Our party of 4 walked into the town of Aviemore and had dinner at this nearby pub.  It was about a 10 minute walk from the Macdonald Morlich hotel to here, and that's about the minimum amount of walking needed to get to the commercial main drag as the grounds of the resort property cover a good portion of that walk.  The pub is quaint and cozy and we ate in the 2nd floor triangular loft area that one enters the restaurant in.  I had their venison burger and wife had their seafood linguine.  Our pals had a Winky Beef burger and the fish and chips.  The portions were pretty large.  My venison burger was a bit on the dry side and lacked flavor, but the other dishes were apparently ok.  The fries were decent. Overall, ok, and they got the job done for us read more

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Pretty solid restaurant. Stopped in Saturday afternoon for lunch. Seated quickly. Good menu and draft beer selection along with cask ales. Food came out quickly and hot. Ordered haggis neeps and tatties along with the steak and ale pie with mash. Both delicious and comforting. read more

The Winking Owl - Haggis Neeps and Tatties - Pubs Near Me - Aviemore, HLD

The service was incredible, the fish and chip was delicious. My friend ordered the vegan beet burger and she loved it! We were very impressed with the ambience, the fact that it was dog friendly and there were vegan options! read more

After a day of exploring the Scottish Highlands, we were looking for a cold local beer and a nice meal. The Winking Owl was walking distance from our hotel. We had made a reservation in advance (which is recommended). We had a nice relaxing beer before ordering the steak special for 2 for £45. Steak was cooked perfectly and the crisps were crunchy. The peppercorn & whiskey sauces were delicious. Service was attentive, friendly and quick. They have a separate bar area the Stag which has live music on certain nights. I would definitely come back the next time I visit Aviemore. read more

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I stopped in to grab myself dinner and my wife some food to go. I ordered the special which was chicken with bacon, cheese, bbq sauce, a side of fries, and a side salad. For my wife, I ordered her a Cheese, Onion, and Pesto sandwich, which comes with crisps, and a salad. She said the sandwich was exactly what it said it was, nothing extra special. I thought the food was really good, hot and fresh. While the staff was friendly, the service was mediocre. read more

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Stopped in during our stop on a Rabbie's tour. First customers of the day at lunch and were invited to sit in the best seat in the house overlooking the window and mountains. Even in the pouring rain was fun to see. Lovely, friendly server. We ordered the beef roast special which was enough for two with plenty of roasted potatoes, carrots and a popover. Amazing beer battered onion rings were perfectly seasoned, (we only wish we could make them as well back in the States!) Caesar salad with bacon featured generously cut aged Parmesan, homemade croutons, lavish amounts of bacon and delicate romaine topped with plenty of house made Caesar dressing. The restaurant began to fill up during our visit and I imagine it's very popular in the evenings. I'd gladly return to try some of the other interesting dishes like the steak and Black Gold pie. So worth our time! read more

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We spent the majority of the time downstairs in the Bothy Bar because upstairs was hot, stuffy, dank, crowded, and smelled like old fish. Downstairs, the aesthetic was...uncomfortable. Felt impersonal and unfinished. The guys working were all business, no real outward friendliness UNTIL I asked about whiskies. Then one of them lit right up. The food was (and I'm sorry for this) the worst food we had in Scotland over seven days and many meals. We each got steak pies because the rest of the menu was wholly unappealing. The steak was flavorless and needed salt, the puff pastry haphazardly thrown on top was old, underdone, and just plain stale. Also needed salt. The chips were also old and undercooked. The "greens" it came with were boiled cabbage with bacon. Somehow ALSO needed salt. I feel like a dick complaining in a restaurant in a different country, so we just didn't finish the food and left. read more

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Wow I was so disappointed with our experience here after reading so many good reviews but it seems like the quality of food and service has plummeted here. Me and a my husband were on vacation in the area and decided to make reservations for dinner here. When we arrived no one seemed to know what was going on and we had to wait for the staff to figure out our reservation and seat us. Not a big deal but then we had to wait 25 mins before my husband had to walk up to the bar and ask can we order. They weren't even that busy! We ordered beers and entrees finally but didn't even get any apology from the waitstaff for their lack of service which made me really upset. When out food came I was even further disappointed but ate it anyways because I was so hungry. I ordered the burger which came out super overcooked and blackened. It didn't have any sauce or anything so I had to add mayo to it so I could eat it. The chips were okay but not very crispy or flavorful. This was such a waste of time and money I only hope other people don't make the same mistake in coming here. read more

Great waitstaff, short wait time for food, fun ambiance, delicious comfort food--I recommend the beef pie and house--cut chips. read more

The Winking Owl - Pubs Near Me - Aviemore, HLD

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Food was okay, but the online menu didn't match the actual menu. I probably wouldn't have gone if I knew that, the menu was pretty limited. Service was terrible, I had to flag someone down to get water, flag someone down to order and never did get my check. I just stood at the bar until someone looked it up so I could pay. Would not recommend when there are other options with staff who know what they are doing. read more

