scottish Highlands. I want to talk about the beautiful rolling glens and the vast array of Scotch whiskeys. I wondered, was I eating in Guantanamo Bay or an Highland Inn?

You might ask – why did we go there a second time?

As mentioned earlier, places to eat are few and far between; most places seem to stop serving at half past eight. We’d been for an excursion to the Isle of Mull and had left it dangerously close to the half eight mark before going out for food. Our favourite place was fully booked so we had to return to the Inn at Ardgour. This was better than not eating (only just).

The second time was even worse than the first time. They would not seat us in the restaurant as they were too busy. What ever happened to hospitality? Failing that what ever happened to running a good business? Why turn down customers? The patronising waitress told us we could feast on nuts and crisps instead. Having traveled so far we stayed for a couple of drinks and went home unfed.

I had a Pot Noodle when I got in – it was a lot better than the scampi I’d had at the Inn at Ardgour – you know you’re doing something wrong when you’re beaten by a plastic cup full of flavourings and MSG!

My advice is if you’re in the area go elsewhere. I have nothing but utter contempt for this place at their low quality of food and service. Hopefully, when this gets to the top of Google (above the Inn at Ardgour official site) the owners will read this.

When you do take this cooking tip from me: revenge is a dish best served cold.

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