Dinner At The Seaview Restaurant At The Bandstand Hotel, Nairn Scotland
Published On Friday 12 Jul 2024 by Sticky Beak
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The halfway point of our foray into Scotland for The Man Birds’ day job saw us pitch up in Nairn, just outside Inverness. It had been a beautiful, if long, journey and we were very happy to pull up into the car park of Aurora Guesthouse! So far, we have dropped very lucky with our accommodation; everywhere has been clean and the rooms spacious...and nearby restaurants have served up some tasty grub – fingers crossed our luck would continue.
On our journey from Edinburgh to Inverness we’d literally encountered four seasons in one day, though only got caught in one sharp shower. Thankfully, our luck seemed to be holding out as we walked the half-mile or so from Aurora to the Seaview restaurant, and although it wasn’t warm, it wasn’t exactly Baltic either, so my denim jacket sufficed.
From the pavement, The Bandstand Hotel, Bar and Restaurant is pretty unremarkable; it has your fairly average stone exterior that makes it attractive enough, but not breath-taking. Heading inside, we saw your typical bar area and introduced ourselves. One of the team showed us through to the restaurant and to our table that was right beside the window, looking out over the green and to the coast and Moray Firth (easy to see how the restaurant got its name!!).
Seaview restaurant at The Bandstand is a spacious, open-plan venue and it was well over half full when we arrived, so there was a lively bubble of chatter and laughter filling the room. I’m not sure whether a bit of ‘travel fever’ had kicked in, but we found ourselves ordering a bottle of Viognier to go with our food – paired with a hefty jug of iced water that one of the team brought straight over when we’d been seated. Raffia high-back chairs are paired with simple, sturdy wood tables and shades of marine blues and coastal earth tones create a cosy, relaxed vibe.
To start, I had the Steamed West Coast Mussels (£11) served in a ‘sauce of the week’ (pale ale, onion and Bacon on this occasion), and I opted to have the toasted Sourdough instead of skin-on fries with them. His Nibs chose the Mini Quesadillas (£8.50), a trio of delights each filled with a different treasure: Spiced Chicken, BBQ Pulled Pork, and Cheese, Chilli and Caramelised Onion. These were accompanied by a homemade Salsa and Sour Cream.
We weren’t waiting long before our lovely server was making her way over with our food secured in her hands. For a starter portion, my Mussels were more than generous and the sauce was bathing them nicely. I could see pieces of rose-pink Bacon and pale slivers of onion in the sauce, as well as plenty of fresh, finely chopped herbs. The Mussels themselves were plump and flavoursome, and I only had to discard one that hadn’t opening during the steaming process – not a bad hit-rate, I’m sure you’ll agree. I’m accustomed to having a white wine based sauce with Mussels, but having sampled this variety, I have to say that pale ale goes rather nicely with the seafood, too. The large piece of griddle charred Sourdough soon got ripped into pieces and dunked into the sauce; you know what I’m like for dunking! Our server was clearly one step ahead of my needs and had thoughtfully provided a finger bowl of warm water with a slice of Lemon in, perfect for cleaning sauce-splashed fingers.
Across the table, His Nibs was busy ploughing his way through the sizeable portion of food he’d been served: mini the Quesadillas may have been described as, but mini they weren’t when it came to satiating The Mans’ initial hunger. Each fully-stuffed Tortilla had a distinct flavour profile, making it perfect for sharing as a Tapas dish with friends or for those who don’t quite know what they fancy! The fresh, crunchy Salsa was superb, both in terms of taste and colour and gave a great textural element to this dish. Soured Cream added a zip of tanginess on the palate, ably assisted by the ample Chillies in one of the Queso’s.
On this particular evening I was definitely in the market for seafood and fish, following up my starter with Pan-roasted Monkfish on a bed of Coconut and Apricot Cous Cous and a crispy Onion-topped Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Spinach Curry (£23.50). For his main course, The Man couldn’t decide between the Pork Cheek and Confit Garlic Ragu with Pappardelle (£19.50), the Homemade Steak and Ale Pie (£18.50) or the Moray Firth Haddock and Chips (£18); eventually he settled on the Ragu, and both meals weren’t long in arriving.
Pasta is marvellous to eat when it still has that gentle hint of bite to it (al dente) and the thick ribbons had been cooked to perfection here in Nairn. Pappardelle is the perfect accompaniment to rich Ragu’s as its generous girth allows them to cling beautifully and be gobbled up! Confit Garlic has a bewitchingly tender taste and it partnered the creamy flavour of the pulled Pork meat marvellously. The Parmesan and Herb crust added another layer for the taste buds to appreciate, as did the lively, peppery leaves of the Rocket salad that also came with this plentiful dish.
Having worked (and managed) restaurants himself for many years, His Nibs knows that there’s no finer compliment than clean plates going back to the kitchen, so we weren’t surprised to see our server smiling broadly as she took a pair of squeaky clean ones away from us. Chef Iain Gordon uses local, fresh produce and the results speak for themselves: ours weren’t the only dishes that were pristine, post-munching!
Much as we wanted to – and we really did – we just couldn’t manage a pudding, so we contented ourselves with a couple of black coffees to round off our time at Seaview. The coffee beans were ground freshly as we ordered, so we got their full, rich aroma wafting to our nostrils when the cups were placed carefully on the table. It was a delicious, robust coffee blend: perfect for finishing a meal with.
Given how generous the portions were, we paid the bill and went for a wander down to the beach, taking in the dying rays of the days’ sun. The breeze coming off the sea was fairly bracing and blew away the post-prandial cobwebs as we looked out over the Scottish shoreline.
Hot Wings are happily given to this Nairn restaurant, both for the food and the service. To book a table call 01667 452341 or visit the website www.thebandstandnairn.co.uk where you can check room availability and view the food menus.
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