Harbour Inn and Restaurant, Bowmoreback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Looks good from outside and bar looked cosy - no ale though...
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We chose this place based on reputation. As we entered the cosy looking bar, some people were already enjoying fantastic looking platters of fresh seafood. On a chalkboard on the wall were the day's specials and we were keen to order and eat. When I tried to place our order at the bar, the barman said he had to check whether it was ok to take it and disappeared off into the back. He eventually came back saying that as the restaurant was busy, we couldn't order anything. What a disappointment. Although I had previously read that booking for the restaurant was advised, surely, on this basis, being busy shouldn't come as a surprise and should be planned for? Why advertise your food in a bar and deny your customers? We finished our drinks and went to the curry house around the corner instead and it was a very worthy alternative.
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My husband and I dined here in March this year whilst on holiday and to be honest we were quite... no very disappointed! I had a venison starter which was pretty average and i was suprised that the lovely sounding salad that was served with it was merely iceberg lettuce with a few bits thrown in to try and make it look fancy.Our main courses were ok, nothing to write home about. The service was not bad but not good, you would expect better from prices of the food. To sum it up my opinion is that this place is very overated and overpriced, we eat out at nice restaurants quite frequently and this one will stay bottom of the rankings.
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John
Passed it's hay day. Port Charlotte Hotel best place to eat on Islay. Bit pricey, but good quality.
Fisher
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Thats awful by the sound of it but I think these comments belong on a resturant review not this web site last time I looked its called beerintheevening
juzza - 22 May 2006 16:33 |
I was very surprised at just how poor this restaurant was.
My girlfriends Duck starter was grey and dry as a bone. I was actually surprised that a "chef" would serve this as it was so obviously poor. Sent starter back didn�t and she didn�t have another one. However, my own starter of mussels had the potential to be a real treat. It was basically moules marnier but under a different name. The mussels at the bottom of the bowl were tasty and moist; the ones above the soup i.e.2/3 of them were dry and looked as if the had made good friends with a heat lamp.
My girlfriend�s main course was Venison. Again grey right through and tasted like liver it was so dry and badly cooked again by a supposed "chef". This dish was sent back, so that was 2 out of 2 for her. I had the fillet stake medium rare and going for the theme of the night it turned out medium to well done now going by the standard of the "chef" I can understand this and possibly forgive him as I realise sometimes with 4!! Tables in, an inexperienced chef can end up with problems. However at 22 quid for a steak id expect perfection.
Desert again had the potential to be good. Basil ice cream was one of the items on our plate and to be honest was not awful but not that great either. Our other dessert was crepes which to be honest were the same medium standard we had came to expect.
We then (not learning our lesson) ordered 2 liqueur coffees. Both were so sweet i.e. you could actually scrape the sugar out the glass that we couldn�t drink them.
As you can imagine we complained and received the following reply.
For the starter- A full refund.
For the main course I stuck with my steak but my girlfriend�s food was re-cooked.
The coffee � �sorry would you like another one�.
Over all a very poor restaurant and not even an apology from the chef. Cost of meal with 2 pints of lager and a small bottle of wine. 80 quid, come on Islay we had a great holiday there but is this the best restaurant you have to offer.
For real good value food go to the Ardbeg distillery, it was really tasty and a nice setting
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Did'nt really liek this pub, awful small, prices were awful expensive. Just didnt like the feel of the place
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The harbours a great place to chill and enjoy a drink, the food is great aswell in the dining area the veiws from the windows are stunning.
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Now this is a great pub and the accomodation and food are second to none on the island...apart from the Port Charlotte hotel, which might just edge it
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