Merchant Bar — Restaurant in Skye

Unfriendly service and poor hygiene putting a damper on some pretty decent pub nosh. I was massively disappointed after checking the reviews for here which praise many things. I hope my experience was an unlucky one.

When we entered, there were two people, a man and a woman, at the reception desk immediately in front of us. We waited three, four minutes before literally any acknowledgement (we didn't know whether we were to actually wait to be seated, or just seat ourselves) before we were reluctantly led to our table by the woman.

We ordered at the bar, paid for our food and drinks, and then waited at our table. Our food took 20-25 minutes to come, no biggie, and we cleaned our plates so it was worth the wait! The barkeep, to his credit, was a very nice chap.

While we waited on, and were eating our food, we noticed that the table next to us had three separate groups visiting for a drink, though the tables were not cleaned/disinfected inbetween visits. I guess at this stage I have to point out that we were the only ones wearing masks in the building, including staff, there doesn't seem to be much going on in the way of hygiene in amongst the current universal chaos.

As we left (after thanking the barkeep for the great food!), a tall man with blonde hair (I think he was the manager, I noticed him swapping a faulty card machine earlier) glared at us as we left. Not a goodbye, not a "hope you enjoyed your food," just a glare. If we'd done anything to earn that then fair enough, but all we did was come in, enjoy our food and leave. I've honestly never felt so unwelcome.

In comparison, everywhere else we've been in Skye has been lovely. People are as friendly as can be. Unfortunately, it looks like friendless is left at the door of the Merchant Bar, mostly. Like I say, the reviews here otherwise are great, so this must be an unlucky...

I made a reservation in advance, then called the night of to see if I could actually come early and sit at the bar. They said yes, no problem, and told me I could eat the bar with the same menu, and they cancelled my reservation since I was coming in early.

I got there 20 minutes later and was told it was a 1-2 hr wait, and learned that the bar was standing only and drinks only. I asked the bartender for a whiskey recommendation and was handed a book of their whiskeys instead. After waiting an hour and a half, I was given a table, then ten minutes later I was moved to a different table. I ordered one of the less expensive meals (haddock), while pointing to the item on the menu, but was apparently served the cod and charged almost £10 more. I told them I had ordered the haddock and they said no, you ordered cod. I didn’t want to argue so I just paid for it.

I really tried to be patient throughout the night but my bill at the end really put a sour taste in my mouth on my first...

The bartenders here seemed extremely over the tourists; witnessed them being short with a South Asian woman who asked about the attached restaurant and then exchange exasperated glances. The woman was very friendly but just unfamiliar with the establishment so didn't know where the door to the restaurant was.

If you look at the other reviews, other tourists have stated that it seems like they don't really want business from tourists so I would recommend abiding by their projected wishes to stay away.

As an East Asian woman I didn't feel comfortable staying so left immediately and let my white friends stay to enjoy themselves.

TL:DR the servers act like they do NOT want your business if you're not obviously a local. Therefore, do not go here unless you like to be...