Charcoal Aviemore in Highland

We are couple from Iceland and we loved the food and everything ❤️

Dining on my own I entered asking for a table for one and was directed to a table in a corner right of the entrance which looks like a coat room or a place to park prams. I initially sat at a table facing a wall like I was in timeout! Eventually I moved to the adjacent table 1 with a view out the front and ordered a king prawn shish. Charcoal certainly puts the char into the food’s flavours and though the skewer wasn’t burnt it still tasted like it, not overpowering, but dominating. The prawns were cooked perfectly so I surmise that the grill had other things that contributed to the strong taste. Vegetables were cooked al dante with a sort of sweet curry sauce not offensive just odd. All in all average experience with slightly above average food just under £40 for the shish, glass of wine and a starter.

Popped in for a Tea Time meal on our drive south, pleasantly impressed with the tasty food we received, good service from very attentive staff. There is a great selection of different meals on the menu, and the views straight on to the Platforms mean you can see the trains

Gave me food poisoning! I had the chicken shish and within a few hours my stomach was churning. Service was terrible on top of that. Bit overpriced. Avoid.

After being treated poorly by The Winking Owl pub in Aviemore, who refused to serve us dinner at 7:30, they were so rude, we made our way to Charcoal Aviemore where they treated us like royalty. The service was excellent and they're open late. The food and wine was just what we needed to warm our tummies after a long day of travel!

We are visiting the Highlands and found this place. The food was delicious and the service was awesome! We enjoyed it so much we visited again before we left. Highly recommend!

My absolute favorite!! Go and taste‼️

Very friendly staff, great atmosphere. Good menu. Fabulous food. Would recommend without hesitation.

First of; They don’t allow dogs. That was a first for us in Scotland. Very rude and unfriendly

Came here 3 times during our holiday in Aviemore as the food was so tasty.

Lovely place, food was amazing, lovely friendly staff, couldn't do enough for us, really nice, highly recommend 😉

The staff are polite. Had a burger which tasted just like a burger from the store with buns from the store. Not worth the price (15 £)

Went as a big group and wanted seperate bills but the staff did not allow this?? I have never experienced this or heard of this at any other restaurant- i think they were just too lazy to split up the bill and wanted us to pay together. The staff member was rude and definitely needs to attend a hospitality/customer service course. The food was not worth the prices. The portions and taste was not up to the price expectations. Each dish is around £20 per person (?!?!) Calamari was very nice but you only get 3. Overall, very poor and I would not recommend.

We cane as a family friend group but they didn't let us sit next to each other and food was just not it. DONT COME HERE!!!

Amazing food and very quick service. very friendly staff and would definitely recommend this restaurant.

Went in tonight and has no booking, was shown to a table. Excellent service, food and quick and efficient Definitely worth a try

Watery burger, curry didn’t taste genuine Indian: cost a small fortune on drinks and food poor!

Took family for a birthaday meal, food was amazing 👏 🤩 😋 staff were great ,service was second to none great work Charcoal ,see you all again soon,very soon

Do not miss Charcoal in Aviemore. Food was excellent from the appetizers to the entrees. We had tzatziki, hummus, aubergine with pita for starters. The salmon, grilled chicken and burgers were all delicious. That would be my go to restaurant if I lived there.

The food was mostly great. The rice on both the curries was not great as some of the rice was stuck together and was hard at certain points, which was disturbing while eating. The whole meal for the family was not brought out at the same time, and I had to remind the server that another meal was supposed to come. The staff seemed not very well trained but they were really nice. Also it seemed like they haven't cleaned the taps very recently as the Guinness didn't taste right. Overall I would recommend once but not much more.

The best food in the town . The atmosphere was amazing , and food delicious 😋

Nice food, well presented. Fresh.

Excellent experience . Friendly and efficient service. The charcoal grill dishes were excellent. The lamb chops 4 in total were a generous portion. Star dish was the King Prawn Shish ( highly recommended.) A korma curry lived up to expectations and the chicken fillet burger was scoffed by the none year old,

Busy restaurant offering a range of eastern dishes (some European options as well) . Very tasty offerings with special mention for the Nan Breads. Swift service, worth a visit

Dined here. Very nice restaurant. Staff were very pleasant and attentive. Food was very good! We ordered halloumi shish and a chicken burger respectively and it was cooked perfectly, also ordered chocolate cake which was beautiful😍. Wine very good too!

