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| Cawdor Tavern |
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A roaring log fire dominates the oak-panelled lounge bar and provides the perfect welcome at this beautiful country pub and restaurant in the heart of Cawdor.
The Tavern gives a nod to the nation’s most famous bard, William Shakespeare, with a bust of the man who made the nearby castle a literary landmark in his tale of Macbeth.
A magnet for locals, it is also a hit with visitors who may want to try some of the local produce and ales on offer.
The lunch and dinner menus change with the season and the chef’s specials are altered daily, providing additional choice to a range of meals of which the majority include traditional Scottish ingredients.
Arriving on a cold, wet and wild night, the warmth of the homely dining area gave the ideal first impression.
I started my meal with the soup of the day, an interesting combination of vine tomato, rocket and black pepper. It was masterful and provided a delightful kick to warm the cockles.
My companion opted for the brie, served with a salad and chutney. It was a tasty and light choice, but both starters were somewhat let down by the homemade soda bread.
In fairness, the bread was an extra offered before the meals, but the stodginess made it similar to crumbling cardboard.
Speedy service was also a treat and I was soon devouring my main course of venison burger, chips and salad.
It was my first experience of venison and I loved it. Despite the burger being slightly small and not inside a bread roll, the meat was strong and powerful and complimented by the chopped onions and melted mozzarella.
There were mixed feelings over my companion’s choice of grilled seabass taken from the specials menu. The fish was cooked well but the mushroom and tomato risotto made little impact and seemed a fairly bland addition which could have been improved perhaps simply by swapping the whole tomato slices for cherry tomatoes.
Needing a little lift, thankfully the dessert delivered for me, but unfortunately not for my companion.
I went for the Belgian chocolate tart which included hazelnut and marshmallow and was a sweet and gooey finale, while my companion’s original choice of passion fruit tart with lemon cream was unavailable.
Instead she settled for the apple crumble and vanilla custard which was reminiscent of school dinners. It was okay, but we really expected a bit more flair for the £4.75 price tag.
Disappointingly, when given our bill, it included the dessert we did not have — an easy but possibly costly mistake we thankfully spotted.
The edge was also taken off our evening by a local radio station hosting a quiz night in the adjacent room. The Inverness Courier’s columnist Nicky Marr, a presenter on MFR, is absolutely fine heard on the drive to work, but maybe a bit over the top repeatedly asking questions when you are trying to enjoy a relaxing three courses.
Since our visit, the menu has been altered to reflect the move into spring and the new options are intriguing and include Chicken Culloden, Moray Pork, Scottish rib-eye steak and oven-roasted Mediterranean vegetable stack.
Despite it not hitting top marks throughout, I was impressed enough to decide to go back to try the new menu soon — but I will definitely check if it is quiz night again first!
