The Tayvallich Inn, Tayvallich

Initially we had hoped to book for the Monday night, the day between both of our birthdays, but when we originally looked at the website, back in July, the dates hadn't yet been opened. We did speak with someone on the phone, who advised that they hadn't confirmed their autumn opening dates, but they would be opening them "soon". We gave it another month, and called back, as the dates still hadn't opened. We were told again that they would open soon, and someone did actually offer to book it for us, and we gave our details, but we didn't hear anything back.

We eventually managed to get booked in for the Thursday night, as they had advised that they would only be opening Thursday to Sunday in October, but that was fine for us.

When we arrived in Tayvallich, we found that they were actually opening all week, and we ended up at the Tayvallich Inn not once, but three times.

They offer local beverages, and have a good selection of alcohol free alternatives. The evening we arrived, we really didn't fancy driving back out to the supermarket, or cooking, so we called the Inn to see if they had a dog friendly space and were advised to book online. We sat in the bar - a warm and cosy area that is dog friendly. The tables in the bar are really cool - they're made from locally felled trees, and have a little information plaque on each one to say what type of tree and where it comes from. I had moules marinieres (except I had to ask for mussels because I cannot pronounce moules marinieres!), which were fresh, juicy, tasty, and came with way too much bread. Our second visit was a return to the bar with the dogs, and I had fish and chips this time - I couldn't resist after having seen Mr having it on the Saturday evening. The fish was cooked to perfection, and the batter was light and delicate, not overpowering, just right. The chips were crispy and also cooked really nicely.

Our last evening in Tayvallich was the meal we were really looking forward to. This was the one we had already planned in advance, and we ate in the restaurant without the dogs.

Special starters included hand dived scallops and langoustines, and I am an absolute sucker for a scallop, so that was an easy choice for me. And I don't regret that for a second. The chef obviously knows scallops well, and knew exactly how to handle them - they were incredible. After having seen the coley fillet coming past us on one of our previous visits, that was a no brainer, and yet again, it was perfect. The salmon mash and sea samphire were the ideal accompaniments, and the scallop roe butter sauce finished the dish off beautifully. I made the mistake of going for a big, hot dessert of apple pie, which was lovely, but I couldn't quite finish it!

Despite the initial aggravation of struggling to book, the Inn is somewhere I would definitely return to for multiple reasons: the lovely cosy decor and atmosphere, the friendly staff (special shout out to Sam!) and the delicious food. Side note, Mr told the staff it was my birthday, but he also told them my name was Morag, so along with the birthday banner they very kindly put up, they also wrote (beautifully) Morag on my dessert plate.

At a Glance

• 🚗 - Yes, parking behind the inn

• 🚽 - Lovely, well maintained toilets

• 🐶 - Dogs are allowed in the bar and on the terrace

• ///riches.grapevine.trucks