Fantastic food and friendly service. Highly recommend the king prawn bhuna. Great to have so much choice of cuisine in one place. Took my husband ages to choose from the menu. You won’t be disappointed what ever your favourite food is.

Went hear for dinner tonight and it was awesome I only had the cheese burger with a side of wings which was great cooked well nice soft bap but my missus had the garlic chicken and I immediately regretted not getting a curry hers was banging all the staff were very friendly and polite can't sing this establishments praises higher we will definitely be back on our next visit up here

We requested different curries and all came with same ingredients just with different curry colour Total disappointment 😔

Lovely food, great service. Enjoyed the mixed grill.

Outstanding meal, great portions, lovely staff. We had a lovely family meal on Friday night and it was so good we decided to go back the following night. Unfortunately I'm a very fussy eater and asked if it was possible to make some that wasn't on the menu. It wasn't a problem and it was fantastic so I would definitely recommend getting the chicken tikka chasni. The staff were so genuinely lovely and made everyone feel very welcome. If you can try get a seat at the window beside the train tracks. My son absolutely loved looking for the trains coming and going especially the steam train. All in all we will be coming back and definitely recommending this place to family and friends to go to.

Worst meal I've ever had, terrible!!!

Served by Mohamed Ali he was very polite , knowledgeable about the food and a great appreciation of our requirements

I would have to say that this is the worst meal I’ve ever had. Served a powder cup a soup as a starter followed the most disgusting burger. I’d advise to give this place a wide berth and save your money

I would have to say that this is the worst meal I’ve ever had. We were served what tasted like cup a soup chicken soup as a starter, nasty and powdered. Followed by the most disgusting cheeseburger. I would advise to stay away.

We visited here on a Friday night during our weekend stay in Aviemore. We ordered mixed grills and a bottle of white wine. Wine and food both came in good time, and service was nice and friendly. The mixed grills were excellent. Good quality meat, cooked to perfection. Wine was also nice. I would say slightly overpriced for the area, but other than that we had no complaints. Would recommend.

Very charming and all the staff very friendly. Was some of the best food on my vacation throughout England and Scotland!! Food was hot and flavorful. I ordered the tzatziki w flatbread, chicken strips, and chips, with a side of curry sauce. Also apple crumble for dessert.

Young girl took our order. Poor soul obviously in first job and no training. Waiter then took it as there was confusion and then waited ages for our food. Jug of water requested twice. I’d ordered the mixed grill and personally I had mixed results. Chicken nice, lamb a bit over. Pilau rice dry but my friends all enjoyed their choices so try for yourself.

The wait staff and atmosphere was very good however my partner ( have order the vegetarian burger) has been throwing up for the past hour and only after they were able to get most of it out of his stomach has it subsided. It was a shame as we had enjoyed our meal however this was a very upsetting experience.

The food was very good but the prices are a bit high.

Worst meal of our vacation so far. Greek salad was drenched in watery dressing. Jalfrezi curry was overwhelmingly spicy, without being tasty enough to make it worth sitting through. I like hot food, it seemed to be hot for the sake of being hot rather than working with the dish. Calamari was absurdly prepared, like huge onion rings. It seems like indifference to a built-in clientele, they aren't coming back anyway, why try. The location is incredible, they could easily have it be the most accessible and visible location in Aviemore but it's wasted. Huge bummer.

Its not satisfactory experience. The service, food, atmosphere especially the smell on inside. We tried the home made biriyani, madras chicken curry, fish and chips. Total waste of money.

Very extensive menu with something for everyone. Picked the Bhuna curry which was divine and so filling! Food came out quick and they refilled our water regularly which was needed as the curries had some real kick to it (which is exactly what we wanted! :) ) Will definitely need to visit again. 10/10

It is a Nice restaurant with kind staff. We had Fish and chips which was satisfactory but the display of the food felt like it was just thrown on there But other than that nice atmosphere nice food!

Cannot fault it, didn’t prebook, place was mobbed they had no tables so have us a table with high stools, food was good, had Tzatziki starter with warm naan, mixed grill main should've taken pic but was too hungry, mum had Halloumi starter & lamb tikka masala main plus we had side of chips. Staff extremely friendly & accommodating gave us an upgraded table when we requested an upgrade due to my sore arm & mums short legs 😂 Overall highly recommend was busiest restaurant in Aviemore, can see why…!

