The Winking Owl in Highland

Used this many times over the years with both great service and food, place we always enjoyed going back. Tried again today and times have changed. Poor service, lots of the menu not available at 12.45 lunch time.

Quick to take the order but waited a long time for our food - starters were over 45 mins and it was only bruschetta and two children’s garlic breads. We then had to wait another 45 minutes for our main courses which wasn’t ideal given we were dining with a seven year old and eight year old. There was no apology or no explanation for the delays and it ruined our first evening in Aviemore. We had assumed a 6.15 meal time which would mean we were out for 8pm; however this was an assumption that we shouldn’t have made. A shame as it was lovely food let down by very poor service. It was busy; however this was known as nearly everyone had pre booked so why they didn’t have the staff/chefs on to accommodate, I do not know!

Good food, good beer, good service. I had the rib eye. It was a well cooked generous portion, followed by the delicious home-made stick toffee pudding. Enjoy

Food cold, staff reaction to being told this was appalling,eye rolling and no apologies or accountability. Food returned 20mins later microwaved. We didnt eat it and left shortly after. We had booked there to celebrate a special occasion which was ruined by the experience there. Overall the whole evening was super disappointing, made worse by the terrible service. They took 2 out of the 6 meals off our bill and sarcastically asked if that would make us happy. To be honest we should have just paid for our drinks and walked out. None of us ate the food. Would not recommend.

The food was really nice!Cozy place. I gave 3 stars because they don't pay that much attention to the comfort of their guests other than serving a meal. We were seated at a very nice spot and had a lovely time. But short after a family was seated next to us with two young kids watching videos and playing games on their iPads with the volume all the way up. It was really annoying. I talked to them myself, but it only worked for a couple of minutes. It was noticeable for people around, including the staff, but they didn't bat an eye. The music in the place was pretty loud as well, so the combo was not very nice while having a cozy dinner with a friend.

A group of is went out for dinner, inside seemed nice and welcoming. Ordered our food and it all arrived cold, got sent back and re done only to still be look warm. Rude service staff and not one apology. Don't no how they got it so wrong. Will never return

The staff were lovely Atmosphere was great too The food was just outstanding hats of to chef !!!!!! I definitely recommend

We have been coming to aviemore for over 10 years every January and for some Reason we never made it to the winking owl. Normally would eat at la taverna as it’s good for kids however we will definitely be back here. It was very quiet and relaxed. Lovely and warm inside. Has almost an alpine feel to the place. The chap who attended to us was so polite and friendly. He was doing it all, taking orders, bar, serving food etc. can I just say he is a credit to this place. The food was delicious, I had the steak and ale pie and couldn’t finish it, lots of lovely steak and the seasonal veg and mash was lovely. Husband had the rump steak which was on special for £20, he also enjoyed this and kids had chicken goujons. 1 potion would have done the 2 of them. Really good quality ingredients and lots of care. Pudding was cheesecake, bit on steep side at £9 but everywhere is expensive now and you don’t mind when the quality is there. We will defo be back and recommending to other people. Thanks for making our last night lovely x

A little overpriced but nice tasting Small menu choice

22nd jan 2025 I had thee most wonderful experience. The 2 ladies working were just so sweet and attentive. The food was to die for I had the haggis neeps and tatties and the brownie and when I say this was unreal I'm not lying. Everything was great. I was on my own and they put me on a table for 4 because it was cold by the door they wanted me to be cosy. You can't buy kindness and service like this. Thank you so so much for making a solo traveller feel so welcome.

Came here for my boyfriends birthday on a Saturday night - the staff were amazing, so friendly and accommodating and went out of their way to make sure we had a good time. The only thing I would say let’s it down is the vegetarian options on the menu. They only offer macaroni cheese and a veggje burger.

Quiet able to talk with friends

We arrived here as part of a stag party in the afternoon, 20 of us. Spent the afternoon in the bar, good local ale, wildcat, stayed here until they could accommodate us for lunch. They fitted us in brilliantly. Good steaks, no quibbles from anyone else

Decent surroundings and food OK but £6.95 for a pint brewed in London? C'mon

The food was delicious I loved the haggis but the service was a bit slow when trying to get another drink but I suppose it was quite busy so will let them off 😊

The quinoa burger was tasty and came with amazing crispy fries, and the brownie was rich and melted in the mouth—absolutely delicious. There were plenty of other vegetarian options on the menu too. The staff were friendly, the ambience was lovely, and booking a table through their website was super easy. Definitely worth a visit!

