I KNOW it is a cliché but first impressions are important, especially when visiting a restaurant.
I assumed on a rare warm summer evening during the Barclays Scottish Open week earlier this month that the North Kessock Hotel and Resturant would be thronging with guests.
When choosing it, I made sure I booked outdoor seating well in advance and looked forward to the picturesque views of the Beauly Firth.Unfortunately, how I imagined it was not how it transpired.
On our arrival, my companion and I instantly spotted our reserved table in a prime location beside the hotel’s veranda.
Surprisingly only one other outdoor table was occupied but we came across plenty of indoor diners when we informed the bar staff of our arrival.
After welcoming us, the waitress quickly pointed out all food and drinks orders outside need to be made at the bar. I was taken aback because, although it was only a short distance, it did mean passing through the busy indoor restaurant several times during the evening.
After settling in our seats we took a moment to savour the views — beyond the car park, bottle bank, public toilets and bus shelter.
It was far from the ideal start but at least the weather was nice and it was peaceful, perhaps too much so, to a point where a speaker playing quiet classical music might have added to the atmosphere.
After perusing the menu we returned to the bar to order our food. The indoor area seemed nice and cosy with swing music in the background and there was another separate bar area with a pool table.
I decided to test out the sparse vegetarian options, starting with the grilled goat’s cheese served on a beetroot chutney and toasted brioche. The dish attempted to offset the sour cheese by using the sweet beetroot but to me it was a mistake.
It is probably an acquired taste — I thought the cheese tasted too much like sweaty socks, while the beetroot was sickly.
My companion went for the special seared scallops with chorizo and cauliflower puree. The contrast between the spicy meat and lighter scallops — which were a little rubbery — was instantly apparent with the pork overpowering everything.
Grilled polenta with sun-dried tomatoes, basil pesto and rocket salad was the only vegetarian main. At £10.95 it felt somewhat overpriced.
I must admit I was a little hazy about polenta — and was none the wiser after a quick Google search on my companion’s phone discovered contrasting websites, some claiming it originates from northern Italy as peasant food while others stated it was a favourite among Roman aristocrats. To me it tasted cheesy and looked as if it contained nothing more exciting than a substance similar to bland cous cous. The pesto was okay, as were the tomatoes and salad but it was nothing special.
King prawn scampi — on the menu king prawns in a light breadcrumb — was chosen by my companion and was £1.50 cheaper. Served with handcut chips and tossed salad, it also included the added bonuses of coleslaw and a dish of tartar sauce. Although the sauce left a lingering gherkin taste, it was a satisfying plateful at a reasonable price.
The salad included a mystery element which my companion asked the waitress to identify when she collected our plates, but she could not and promised to return with the answer, but did not.
At that point we probably should have called it a night, but I wanted my meal to end on a high and thankfully that arrived with my vanilla and white chocolate cheesecake dessert. If I wanted to be picky I could say it was too small and the biscuit base made it taste a little dry but I prefer to savour the positives because it is the only part of my meal I would contemplate eating again.
My companion’s mixed berry pavlova with Chantilly cream was also pleasant and the meringue was chewy.
The presentation of the dishes throughout was second to none and if the food had tasted as good as it looked, the surroundings and service could have been somewhat forgiven.
More focus has to be placed on the overall first impressions rather than just the first impressions of the food on the plates.