Food was decent but the thing that was outstanding was the service from Makenzie (sorry if that’s misspelt!). She was at the bar when we arrived and was an absolute machine. Very friendly and able to do about 10 jobs all at the same time! Thank you

We ate barbecue and lamb. It was very good, a success, although we were surprised when we entered, we didn't know it was an Indian.

Great food in a really friendly restaurant. We had 2 children with us and the staff were great. Reasonable prices, would go again.

Came here for a meal with my wife and my mum. I have to say this is one of the best meals out I have ever had. Service was absolutely fantastic, the food was amazing, I had the lamb chops, they were so tasty, and cooked to perfection . I definitely would highly recommend the place.

Beautiful meal. Service excellent. Waiters attentive and well mannered. Will certainly return .

We had the prawn kebabs, amazing...fresh and tasty and great presentation. Our family had been in earlier in the week and had great meals then too! The lovely waiter remembered my cousins from their earlier visit! The restaurant is decorated along the lines of an old railway carriage, very attractive

Halal meat served here. Good classic burger.

We loved the location in the railway station with (very occasional) passing trains. We were not so keen on the food. We had been tempted by the waiter to add a Peshwari Naan to our order. The naan was good, but together with large portions of rice and salad and a substantial main dish of chicken jalfrezi it meant that I had far more food than I could eat. Then the chicken was a bit rubbery, and the sauce rather nondescript, lacking the chilli bite that I expected. I felt that quality had been sacrificed to quantity. Quick and pleasant service

Food arrived really quickly and good service but the daughter's chicken wasn't cooked properly. I had a curry which was lovely but they need to make sure the food is cooked properly. Also found out afterwards that they over charged us for the kids meals.

This was an amazing find. I had the prawn shish with peshwari naan. It was absolutely beautiful. The service was great with lovely friendly staff. A must if you’re visiting Aviemore in my opinion.

Really enjoyed the food, best meal ever!

Disappointed as it all started off well! Prices were reasonable and at first, the staff were on it and attentive. Food initially came quick and was all tasty. Our server followed up with us and refreshed our drinks and cleared plates from appies before mains came. However, as we were about 1/2 through our meal, our server left. He came back a bit later with a bunch of his mates who he set up at a table at the back which is where all of the attention of all staff went. More of their friends came in and hung at the bar going back and forth between their table and bar. They all received drinks and food in record time while we sat waiting for plates to be cleared and desserts to be ordered. At this point there was only our table (family of 5) and one other table of another family of 5 who was being “served” by someone else. So it wasn’t busy. We thought they might be closing but it was not yet 8pm and they don’t close until 9pm on Mondays. We had a kid with us so we certainly weren’t there for a lengthy meal ourselves as it was getting late for us after a long day out exploring. We did get some eventual service from one of the staff who’s eye we caught while he was chatting at the bar but he only cleared our plates and told us the desserts were on the back on the menu before rushing off. We already knew what we wanted to order since we had been waiting over 15 minutes at this point for some acknowledgment that we were still there. If they wanted to socialize you’d think they’d want to hurry us out so they can focus on their friends 🤷‍♀️ Another 10 min before we had to ask to order desserts. Then we had to go up to ask for the bill after we were left alone again once finished. Though prices were reasonable and the food was tasty and very generously portioned, the terrible experience was not worth it.

We come to Aviemore a couple of times a year, first time visited this restaurant, its a new refreshing place that serves a variety of food, ended up eating here 3 times this week the food is lovely tried the chicken slish, chicken buna and sea bass all were very tasty and plenty to eat, the staff were polite, friendly, and very helpful. We will be returning on our next holiday.

Our meal was lovely and the service was great. Best meal we had in Aviemore the whole weekend! Would definitely recommend.

It's like an old 19 century resteraunt. The staff are amazing and always seek for their flaws. I'd love to come back and eat more.

Staff are very friendly and service is excellent. Lovely place but the food needs to improve. It was ok but the chicken was obviously processed kebab type. The madras sauce seemed like it may have come out of a packet. Presentation of the food was excellent. The naan bread, rice and salad were good.

We stayed over in Aviemore as part of a tour around Scotland. Found this lovely restaurant which is based in the gorgeous old Aviemore Railway Station. We grabbed a seat overlooking the platform and watched the arrivals and departures. The service was great and the food fabulous. We had the Chick Pea Casserole and the grilled Seabass, big portions and delicious. The wine was reasonably priced too for a restaurant. Definitely recommend a visit if you're visiting Aviemore.

