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    The Castle Tavern

    3.9 (55 reviews)
    ModerateBars, British
    Open 11:00 am - 1:00 AM (Next day)

    The Castle Tavern Photos

    THE CASTLE TAVERN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Casual
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - The Castle Tavern

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    Reviews With Photos

    Cullen Skink 10/10
    S D.

    Go upstairs for your reservations, the downstairs is walk-in and bar seating. The Cullen skink soup was 10/10 (leek potato and haddock) delicious. Service was spotty 5/10 friendly server but very forgetful and didn't mention specials. We noticed the specials board after ordering. I would recommend eating in the bar or outside instead of making dinner reservations. Old Pulteney whisky was great. Fish and chips were just okay, although I appreciate that it is breaded in a gluten free batter with parsley.

    Roast Lamb

    Outstanding spot for lunch! My husband had Sunday roast, delicious and very reasonably priced. He cleared the plate. I had the Cullen Skink, piping hot and not overly thick/creamy. I also had the warm tomato and goat cheese salad, and it was so so good!

    More pictures of the bar
    Amanda C.

    Food and live music, and a great view of the castle The food is delicious and portions are very generous

    Outdoor view
    Erin M.

    It was a windy and rainy afternoon in Inverness as we were trying to see the Diplomatic Castle when all of a sudden we turn the corner and saw this quaint little Pub. Looking for some respite and a pint we quickly entered in and was greeted with the usual Scottish hospitality and a great pint of Red Ale. We were not there for dinner although saw many entrees and they looked delicious. For us this place was the best place to be at the right time. Out of all the pubs I've been to, this one had the most welcoming curb appeal and was cute as haggis pie!

    Mushroom soup
    John C.

    Ordered the haggis crepe, mushroom soup, and Scottish salmon. The quality of the food is on par with the fancier restaurants in town. The crepe has a nice chewy texture despite that it's covered in sauce and the haggis is fresh is flavorful. Salmon is cooked just right; moist and flaky with no overt fishy smell, lemon not required to mask anything. Very cosy restaurant and seating could be a bit tight inside.

    Huggis Bon-bons
    Veronica J.

    The Castle Tavern served the best Haggis I have tried up to date, therefore I think the venue deserves 5 stars! It is located very close to the castle and is quite busy, so I suggest you reserve your place in advance if possible or at least call and ask whether they have seating space available. Big portions justify slightly higher prices - I had to cancel my main because the starter was enough. The soup is served in a huge bowl, you probably won't need the main;)

    Dirty Mac n Cheese
    Andy B.

    Rustic Scotland ambience. The Castle Tavern is a traditional Real Ale bar, restaurant and beer garden in Inverness. While attempting to visit the castle (which was closed), we stopped here for dinner. I ordered the Dirty Mac n Cheese and washed it down with an Innis & Gunn Lager. Both were awesome. The service was very good. I definitely recommend eating here while traveling to Inverness.

    Bar area
    Raina S.

    Across from the entrance of the Innerness Castle! If you're ever here try the Haggis.

    House Rules People!!
    Scott P.

    Definitely a nice spot to sit outside, take in some good weather (if you are lucky) and have a pint.

    Euge R.

    The Castle Tavern is located in front of the entrance to the Inverness Castle. It's very quaint restaurant / pub that provides a great view of the River Ness. The Tavern is on its own block and probably my favorite pub in Inverness. The service is friendly and you can sit outside or eat on the second floor where the main restaurant location is located. If your here for just drinks the first floor has a nice set up to mingle and enjoy your scotch. The food served is traditional Scottish food but what really stands out is simply the location and the vibe this place exudes.

    Castle Tavern's exterior

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    12 days ago

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    8 years ago

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    2 years ago

    The Cullen Skink soup was amazing! The staff were very friendly, and the ambiance was very nice.

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    7 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Loved this place. Tasty food and very friendly bar tenders. I highly recommend to all!

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    7 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Decent priced drinks, great staff & service, awesome view, and a good selection of real Scottish ales. What more could you ask for?

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    15 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    7 years ago

    So much fun! Great beer and hard cider. Sat with locals all night and felt like we belonged!

