Ben Nevis Inn

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Claggan, Fort William, Scotland

Cuisine:
Fusion
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A well deserved dinner after a long long day

by PeaceLoveTravel

Hull, England

July 1, 2013

Best of IgoUgo The one reason to come to Fort Williams is to climb that mighty mountain that is Ben Nevis. Now you might doubt my assessment of it as a mighty mountain but trust me, once you climbed it you will never ever call Ben Nevis a "hill" ever again. So now ...Read more The one reason to come to Fort Williams is to climb that mighty mountain that is Ben Nevis. Now you might doubt my assessment of it as a mighty mountain but trust me, once you climbed it you will never ever call Ben Nevis a "hill" ever again. So now imagine this – you just climbed up and down a mountain for the better part of seven or eight hours, you are freezing cold, your legs are killing and the last crumbled up cereal bar on the bottom of your backpack just doesn’t cut it anymore. And then you see it, right at the bottom of the mountain is the Ben Nevis Inn. The quaint little country in looks so inviting and for the past two hours of our climb the thought of it was literally the only thing that kept us going.

Obviously you don’t have to be coming straight off the mountain to enjoy this place. With it only being a five minute drive from Fort Williams it is definitely worth the visit. The Ben Nevis in is definitely a restaurant but there’s also a small bar serving a limited selection of drinks and some casual outdoor seating. Saying this, I’d come back for the food and not for the drinks. What really disappointed me was the limited selection of ciders on offer. In the country of the delicious Thistle cider do we really need to drink Strongbow with our dinner? They have the standard lagers and a few real ales on offer but it really was nothing compared to the lovely pubs in the centre of Fort Williams. However, that Guinness did go down very well and warmed us up after our climb! Prices were reasonable with just over £3.50 for a pint of Guinness but they also sell half pints if you are watching your budget.

I am struggling a bit with giving the Ben Nevis Inn a star rating. The food was great and reasonably priced but the service did let it down. I’ve only been once so I cannot comment if we were just unlucky of if it’s a regular thing. But anyway, this is how we experienced our stay here:

Climbing Ben Nevis was a lot more challenging than expected and we arrived at the Inn rather late around 7pm. We heard great things about their food and by this point we were so hungry that waiting to get back to Fort Williams was no option. We walked into the restaurant and asked for a table of four. Imagine our distress when we heard that everything was fully booked. To be honest, it looked rather empty and I’m sure they could have found space for us but well, they didn’t really try. I instantly had the feeling that we were not particularly welcome in our scrubby hiking attire next to the mostly older, distinguished couples enjoying their dinner. We were then informed that we could wait for 45 minutes in case one of the bookings did not turn up. So we sat down outside with a pint each praying for food to come our way. It was almost eight pm when I walked inside to inquire about the table situation. We had noticed that only one couple entered the Inn after we arrived so we presumed that quite a few bookings failed to turn up. After waiting for ages to get anyone’s attention we were seated in the half empty restaurant. Obviously none of the staff had bothered to come outside and inform us that a table was now free for us.

Once at our table we sat there for a good 20 minutes without being served. One of the waitresses looked at us repeatedly but clearly preferred to talk to her colleagues or sort the condiments. We eventually asked the guy working at the reception area who told us that they were exceptional busy and whatnot. Fair enough, that would be fine but a little "Sorry for the inconvenience" would have gone a long way. We were too hungry to argue any further and all we wanted by this point is order copious amounts of food.

The menu consists of around 7 starters and 10 mains with some vegetarian options and a specials board. By the time we arrived all the specials had sold out but the menu is extensive enough to suit every taste. Between us we opted for the duck pancakes and the haggis in whiskey sauce. Both were priced at £6 pounds per portion. Starters arrived quickly and portion sizes were rather generous. The presentation was absolutely stunning and the chef clearly knows how to prepare hearty, warming food using high quality ingredients. The haggis with potatoes and turnips was to die for and I’d happily swim in the whisky sauce given half a chance. The duck was incredibly tasty and turned out to be much more substantial than expected.

For the mains we opted for lamb casserole, the gourmet burger and steak in whiskey sauce. The mains arrived within twenty minutes and were simply huge! The casserole was accompanied by toasted bread, veggies and new potatoes. Although it was tasty the sauce was a bit watery and the veg and potatoes lacked flavour. These are minor quibbles though as the actually meat was stunning. My friends very much enjoyed their respective meals with everyone agreeing that the steak was the best option. Although with £16 slightly more expensive than our mains (£10) it looked amazing and the whiskey sauce is simply divine. The burger was overwhelmingly huge served with a side salad and a portion of chips. There was so much cheese on the burger that it literally dripped down the sides. Again, presentation of all dishes was faultless.

There is a small selection of puddings but we were simply to full to even attempt to eat them. The whole bill came to just over £70 for 4 people excluding the drinks that we bought before we were seated. The Ben Nevis Inn is definitely worth what you pay for. However, we really found the atmosphere to be lacking and once we finished dinner we had no interest in staying much longer. A shame really as this could be a lovely place for a relaxing pint in the evening. The rustic decor and the smell of the hearty foods suits this harsh mountain environment perfectly. Don’t expect your typical hiker bar though – most people drive here rather than stumble down from the mountains.

Overall I would come back simply based on its location and I’d say give it a go when you are in Fort Williams. You are better off booking a table though and don’t expect to have too much of a choice when it comes to drinks. The Inn is perfectly clean and has a wheelchair access. There is even a little kids corner upstairs and on some nights they put on live music. I’ll give them the benefit of a doubt regarding the service, we all can have a bad night after all. Close

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Ben Nevis Inn

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A well deserved dinner after a long long day