Excellent food and really friendly staff, could not make you feel more welcome. Very busy, all age groups, tables from 2 to 8 all catered for very efficiently.

We had such a great meal here today, the service was fantastic, quick, attentive and very friendly, we loved it. The food was amazing, 2 of us had lamb chops the portion was so generous, they were exceptional. My wife asked for a vegetable Bhuna instead of the meat options that were on the menu and she was very very happy with what they provided, loads of lovely vegetables in a fantastic Bhuna sauce with amazingly fluffy rice. We cannot wait to eat here again. Thank you

The food here is delicious and the service was very friendly & welcoming. We arrived to a full restaurant without a booking but the staff were happy to move some tables around to accommodate us. We had the calamari, halloumi, and lentil soup to start, followed by the vegetable casserole, chicken & rice, and one of the curries and all were delicious and plentiful. Highly recommended!

The food was so good, we went the following night! Great options, faultless food, what's not to like?!

Could not go past this place! The food portions are massive and the menu is extensive. Food is cooked to perfection and the service is fast, professional and extremely friendly! Cannot wait to return! Highly recommend to anyone!

I cannot rate this place at all, my partner found a large piece of plastic in her lamb koftie which is awful. Then 24hrs afterwards I had D&V , whatever is going on in that kitchen is not good, avoid if you can.

Family-friendly restaurant. The service was slow, but they were a little busy. Food was surprisingly good and affordable for the location. One good thing is that no reservations are needed to go and eat

Service and food excellent. We visited twice on a four night trip and will visit again today before we head home tomorrow.

A very welcome addition to the Aviemore dining scene. We ate her twice just after New Year. The service was second to none. So refreshing to have excellent, attentive and proactive waiting staff. Everything we tried was delicious and generous in portion size. Thoroughly recommend the Shish Lamb Chops which were cooked to perfection and very tasty. Whilst the focus is on quality Indian dining the inclusion of some varied western dishes was perfect for the less adventurous in our party and was equally tasty. The restaurant was busy on a Friday night, but there was no wait for food, and service remained exemplary. Not often I’ll come home and think to write a review straight away, so take that as a big thumbs up from us. Thanks Charcoal!

Absolutely amazing!!! I would move to Scotland just because of this place ! Really nice service and people that are working there and delicious food! It’s definitely a must to visit ! We been twice and I would gladly come back . Large selection of different types of food in menu , big portions! Really really yummy 👌👌👌

We walked in for a table and had to only wait 5 minutes, which was a very good turnaround considering how busy the restaurant was. We then had the lamb chops, garlic chicken curry, and chicken bhuna, all of which were amazing with very well marinated and spiced meat. The lamb chops were especially excellent and well worth the price.

I recently dined at Charcoal Aviemore, and while the staff was friendly and accommodating, my overall experience was marred by an issue with the food. I ordered the lamb curry, and unfortunately, it was undercooked. This led to a bout of illness, and I'm currently dealing with digestive discomfort.

It's ok but they forgot some things like your souces. Very little food spread out în a large space .

It was a wonderful experience we had.. the staff were very courteous and respectful. Food was good and service was very quick. Loved it 😊

Food overcooked, dry and barely luke warm. Restaurant was empty on a Friday evening, should have listened to those alarm bells. Will not return.

Not a bad place at good. Cheap honest food. Nothing amazing but we enjoyed it. The service was spot on. Only thing I would change would be less.suger in the tikka but I'd probably order it again.

A really varied menu of Indian, burgers and seafood, very popular so book to avoid a long wait.

Large menu range. Indian, Italian, Greek (sort of!) Our group had Lagsania (not very hot and far too much cheese in one) and Chicken Shish (good but a tiny bit of pitta bread). Seafood shish was great. Overall happy with the food but not with beer range - which let's down the whole experience. If you like lager you'll be fine. If you like darker craft beers (or even an 80 shilling) you're left out. Menu only had: Tennents, Amstel, Birra Moretti, Strongbow cloudy Apple on tap and bottled Efes Pilsner, Cobra, Old Mont Cider Berries & Cherries.

Avoid at all cost got a tikka masala and it tasted like they watered down a chasni with fairy liquid absolutely revolting

Nice setting in centre of Aviemore with a pleasant atmosphere. The menu is has plenty of choice of indian food/burgers and . helpings were generous and the food was tasty and nicely presented. Good portions and fairly quick service. Table service could have been better - the guys were quite impatient about getting orders and when one knocked a pint of beer over the table, while we got an apology no-one offered to mop up the pool

Had the mixed grill, the mezze trio and the chocolate fudge cake .All very good and arrived quickly.

