The Old Forge — Restaurant in Great Britain

Warning, long read. But worth it 😅 I have a card game called Top Munro and one of the winning cards is Ladhar Beinn as it has the closest distance to the pub. Finally the day has come and we ventured to Knoydart for a weekend getaway. The weather was perfect and so was our stay. The pub is a winner not only in the card game but also comes really high on my list of fav pubs as: It is perfectly located - you come out of the boat and straight to the pub. 3-5min walk. Campsite is only 1 km away, so even if you had too many pints the way down to the tent won't take long 👌🏻 Venturing out from Ladhar the pub is ACTUALLY on your way back to the tent and trust me, it is such a relief to see it after a long day out in the hills. Local beer. Knoydart has its own brewery and you get to enjoy a pint of local ale straight from the cask! In addition to that, there was some IPA from Eigg which was really good. Oatmeal stout from Inveralmond brewery is also an unexpected little gem for a stout lover. Food. Since Auld Smiddy Inn in Pitlochry underwent renovations (and change of owners?) changed their menu I am on the hunt to find the best fish and chips (to my taste). I must say the Old Forge comes high on my list. Friday night we needed a good dinner before the Saturday's hike up the Ladhar, so I (obviously) went for fish and chips. And mmmm it was delicious! Chips were salty enough, crispy and freshly cooked. The fish was really good! Not too greasy, it had a taste of its own (often they're tasteless to me), coleslaw was really good too. Fish and chips may be a simple dish but nailing all the ingredients down is seldom that happens. For my taste it comes to strong 9/10! On Saturday night we managed to descend from the mountain straight to the pub and ordered just chips to go with a pint and oh boy they were delicious! 😋 We inhaled those chips. Both Friday and Sunday had us enjoying the halloumi burger which was really good. In fact it was so good that we knew what we are going for on Sunday. The sauce in the burger felt really fresh and good, not like so many burgers that feel heavy (majo-based). And I had flat white which was just about the right creamy kick of caffeine that was so much needed after an intense weekend. Atmosphere and live music. The pub feels really homely and live music is always a winner to me. I really appreciate it when we get to enjoy some live music played by locals. Staff. Reading other reviews one may form a mixed impression, but I can certainly say that the staff is really good. You can sit at the bar for a wee blether, you can sit at the table and you will get your fresh pint going. As mentioned, I had really good flat white on Sunday - made with love 😋 when it comes to food and serving time - it all depends on situation and the pub can get quite busy when the ferry arrives and bunch of people comes so obviously the orders will take some time to arrive. But we found no issues and while we had to rush to catch the boat, we had a nice chat with the lady and she advised us, gave takeaway boxes - all good. I actually so much appreciate that they do such a good job. It left me with a very nice impression. Coming to such a nice and remote place one just has no right to complain, rush and be grumpy. Knoydart has definitely got a place in my heart and we will be back...

Read this it’s fun: After a tough two days of hiking from Kinloch Hourn with pouring rain, lots of mud, heavy wind and billions of midges creeping under our clothes, we arrived at the Inverie camp ground and were craving for proper food and a good beer in a nice and warm pub like the old forge which we had looked up before online. Ready to pay whatever money it takes…

And that‘s how the story begins: Inside the pub I lined up at the bar, while my wife sat down at one of the many free tables. After the owner let me wait for a few minutes I nicely asked for a menue.

The answer was like this: „We are booked out for three weeks. Shall I repeat? We are booked out for three weeks. Do you want me to repeat again? We are booked out for three weeks!!!“

Being totally speechless (the imaginary beef steak in my head went up in smoke) I could only ask if we might have a beer. He said yes, but went away cleaning glasses and doing stuff in the kitchen. While I had to wait for another 20 minutes I had some time to look at the newspaper articles on the wall displaying the owner as some fancy belgian hotelier that took over the remotest pub in scotland. So I tried to be polite and mentionded that his pub must be going well as he apparently really booked out.

The answer: „So you’re Sherlock Holmes, yes?“

Again I was speechless and ordered two blonde belgian beers, after he gave me a lecture that I wouldn’t like the british ales anyway. At the table my wife and me we’re drinking our beers. After a while he came up to our table, literally pulling my chair away and saying „this table is reserved. This is very rude. The pub area is over there“ and sent us to another table closer to the door.

Again we were speechless, but chose to enjoy our beers peacefully, even though we were hungry as wolves. During the next hour a few people entered the pub, but most of the seats remained empty. In the end the owner sat down next to us, had some awesome looking pasta with a steak, and I really had to pull myself together not to strangle the guy.

Later that night in the camp ground, we had our delicious freeze dried meals as the days before…

That story happened in May 2015. After almost five years we still think about it a lot and really had to share it now. It’s become one of our favourite stories to share with friends and family. Very much apreciated!

(by the way out scottish friends were feeling ashamed that someone had to experience such a behaviour in this...

The Old Forge is absolutely everything one could - and should - want out of a pub situated as it is. A hiker's dream to boot. Hiking to Inverie from Glenfinnan, we came in as evening was falling just in time to place the final food orders of the night. We were prepared for such a remote pub in such a small location to have done with food already, or to be closed altogether, but instead our wildest dreams were met.

The proprietor is obviously dedicated to his craft. Spent the whole night painstakingly watching over everything. Service was immediate, no time wasted, seemed always happy to help and had answers or jokes for every question. He seems prepared to go out of his way for guests - when we mentioned we'd feared arriving too late, he said if people call ahead and inform them they're hiking in, he's prepared to keep things open and ready knowing they might get in late. It's inspiring how invested he is in his pub and his customers.

Food was superb. Although I expect anything would have tasted great after several days of trail rations, the seafood was obviously as fresh as can be, and beautifully prepared. Beer and liquor selection was surprisingly robust too, given the difficulty of the location, and there were a number of surprising labels I'd never heard of. Grimbergen 1128 is a new favourite.

Not only was the pub well stocked with food and drink, but with entertainment. The Old Forge is clearly set up to bring people together in this remote location. A wide range of musical instruments are kept tuned up and ready for anyone who wants to play. One feels invited to participate not just as a customer, but as a member of the community.

The fact that the Old Forge has received as many poor reviews as it has is a travesty, and speaks poorly of the expectations of so many visitors. Given the remoteness of this location, one should be prepared for spotty hours and limited supplies. Instead we received inspired and devoted service, and an excellent range of food and drink. Remember to call ahead, and know that a dry sense of humour doesn't make a hostile proprietor. The food may be a bit on the pricey side, possibly a bit more than you'd expect to pay at a pub, but that's the cost of running a business completely off the beaten path. I'd come again to Inverie purely to revisit this heart of a...