The Waterside Restaurant — Restaurant in Scotland

THIS IS A REVIEW OF THE RESTAURANT, NOT THE HOTEL

We were in Inverness for the day and decided to have tea here as all reviews say it is excellent. About 9 of us (2 toddlers) showed up for tea and we were seated fairly quickly. The menu was fairly expansive and had something for nearly everyone, including a vegetarin option, so I was impressed.

My son had macaroni and cheese, I had fish and chips, my husband and mother had some kind of baked chicken over potatoes in sauce. All of us finished our food with gusto. The tea service was great, the standard tea is english breakfast, but my husband doesn't do caffeine in the afternoon, so they brought him a box of fruit teas from which to choose, which was very nice. I think anything except breakfast and earl grey will be bag teas, though.

The kids' menu portion was huge, but my 3yo gamely threw himself into devouring a real, roux-based macaroni and cheese, rich beyond all belief. Thank goodness he's 3 and he'd spent the last 2-1/2 hours walking up and down the streets of Inverness with my indefatigable shopper mother. My husband tasted it and said it was quite good for kids' menu fare.

After the main plates were cleared, the tea service came, which included regular scones, raisin scones, meringues, some sort of nutty pastry with white chocolate, and brownies. Honestly, the regular plain scones were the best. I generally love a fruit scone, but in this case, the raisin scones were gummy on the inside, which was a disappointment. The waitress didn't return for a while but I was able to get an additional plain scone, which I ate with clotted cream and the dregs of the jam from the toast earlier (Why they don't bring additional jam is beyond me. For 9 people they brought 2 tiny pots of jam that was expected to last through to tea service, when they brought the toast out before the food! It was a disappointment).

The company was ideal, the view was beautiful, and the location couldn't be beat. Most of our party was able to walk back to the Kingsmill resort where they were staying. The parking situation is fairly tight in the back, and I can imagine it wouldn't be ideal if the restaurant were crowded, however we arrived at 5pm and quickly found parking in the back.

Overall, the food was superb, the tea was quite good, and the service was prompt, though the pastries left a little something to be desired. The service was...okay. Our waitress I believe was tasked with taking care of tables across the restaurant and was not as attentive as she could've been--but this could also have been the side effect of a large party of people who haven't seen each other in YEARS and can't stop talking. I'll simply say, I would definitely have tea...

We had a reservation at the restaurant but upon arrival they took a while to find the booking. We had a window table overlooking the river although the dining area was a bit cramped as the conservatory was fractionally too narrow to allow free passage with waiting staff coming and going at a busy time. The waiter who served us was very good as was the waitress who brought us our wine, very personable. We we expecting the conventional menu so we're a bit disappointed when it was a restricted Sunday menu which wasn't clear on the website. We shared a mussels starter which was sublime. Complimentary fresh bread with an interesting homemade butter was served. The tarragon chicken with green beans and fries was flavoursome and light. The fish and chips were good with a very light, perfectly cooked batter. The dish also had peas and tartare sauce. We also had a Scottish cheeseboard, which was substantial to share and had a good selection of breads, crackers, celery, and grapes. There was pickle too, but we didn't try this as we aren't big fans of brown pickle. The dish was well presented on a wooden chopping board but was a tad cold from the fridge and could have benefitted from being left out a bit earlier to get to room temperature thereby enhancing the flavour and taste. When I asked about the name of one of the cheeses, the waiter very kindy brought out a whole cheese to show me its name and provenance (Old Smokey - Isle of Kintyre). The service was attentive but not rushed. The menu had a choice of two or three course options for a set price, which represented great value for money. In the main, the restaurant was clean and had nice decor. We would definitely return to try the fuller menu. There are only a few quality restaurants in Inverness but this is certainly one of them and that mussel...

I certainly wasn't blown away but didn't leave feeling particularly bitter either. There was plenty of parking, it was beautifully located, the restaurant had superb views, it was quiet and spacious, warm, welcoming and it was generally a pleasant stay. Cleanliness in the room left a bit to be desired as the inside of the windows were covered in dust and dirty smears. There were cobwebs and dust hanging down from behind the TV. It had obviously been recently repainted as there was paint splatters all over the toilet flush, toilet roll holder, bottom of the bath and sink. It just seemed a bit amateur. The breakfast service was good though and was well cooked etc. The housekeeping staff let themselves into the room to clean before I'd checked out, luckily I was fully dressed, and the poor lady was most apologetic but it highlighted a lack of communication between reception and housekeeping. And although all the other staff we'd encountered had been really nice, cheerful, welcoming and polite when we checked-out all we got was "that's fine". They made no attempt to see if our stay was ok, no small talk, no thank-you, no goodbye etc. It was in complete contrast to the rest of the staff but just left me with a bit of a bitter after taste. What you have to remember is that for bed and breakfast it was £50 for 2 people for 1 night. And at that price I really couldn't complain and probably would stay again. But that's not to say there isn't room for...