The Winking Owl is now owned by the Cairngorm Brewery so, being a fan of those beers, you'd think the first thing I'd order would be a White Lady. However, having visited the pub a few times, I happen to know that in Winter they do great hot alcholic beverages and so I went for a bailies coffee to warm myself up. It wasn't a mistake. I can also vouch for their great mulled cider when it's on offer. The menu is standard pub food, but very good pub food. My partner and I both ordered the macaroni cheese which comes with a good portion of chips and a slice of thick brown toast, presumably because they recognise that anyone ordering mac and cheese has no interest in cutting carbs whatsoever. They are correct about this. It's a good hot meal and there's plenty of it. In the past I've also enjoyed the burgers and the bangers and mash. There's a reason we keep coming back here. The pub is a good size, you'd be fine as a couple or a larger group and, although it does get busy in the evenings and around lunch and dinner time, I've never struggled to get a table. The staff are quick to serve everyone and they're helpful - they know Aviemore well and can usually point you in the right direction if you need information about the town or the mountains. read more

The Winking Owl - Mac and cheese, with chips and toast. Multi-carb! - Pubs Near Me - Aviemore, HLD

Tried many new things. The fish as a bit oily, the chips come in skinny and thick. Be sure to ask for what you really want. See photos. read more

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Descent food. The staff are super nice. Great location and view. Fish and chips and mushroom and beef pie was my favorite.

No complaints at all about this cozy, friendly pub. The food is reasonably priced - a bit cheaper than the hotel restaurants in the area and served in incredibly generous portions. Two of us split an order of poutine (which is served with 3 options of sauce: curry, gravy, or chili, and 2 options of cheese: cheddar or mozzarella) with curry and mozzarella, and that really could have been a meal right there. We decided to really stuff ourselves though, and also had the cajun chicken ciabatta sandwiches, which ensured that we needed to eat nothing else for the rest of the day. Everything was tasty, piping hot, and served by really nice people. I would happily go again and recommend it without hesitation. Note: I'm not sure why, but I was unable to check in there using the Yelp iPhone app. read more

I came to The Winking Owl with a train to catch in 1 hour. They said they could serve me and have me out in time. I ordered quickly, thanks to the recommendation of the waitress to get the beef pie. The food came out very fast, despite hearing that the kitchen was understaffed. I was out in 45 minutes. They were so helpful, and I had an amazing meal! read more

The Winking Owl - Beef pie was amazing! - Pubs Near Me - Aviemore, HLD

We stopped here on a Friday afternoon for some lunch. With a group of 8 people arriving at once I was worried how long our food would be, but thankfully they seemed pretty on the ball. I ordered a couple of starters as nothing on the main menu really took my fancy (burgers, hot mains etc). I went for pate with oatcakes as well as nachos with salsa and cheese, thinking the portions would be quite small as starters. I was wrong, they were absolutely massive. I normally love pate but this one just didn't impress me, there was something not quite right about it. The nachos thankfully were perfection, and a good amount of layered cheese and salsa. The staff were super friendly and helpful, happily pouring us a shandy each and updating us on the status of the food. The place is quite nice inside, it feels like an Alpine Shack. A good relaxing place for a bite to each in Aviemore. And lots of owls statute/figurines (always a bonus). read more

Great restaurant for Scottish favorites. Friendly people and great service. Had he beef pie and my wife had an amazing soup with breaded quail eggs. Unbelievable. read more

Small but nice place for a meal and a drink. Need to book if you want to go at the weekend or in the holiday season read more

The Winking Owl - Pubs Near Me - Aviemore, HLD

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A two storey Swiss chalet type building . Serves reasonably good food though a limited menu and quite expensive . Serves good real ale but if you want to sit and drink you will be lucky principally this is a restaurant which is pretty popular . Something Aviemore lacks is a proper pub that is devoted to great real ale . read more

Service was horrible, food was not great. I had fish and chips, the tartar was straight out of a bottle and had a terrible flavor. The fish batter was meh, and the chips were just okay too. Not sure why all of the good reviews, I would avoid this place. read more

Amazing!! The food, the service, the beer, the atmosphere... everything was great. I highly recommend it though be sure to grab a reservation if you can and it's rough outside! read more

One of the louder spots in aviemore, there's a cute loft conversion in the top with a bar. It's generally busy and friendly with a good atmosphere. We ended up on the tables outside watching the hen parties stagger into the club down below. The club section is free to get in and it's far better than 'The Vault' nightclub by the station. Lots of people and again, pretty friendly. Overall I wouldn't bother going here often but for a drunken night out or dancing it's the best Aviemore has read more

The "Winking Owl" has a good atmosphere but is definetly "The Local Pub". You get funny looks from locals if you look like an outsider. It's a cosy place to drink but I don't recommend eating here. The food is bland and badly cooked and offers some weird choices such as prawn mayo on a burger. I've tried it a few times and it's really not worth the money. It has a dodgy club which no respected person would darken the doors. read more

We really enjoyed our dinner at the Winking Owl. The Cairngorm beers were delicious and the staff was knowledgeable about the characteristics of each type. The food was very good, upscale and polished versions of pub food. We were happy with everything we ordered. read more

Came in at 6:30pm on a Monday night. There were maybe 5 people in the place. They bluntly refused to seat us because "all the tables were booked." We could have eaten and been gone before half the people arrived, unless service is really that slow. Not impressed. read more

We thought they offered a great meal after a day of hiking. Nice people serving. Great desserts. Reasonably priced. We would go again.