Lochleven Seafood Café – Excellent!

I always research both places to stay and dining opportunities when we plan a trip.  With this big trip to Scotland and Ireland, I really focused on quality…

We had really been looking forward to dinner at the Lochleven Seafood Café near our hotel in Ballachulish Scotland.  The only question was…would the meal match the hype surrounding this restaurant?

That big green building houses the café’s sister company, Lochleven Shellfish.  They have been exporting live shellfish to Europe and the Far East for many years.  What started as a place where some locals could buy fresh shellfish and later some simple meals eaten outside on picnic tables evolved into the idea of a restaurant.  Thus was born the Lochleven Seafood Café!  It opened in 2006…    

The interior of the Lochleven Seafood Café has a modern touch…simple and straightforward with some interesting wall mounted sculptures to set the tone. 

We started out with a couple of pints of River Leven Blonde…and excellent light lager.  It’s brewed in Kinlochleven, a small village about 6 miles up the road at the head of Loch Leven.

The day we arrived in Ballaculish was dreary and gray but the view out of the windows of the restaurant over the loch was still impressive.

We consumed a couple of bread baskets with these great rolls and olive oil for dipping. (1.25 pounds sterling/$1.60 U.S.) We preferred butter with the rolls and we were provided with an ample supply…

I’m not into olives but everyone else at the table was…especially the ladies.  This order of Mixed Olives from the “Side Dishes and Nibbles” portion of the menu satisfied everyone’s desire for these treats.  It was a lot of olives for 3.00 pounds sterling/$3.90 U.S.

This bowl of Palourdes (carpet clams) grilled with garlic butter was very well received by everyone. (7.95 pounds sterling/$10.30 U.S.)

Shellfish is caught daily, some with Lochleven’s own boats.  The catch is brought to the distribution center on site where its stored live in seawater tanks in order to maintain the best possible quality until its exported or used in the restaurant. 

Then there was this beautiful bowl of Shellfish Soup! (7.95 pounds sterling/10.30 U.S.) It was another winner!

…and of course someone had to go for a half dozen Loch Creran Oysters! (9 pounds sterling/$11.70 U.S.) So fresh!

Another early choice was a bowl of Cullen Skink. (5.25 pounds sterling/6.80 U.S.) It was terrific!

So what the heck is Cullen Skink?  It isn’t the most appetizing name but this thick Scottish soup is full of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions.  This is true rainy weather comfort food! 

Laurie ordered the Roasted Langoustines for her entrée. (22.95 pounds sterling/$29.80 U.S.) She made short work out of this pile of fresh shellfish!

After all of the starters and nibbles, Bonnie decided to order a light dinner.  This was her Grilled Half Lobster with garlic butter and a House Salad. (19.95 pounds sterling/$25.90 U.S.) It was excellent!

I got a little exotic…at least by my standards.  This was my Diver Harvested Scallops dinner with Bacon. (21.50 pounds sterling/$27.95 U.S.) These large scallops were the best I’ve had in many years!

Of course, I had to save the biggest, ‘baddest’ and best for last.  Bill loves shellfish and he couldn’t resist this humongous entrée!  This is the Shellfish Platter for one with 3 dipping sauces. (40.00 pounds sterling/$52.00 U.S.) It contained lobster, clams, oysters, mussels, langoustines, etc., everything that can be served on ice.  Bill stayed with this and didn’t talk much as he demolished this delicious shellfish extravaganza!   

Our server took this photo of our little group as we were attacking our entrees… From the left, Laurie, yours truly, Bonnie and Bill.

Note:

·         We encountered a true curiosity when dining in Scotland and Ireland.  There is probably a good reason…perhaps a legality…for the practice but if you ask to divvy up the bill for the table based on what each couple ordered, confusion sometime reigns.  The server is always willing but they don’t write separate bills when they take the order for the table, even though we asked them if they  could do so.

Instead, they split the bill 'after' the total bill is completed.  It takes extra effort on the restaurant or server’s part and, especially at the Lochleven Seafood Café, the cashier struggled with our sizeable bill for some time.  We had to go over the bill and indicate who was responsible for which items in order to complete the process.  It wasn’t a problem for us but we never did get an explanation as to why it’s done this way…

What the heck… We just had to overdo it a bit more didn’t we?  Laurie and I shared this Traditional Scottish Cranachan. (5.50 pounds sterling/$7.15 U.S.)

FYI...Cranachan is a dessert that is usually made from a mixture of whipped cream, whisky, honey and fresh raspberries with toasted oatmeal soaked in the little bit of whisky.  It was very good!

Bonnie and Bill ordered a selection of luscious Handmade Oban Chocolates. (3.0o pounds sterling/$3.90 U.S.) Like everything else at the Lochleven Seafood Café, they were excellent!

The Lochleven Seafood Café was easily the best restaurant that we experienced in Scotland…and we ate in some really good restaurants!  While it was expensive, this is one instance where we really got what we paid for…really fresh top notch seafood!  This is a MUST DINE restaurant for any travel itinerary covering western Scotland…

They are now closed for the season and will reopen in March of 2018.  The Lochleven Seafood Café is located in North Ballachulish, Onich Fort William.  Phone: 01855821048.  Their website is at www.lochlevenseafoodcafe.co.uk.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a fine seafood dinner!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave