The Tarbet Tearoom, a much-celebrated little establishment in the cozy town of Tarbet a short distance from Loch Lomond where the A82 meets the A83. This little tearoom is truly the epitome of adequacy.
Situated on a popular accident blackspot, this little tearoom overlooks the main road and if you happen to be there at just the right time you may be lucky enough to witness two cars smashing into one another, occasionally with fatal results! The staff will even brag about how the blind corner on which the establishment is situated is a deathtrap, maybe even quip about how it's only a matter of time before a car crashes through the front of the building and kills everyone inside. Unfortunately, this little gem is the only exceptional feature the place has to offer.
The food is adequate. Dry, vaguely flavoured, somewhat overpriced but edible. The tea is adequate. I've had better at home but worse elsewhere. The staff are mostly bland with an adequate smile, producing your order neither quickly nor slowly. The seating is hard and uncomfortable, but it does the job. The place is fairly popular, and if there aren't enough tables you can expect the staff to seat people at yours, sometimes without asking if you object to the intrusion, but overall it's...well...adequate.
If prizes were awarded for adequacy, the Tarbet Tearoom would win each and every time. You'll leave the place with no positive or negative feelings, unless perhaps you're "lucky" enough to witness one of their metal-grinding spectacles on the road outside, and within minutes you'll probably forget you'd even been there.
In the sea of mediocrity, the Tarbet Tearoom is bobbing along quite happily. read more