The Ailsa Bar in Argyll & Bute

On a solo sailing trip to Tarbert I was fortunate to get a call back confirming that a table had now become available. I don't normally do fine dining without the wife. My starter of Scallops in garlic butter with Samphire was excellent, no, they were better than excellent, followed by delicious Cod Fillet in sauce. The team were welcoming and the whole dining experience was first class. Meeting a friendly and knowledgeable couple from New Zealand made the "Dinner for One" a more relaxed and enjoyable evening. Go there, eat good food, get great service, and meet nice people.

Thank you to the lovely people at Eat Street at the Stadium - they went above and beyond to make battered fish and French fries for me - different from their current daily special of breaded fish- excellent customer service. Food was delicious! Thanks a bunch guys - great little find.

Amazing food and able to cater for gluten free. Staff great.

This was our first ever trip to Oban (despite being Scottish my whole life... I haven't always lived here) and it was a lovely town overall. We popped into the Oban Chocolate Company to grab an ice-cream for the walk back, but ended up getting chocolates instead as the ice-cream flavour choice was limited at our visit (which could purely be a stock issue). Another reason we popped in here was because it was dog-friendly. The chocolates we bought were really nice and we enjoyed them with a cup of tea when we got home later that night. The flavours were just right, not overpowering, and the temper (snap) of the chocolate was excellent. What more can you ask for? There is a selection of prints and original artwork by Helen MacKenchnie (wee_adventure_art) which caught our eye, and I very nearly bought one, but being a print I'm going to find the artist and see if the original is available. This is just personal preference. I do have to add, being big tea drinkers we looked at the mugs for sale (as they appeared possibly local stoneware) but a quick flip over revealed "made in china" which was a bit disappointing and so they were left. For me, I'm expecting local items (like the chocolate and art) from places like this and had the mugs been from a local producer (I know there's one in Lochgilphead, because I tried to make my own there) then we would have likely bought them. Overall, a nice shop / cafe with great chocolates, dog-friendly and right on the shore front. When we're next in Oban we'll definitely pick up more chocolates to enjoy.

Great place to spend a relaxing afternoon or evening with friends. Good wine and excellent food plates of fresh meats, cheese and bread. Great staff