We were up in Aviemore for the weekend and noticed Charcoal on the high street, we tried booking online/phoning them to which no luck. We decided to turn up on the evening and luckily got the last table. It would be good if they could sort an online booking portal for future bookings as it is a really busy restaurant. If you love Turkish cuisine, you will love Charcoal. It's located in Aviemore train station and is central for both car parking & bus travel. We ordered the chicken & lamb shish with a naan bread to share and were blown away with how good it was, the portion size is great and the whole atmosphere of watching trains passing by was incredible. Staff are friendly but seem to be a little inexperienced with the menu and customers. The food is brilliant but is very costly with shish dishes being above £18 and gins £6 plus, I highly recommend trying them if you are in Aviemore!

We were up in Aviemore for the weekend and noticed Charcoal on the high street, we tried booking online/phoning them to which no luck. We decided to turn up on the evening and luckily got the last table. It would be good if they could...

Amazing service., food presentation and taste. An exceptional meal for our last night in Aviemore. Do not miss this place if u want a great tasty meal.

It’s always a poor sign when the menu in the window is faded. We should not have gone in. Staff were very polite and welcoming and the tables, seating and cutlery were fine. There was no atmosphere and no themed decor. The menu is a smattering of Indian, Turk, Italian and American. More like a pub menu. The food was cooked and hot but lacked any flair. Everything had the same spice from the bean burger to the chicken wings. Most items came with a small pot of hot red sauce. No variation there. No extra flair to the food such as mango chutney, popadums or spiced onion for instance. The salad accompanying our mains was poor and mushy. The nan was chewy. All in all a below average meal which was more than double the price it should have been. It’s a mish mash of a menu - a couple of pastas, a couple of burgers, a few curries and an attempt at Turkish. Once bitten, twice shy. I would recommend getting a microwave meal from the nearby Tesco rather than eat here.

Had the chicken strip starters which were very tasty followed by the mixed grill the flavour taste and presentation just order it and try it you won’t be disappointed Also very polite helpful staff 10/10

1st time here not many restaurants open for dinner unfortunately,went with daughter son in law and granddaughter.2 adults had the burger with chips which was very basic and quite expensive,1 got the penne masala chicken chewy and swimming in grease could not eat it.Be aware...

We were hesitant to try here after reading some reviews, but we were not disappointed. Good selection on the menu, very tasty food, quick service, no complaints. In response to some negative reviews we read…. Yes, the staff are young, perhaps trying to start a...

By chance ended up here and we all had a brilliant meal. From sea bass to Currys...all great. I had the garlic chilli curry, my wife had the sea bass, eldest had a half tikka masala and my youngest had chicken nuggets! We all really...

Avoid! Chicken was pink and you'll find better quality in a wetherspoons pub (at quarter of the price!). Bring a tourist hotspot they don't count on repeat custom so they're happy to serve you rubbish as they know you won't be back anyway.

Great food! Friendly staff! We went with our Indian friends and they were completely fascinated with this place. Also, we thoroughly enjoyed our food. Ambiance is clean and newly decorated. Friendly, courteous staff that were eager to please the guests and explain menu options. To try something different and to experience an authentic Indian cuisine experience give this place a try! You will be glad you did !

I went today and I had Crispy chicken burger was delicious And I had Korma But it was sweety But I asked them to change it to other curry and they didn’t mind that The staff are friendly

Whoever owns this restaurant is making a lot of money, as it is understaffed and by hiring very young waiters, who are likely working for the lowest wages legally permissible. Service was frustratingly slow and the mixed grill, while reasonably tasty was minuscule. It took...

This is such a great find! For dinner, it gets busy around 7/730pm. But we’d called in earlier to ask when peak times were, so popped down at 630pm and got a table straight away. I had the salmon it was absolutely delicious, done on...

Nice curry here last night with friends. Not the best Indian food I have but not the worst. Shish Kebab was also very good.

Totally recommend food was excellent service was just as good

Food was very nice however halloumi fries had to be sent back - they had been deep fried which made them taste salty. Staff very attentive and friendly. Visiting from North East England and would probably try again in the future.

One of the best meals I've had in a long time. Great service and quality 👏 👌 I had the lamb bhuna

First time at this place ! Food was excellent, food delivered fast and always helpful , nice clean place and helpful staff . Looking forward to going again .