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
Sorry about your lamb but Laurie's meal sounds outstanding.
ReplyDeleteInteresting meal for sure.... I think I'd opt for the salmon... I struggle getting things I've never tried before---but know that is what I should do when traveling... As much as I love rhubarb --I'm sure I'd love that Crumble... YUM...
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
Just wrote u a comment and it disappeared, friend David ...hmmm ... Love, cat.
ReplyDelete