There’s something magical about walking down a street you’ve never strolled along before – you never know what’s around the corner – while the same logic can be applied to visiting a country pub or restaurant that’s new to you.
You don’t really know if the food on offer is going to be any good and have no idea whether the locals will be a friendly bunch or ready to give you the “you’re not local stare” which can make you feel uncomfortable.
If you’re lucky, you’ll find somewhere with good food, friendly folk, and perhaps that something special that will make you remember it fondly, long after you’re back home and planning your next rural trip.
The Clockhouse Restaurant in Tomintoul ticks all of these boxes, and then some.
On entering the restaurant, which sits on the corner of the village square, I came face to face with an enormous bottle of malt whisky. Not just a big bottle but one said to be the biggest bottle of malt whisky in the world and containing 23 gallons of 14-year-old Tomintoul.
Now that’s not something you see every day. The massive bottle was commissioned by Tomintoul Distillery on behalf of the Clockhouse Restaurant and Whisky Castle at Tomintoul, and at one time was kept at the Whisky Experience in Edinburgh.
But the bottle, which has been authenticated by the Guinness World Book of Records, is now back home in the restaurant where it makes a great talking point.
Looking at it wistfully while wondering how long a bottle that size would last in my house (not as long as my doctor would recommend, I suspect) I struck up a conversation with a local chap who revealed he’d made the cork for the bottle when he’d worked at the distillery.
What a claim to fame, and what a great reminder that eating in local rather than national or chain restaurants can offer a more interesting experience.
Although it wasn’t busy when we first arrived, we were glad we had booked in advance as it soon began to fill up with lunchtime diners who could choose from either a set menu or a selection of chef’s special dishes.
The building, previously a bakery and a shop, has been a restaurant for some time and the style is homely and welcoming, with wooden flooring, low ceilings and big wooden beams, a lovely stone feature wall and tables set with dark red tablecloths.
Lots of local artwork is displayed on the walls, and I can imagine, once the sun has set, the restaurant takes on a very cosy and intimate atmosphere.
A snack lunch menu is available from noon to 3pm, along with daily specials and it’s fine to mix and match from both menus.
We both began with a starter from the specials board, seafood chowder with fresh local fish and shellfish in a light cream sauce – £5.59 for a starter size portion or £13.50 for a main.
Before the soup arrived, our friendly waiter delivered bread which had that straight-out-of-the oven smell and taste, nicely crunchy on the outside and soft and warm inside.
The soup itself was fantastic, really creamy and very filling with lots of chunky white fish, prawns and even whole mussels in their shells. As we quietly savoured every mouthful we had the same thought – I hope the main course isn’t as generous or we might need a wee post-lunch nap in the car before setting off on our travels again.
For mains, I opted for the Monarch O’ The Glen burger from the grill menu. Described as a handmade pattie of wild venison with blue cheese coleslaw and skinny fries, the sound of it made my mouth water.
There’s only one word to describe this burger – wow! Served on a wooden board, it was so large it had to be skewered with a wooden stake to hold everything together. But it wasn’t just the size of it which was impressive, the texture of the burger was perfect, not too soft and not so chewy. Full of wonderful venison flavour, it went perfectly with the sweetness of the brioche bun.
My only quibble, and it’s a small one, is that the blue cheese coleslaw seemed to have been replaced with a red cabbage slaw, which was crunchy and delicious but lacked the tangy, saltiness blue cheese delivers.
My chum’s eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw her chicken royale as it was equally large, with a whole chicken breast, as well as a thick slice of old-style gammon on top. Add to this, we both received what looked like a mini chip-pan full of delicious crunchy chips to accompany it, along with plenty of crisp salad.
Neither of us could finish our main courses which meant, no matter how tempting they sounded, we couldn’t face a dessert or even coffee. A small nap was in order, but we felt it would be a tad rude to put our heads on the table and slip into a food-induced coma.
Our whole bill came to just over £30 which we felt was great value, given the quality and quantity of the lunch we’d just enjoyed. Next time we’re passing through we’ll make up for missing out on desserts by perhaps trying afternoon tea which is served from 3 to 5pm and costs just £5.95 per person.
And in the meantime, if we win the Lotto, we may even put in a bid for that rather special bottle of Tomintoul Malt Whisky…
