We saw the Mountain Cafe mentioned in our travel book (Fodor's Travel Scotland, 2016), which said…read morethat it's "famed locally" and won a national award in 2014, so we had huge expectations and WE WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED!!! First: we had to wait 15 minutes, but were given a buzzer for when our table was ready--per the hostess, we were able to go as far as the grocery store in town. We didn't mind the wait, as it gave us time to pop into the tourist shop and buy postcards and stamps. The wait was worth it! I had a coffee, one of the best coffees I've ever had, and we sat enjoying the view of the mountains and the view of the pastries, piled in tantalizing piles on the far end of the shop. We each had a roll, mine w fried egg, bacon, and hash brown; hubby the same with sausage instead of bacon. The food was hot, fresh, and the ingredients locally sourced, and tasted so damn good. Every dish that made its way to neighboring tables looked ridiculously good too, and I kept saying I want to try that, and that, and that!! On our way out we bought a chocolate raspberry brownie and a macadamia bar, both items are rich and flavorful, and large enough that hubby and I have been enjoying them all day!! I seldom visit the same restaurant twice while on vacation, but while eating we both agreed that we're going back tomorrow for another amazing meal (and more pastries, I hope!!) before we had out of lovely Aviemore!

WOW (is this a way to start a review, not sure but) Wow…read more This may be one of the best places I've eaten in Scotland, no joke... and there's some great food in this country. My wife and I came here after an exhausting weekend away with teenagers... we were a bit sceptic as to whether or not there was decent food in Aviemore. Don't get me wrong, we figured we would find some ok food, but didn't expect it to be this good. We were told that we would need to get there as early as possible because of the wait... and we were like, this is an outdoor shop's cafe, it couldn't be that good. Well it is THAT good. As I said, you will more than likely have to wait (got this advice from a local)... and you could end up waiting for at least half an hour as we did. We finally got seated and were impressed with the menu thinking that the food couldn't be as good as it seems on the menu. But it was THAT good. I had a red bean burger (if I'm correct) that was SOOO tasty. They make the burgers here (not frozen like veggie burgers at other places). It may have easily been one of the best veggie burgers I've had in Scotland. It came with chips, which I wish I could've had more of but wouldn't have had the room for. To top it off, I had a pot of Eteaket tea with Red Velvet cake. So... a lot of places in Scotland try to do a great Red Velvet cake and end up with an OK red velvet cake. Mountain Cafe did an excellent red velvet. Both moist and dense. Sweet and SOOO filling. In the end, my wife had to roll me out the door and down the stair sideways. I was super full with excellent food. It may have cost a bit more than I would've normally paid for lunch, drink and a cake... but seriously I didn't care. Why isn't Aviemore closer?

The restaurant is a self service place, except from if you order hot food or pancakes when they…read morebring it out to you. The baked tatties and pancakes are legendary around here and its a nice wee day out. The pancakes are large!