What can I say about this place? We LOVED IT! We went on an unfortunate day that they had not had their gas delivery so the menu was limited but we were aware of this as soon as we came through the door. We didn't mind and stayed for the food and I'm glad we did. The service was brilliant, each member of staff was so friendly and welcoming. The food was delicious! The price is so affordable and the atmosphere was amazing.

Didn’t have food but drinks expensive Pint of lager and G&T £18.20 🫣 asked if correct to be told. “I don’t make the prices up”…. 😏

Nice chunky chips. Very nice clean restaurant with a varied menu. Our party of 4 were very happy with our food. If you are in Aviemore and hungry this is well worth visiting

Very good but need to book very busy

Had a really good Hogmanay meal here - great service, good food and a great vibe.

Fantastic food and very friendly staff. Definitely recommend!

Arrived at restaurant at 6.20 on Sunday 22 November. Went to bar to request a table as indicated on board. Sat down to await menu. At 6.40 we were still waiting to order. I said to my wife if nobody took our order by 6.45 we would leave and go elsewhere. At 6.44 the waitress took our order. We then waited a further 25 minutes to get our food which was not the best. I had the turkey roast and my wife had the Cullen Skink soup. There was very little fish in the soup and what there was, was burnt. How ?? The potatoes in the soup were hard.

Delicious food, nice atmosphere, I recommend it

The restaurant is impeccable, the bar, not so much

We visited The Winking Owl as a family of 5 with Amber the puppy! First impressions were comfy cosy and Christmassy, the staff are really friendly they took time for a chat and made sure Amber was looked after with some water and cuddles, we all had the fish and chips which was really good no complaints, the food was hot the batter crispy and the portion plenty. We also enjoy a bottle of wine with lunch.i would return here on my next visit to Aviemore without a doubt.

Best meal out we’ve had in ages! Haggis neeps and tatties, steak and salmon all amazing! Just what we needed after a day up Cairngorm :)

A nice place to stop for some food. Reasonable prices and wholesome food. The staff were friendly and welcoming. Plenty of space to park our car. They have a separate bar area downstairs, but we only came to eat, so didn't check it out. Would come again.

We visited here in November and I wouldn’t say it was great. The whole bar area looks a bit grubby and could do with a clean and a bit of a makeover. the tables were sticky and there were still Halloween decorations up. The drinks considering the bar area were quite expensive. I was surprised as I have eaten in the restaurant upstairs before and it was lovely. The plus side of this was they had a live band on who were great. The toilets were also cleaner than the bar area.

Good food reasonably priced though the wine was expensive. The whole place is a bit shabby. ( this may have been the ambience they were looking for) Staff good and friendly. Service prompt

Excellent place with local dishes and well sourced ingredients. Weirdly emptier than other Aviemore establishments (at least on a week day), which are offering just another set of well known pre-cooked pub food or Italian cuisine that does not seem to quite fit the rural charms of Scottish hills in the area. Wednesday’s are a steak night - go for it! The black garlic pork is a must, steak ale pie is a hearty portion too. Desserts could do with some originality but sure are tasty! Would only suggest to the owners to change the playlist or at least vary it from night to night.. Hope the place sees more customers in the skiing season! It definitely deserves them.

The service and atmosphere is what makes this place, the young man behind the till and the waitress was lovely! Steps are extremely slippy outside, definitely need gritting! The food was not worth the price, chips was bland, veg was burnt and the steak and ale pie was watery, meat was over cooked and the carrots was the nicest bit about it. Would come again for a drink and the atmosphere, not the food.

Fantastic experience. The food was amazing, fresh, hot and fairly priced. Our waitress seemed new but was extremely accommodating and did a great job. The atmosphere was cosy and well maintained. If we are ever in the area again, we will be sure to stop by for something to eat.

We stopped by and are glad we did. The food was delicious! We had the steak and ale pie and the pork steak. Tne staff were friendly and the service was great. We would definitely recommend.

Great food and service. Best dine out experience we've had. Many thanks

Took the kids for a meal before bonfire night. Staff gave me and the kids a great table so we could see the fireworks from where we had food. Kids enjoyed the Cajun burger and kids fish goujons and I had the beef burger which was very tasty. And also had drinks downstairs afterwards where had a toasty fire and friendly staff.

Great service and very good food!

I came here for dinner tonight; the service was very poor, waited 15 mins before the waitress came over to take the drinks order. I ordered the macaroni as my main meal; i believe it to be the worst macaroni I’ve ever had. It was so dry and bland and could not taste any cheese, even my husband confirmed this. The waiter arrived to take the plates away without asking how our meal was, clearly noticing I had barely touched the macaroni. I had to notify him of the “bad batch” of pasta so that they could rectify it for other customers coming in that night, although he didn’t seem phased. We then went up to the bar to pay the bill. We were offered 10% off, however I politely declined.

