Lochcarron Hotel 05-2021

Oddly enough it was very very difficult to find somewhere to eat for lunch along the drive from Torridon to Cairngorm. I suppose we had a late breakfast and checkout and so by the time we were hungry, places were closed (or not open during the quiet period even though it was a Bank Holiday Sunday). Parking next to the Lochcarron, we spotted this hotel which looked very closed from the outside. When we entered, we were the only 4 diners (at 4pm) and it appeared noone had been a guest there for a while...

They may even have fired up the kitchen just for us!

It was a simple pub menu including a decent steak & ale "pie" (a lovely stew with reasonably tender meat chunks with a pastry puff on top) and some local scampi.

Bo & Muc, Torridon 05-2021

Although not strictly in Torridon (it's in Achnasheen), it is located at The Torridon hotel where the stables are. They are the Gaellic words for pig and cow (vs. in Vietnamese where they are the words for beef and squid funnily enough) and the adorably fluffy Highland cattle can be seen right outside grazing away happily.

Given Scotland's newly opened travel, there weren't many options for dinner nearby but it was an available affordable place, that was happy to have us (even though we were supposed to leave by 8pm and were not allowed to drink alcohol inside). After the very long 7-8 hike up Beinn Alligin it was lovely to be able to sit inside and enjoy a meal.

- Sourdough, whipped butter, olives £4 - wouldn't normally have ordered this especially considering we had burgers but I think we were just so hungry. From memory it was nice spongy and seasoned;
- Highland beef burger (caramelised onion, gherkins, Isle of Mull cheddar, fries) £16 - it may seem counterintuitive to adore the cows and then eat one, but I wanted to try it just to know. It was served medium and was reasonable although I would have preferred a thicker patty. Honestly couldn't tell a difference between this and other beef, but I suppose that was unlikely to be the case with a patty;
- Aubergine burger (applewood smoked cheese, tomato sauce, parmesan, basil) £16 - a nice crumbed patty although would have been nice with a bit of salad in there;
- Sticky toffee pudding, vanilla icecream £8.5 - sweet, soft, hot, delicious.

Overall an adequate meal like a gastropub in a pleasant setting. The outdoor areas where people were drinking and watching the cows and scenery over the lake would be particularly lovely in normal times.

Lochinver Larder, Lochinver 04-2021

After a morning seeing the stunning (cold) blue waters of Achmelvich Bay, we passed back through Lochinver before the long scenic drive to Torridon (or Annat to be precise).

The eating options in Lochinver are sparse at the best of items I suspect and the larder's reviews for pies meant my eye was in well in advance. And after a series of convincing statements, encouraged the party to go there.

Because of the outdoor dining area close to the mouth of Loch Inver, we could get a socially distanced takeaway and still have a picnic-style table to enjoy our meals. Pies were cheap £5.95. I was a bit torn between steak & ale classic, venison cranberry, and savoury lamb.

In the end I chose the more mountainous venison & cranberry, which pleasantly had nice chunks of meat and a reasonably buttery pastry. A good pie, and even though not the best I've had, I could have had a second...

The Mustard Seed, Inverness 04-2021

We were making a very (very) long drive from Perth to Lochinver on a Thursday afternoon before the May bank holiday weekend and with the journey to take 7 hours, we needed a good break in between around dinner time. Although I was much less keen for a long sitdown (given our journey time and late arrival), I was overruled by the 3 passengers and we ended up in the little outskirts of Inverness along the River Ness.

The Mustard Seed has excellent Google ratings (4.5 from >1000), an available table booking, and also an early evening menu if you are there before 6.30pm. We sat down around 6.25pm or so and the waitress was only too happy to let us have the deal even though we didn't order for another 15mins. 2 courses for £14.95 is a really good price.

- Grilled local haggis with fig & caramelised onion relish, Arran mustard dressing & rocket salad - a fancy haggis in a black pudding form, finely spiced, crisp exterior and much nicer than the usual;
- Chicken, gammon & button mushroom pie topped with parmesan mash & served with braised leeks & cabbage - unconventional without the pastry, but the parmesn crusted top was full of flavour. The chunky meaty filling was good too.

Bellies full and onward to the sunset at Ullapool and then to sleep in Lochinver.

Kingshouse Hotel, Glencoe 04-2021

On the week Scotland opened up to the rest of the UK, many hospitality venues were still yet to open during the week saving themselves for the weekend or maybe even the Bank Holiday the week after. This mean a relative paucity of places to eat at and many meals instead cooked at home after buying from the local fishmonger or supermarket.

Unfortunately on this afternoon after a nice sunny, windy, cloudy and snowing hike partially up Devil's Staircase, we drove back east along the A82 to head back to our accommodation but the road was blocked and backed up. An accident had occured with severe injuries and there was no way to get through. Like many others, we turned around with no particular destination in mind. A detour around would take an extra 2h. Luckily for us Kingshouse Hotel was open and accepting visitors and not just their guests.

