Cafe Arriba — Restaurant in Skye

I wanted to love this place so badly! Our server, Clarice, was a 10! Absolute perfection. Informed. Knowledgeable. Friendly. Enthusiastic. They should be in charge of the whole restaurant.

The issue was entirely with the kitchen and their utter lack of knowledge regarding the ingredients in the food they had prepared. One member of our party was a vegetarian who also had a nut allergy. He tried to order the veggie burger, but nobody on the kitchen crew had any idea if the veggie burger patties they prepared had any nuts in them. We were told the chef that prepared those patties had left earlier so there was no way to guarantee it was nut free. Okay.. so he ordered the Lentil Patties instead. Same thing. No one in the kitchen knew if nuts were included that day. Seriously? So, he tried to order a third time. This time he asked for the cauliflower tacos. Poor Clarice had to come back once again and tell us they were not available. At this point, we wanted to leave but because there was a music festival in town, every restaurant was slammed.. so he tried a FOURTH order.. he settled for the nachos. They arrived and were absolute mediocrity. My beef burger had more cheese on it than his order of nachos. It was really upsetting, after everything! And sooo irresponsible.

Is there not a standard recipe used when preparing menu items? Do the chefs have total freedom to prepare whatever they want, HOWEVER they want, each and every day? If only one person on staff is informed on what items include allergens and that person leaves early, how can this cafe ever guarantee their food is safe to eat for anyone? If they want to give their chef creative liberties each day, fine. But set the standard on certain items, vegetarian and not, to have never contain major allergens. Get the chef’s phone number so you can call and ASK if they are not present. OR, mind blowing concept apparently, stick to one recipe. OR, have the chef write down the ingredients used in the food they made for that day. It was absolutely ridiculous.

Do not recommend. Clarice, however,...

To the manager of the restaurant,

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding the poor service my friend and I experienced during our recent visit to your restaurant.

After a long drive, we were both exhausted and starving, so we were relieved to find your restaurant and decided to dine in. When we arrived, there was one family group ahead of us waiting to be seated. We waited patiently, and shortly after, we were shown to our table.

After reviewing the menu for about 8 minutes, we were ready to place our order. At that time, the female staff member with short hair was attending to the family group. Naturally, we expected that the male staff member would be the one to attend to us next. However, instead of coming to our table, he chose to serve a guest who had just entered the restaurant after us.

We tried to get his attention by waving, but he looked directly at us with an unfriendly expression and chose to ignore us. After taking the other table’s order, he returned to the counter and began chatting with another staff member instead of serving us. The female staff member also noticed us waiting but did not approach us or offer any assistance.

We felt completely disrespected and unwelcome, which ultimately led us to leave the restaurant without placing an order.

This experience was very disappointing, and I hope you will address this matter with your staff. Every guest deserves to be treated with basic courtesy and respect, and I trust you will take steps to ensure this does not happen to others...

Was looking for somewhere to have a quick lunch on a visit to Portree, and a couple I met on the street recommended the Café Arriba. I was so glad they did! This Mexican inspired first-floor café is only small, but it had a vibrant atmosphere and friendly, welcoming staff. Family friendly and dog friendly. The decor is colourful, lots of quirky little ornaments and tableware, and comfy banquettes with brightly coloured cushions. If you're lucky enough to get a window seat, you can also enjoy lovely views of the harbour. It was very busy when I first arrived, but the young waitress made me feel at home and found me a nice table in a cosy corner. Service was quick and attentive. The lunch menu was not extensive, but it was imaginative and varied: breakfasts, flatbreads, croissants and bagels with a good choice of fillings, soup, nachos and other light meals. Plenty of tempting and original veggie dishes. Some big and scrumptious looking cakes too! I ordered a bagel filled with scrambled egg and smoked salmon. Made with seeded bread, it was fresh, generously filled, and really tasty. There were speciality teas and coffees, beer, wine, and a nice selection of soft drinks. Had a pot of traditional tea, and it was good, freshly made and piping hot. Very reasonable prices. After such an enjoyable lunch experience, I would happily recommend...