Arisaig
- Food served: Mon–Sun noon–3pm, 5–10pm
- Pre-theatre times: Mon–Sun 5–7pm
- Bar open: Mon–Sun noon–midnight
- Children welcome: after 8pm
- Number of wines sold by the glass: 29
- Also offers: Gluten-free options, Wheelchair access, Pre-theatre menu
- Music on stereo: Contemporary hits
- Capacity: 120
- Largest group: 120
- Open since: 2002
- Average price 2 courses:
£9.95 (set lunch)
£22 (evening meal) - Pre-theatre price: £10
- House wine: £12.95 per bottle
This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.
Co-owners Naveed Rashid and Stephen Bonomi have a passion for quality Scottish produce that makes dining at Arisaig a thoroughly satisfying experience. In this attractive dining room, large, almost abstract paintings of foaming oceans and crashing waves go far to set the theme of contemporary elegance and, more importantly, place. The menu is packed with evidence of exhaustive ingredient sourcing which might include venison from the Argyll hills, Buccleuch beef, Isle of Shuna mussels, Shetland smoked salmon or Loch Etive oysters. Delicate balls of soft white fish are given a salty zip from deep red dulse seaweed, while ample vegetarian haggis fritters are served with a seductively fragrant beetroot and lavender purée. The thoughtful combinations continue with chickpea and spinach sausages accompanied with a choice of sides such as shredded kale mash or thick fluffy chips topped with more salty seaweed. Roast chicken comes with a herb encrusted haggis topping and a caramel-coloured single malt whisky sauce. Five Arran and Gigha cheeses offer a fitting conclusion to a meal that showcases some of the best the country has to offer.
- High point: Spot-on contemporary Scottish cooking
- Low point: Can be a touch dark at some tables
Comments
- 1. Elizabeth, Paisley – 7 July 2008, 4:46pmReport
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Very unsatisfactory visit for lunch. Ordered Chicken and Haggis Meatballs in Spicy Tomato sauce but didn't realise that "spicy" meant that it had chillies in it which I can't eat. Spoke to the manager and explained that in every other restaurant I have eaten in across the world if there are chillies in a dish it is normally specified so and that if I had realised there were chillies in it I wouldn't have ordered it. I said I thought I'd had the chicken and haggis meatballs before with whisky sauce and he agreed that there was a starter with those ingredients. All the more reason then that they should have stipulated the existence of chillies in the main course dish. The manager was bordering on the offensive because in his view I should have realised that spicy meant it had chillies in it. He refused to accept that he had a responsibility to his customers to state that the sauce had chillies in it. He even thought the responsibility was mine to tell him that I couldn't eat chillies !!! He offered to get me something else but stated I'd have to pay for the meal from which I had had one small bite. I told him no thank you and then had a a real struggle getting him to give me a doggy bag so that my husband, who loves chillies, could eat it later. His words "we don't do carry out" Eventually we left with the doggy bag and a very sour taste in our mouths, not to mention that I was still hungry.
Will definitely not be recommending this restaurant to anyone.
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