Jane Cumming discovers a rural idyll where quality is the key
“Would you like to try a piece of our chef’s sourdough bread?” What a fantastic way to be invited to start a meal. And to be followed by our waiter saying: “It is made with Windswept’s Aurora beer and served with seaweed-infused salt and fresh butter.”
Wow.
Not only do you know you have a chef who is taking real pride in their kitchen, but they are sourcing high-quality ingredients and showing great innovation in what they serve.
This is the level of skill I would expect from a luxury city hotel or top restaurant, but was surprised to find in a relatively small coaching inn, the Taynuilt Hotel, Argyll.
I’m not being snobbish when I say that. I am well aware how hard it is for proprietors of many of our smaller rural retreats to maintain high-quality service when they just don’t have the volume of visitors to guarantee the numbers necessary to produce freshly prepared food consistently.
How can you survive if one day you are catering for two men and a dog on a walking holiday and the next for two-dozen hungry, well-heeled diners occupying some of the most expensive stalking or fishing lodges in the world?
The current proprietors are striking a good balance. The Taynuilt Hotel is a traditional coaching inn with all the features you would expect. Low ceilings, rooms leading off rooms, awkward staircase, open fireplaces and quirky sloping floors are all testament to the age of the place.
With cheery displays of tulips on the roadside, you would never mistake this for a multinational chain hotel. But it succeeds in providing a level of comfort that most discerning travellers will appreciate, including a fabulous four-poster bed.
The room we stayed in faced the front and was bright and spacious with a good-sized shower in the bathroom. We were only there one night, but it had plenty of storage for a longer stay. With Molton Brown toiletries and good-quality towels and bed linen, I was delighted with the standard of accommodation.
The Wi-Fi was easy to access throughout the premises, which is often important for the modern-day traveller.
We visited the hydro scheme at Cruachan and had a walk along the front at Oban to whet our appetite as the restaurant has a great reputation.
Our evening meal was superb. As well as the bread (did I tell you about the fresh sourdough bread with seaweed-infused salt? Yes, I know I did, but it deserves another mention) I was very impressed with the menu. It had old favourites like macaroni cheese and meat pie which would keep the most conservative of palates happy, but also contained some contemporary dishes to excite the most modern diner.
My husband’s spiced tomato and split-pea soup was fantastic. This was no simple bowl of heartwarming fare, but a zingy plateful of flavour that danced on the tongue. I had duck-liver pate. It was beautifully presented in a tiny Kilner jar topped with clear jelly.
My husband had the burger for his main course. Gourmet burgers are the big thing these days, with chefs competing to outdo one another with the complexity and intricacy of their creations. This was a big fat juicy burger full of honest beef flavour and little nonsense. Served on a brioche bun with chips, fresh tomato salsa and a salad, it was just sublime.
I ordered the asparagus, heritage tomato and edible flower salad. What a picture of a dish. Every component was as fresh and crisp as you would have expected had you picked it from your garden that morning. It had delicious salty slivers of creamy Parmesan and every mouthful was a delight. It seemed light on the asparagus – I found a few thin shavings amongst the leaves, tomatoes and cheese, but they were more of a garnish than the main event the description implied. However, I’m being picky as, overall, it was fantastic.
For dessert, I had a stunning apple crumble with a genuinely crisp crumble topping. My husband, however, chose the homemade ice cream. He made a wise choice. Again, we saw a professional kitchen showing attention to detail, creativity and skill in producing perfect ice cream which would grace any Michelin-starred city restaurant.
After such a fantastic meal, I wondered if I would ever eat again but, following a perfect night’s sleep, I was down for breakfast in the morning. I could not quite face the full breakfast my husband consumed, but my scrambled eggs and bacon were as good as any I’ve tasted.
The Taynuilt Hotel is a perfect location for touring beautiful Argyll and the Inner Hebrides. It is an often overlooked part of Scotland, but this quality of food and service deserves greater attention.
A superior room at the Taynuilt Hotel, only 12 miles from Oban, is £95 per room (not per person), including breakfast. The chef is local and took over in December, 2012.
Taynuilt Hotel, Taynuilt, Argyll and Bute PA35 1JN. Phone 01866 822437.