It's a beautiful setting across a highway, but with the mountains in the background and some unafraid deer. The seating areas outside (the only places you were allowed to drink alcohol under Scotland's rules) made for a lovely (albeit chilly) spot to watch.

Inside was nice and warm with a fireplace adding homeliness.

- Cullen skink (traditional soup of smoked haddock, potato & cream, crusty bread, butter) £8 - warm, delicious, hearty;
- Estate venison cobbler (with braised red cabbage & apple) £16 - very tender venison (interesting that we had just watched their brethren outside) with a pastry lid that was crispy but didn't have the lovely thick chewiness of proper pie pastry. Still very tasty.

Sad circumstances brought us here and we felt grateful for our lives.

Partisan, York 04-2021

Since it was the time of only outdoor dining, Partisan already had people at their two outdoor tables when they just opened at 9am. As we had a train departing around 9.20am, they were actually very nice about accepting my order by phone before they opened at 8.30 just to have it in time while we walked there. Nonetheless it still took them until about 9.10am to get us the food, but it was only a few minutes to the train so no big hurry.

When they gave us the bag they did say we've put it in a 2 paper bags as sometimes 1 paper bag breaks. Unfortunately they didn't tell us just how liquidy the Eggs in Purgatory was and  we put it in our backpack in not a flat enough position, and so unfolding it on the train discovered the liquid has torn through the bags and all throughout the backpack. Spicy tomato isn't the best thing to stain your items. I even clogged the train sink trying to wash it all out...

- Partisan Breakfast (two fried eggs, M&K herb sausage, smoked bacon and black pudding, vine tomatoes, home fries, mushroom, homemade smoky beans, sourdough toast and butter) £13 - excellent mushrooms, crisp salty bacon, sausage was fine. Bread a bit thin on the cut;
- Eggs in Purgatory (baked eggs, spicy Nduja sausage infused tomato sauce, topped with fresh parmesan and basil, served with Haxby bread) £13 - actually a really nice simmered rich tomato sauce, although not spicy. Sauce was everywhere.

The Golden Lion Hotel, Leyburn 04-2021

On a Sunday I wanted a Sunday roast. At 2pm it seemed remarkably difficult to find one - maybe because there was limited outdoor seating, reservations already on a very sunny day, and lots of places were just closed.

After lots of Google searching and driving to a few spots in despair, we eventually made it to Leyburn. There was a spare table outside and they still had roast available. Score!

When I ordered, I asked if I could have a medium-rare part. The young girl looked at me a little confused - it's all just cooked well done. Hmm my expectations plummeted. Oh well, too late to leave now.

Maybe it was the low expectations but I was pleasantly surprised by the food. Roast was cooked well done but the brisket was actually not dry and had some flavour. Yorkshire was very big and great crispness (which is hard to find) although low seasoning so needed the thick tasty gravy. Potato mash underneath, and bonus sides of pumpkin mash, caramelised red cabbage, and peas made it a better roast than usual. 

Overall very good.

The Magpie Cafe, Whitby 04-2021

Whitby fish and chips is a legendary thing, nothing of which I knew about until reading about this lovely seaside town. Despite all the travel restrictions, noone told anyone in Whitby and the streets were busy as we drove through looking for parking along the narrow streets, one very very steep street, and near the seaside.

Magpie Cafe and Trenchers seemed to be the popular options. After parking we walked past Magpie with an unclear expectation if we could eat there. Definitely not but there was an easy option to avoid the queue and order online to pickup. So we went walkabout and then ordered later while walking down from Whitby Abbey to save time. Interestingly people in the queue all seemed quite content to wait there rather than add themselves to the virtual queue instead.

Once picking up the heavy set meal, we found a nice seat on a slightly windy pier to enjoy the beach and ocean views.

Haddock and chips £8 was a bargain. The haddock was cooked perfectly, meaty and juicy with a crisp coating top and remarkably also the bottom too. No sog on these. Chips were decent. They weren't salted and a sprinkle made them great. Large mushy peas £1.4 were chunky, coloured deep and not fluorescent. Beans £1 were average like canned. Magpie Seafood Pot £12 was good with pieces of mussels, scampi, scallop and fish, and a very thick buttery white wine sauce eaten with an excellent soft bun. 

An exceptional fish especially for the price and well worth their reputation.

Florian Poirot, Malton 04-2021

I'd given up macarons for life I thought as I'd tried so many and always been disappointed. To me they all tasted like too much sugar.

Given the reviews and my travelling company, we decided to give these a go. And wow I can say these were truly excellent. Each flavour was very discernible and the texture of crisp shell interspersed with softer chew.

I'm sure I'll be disappointed again in the future because of these.