1868 The Baxter Story begins with a little encouragement,…read moreGeorge Baxter borrowed £100 from an uncle and other relatives, and opened a small grocery shop in Fochabers. Moray offers a superb natural larder and Fochabers itself stands in the Laich of Moray, a sandy coastal plain, ideal for growing carrots, turnips, leeks and potatoes. In the nearby hills and glens, delicious raspberries, strawberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants are grown. Beyond are the deer forests and grouse moors. The surrounding lochs and woods are the habitat of wild duck, pheasants and partridges. Prime beef cattle graze the low-lying meadows, and through all this glorious landscape, the mighty salmon river, the Spey, winds its way to the Moray Firth, famed in turn for lobsters, crabs, scallops and prawns. George's wife, Margaret, started making jams and jellies in the back of their village shop. Once her jams had found their way to Gordon Castle, their fine quality ensured that they swiftly became popular with the Duke of Gordon's friends up and down the land. Thus the Baxter reputation began to spread. When he started the business, George Baxter's desire was to be different, be better, little guessing that these words would remain an inspiration to his great-grandchildren over 140 years later. 1914 George and Margaret's son, William, married Ethel in 1914. Shortly after, they bought a plot of land from the Duke of Gordon across the River Spey from Fochabers and built a small factory. While Ethel supervised the jam making in huge copper pans, William travelled all over Scodand by train and bicycle, passionately advocating the quality of his wife's delicious preserves. Each evening he dutifully wrote home with a list of orders he had taken that day. Cleverly blending old ideas with new and drawing on the abundance of fine local produce, Ethel created an exceptional range of soups, among them die famous Royal Game Soup. She also pioneered the canning of soft fruits when the process was in its infancy. Ethel's talent as an innovator, combined with her husband's brilliance as a salesman, made Baxters a formidable forte and it wasn't long before orders came flooding in from fine establishments such as Harrods and Fortnum & Mason in London. 1946 At the end of the war, die next generation of the Baxter family, Gordon and Ian, came to join the family firm. They found themselves in a business which had scraped through the bleck years of 1939 to 1945 making a little jam for die NAAFI and not much else. Gordon and Ian, facing shortages of glass, sugar, paper etc, decided on one major factor in forging ahead with the rebuilding of the business to go for quality every time 1952 Gordon met and married Ena Robertson. He gained not only a wife, but the other half of what was to develop into a quite exceptional business partnership. 1959 Laden down with samples of jam and marmalade, Gordon and Ena set off for the United States of America, the great laboratory of world retailing Over the next 20 years, Ena's cookery demonstrations were seen by millions of American TV viewers and together they hosted mammoth Scottish charity banquets, complete with pipers and singers and, not least, a full Baxters menu. Ena and her development team were also busy with new varieties of soup, beetroot, new flavours of jam and marmalade as well as chutneys and sauces. The Baxter portfoilio was being expanded all the time. The 1980's saw the business expand further. Baxters traditional soups were already well-established as the leading premium brand in the UK. During this time consumer tastes were changing rapidly, with a growing demand for different, more exotic flavours. Generation IV of the family took over the rein in the 1990's and, as with previous generations, innovation and quality are key. The business continues to thrive and grow, responding quickly to the needs and demands of the consuming public. Today Audrey Baxter and her management team run a company of which her great-grandparents could never even have dreamed. The sheer scale of the operation, based in sites throughout the UK, and food manufacturing operations in Poland, Canada and Australia, and the science and technology that underlies it may be far removed from the little village shop in Fochabers but the ethos remains the same Be Different Be Better

Fantastic range of food on the menu, really well cooked, abs delicious, with helpful friendly…read morestaff. Would def recommend, and will def be back! And they do a student discount on a monday and an OAP discount on a wednesday too!

I luv visiting when I am in the area, years ago there was also a Pancake Place in Inverness…read more Proper scotch pancakes with savoury or sweet fillings at different sizes. Yummy!

We stopped here before going to John o'Groats and the full Scottish hit the spot. If not for this…read morebreakfast the trip simply would've been a disaster. The lady working the tables was very friendly however was spread thin. The cafe is small but all the tables were full and she was WORKING. Maybe it'd be nice for her to have a companion aside from just the line cook who seemed nice too. Anyway great spot would recommend.

Lovely spot for breakfast. Cute decor, with a nod to old Hollywood cinema. Like most places in…read moreInverness, it's small and can get crowded fast. If there's a wee wait, it's worth it. I tend to order and enjoy things which I normally would not make myself. Especially so when I travel. To that end, the full Scottish it is. This is not a light meal. It isn't nuanced. Not delicate. It's a well-crafted left-jab and right-uppercut of heartiness and flavor. I've had blood puddings as bland as can be. But not here. It's seasoned and griddled well. Same can be said for the fried haggis. I frankly love haggis in its most traditional form as plated on Burns' Night, or fried with a nice crunch on a breakfast plate. Everything else from the sausages to mushrooms, to the egg with custardy yolk, it was delicious all around. After my wife and I had a plate each, we walked the city for about 6 miles just to burn off 25% of those calories. It was all worth it. Thanks for a memorable meal and to the lovely ladies who served and tan the establishment, much love to you for the care.