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    11 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Great food. Friendly staff. Americans in the midst of World Cup Fifa games. Visit for sure if you're here

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    Page 1 of 2

    The Castle Tavern Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - The Castle Tavern

    The castle tavern is a delightful little eatery in the heart of Inverness, not to far from Inverness Castle and River Ness.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    Johnny Foxes - Highland burger: topped with haggis & red onion chutney

    Johnny Foxes

    4.0(110 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    ££

    We ate here on our last night in Inverness after a very long day on a tour. We did not have…read morereservations but the restaurant was accommodating and kind. The World Cup Game was on so it was lively and fun. I will tell you, this was some of the best seasoned food we had the entire time we were in the UK (two weeks). Finally we didn't feel the need to add salt to something. The flavor was just spot on. My husband had the beer steak pie with puff pastry, I had the Cullen skink, my son had a pizza (I can't remember if it was on the kids' menu or not) and my daughter had a Caesar salad with chicken, which she eats a lot at home and had been craving. Both the skink and the stew were perfectly flavored! The fish in the stew was tender and so was the steak in the pie. If we ever go back to Inverness, we will be sure to be returning to Johnny Foxes. Oh! And our waiter was wonderful! I don't remember his name but a young blonde man with a mullet kind of haircut. Thank you to him!

    I was walking back to my guest house after a long day on a tour. I decided to pop in to Johnny…read moreFoxes, and I'm glad I did!I had the steak and Guinness pie, it came with French fries and peas. It was HUGE! I wished I could share it. It was so tasty I managed to eat most of it, I just didn't have room for much of the fries or peas. Quick service and a lovely pub atmosphere.

    Photos
    Johnny Foxes - Dining room

    Dining room

    Johnny Foxes - Supposedly this mayo is coleslaw??

    Supposedly this mayo is coleslaw??

    Johnny Foxes - Bar area

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    Bar area

    Mustard Seed Restaurant - Monkfish with Thai curry (But I think it's like an indian curry)

    Mustard Seed Restaurant

    4.2(166 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    ££

    Tried so hard to make reservation...they walked us in at 5pm...mussels, venison, blueberry lime…read morepanna cota...so good and service was amazing! I believe our server was Jill...amazing!

    I almost never leave 1 star reviews but this place earned it. First, the service was so incredibly…read morerude. Sophia was just plain awful and honestly abusive with her mind games. I joined my family after parking the car who all warned me that the server was not even remotely friendly. They weren't kidding. She was awful, just plain rude and should not be in hospitality. She was aggressive, moody, unpredictable. It was like an old ex who played mind games just to be mean. She honestly was that bad. How is she working at this place? Upon sitting down, she told me we had only 2 hours at the table so I better order immediately. I asked if they had wifi, and she said yes. Then immediately walked away from me. Umm... Really??? The table next to us tried to flag down the same server and she yelled at them. At least, we weren't them! We actually bonded over the trauma of this woman since we weren't the only ones. I quickly ordered the halibut for my main course. I have to say, it was the worst meal I've had in a very long time. It was not only dry but completely lacked flavor. My kids also disliked their food. My daughter's mashed potatoes tasted like it was from the box. She didn't even touch them (and typically cleans her plate). And my son didn't eat half of his pizza. I tried it. And have to agree, it was really bad. No flavor. Finally my partner ordered the steak medium rare. It came out charred, burned and fatty. The meal was honestly awful. The service was even worse. I booked this meal months ago. We all laughed since it felt like one of those meals you're abused and you're all in on the gag. Except that wasn't the case here. Just rude service and terrible food. My kids ordered the brownie sundae for dessert. Surely, that couldn't be bad? Wrong. The brownies were dry and stale. But the kids at least enjoyed the ice cream. Overall, this was probably the worst dining experience I've had probably in years. It was definitely the worst meal and service in Scotland. I was shocked at just how bad the food was. How rude the service was and how expensive it was. The one upside is the restaurant space is beautiful. I rarely, almost never, give 1 star reviews. As an elite all star, I pride myself on trying to see the positive especially for small businesses. And focus on the positive. But I'm not going to promote a place that is truly not good, rips off the consumer and is rude. If it's not clear by this point. My recommendation? Run from this place!

