Letter Box Restaurant — Restaurant in Scotland

Well... I booked over 3 weeks in advance via their website using their email address. Got there on time and they informed me I had no table... I was like excuse me? I then showed them the email thread I had with the manager and the waitress/host just stared at me blankly. She then oh yes that's because you called to cancel the booking. She literally invented that in front of me, not even blinking, or there had been a cancellation and they proeeded to cancel the wrong name perhaps? We had literally just arrived in Newtonmore and I wasn't sure what to do. The host said she would be back. A few minutes later she took us to a table anyway so we were very grateful and expressed our thanks. She was quite hostile and not very friendly to be honest but I figured she was really busy and it was okay. We ordered and that was fine. I expressed that as a vegan I'd be happy with the pasta main it sounded nice. I checked the chips and onion rings were vegan, the host said yes. My partner, a vegetarian, ordered some kind of veggie stew. We ordered some chips and onion rings too as we were starving after a near 4 hour drive up to the town and we hadn't stopped on our trip. The food came out and I was a bit underwhelmed. There was a few strings of tagliatelle and a few veggies... for £18! This dish would literally cost me about £1.50 at most to prep myself. My partner thought his meal was above average, but also significantly overpriced. Literally nearly 20 quid for a bit of pasta and fresh tomatoes though, what a joke. More importantly, I went to try one of the onion rings and 2 of them had PRAWNS IN THEM. As a vegan I was so upset, but I didn't want to make a scene in front of others as that would ruin their meal. The server just ignored us despite the fact we finished the mains. I couldn't eat any of the onion rings, I was so put off by the prawns staring back at me, totally pink as well. After waiting over 20 mins the host came to take the plates. I expressed - quietly - how I was surprised to find prawns in the onion rings as vegans don't eat meat or any animal products at all, and once again the host just stared at me. She said "okay" and took the plates away... I was quite shocked actually at the lack of care? I'm assuming she said to the chef but I don't know. She then proceeded to charge us for the onion rings even though they hadn't been touched due to the prawns. £65 for a vegetable stew, a pitiful bowl of pasta, 2 soft drinks, a portion of chips and (prawny) onion rings... never will I ever be back again and I'll never recommend it. We went our for lunch and dinner every day day new places in Newtonmore and Aviemore and every other experience we had was fab, do not waste your time here if you are vegetarian or vegan. First time I my entire life I have never tipped, and I always tip, including taxis, takeaways, you name it. So disappointed with Letterbox, kinda wish I had actually cancelled the...

Like many of the other reviews, there was only one person front of house on our visit last night. She was busy and while not rude, not overly friendly or attentive. We ordered a bottle of red, that was plonked (yes it’s deliberate) on our table unopened and with little grace. The food was good, but again as others have mentioned it should be at these prices (£28:00 for a main). My wife’s starter had elements missing from the dish described on the menu, but she decided it was not worth mentioning. The mains were very nice. We asked for our bill, which was £95 for 2 courses and the bottle of red, while not cheap, was reasonable for the meal we had. We paid by card and asked if we could book a table for the following Friday, and here’s the bit that is just ridiculous, we were told ok but it’ will be cash only next Friday. I and the table next to us burst out laughing at the joke. However, she wasn’t joking, when I questioned it, the staff member shrugged her shoulders, pointed to the kitchen and simple replied “the owner decides”. In this day and age, When most people don’t want to take cash because of covid, and you’re charging at the top end of what is reasonable, they really need to sort out their payment policy. In summary, foods decent but check before you sit down what the specials of the day are, in this case how you are gong to be...

Had a disappointing visit at Letterbox tonight. 2 hours for 2 courses is incredibly slow and the food itself was very average and overpriced. My partner requested no coriander in her meal and got so much I (as a lover of the stuff) thought too much. Edible though.

Other tables had equally slow service, very little apology (if at all) from staff, others also seemed to have problems with orders as well - sad considering the supposedly positive reviews which lead to us booking.

Eat out to help out or not, the meal was still overpriced and not up to scratch. Would have been £57.40 for 2 mains, 2 desserts and 2 soft drinks at full price - £42.40 with the discount. Meanwhile, we ate at The Glen Hotel the previous night and 2 courses, 1 dessert and 2 soft drinks was £15.50. Madness.

Also, a mysterious £5 charge for "VAT" on our bill. Queried with waitress but got a ridiculous response about the restaurants VAT status. If you want to charge extra ontop of a bill, include this info on the menu! Not worth causing a fuss over, but its a matter...