A Post Hike Dinner at The Winking Owl Aviemore | Travels

What do you need after a long day on the hill? A hearty pub dinner that’s what! When we stayed in Aviemore our prayers and pangs of hunger were answered by The Winking Owl.

Owned by the Cairngorm Brewery, The Winking Owl is a lovely pub with a wonderful homely feeling and epic menu. We’d just done a tough walk, so we needed to refuel and the menu was perfect for this. As they are owned by the brewery the beer selection is good, but the gin lover in me also loved their gin selection. I mainly stuck to Kinrara Gin, which is made just outside of Aviemore. So we kept our drinks local all night!

Starters

To start I went with the Haggis Pakora with Chilli Jam. Now, spoiler alert, I’ve eaten here before and had this dish before. But it was back in 2014 and I couldn’t resist ordering again as it is just so good. Earthy haggis, with sweet and spicy chilli jam, the perfect pairing. I really recommend. Dr W picked the Cullen Skink with Smoked Haddock and a Scotch Egg! Yes you heard right, a scotch egg in the soup. Trust me, it was awesome. Dr W was a happy happy man.

Mains

For our mains we both picked the Venison Haunch Steak, with Black Pepper Potato Press, Red Cabbage and Shallot. Wow, this was rich and decadent! I really could’ve done with some green beans on the side (wasn’t an option) but I enjoyed it all the same. The black pudding and potato was a new one on me, but one I am happy to embrace! It was a delicious dish and the steak was perfectly cooked for me (on the rare side). Now, as we both picked the same I thought I’d share what one of our friends picked, the Beef with Cairngorm Black Gold Beer and Mushroom Pie with Chips and Roast Veg. Just wow! What a portion! The perfect recovery after a long day. I was lucky to try some and that beef was proper melt in the mouth, the same goes for the pastry. It really was an epic dish.

Overall

We had a lovely meal at The Winking Owl. The service was fantastic and the server was knowledgeable about the menu – super helpful for the indecisive ones. I know we ordered meat heavy but veggies you are catered for and vegans just ask. It’s all cooked fresh and produce is as local as possible. It really is worth a visit and we will be back next time we’re in Aviemore – mainly because we couldn’t get enough of the Bothy Bar downstairs!