    Photos
    Mustard Seed Restaurant - A partial view of the cozy 2nd floor dining space.

    A partial view of the cozy 2nd floor dining space.

    Mustard Seed Restaurant - Mussels

    Mussels

    Mustard Seed Restaurant - Another view of their 2nd floor dining space.

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    Another view of their 2nd floor dining space.

    The Room Restaurant And Bar - Tennant Lager

    The Room Restaurant And Bar

    4.2(5 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    £

    Stopped by this spot after a quick jaunt to Loch Ness. This was the 4th stop on our British Isles…read morecruise and our 2nd stop in Scotland. Inverness is a small town and easily maneuverable. We only had about an hour before we had to meet the bus to head back to the cruise ship. We were starving and I needed a beer. From the outside this place didn't look like a pub but walking in you definitely got that feeling. I ordered 2 Yorkshire puddings and haggis with whiskey sauce (because I was told they were appetizers) and my husband ordered some kind of soup which he said was very tasty. Of course he ate my other appetizer.. Because it was awesome. I ordered the Tennant Lager. Very good choice. Scotland has some mighty tasty brews. The service was ok though not especially attentive or quick. We unfortunately had to ask for everything. Had we more time to spend maybe the wait would not have been so bad. Having said that, the food was great and the beer was delicious. If you have some time and want something tasty, definitely stop in here.

    Nice restaurant, prices are correct and the staff friendly. I tried the chicken & haggis bonbons…read morewith pepper sauce. So delicious! The 1/2 pint of beer is priced at £2. You can also chose 2 meals between a list of 8 for £10,50. However, the link between these meals is quite difficult to make.

    Photos
    The Room Restaurant And Bar - The Bar

    The Bar

    The Room Restaurant And Bar - Chicken & Haggys

    Chicken & Haggys

    The Room Restaurant And Bar - Sticky toffee pudding & banoffee pie (the pie has bananas) with ice cream

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    Sticky toffee pudding & banoffee pie (the pie has bananas) with ice cream

    Hootananny - Bunnahabain

    Hootananny

    4.2(93 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    ££

    An evening in Inverness is not complete without music and whisky. (Unless you don't like one of…read morethose things, in which case one or the other will do...for us, it was both!) We spent one of our 4 nights in town at Hootananny...It's a lively spot with a full restaurant and bar and good whiskey recommendations from the bartender. On this night, it was a jam, as opposed to a frontal performance...these jams you'll find throughout Scotland are really not performances, but musicians who gather together in the front of the venue, sitting in a circle, typically with a group of them with their backs to the audience, who play for each other, for the sheer and obvious love of the collaborative music. They ran through all kinds of traditional Scottish tunes, occasionally with instruments put aside to let a couple of them sing a cappella. It was a beautiful experience to watch "performers" immersing themselves in each other's music, with us, the audience, grateful, if not incidental, receivers of it. They've got a decent whisky selection too, and, as I found throughout Scotland, every bartender seemed knowledgeable in what was offered and willing to have a conversation to help guide you to what you might want to drink that night. (I had a Bunnahabain dram.) If you've got a few nights in town, this is one of the main 3 venues you should check out...the other two we experienced were more direct performances, also good, but to experience a musician's jam circle like this, is truly a wonderful and unique experience to have when in town.

    Good place to come for music any night of the week. They post that schedule a week out, so plan…read morearound that. Sound quality could be a bit clearer. The food was decent standard pub food. Considering their reputation is on the music, it was perhaps better than I expected. Several good local beer choices on draft, though I wish they had something on cask. And of course many whisky choices, with good navigation. Service was friendly and not rushed, perfectly timed with the 1.5-hour table max.

    Photos
    Hootananny - Bar area and stairs going up

    Bar area and stairs going up

    Hootananny - Dancing!

    Dancing!

    Hootananny - Music stage with the street behind

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    Music stage with the street behind

    The Castle Tavern - bars - Updated August 2026

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