Since moving to Inverness, I have asked many long-term locals for restaurant recommendations.
99 times out of 100, The Mustard Seed will be among those they mention.
I have enjoyed many a meal at the establishment over the years, from family lunches to work dinners and celebratory meals.
It has always delivered, so it’s safe to say I walked there a few Sundays ago with a spring in my step and looking forward to some seriously good grub.
As always I took my trusty boyfriend and huge foodie Aidan with me, half because I enjoy his company and half because he would never have forgiven me if I hadn’t.
The Mustard Seed
The Mustard Seed sits on Fraser Street, right on the banks of the river.
No matter what time you go, it always seems to have the right amount of hustle and bustle.
This could be due to the layout of the restaurant; a downstairs seating area curled around a big open bar and an exposed upper seating area that looks a bit like a balcony.
There are a number of standout features, from the wine display lining one of the walls to the quirky artwork that adds pops of colour to the restaurant, but my favourite one has to be the huge fire that stands in the centre.
It gives off a perfect heat and glow, and its long silver flue shoots up through the restaurant, emphasising the height of the repurposed church building.
The friendly barman greeted us as soon as we walked in before another member of staff took us to our table. This speedy service continued throughout the night even though it was busy, straddling the line between attentive and laid-back perfectly.
We were absolutely thrilled to be seated upstairs because we are nosy and it means you have a fantastic view of both the bar staff making drinks and of people filing in for a feed.
One of the wonderful things about The Mustard Seed is its versatility. If you want to dress to the nines and treat it as a fancy restaurant you can do so, but you could also go for a cosy Sunday lunch after a walk along the river.
As always, we took note of the music and agreed we would save the playlist, which is the equivalent of our seal of approval.
The food
I wasn’t surprised to be faced with a serious dilemma when I opened the menu – I had of course looked at it online but was not prepared for how spectacular the specials board was.
Even drinks had us both stumped, but wanting to treat ourselves we opted for cocktails. Aidan chose a whisky highball (£8.50) while I went for a dark and stormy (£8.95).
Both were delicious, but I think I’d go for the highball if I had to pick just one.
It seems sometimes that the nicer the restaurant, the higher the prices, the smaller the portions.
This isn’t the case at The Mustard Seed, even Aidan always finds the portions to be generous and his appetite could stand up against competitive eaters.
With this in mind I skipped on a starter, but Aidan opted for crispy fried buffalo mozzarella on peach and sweetcorn salad, tomato relish, herb oil and pea shoots (£9.50).
Even just the description of this dish demonstrates what I think the restaurant is best at, taking something everyone likes and elevating it.
It felt a bit blasphemous when Aidan mentioned McDonald’s after the first bite, but luckily it was to say the fried mozzarella blew the chain’s version out of the water, so I allowed it.
The dish was beautifully presented and the sweet elements in the salad balanced well with the cheese – which also offered a great cheese pull.
Our mains both came from the specials board, with Aidan choosing a 28-day aged fillet of Highland beef on truffled mash, glazed root veg, breaded haggis and mustard sauce (£36.95).
As expected it was a healthy portion that had his eyes lighting up immediately.
The meat was tender and pink in the middle, the textures and flavours of the different elements made every bite exciting and the sauce was good enough to want to bottle and take home.
I love fish so was sold by the pan-fried fillet of sea bass on creamy leeks, savoy cabbage, pomme puree, broccoli and watercress (£19.95).
I was stunned to be served up two fillets of fish, both of which were cooked to perfection and packed full of flavour.
The potatoes were smooth, the creamy leeks and cabbage mix were seasoned marvelously and the broccoli added an extra bite.
For some reason, panna cotta is a regular guest at Aidan and I’s restaurant trips, and this night was no exception.
We had originally planned on having two desserts – eyeing up a strawberry crème brulee – but we were both full from our mains so decided to share one instead.
The mango, passionfruit and vanilla panna cotta we chose was divine (£6.95).
It was the perfect consistency, the fruit sauces were the right balance of sweet and tart and we have talked about it many times since, which is always a good sign.
The verdict
I was pretty confident we were going to have a great night at The Mustard Seed and it more than delivered.
No matter what you’re in the mood for, there will be something on the menu that not only suits you but that impresses and excites you.
There’s a reason why the restaurant is so highly regarded in the city and this meal cemented our spot in the pool of people who will recommend it to anyone, anytime.
Information
Address: 16 Fraser Street, Inverness IV1 1DW
T: 01463 220220
W: www.mustardseedrestaurant.co.uk
Price: £90.80 for two cocktails, one starter, two main courses and one dessert. A service charge wasn’t added to the bill.
Scores:
- Food: 4.5/5
- Service: 4/5
- Surroundings: 4/5
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