Dinner in Braemar Scotland

When it came time to go out for dinner, we followed the advice of our host at the Callater Lodge.  Julian confirmed my selection of the restaurant in Braemar Hotel…

The location was right, that’s for sure.  The Braemar Lodge Hotel and Restaurant with its adjacent Log Cabins and Bunkhouse is located just across the street from Callater Lodge.

This property offers 7 en-suite guest rooms in the Lodge itself plus it has 9 self-catering cabins with 1 or 3 bedrooms as well as a self-catering bunkhouse that sleeps up to 12 guests.

It was a gray day and evening…but like everywhere else in Scotland, there were plenty of flowers to brighten up the mood!

This wood paneled room is the Braemar Lodge Hotel’s Malt Whisky Bar.  They have a sign posted that this is not a pub!  The room with its welcoming fireplace is full of hunting trophies. 

It didn’t take much time for Bill and me to ‘belly up’ to the Malt Whisky Bar.  Despite Braemar Lodge Hotel’s selection of over 200 varieties of malt whisky, I had to pass, instead opting for a local beer.  I used to love single malt whisky but now it’s about the only food or drink item that my digestive system just can’t handle…sad...

Both Laurie and Bonnie decided to go for local Scottish gin based mixed drinks before dinner. 

  

The dining room at Braemar Lodge is open and airy with lots of windows along one side.  As you can see, they were quite busy and it was still early in the evening…

For her entrée, Laurie jumped out there ordering a dish that was never repeated in any other restaurant or by another other name during our trip…in either Scotland or Ireland.  This is the Highland Game Pie. (16.00 BP/$20.95 U.S.) It was a mix of venison, rabbit, pheasant and guinea fowl topped with puff pastry and served with mashed potatoes and vegetables.  Laurie loved her meal! 

Two orders of this entrée graced our table.  This is the Oven Baked Salmon with a mushroom, white wine and cream sauce and served with mashed potatoes and vegetables. (16.00 BP/$20.95 U.S.) This was a very nicely plated offering and it was well received by Bonnie and Bill…

Another interesting offering on the menu was the Balmoral Chicken…a chicken breast wrapped in bacon and stuffed with haggis and served with a whisky cream sauce.  The only problem is that haggis must be an acquired taste so we all opted out on this entrée as well as the Haggis Bon Bons appetizer…

This was my very attractive entrée.  I ordered the Three Rib Rack of Lamb with cheese and herb crust and accompanied with Dauphinoise potatoes, chef’s selection of vegetables and mint scented gravy. (19.00 BP/$24.90 U.S.)

I’m sorry to report that I didn’t enjoy my entrée…and I love lamb in just about any format.  The chops were tough and they lacked any real flavor.  I don’t really like mint (sweet) with my meat, but I made an exception in this instance just to give the meat some flavor.  Oh well!  Braemar Lodge Hotel’s restaurant scored well on 3 of the 4 entrees…

Then we went to the dessert menu… This was the Sticky Toffee and Banana Pudding with vanilla ice cream and a warm toffee sauce.  It was very nice!  All of our desserts cost the same… (6.00 BP/$7.85 U.S.)

This dessert was a bit unusual but it was good.  This is the Apple Pie topped with meringue and served with custard.

The other nice dessert ordered at our table was this Apple and Rhubarb Crumble with vanilla ice cream.  I was sort of surprised that no one ordered the Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake but we all wanted to try desserts that we don’t normally encounter in the USA…

With the exception of my entrée, our dining experience at Braemar Lodge Hotel’s restaurant was a positive experience.  Service was competent and the dining room was comfortable.  This facility is located at 6 Glenshee Road (A93) in Braemar.  To learn more about this hotel, its accommodations and the restaurant, you can go to http://www.braemarlodge.co.uk/.

That’s all for now.  On my next posting, we’ll be moving north and west to the Atlantic Coast of Scotland.

Thanks for dropping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave