Port Charlotte Hotel Restaurant in Argyll & Bute

What can I say, what a find. from the outside the place looked a bit dated, did not think the food would have been up to much but how wrong was I. The food was absolutely gorgeous, the staff was caring and very professional. cannot praise high enough , the restaurant had a log fire , it was cosy and warm and a great wee pub, wish we were staying longer 11 out of 10 from us Gorgeous, great and glad

One of the best meals we've had out for ages... and that includes various bits of England and Scotland including London (haven't been to Wales or Northern Ireland for a while...). High end food, with lots of attention to detail and lots of quirky Asian/Indian twists. All utterly delicious and beautifully presented in a lovely setting - smart but not over starchy, with friendly staff. Made a fabulous start to our Islay Jazz Festival weekend.

From the moment you step into this beautiful hotel/restaurant you feel like you’re home. From the cozy ambiance to being greeted by Lorna you know you picked the right spot. They have an excellent whiskey selection and let’s not forget about the food. They have an amazing selection of food. We enjoyed the beef carpaccio and crab and prawn salad as a starter. The posh fish was fresh and crispy and the burger was cooked to perfection. Don’t skip out on their sticky toffee pudding it’s absolutely delicious. We happened round be there for my birthday and Lorna made it extra special with a beautiful personalized card. I would easily come back again and again.

We visited for dinner the night before we went home. So glad we saved the best to last. What a wonderful experience. The welcome from Lorna, the food was exceptional and the staff were like old friends. Highlights of the night were the beef carpaccio, the monkfish, halibut and 4 very generous portions of cheesecake. Finished night off with a dram in front of the fire.Just amazing.

Excellent cuisine and service. When five friends for almost 50 years gather for dinner, you are able to share plates, compare and enjoy together, beyond the individual dinning experience. For starters, we tried the scallops and the oysters. Do try them. Scallops cooked beautifully and the local oysters are meaty, not too salty and of course, insanely fresh. Our main courses included the halibut filet, the Argyll salmon and the Indian spiced monkfish. All of them superbly cooked. The curried monkfish was particularly flavorful, without tunning down the fish. A great dessert menu. We tried the toffee pudding, the strawberry panna cotta, the chocolate fondant and the cheese selection. Each and every plate was well prepared, cooked to obtain the best of flavors and cared in the presentation. Staff is extremely professional. We had very detailed explanations on the way each plate was prepared as well as the origin of the ingredients. Visit them if you are in Islay. You will not be dissapointed.

Set in the most beautiful village on Islay, this Hotel, Restaurant and Bar provides a warm traditional Scottish welcome. The food is locally sourced, in fact you can see the farmers field and fishing boat from the window that pulled in the catch earlier that day. Huge selection of wine and whisky from every region. You arrive a visitor and leave a friend. Come and experience Scottish hospitality at its finest.

Stopped at the Port Charlotte Hotel after coming off the ferry and whilst waiting for our distillery tour to start. Gorgeous seafood soup, recommended by the friendly staff. Our friends has fish and chips, which was also delicious. It was a cool day and the pub had a roaring fire, very nice. Would definitely recommend the pub.

What a great restaurant. Service was friendly and efficient . The food was delicious. Would go there again in a hearbeat

Walked in on a Wednesday about 630pm looking for dinner. Unfortunately we did not book ahead and they said they were completely full. Ok. So went somewhere else for dinner thinking we could come back for drinks and supposed Wednesday night music. We came in about 845pm.. no seats available and ordered drinks. The folk sitting at the bar were firmly planted. So we stood but were obviously in the way of the staff rushing food orders in. I asked if we could bring our drinks over to the empty sitting lounge but was told that was only for residents. Felt incredibly uncomfortable and unwelcome. We never saw any indication of live music. Drank our beers and left

Stay round the corner from here and visit frequently to eat. Great staff....all kind, helpful and chatty.....interested in what you have done! Good choice of food,...well prepared and presented. Bar good for music on Sundays and Wednesdays...lots of chat and great atmosphere Thank you Isobel and Graham!!!!!!

A lovely evening at Port Charlotte Hotel. My husband and I both had the posh fish and chips followed by the homemade sticky toffee pudding. All was delicious. Thoroughly enjoyed and recommend x

Delicious food and excellent service. The children’s menu is great (fruit salad starter - old school but very much enjoyed and recommended) and yummy fresh fish fingers. Starters of scallops and oysters were delicious as were the mains of halibut and posh fish and chips. Cheese board and puddings also highly recommended. Front of house staff were fabulous - friendly, welcoming and so helpful. And Islay Ales on tap from the bar!

Amazing food, great friendly service and staff. Came on a family holiday and had our family meal here, I had the beef carpaccio, venison and cheese selection and it was all amazing and cant fault it at all. However, I wouldn’t be able to come to the restaurant alone with my student loan budget!

Simply put, the freshest and tastiest seafood I’ve ever had. If you’re in Islay and you don’t come here for the seafood platter, you’re missing out. Service and food both exceptional.

Food fantastic service exemplary. Family dinner kids loved it we felt like royalty all night! Thank u you to Lorna and all the staff!!!

Like many places serving food on Islay, the Port Charlotte hotel's food is expensive and not that good. My companion's soup was good. I ordered a cheese and pickle sandwich, which should be hard to get wrong especially when it's being charged at £8. This one had bland cheese, too much sugary pickle and cheap sliced bread. The vegetables I ordered to go with it were so undercooked that it was hard to cut them and they didn't taste particularly fresh. The service was genuinely friendly and my feedback was received gracefully, which saved this from being a one star review.

Absolutely fabulous meal, I had the pork belly and haggis bon bin to start, chicken supreme as a main and the rice pudding with cardamom and coconut was to die for. My friend enjoyed all her 3 courses too. Lovely atmosphere and great service from the team.

Spend a lot of time here when staying in Port Charlotte. The dining room has a great atmosphere. The bar is a must. Eat lunch and evening meal here regularly . Food and service excellent. Advise booking for evening meal. Live music Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Staff just the best

A friend recommended this- so glad they did. Superb food at a reasonable price. I had the chickpea curry, my husband the posh fish and chips, which he raved about. We will be back, for sure.

Fab lunch. Top notch whiskys. Beautiful spot overlooking the ocean. Servers warm and friendly worth a visit.

This was the best meal we had in Scotland. Four of us, four different dishes, shared appetizer and shared dessert. We were blown away by how delicious EVERYTHING was! Service was amazing, the plating of the food was gorgeous but the taste of it all was incredible. Can't recommend highly enough.

Great small pub atmosphere. The barman is the best. The food was excellent, especially the salmon. The meals are large.

J'y ai diné il y a 10 ans. J'ai trouvé l'endroit particulièrement agréable avec un charmant salon anglais comme la...

Great atmosphere, Cosy quirky interiors, fabulous music and excellent food. This was the best meal we’ve had in a while, perfect produce prepared to perfection. Earlier in the week we enjoyed a glass of wine at the beachfront seating outside. I’m so glad we came...

Hervorragend er und freundlicher Service. Prima Essen. Wir hatten nicht reserviert und bekamen trotzdem einen Tisch. Very nice

My wife and I dined at the restaurant during a recent holiday on Islay. It was our one planned special meal during the holiday. My meal was fine (I had Carpaccio of Islay beef followed by Venison) but my wife's meal was not the best....

We had a fabulous dinner here. The restaurant setting is marvellous (we had a window seat). The staff are very friendly and attentive without being over the top. The food was superb - we had scallops, pork belly followed by venison, beef - a lovely...

Excellent food and service.... Good choice and food and well presented. Ate out in the garden as glorious day....

Dinner was a surprise birthday present for my wife from our daughter. We arrived on time and were greeted by a lovely lady on reception who efficiently confirmed our dinner booking. We were then handed over to another, equally lovely and pleasant lady who took...

This was a promising dinner, but in reality it was anything but. They served the most meagre salads and the mains were just about average. My sirloin steak was poor. We didn't bother with desserts.

I totally agree with the previous review, this happened to us also. We had confirmation of our booking and had gone to the trouble of “dressing up” to go to a nice restaurant. They should have told us that on their confirmation. We may not...

