The Cruachan Restaurant in Argyll & Bute

The steak was ordered, but the menu was quite limited. We enjoyed the meal, but my wife asked for a glass of house red wine, we were brought a bottle which was going to cost £26. My wife accepted it but she is not the type to complain. We were disappointed though.

Food was amazing, portion sizes were big - so make sure you're hungry. The only down side was not being able to have a glass of wine with dinner, but they had a good choice of non-alcoholic wines/beers to choose from.

We had to wait for the tour. We had a lunch in the restaurant. The staff are friendly and friendly and the food was nice has well .The chocolate was really good.

Was somewhere we just pulled into and stopped for a coffee - the food was amazing and the coffee was one of the best coffees we have had. The staff were all just so kind and cheerful and helpful - can not recommend this restaurant enough. The toilets sparkling clean and everywhere in the restaurant outside. Simply first class Would highly recommend a visit

We ate here when we came to book and also the next day (day of our booking) we where a party of four people 2 vegetarians, an under 5 and 1 that can’t eat dairy or any fat etc. On both visits we ate different meals which meet our needs and where yummy. The view from the restaurant is fantastic, and the staff are brill. Everything was spot on.

Good food vast menu, reasonably priced, bar on site with fantastic views of the loch friendly staff.

A lovely spacious dining area with views over the Loch. All the staff were friendly and attentive but the food did the chef no favors. Sadly the fish and chips were just basic frozen food. The tomato soup could have been poured from a passata carton. The chips were white and served sparingly in a small soup bowl. Very overpriced and unappetizing and I would not recommend.

We had been visiting various sites all day including the power plant and decided to grab a bite before heading to our BNB. We had a delicious bowl of soup, a sandwich, a dessert bar, and a pot of tea. We found the service quick and the prices reasonable. If you need a bite to hold you over recommend a bowl of soup and or toastie sandwich.

We used to rent one of the lodges at Portsonachan many years ago, so thought we would call in at the hotel for lunch last week. What a disappointment . We waited by the empty reception desk until a member of staff appeared to look taken aback by our presence and didn't utter a word of greeting. On checking that we could bring our dog in, we were told by another staff member to take a seat in the conservatory and some one would be along in a few minutes. One other table of four were eating but the rest of the place was empty. A few minutes turned into rather a long time, although to be fair, the view was stunning, which was just as well. Another couple arrived and eventually were given menus and drinks...... meanwhile, we were left to continue to admire the view, although he did repeat his promise that we would be attended to shortly. Why we weren't at least given menus at that point is anyone's guess. I'm afraid we left shortly after. Such a shame as the hotel is in a stunning location, albeit fairly isolated. Not much in the way of advertising in the area (we wouldn't have known about it if we hadn't been before). The conservatory is looking rather tired and the tablecloth had what looked like an ink stain on it. A quick wander through the dining room did little to impress either. Never mind, there's always the view.

Fresh homemade soup and delicious sandwichespacked with fillings served by pleasant and helpful staff.A great place to visit.

Didn't stay here, just popped in for dinner. Food was terrible, tasteless, bland and just plain rubbish. We all sent our meals back. Not a place I'd ever visit again. Plenty of other quality establishments in the vicinity. Pity really, it's a lovely building in an amazing location, needs run properly.

We visit the hotel on a regular basis for a meal or a drink at the bar. The new management are a complete success. We had our best meal ever there last week. The food was of a very high standard and the service was fantastic. David, the new restaurant manager ,is making a great impression and couldn't have been more professional. Jamie created a lovely relaxed atmosphere in the bar with impeccable service. We have already booked another table for dinner next weekend, looking forward to it.

Stopped by while cycling. Very unfriendly reception. We were a nuisance to the staff. Waited 45 minutes for a tuna sandwich. Toilets dirty and equipment broken. Location is great and potential abounds. However staff need to get act together and there needs to be some investment in public areas.

The food was lovely and the staff wonderfully helpful. The menu had a fairly wide selection to tempt almost anyone. I thoroughly enjoyed the soup and roll for lunch