These people could not have been less welcoming. All the 4 tops were taken by parties of 2 and…read morethere were two tops we wanted to pull together and they wouldn't let us. Generally just unpleasant welcome, so we left for Artysan Cafe down the street.

Falafel on a bagel! It was so good the first time I had the same thing on the next visit. The bagel…read morewas fresh and the falafel just the right spiciness (you know, like Goldilock's porridge). Staff were pleasant and welcoming. The vibe of the place suited my sensibilities. I just wish Blend's food and vibe was closer to home.

Food and coffee was pretty good, but I could barely eat my meal because they took 30 minutes to…read morebring water. The waiter almost never came back after we got our food. It was a meal for survival, but I wouldn't go here again.

Excellent breakfast and service was delightful. Love what they're doing! Highly recommendread more

Used to be my fave cafe in town. Great food at decent prices with lovely atmosphere. Since it's…read morebeen taken over by new owner, it's gone down hill massively. Unbelievably overpriced, charging same prices for meals as actual restaurants and pubs which was never what charlies was, it was always greasy spoon cafe. Also changed ingredients. Used to love their rolls now by looks of it they use basic white rolls from Tesco bakery which makes it feel and taste cheap. Used to go weekly, now wouldn't go back again. Sad and disappointing after years of going there.

Don't bother with pastry sausage rolls or pies. Took two bites out of each and threw them away…read more Waste of money. Sorry, they weren't worth any pics. No flavor and tasted old.

While the name and location scream "tourist trap", Johnny Foxes is an outstanding pub that happens…read moreto draw in a non local crowd. We dropped by for an early dinner and got seated right away in a booth. The menu is broadly pub fare, with a focus on burgers and a couple of more upscale dishes (including an excellent fried camambert). We split the camambert (panko crusted and served with a fig and onion jam); my wife had a vegan Scotch broth + house made bread + tomato & pesto bruschetta, while I went with the highland burger: haggis on top of 6oz of dry aged Angus beef. The burger was exceptional, with a deep and pleasantly gamey flavour while the haggis added some richness. Paired with a pint of a local cask ale (Cromarty Brewing Happy Chappy pale), it was as good as dinner as we could've imagined on our first night in the Highlands.

Excellent spot for meal in Inverness. It has a wonderful ambiance especially the booths. It's a pub…read morebut won't table service. They have live music today starting at 10:30. But the highlight is the food. My wife ordered the mussels. They were served in a light cream sauce with a hint of peppers. Sublime and plentiful. I had the soup wich was very good and the steak and Guinness pie. Excellent and so much food I could not finish. Top notch service

Ate here for lunch with my wife - she has a gluten diary allergy and I have tree nut allergy, Alpha…read moreGal with a diabetes kicker.... We are a blast at restaurants. This restaurant is very careful. Apparently the lead chef is gluten intolerant. Lots of choices including desserts! We both had the Marry Me Chickpeas (I added chicken). Absolutely delicious. Staff was attentive and helpful. I would bring dates here and business meals here for sure. Maybe small children - maybe. Open seating area and pleasantly decorated. Would come back if in the area...

We absolutely loved this restaurant. The ambiance is great , the food is amazing . Served very hot…read moreand delicious. The cocktails are also delicious and very creative . Highly recommend this restaurant when in Inverness . Our server was very patient with us when we had a ton of questions. Excellent! The dessert was the best part ! The butterscotch pudding was out of this world !

Both the bartender and our server were very nice. Our server kept forgetting us but the bartender…read moredidn't, so we didn't mind so much. The steak was melt in your mouth good. My mouth just started water all over again as I typed that.

This was the first place we stopped at for food in Inverness. I read a few items that were vegan…read morespecifically and chose this for that, we were not disappointed! There was a whole veg menu to choose from and the food was great, I couldn't finish much of mine but thankfully my husband helped me out. Service was good and staff was friendly and seemed happy to be working there. The bar is prohibition themed which was cheeky for us dining as Americans.