In early April we had a wee break away to Islay and stayed in Port Charlotte. We booked a table two nights before. We arrived at the restaurant and we thought we were booked in the restaurant part but when we got there we were...

Zeer behulpzame mensen. Restaurant leek me ook supergezellig maar wij kwamen voor afhaal. Betrouwbaar en correct.

We attempted a walk-in at this restaurant yesterday - since it was Wednesday and live music night they just could not accommodate us. But Lorna did everything she could to ensure we wouldn’t go to bed hungry and she let us order from the takeout...

I saw this restaurant on Shark Tank and thought I would give it a try, I would say average at very best, I had the Fancy Fran which was supposed to be grapes, pecans and apples. There was not one hint of apple in the...

Love this place....beautifully situated in Port Charlotte, great atmosphere especially when the band is in, really warm welcome....,staff are lovely and very good food!!

Celebrated my husbands birthday here and it was wonderful. We were fully taken care of from the moment we walked in the front door. Friendly staff and guests, great food and wonderful wine list

Went for a quiet drink with my boyfriend for a quick catch up with some old friends only to be welcomed by a very unfriendly and rather hostile, short, curly haired lady. Although we were hastily directed to a table which was free, mid conversation...

Never stayed but enjoyed several meals in the restaurant and bar. Exceptional friendly staff and good variety of dining options. If you’re lucky, you might catch some live music too.

We unexpectedly managed to get to fort Charlotte today. What a stunning place. The weather was a bit blowy…so we popped into the hotel for lunch. Since we had less than an hour until our bus back to Bowmore, I ordered tomato & basil soup...

My husband and I met up with another couple for four nights at the Port Charlotte Hotel. Our room (#2) was well appointed and comfortable - it was also impressively quiet! The hotel is cozy and decorated well - definitely take time to explore and...

Just had the most delicious meal at the Port Charlotte Hotel restaurant. Attention to detail, friendly and helpful service from Lorna and Marianne. Extensive wine and whisky list. Very relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. See photos - all absolutely delicious - best oysters and scallops ever!...

Amazing service, so warm and welcoming, it was lovely to sit by the fire. The posh fish and chips are really tasty, the burger is great and so is their chicken. The sticky toffee pudding definitely shouldn’t be missed! It is a little expensive but...

Ate here our last night on Islay. Service is super friendly and it's a lovely cosy dining room. As a group we had a variety of things from the menu and everyone really enjoyed what they had. Not the cheapest place, but we all thought...

Amazing food and friendly staff. Had fish and chips last night and Chana Massala tonight. Very tasty !

C'était absolument parfait... 1 entrée de légumes grillés très goûteuse, 1 filet de bœuf tendre comme du beurre avec son...

Our experience both of the pub and of the restaurant was very positive. The restaurant is stylish, with a good choice on the menu, and excellently cooked food. Recommended.

We booked a table for 7 in the restaurant, we had a warm welcome and were swiftly shown to our table. Service was excellent by Lorna and her colleagues, ambiance was very enjoyable. The food arrived promptly and the quality did not disappoint either, it...

An excellent meal of fresh seafood . A wonderful ambience and excellent service . Hope to be back 🤩

Dinner with eight friends to celebrate a 50th Birthday. From the pre-dinner drinks right through to departing, the service from Lorna and her team was 5 Star. Food was outstanding and a true display of Islay's finest offerings. Wine list strong too. If every hotel...

We had an amazing night in the Port Charlotte Hotel restaurant on Saturday. Incredible food and wine, brilliant atmosphere and the most lovely and helpful staff. It was my husbands 50th birthday, Lorna and her team went out of their way to make it such...

Delicious local food, perfectly cooked and well presented, what else is there left to say? Particular highlights include the scallop starter, which was beautifully seasoned, and the chocolate fondant dessert, which was a gooey decadant treat.

Me and my parents visited this restaurant, and they were rather happy with their choice of fish and chips, which was cooked well with a generous portion. My choice of the cauliflower steak was the polar opposite. A mean sized portion of undercooked cauliflower was...

I was really charmed by the location of Port Charlotte Hotel - the beer garden has beautiful views across Loch Indaal. But the excellent food, superb whisky selection and best of all the service were all outstanding. Lorna and Gary along with their colleagues were...