Where do I start? This hotel is in a stunning location and could be an absolute gem if someone spent some money on decent staff and the fabric of the building. As it is, it has the air of a creaky out-of-the-way Scottish hotel which has seen better days. Most of the staff seem to be foreign and their understanding of both English language and the fundamentals of customer service are very poor. We spend alot of time on Loch Awe and have eaten at the Portsonachan Hotel two or three times when we're really desperate. The service is always pretty poor but the food is generally palatable as long as you're hungry and not too fussy. This weekend, however, took the Fawlty Toweresque nature of the hotel to a whole different level. The dining room had a tumbleweed atmosphere and we were left to just wander around and find a table. We ordered drinks. Two Appletise, one soda and lime (flat soda which I had to take back) and a lager shandy (the barman couldn't understand what a shandy was so it took a while to complete our order). OK, onto the service and food experience. Staff had an overwhelming 'couldn't care less attitude'. Witnessed two customers complaining about how long it took for their food to arrive and they settled up without eating. Staff seemed totally accustomed to this. We asked one member of staff for the children's menu "we don't have one" was the reply before he then reeled off the contents of the children's menu (the usual unimaginative everything with chips type fare). "How much are the children's meals?" we asked. "I don't know, £5.95 I think". £5.95 for a kid's meal???! eh? We then asked a second member of staff to double check. "I have no idea" he replied, "£6.50, £6.95, something like that." The whole experience was becoming more Fawlty Towers-esque by the minute. We were then told that the card machine wasn't working we couldn't pay by card. Another table left when they heard this. We decided to order three adults meals and split one meal between the two children (a healthier and cheaper option than two children's meals). The time from when we arrived to finally getting our meal was almost an hour. The food arrived but we had no cutlery. The charmless waiter left us sitting with our plates of food and came back with some cutlery but not enough (four people = four knives and four forks. He brought four forks and two knives so we had to ask for the extra cutlery). Our patience was wearing very thin by this point. What can I say about the food? The fish and chips which my husband ordered was cold and the chips weren't cooked properly so we had to send it back. Then the carbonara arrived and this was a taste sensation which I never want to repeat. I'm not a particularly fussy eater and can eat most things. However the carbonara was inedible. It was floating on a bed of fat and had a rancid taste, as if contained butter which had gone off. I can only assume that it had been reheated after someone else sent it back. At this point we just decided to forget the whole sorry experience, paid for our drinks and took our two hungry children on a lengthy drive to somewhere else where we could get decent food and service. Please take my advice and avoid the Portsonachan Hotel until the owners spend some time and money on sorting the place out. Taking money off customers for this kind of experience is akin to daylight robbery. Don't know what the bedrooms are like as we have never stayed overnight but the public areas are pretty shabby so I can only assume that's a decent reflection on the sleeping accommodation. If you're staying near Loch Awe and are looking for a decent meal, try Tight Line in Lochawe Village or the fabulous George Hotel in Inveraray.

We were staying locally and visited Portsonachan for a meal. Worst decision of our holiday, the food was really very poor and service left a lot to be desired. A definite candidate for one of Gordon Ramsay's make-over visits, needs a whole lot of re-training in terms of customer service and cooking skills.

We didn't stay at the hotel, so no comment for the rooms.

Every year we ( 2 couples) go to Loch Awe and enjoy a week's fishing/ reading/ eating and catching up. One of our traditions is going to the Sonachan Hotel on our final evening for dinner. In the past we have had some great food in the bar area and the restaurant. We had been reading trip advisor and knew that standards seemed to have fallen but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. We ordered and waited the best part of an hour for our meal. One of our friends had ordered cullen skink which never arrived. We waived the offer of having our main courses taken away and the soup brought, because by then we were all quite hungry. The best that could be said of our meals was that they were edible, vegetables were overcooked, and plates ranged from overheated to clay cold. Deserts were adequate. The service was cheery, but clearly communication between waiters and the kitchen is poor. When presented with the bill, we found that the cullen skink was still on the bill but this was so cheerfully struck off that we imagine this was not the first time this has happened.it would be a tragedy if this beautifully located hotel were to close and I fear that this may happen if the management don't get to grips with their considerable problems.Rose

Went here on 11th of June and would not recommend it. The location is excellent with great views but that is where the excellence stops. Unfortunately I had not read other reviews before booking. Did not stay in the accommodation so can’t comment it.Yes, it is like Fawtly Towers. In fact the locals actually laughed when we told them where we were eating. They also wished us good luck.I booked several months in advance and phoned 2 weeks to confirm, despite this they still had no evidence of our booking. The service was some of the worst I have ever received; at times we were convinced it must be a setup for a reality TV programme. Don’t let the hotel’s smart website fool you. The actual menu was quite different to the sample menu.It took ages to get drinks and even then the bottles were just deposited on the table. Fortunately they were screw top so we did not have to look for a corkscrew like the couple at the table beside us. Despite some chat from one waiter about no tap water (what do they wash the salad in?) we eventually managed to get a jug of tap water from another waiter.The night continued like this and it was clear from looking around that everyone was experiencing the same poor treatment. The staff seemed oblivious that most customers were not happy and there was discussion between tables as to how poor things were. Dishes seemed to be going back to the kitchen from many of the tables, some people left between courses.Our food was average to poor, some of the dishes were cold and many of the langoustines were missing their claws. It was not the meal I expected having seen the online sample menu. Fortunately nobody got ill like.My advice would be to stay well clear of this place, don’t get sucked in by the posh website. Don’t encourage this sort of substandard hospitality in Scotland- it’s not welcome.

Had the worse fish and chips i have ever had,the batter was all soggy not a crispy bit at all, it was my first meal in the hotel and with it being a fisherman's holiday thought the fish would be lovely, the table was dirty when we sat down and the waiter never even wiped it then put our cutlery on the table .servise was very slow having to ask for items several times,food was cold, the area is perfect if u just want to chill of fish but no entertainment at all.