Jenny N.
Yelp
Is there any feeling stronger than love? I didn't expect to find such great food in a small pub in Carbost, but it surprisingly ended up being my favorite food stop out of my entire vacation in Scotland, even up against restaurants such as the Number One and Culloden House. My husband and I dined here both nights we were in Carbost, and everything was spot on. The service, the food, the atmosphere-- it was everything I had hoped for in a Scottish pub.
We put our names in, ordered a couple pints and were seated when the first table became available with zero dallying. The staff was direct, helpful, and efficient-- with just enough cheek to keep customers well behaved.
The food came out quickly. We had fish and chips the first night, and jeez Louise, it was the best fish and chips I've ever had in my life! Cranachan for dessert was bliss.
On the second night, we had the hot smoked salmon starter and the special of scallops with wild garlic sauce. The salmon was delicious. But the scallops-- that was something special. They were piled so high when they came out that I can't tell you how big my eyeballs got, considering that I'm used to getting 4 scallops, at the most, when ordering seafood in the U.S. And what was mind blowing was that they kept the scallop roe on, which is unheard of where I come from. It was so rich and buttery, almost like uni. I asked the waitress where the scallops came from, and she basically said it came from the next village over, just this morning. Oh, be still, my heart.
My admiration for the Old Inn is beyond what I can write. This restaurant has it figured it out. They have their pub favorites, but their utilization and respect for local, fresh produce, seafood and meats was inspiring. And what's so phenomenal is that this is a pub. A tiny pub in a tiny town. You wouldn't really know about the Old Inn unless you visited the town itself, and was sent down by your innkeeper because it's the only place to eat for miles.
Inside and outside, the Old Inn is unassuming. There's nothing fancy about it, including their prices, and the staff just smile and shrug at compliments, like you're being weird or something, because they don't see the big deal in it.
Local traditional musicians play every Wednesday night and the atmosphere was electrifying. Here my husband and I thought we were getting away from the crowds by visiting Carbost, but apparently we weren't the only ones who had the same idea. We had the most amazing conversation with an Englishman and a Frenchman and their wives, strangers who wanted to rest their pints at our table. Why, of course!
It was like being at a crossroads where like-minded travelers briefly meet. We relished all the conversation going on around us, even though we didn't understand most of it. We were blown away by all the different languages spoken and by all the cultures that converged in this small space, in this little corner of the world.
I can go on and on.