My son and I were looking for a quick simple lunch. We decided to visit the Port Charlotte Hotel. The welcome was warm, ordering food from a very well stocked bar. Both my son and I decided on the traditional fish and chips. There being...

Unfriendly staff, hostile environment, unhelpful in every sense. Shame, as the rest of islay was great. Go to the other (friendly) pub up 50m up the road instead.

The hotel is in a fantastic spot overlooking the sea, great bar and food menu. Booking is essential as it gets busy.

A warm welcome and friendly attentive service along with an imaginative menu just added to the pleasure of the evening. The food was very well-prepared and tasty - would certainly return.

Great food, great service and lovely environment. This was a lovely place to go for a special meal and has a good wine menu.

Booked this restaurant for dinner and just as well as it was very busy when we arrived. Loved the food and location of the restaurant, would recommend.

Prebooked a seafood platter for two as a special treat and it certainly didn’t disappoint! Great service, seafood was amazing and the ambiance will mean we will return next time we visit Islay. Highly recommend

Arrived here for a lunch that I booked 6 weeks ago after speaking to someone at the hotel who took the booking and confirmed it. Booked for 5 people. Arrived after a 2 hour drive from 730 am from Oban plus 2 hour ferry plus...

We were staying for 5 nights in port Charlotte and went into the Port Charlotte hotel every night . First night we sat outside with locals drinking . Fantastic atmosphere every night , such fun. The staff are really accommodating and helpful. We ate on...

We are six Canadian rugby mates on a whisky tour who arrived on Islay on a Wednesday and headed straight to the Port Charlotte Hotel to enjoy their trad music night, that was finally returning after a couple of years. As a side-thought, we decided...

Lovely food, good menu choices and ended up going for the Fish and Chips. Great portion size and tasted really good. Also went for sticky toffee pudding for dessert which was equally as good. Friendly staff and good views out the window. Would definitely recommend...

Firstly book ahead! If you are a guest of the hotel make sure you tell them as they try to save space for guests. Secondly you can eat in the restaurant or in the bar (same menu). We did both and enjoyed both. The food...

We couldn't remember when we'd last had fish & chips this good - really tasty, succulent fish in a delicious batter. The chips too were brilliant. If you're a beer enthusiast, the Finlaggan (brewed on the island) is superb (so good we went to the...

Le côté bar est vraiment très sympa mais je suis plus septique sur le restaurant. L’endroit est joli mais pour...

We booked a meal here for our final night on Islay. We had previously visited the bar for a drink and it is a lovely and friendly wee local pub with a reasonable selection of beers and a fantastic selection of Islay whisky’s. Our meal...

What can I say the food is amazing local produce cooked to perfection. The staff were fantastic very accommodating and honestly couldn’t do enough to make us feel more welcome!!

Had a wonderful dinner which exceeded expectations (Monday night in depths of winter in a tiny island village). What a great place! Warm and welcoming, friendly, very authentic feel and amazing food. As a vegetarian I’m often disappointed when I eat out but all three...

Great range of local food and all beautifully presented. Tasty, good value and in a lovely location.

Popped in here for coffee on a very rainy day! The staff couldn’t have been more helpful, plenty of freshly brewed coffee, hot chocolate to keep out the cold! Really cosy bar area with view to the bay.

I am a great believer in trying the local produce where ever I go on holiday. Then I saw the bar menu had posh fish and chips. I suspect a balance of local and bought in. However - what is 'Posh Fish and Chip' ?...

As ever, every evening spent at P C Hotel either in the bar or restaurant are just the best....Feel so much at home....great food and exceptional service and staff. Celebrated a birthday this time with friends in the restaurant. Simply the best...BIG thank you to...

we stopped of on a drive of the island, it was a lovely sunny day and we had coffee and banana cake on the terrace, staff were friendly and welcoming and it was a lovely spot to sit and take in the views, would return...

We booked into the Port Charlotte for dinner on our final night on Islay. The staff were warm and welcoming and the service was excellent as was the food (the haddock was fresh and perfectly cooked!) The homely atmosphere in the bar and restaurant area...

