Isle of Mull Cheese and Spirit

The Glass Barn, Isle of Mull If you're visiting Tobermory and need a breath of fresh air away from the main harbour bustle, do yourself a huge favour and take the short trip to The Glass Barn. We absolutely loved this place—it's just a couple of miles outside town, making it a perfect lovely walking distance retreat. It’s wonderfully quaint and quiet, offering a genuine slice of peace. The whole setup is fabulous. You can immediately feel the energy and ethos of sustainability here; it’s genuinely wholesome. They serve up delicious homemade food, and the coffee is fantastic. If you’re looking for something stronger, even their spirits are great! Before you leave, make sure to visit the little farm shop. It’s stocked with produce right from their land, and you get that wonderful feeling of walking away content, knowing you supported a fantastic local spot. It’s a truly rewarding experience rooted in the land and the people who run it. The Glass Barn is more than just a café; it’s a wholesome little escape. A true homely experience of food with love ❤️

This review is for the tour. Outside of the tour, the cheese is an easy 5/5, the people are very friendly, and we have no comments on the cafe as we didn't visit it. I learned in hindsight that this place has received a lot of social media attention, is popular on Instagram, and has a celebrity association with Banjo Beale. Several people on the tour had never had the cheese, but knew of the place through Banjo Beale. This positioning goes a long way to explain why the tour ended up being superficial and generic. Pros: I've been eating this cheese for years and years, so it's fun to be able to visit where it's made. Farm animals are always a delight. The farm is small and cute. Cons: the tour was not serious. It was superficial, and targeted at people whom already happen to be in Tobermory and are looking for a way to spend an afternoon. It was not in any way targeted at a person who loves cheese and would go out of their way to come and visit, as we had. The tour had too many people on it - I believe 14 adults and 2 children. The content of the tour was scripted and surface-level, and the guide was new to cheese-making so struggled to go into more detail when questioned. A ten minute blog post or YouTube video would give you the level of detail that we got. The tour lacked depth beyond this, and the tour guide lacked experience to be able to distinguish and contrast the unique characteristics of Mull cheese making. At points the tour guide was too vague, such as being unable to explain the motivation behind the on-site whey distillery, beyond "diversification". Overall, the frustration of the tour was that it was designed to avoid overloading tourgoers in details and terminology, but in doing so stripped away nuance and detail that would make it worth visiting in the first place for an enthusiast. Perhaps they need to offer two tiers of tour: one basic and one more in-depth, similar to how distilleries do. As it stands, if you're more deeply interested in the cheesemaking process, don't go out of your way to come here and don't expect something special.

Loved the farm tour (Troy was great), particularly seeing the cheese store and the adorable piglets and calves. The scones were delicious, but the toastie was quite disappointing - just melted cheese in cheap supermarket bread. The glasshouse is absolutely beautiful - one of the loveliest cafes I’ve ever been to.

Had a wonderful experience at Sgriob-Ruadh Farm The Isle of Mull Cheese Farm Cafe and Distillery. Staff were friendly and very informative. Distillery offerings were very suprising (Oak Aged Wheyski - whisky was my favourite and I made a purchase). Cheese tasting was also very tasty. Freshly made coffe and onsite baked cakes were delicious. Kath & Kim (Pigs) were Super Friendly. Well worth the effort if you are going to The Isle of Mull.

Went on a tour today with Troy - was fantastic! Super interesting to see the sustainability measures in place on the farm and how the farm has changed and grown over time. Goes without saying, the cheese was delicious and we loved discovering the whey spirits. Thanks for a great afternoon 😊

Troy was a joy, a delight of delicious cheese knowledge and epic tour guide legend! The whole ethos of the place, value for money of the tour which has the tasting at the end, and education is worth a visit alone. The reason it's 4 star; Before the tour we had tea and cake. Cake was delicious. Tea was barely warm. After the tour we had lunch. Slow service creating a long queue waiting for tables and then waiting for food. Perhaps today there was a staff shortage? Or a chef on holiday? Tea was barely hot, again. Cheese toastie used the cheapest corner shop brown bread. Macaroni was cold under the top layer. SUCH A SHAME we felt as the potential of this place is epic and it's clearly very popular. Food service must be improved, please guys!

Great visit, I recommend the tour. We loved hearing about the history and how the farm has evolved. The family were very welcoming which was much appreciated. The cafe is stunning and coffee and cake lovely. Top tip, get someone else to drive so you can taste the spirit!

The Glass Barn is a really cool (although actually quite warm given the weather outside!) place to eat. The food is very tasty, and the staff were nice. There was a really good range of food, from lighter bites such as soup or a toasted sandwich, to more substantial options such as pasta in a cheese sauce or hefty tasting platters. The cakes are also excellent, as was the coffee. The farm shop had a great selection of their produce, including chutneys/jams, cheeses and meats. Would definitely go again, as we did not get the chance to take a tour.