Stand out dinner of our trip in the southern Hebrides. We were delighted the Loch Gorm House had the foresight to book us in as extremely busy. Fantastic local scallops and halibut excellently cooked. We’d have been back in a flash but couldn’t get in!

Very nice good ate here twice on our holidays, lots of lovely fish, staff friendly and pleasant and very efficient, lovely fish and chips and, fish specials, Desserts vet good sticky toffee and panna cotta and cheese

Friendly staff and fab food including the seafood platter. Not cheap but worth every penny! Felt a bit guilty as the 2nd service on the evening had no fish platters left! Puddings were great too would recommend the choc fondant and sticky toffee pudding. 7...

I failed to book in a advance but, as a solo traveller, I was very kindly squeezed in at short notice. I'm very grateful they found space for me as the food was delicious and views from the conservatory/beer garden were beautiful!

Why advertise morning coffee and home baking when you do don’t want to serve it! 6 of us say outside this morning for half an hour waiting on someone serving us for morning coffee. Eventually two of our party went in to order only to...

Booked in advance online and my email was dealt with promptly. The staff were very friendly and welcoming on our arrival. The food choices sounded delicious on the menu however I was somewhat underwhelmed by the flavour. Choosing dessert I asked the wait staff where...

My partner and I had a 3 night stay at the beautiful hotel at the beginning of June. It was just what we needed after a long year of lockdowns and rules. We had dinner in the hotel every night and got to experience both...

Excellent meal. Wide-ranging menu, including much seafood. Some prices might not appear so affordable but the portions are big and top quality. But for those on a budget there is plenty choice. Beautiful terrace, right on the sea, where you can watch the boats, the...

We stayed in Port Charlotte village for a few days in May 21 and went to the Port Charlotte hotel bar in the evenings for a beer or 2, either outside when it was sunny & warm or inside when there was a bit of...

We stopped in for a drink whilst on holiday and enjoyed our visit. Lovely decor and very nice bar staff, definitely recommend a visit.

We enjoyed a dinner in the conservatory on our last night on Islay. The starter of goats cheese Bon Bon’s accompanied with watermelon, cucumber & mint was vert flavoursome. My wife enjoyed her Port Charlotte burger whilst my posh fish and chips was cooked to...

Fantastic hotel in a stunning location, beautiful views across the sea from the outdoor terrace. Great out front now with the bistro seating & tables for a wee refreshment and/or sundowner. The food is delicious, amazing seafood in particular, and the staff are brilliant, very...

Food here was so delicious that we returned three times! The scallops with crispy cauliflower was a particularly delicious starter and the posh fish and chips was spectacular. Would 100% recommend.

A real must is the wonderful seafood platter which was fresh and tasty. Service is excellent and I would love to return when we are through the current pandemic to enjoy a meal followed by a few drinks in the homely bar.

Really nice hotel recently refurbed, breakfast is worth a try, the only thing is the hotel is not doing food and there’s not a great selection round

My partner and I booked in for a meal on the 7th October. We were not disappointed, lovely setting and the staff were excellent. If possible the food was even better. The monkfish curry was out of this world. Would absolutely recommend eating here.

We had a good meal here under social distancing laws etc ; bar and waiting staff very friendly Food - very good ; if you stay sensible not expensive; so I had scallops ( wonderful 4 for a starter!); fish and chips great; cranachan a...

Disappointing dinner here. We were so looking forward to a lovely meal here as our special treat. The cost was double the other restaurants. The conservatory we were sat in is shabby. The scallops and black pudding we ordered arrived without the black pudding. Once...

Great food & service. We didn’t have a single disappointing course in two evening meals for 4. Curried monkfish and local oysters very very good!

We had a beautiful lunch here. The staff are incredible. They actually moved my partner and me as a larger group came in and with Covid restrictions they wanted us to feel comfortable. It was a brilliant lunch and experience. Would most definitely visit again.

We throughly enjoyed our lovely lunch in this characterful hotel bar. The seafood was delicious and the views of the garden were stunning.

We stopped for coffees. They were lovely and well priced. Some seating outside. Friendly effective service The hotel is located centrally in the village and looks good Good covid measures - seem effective

Very carefully thought out COVID 19 policies I had an excellent fish finger sandwich and my wife had a lovely seafood chowder.