Beautiful restaurant and felt very cosy. When we arrived for 5.30pm on a Sunday, there were 2 other tables eating (2 people on each) so very quiet When seated no drink order was taken, and had to wait 20 mins for food order to be taken. I ordered the drinks then also. Another 15 mins went by, and I had to go up to the bar and ask for our drinks. It took a further mins to get the 2 basic drinks. Starter of bruchetta with goats cheese was not good at all. Couldn't taste the cheese, there was more crust than bread and a very watery taste The Sunday roast had a strange over powering taste which I couldn't identify, maybe a herb? The cheese burger had clearly not been seasoned at all was the most tasteless bland burger I have ever eaten. The chips were definitely frozen and again had no flavour. The barman spent his time while we were not being served or given drinks slagging off previous customers to a friend who was at the bar. Terrible service and terrible food.

Lovely little find whilst staying down the road at Boat of Garten, shame they didn't have Haggis or Pie on the menu as that was the main reason for choosing The Winking Owl. Despite this, the Pork and Salmon were a very good substitute. Friendly, welcoming staff with good service.

Well, was amazing haggis, neeps and tatties with pint of Guinness

A tasty meal after a long day's walking and our well behaved dog was made very welcome. Food was good, we had the mac and cheese and steak pie. We were very full so didn't have dessert. Very reasonably priced meal and portion sizes were brilliant - £38 for 2 as we had soft drinks. The service was great and staff were attentive and quick. The restaurant itself is a little dated but cosy - a bit of a shame the garlic bread was clearly not homemade and sauces etc were in packets. If we ever find ourselves back in Aviemore we will be returning!

The best restaurant and bar in Aviemore. I have visited many times over the years, and have never left a review! The food is always delicious - freshly cooked and always very quick to arrive. The staff are always friendly and attentive, going out of their way to ensure customers have an enjoyable experience. Excellent dining area with lots of artwork and large windows to view the bustling streets of Aviemore. Always a delight to visit!

Lovely place, great staff and excellent food

Lovely food, great service, warm and friendly atmosphere

Always worth a visit, but on this occasion a very limited range of cask beer from Cairngorm brewery

Terrible worst experience I’ve ever had. As soon as we walked in we should’ve just walked back out the smell of B.O. coming from the bar man was appauling put us off before we started really so couldn’t enjoy the meal left most of it waste of money unacceptable to smell like that when working in the food industry. Will not be back anytime thankyou

Nice restaurant and food was lovely.

Got a walk-in table, met with no fuss from staff. Very welcoming, all staff were tremendous, attentive and very professional. Food was class, excellent portion size with great kids menu. Drinks were good with a decent choice of taps/pints. The chips were as good as any 'pub' chips I've ever had

Fantastic to have so many gluten free options, including on the kids menu. Our gluten free battered haddock was beautifully crispy, and the (double?triple?) cooked chips were beautifully fluffy on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside. Food came within a good time at lunch, and was served really hot straight from the fryer. Highly recommended for great pub food at great value for money.

Good service and food, if you come with a larger group it might be best to ring ahead. There's a Cozy pub downstairs that has live music occasionally.

Very good restaurant with warm welcome.

Lovely pub in Cairngorm National Park. Great foods and the waiters are really helpful and polite. 100% recommended ⭐️✨

Went to the winking owl with the family great food great services kids loved there food fantastic places to go

This was our first food experience while visiting this area of Scotland. We stopped here for dinner. We didn’t have a reservation but they found us a table. Service was good. We got the pork chops. They were delicious. I highly recommend them. A bit pricey for what we got. There’s parking on site

Stopped here without a reservation for dinner. It was pretty empty when we first got there. They asked us if we had a reservation and we said no. They said they would make room for us. We sat and ordered food. Got the pork chops. The most expensive thing on the menu and well worth it. They were delicious! Service was very good. Free parking on site

We've visited here lots of times and love it. Not sure why, just one of those places where there is a really nice vibe. The service is always quick and food is great and reasonably priced.

We were traveling all day and so exhausted and this place was recommended. We were told they served food until 9, we arrived at 7:30, we were treated so poorly! The bartender turned us away and refused to serve us food. We asked why and he said " I dunno, maybe we ran out of food or maybe we're just sick of Americans? hahahahaha!!" The other bartender laughed along with him. I pleaded, asked if we could just have some bread and a pint, maybe some chips? He refused. We found our way to "Charcoal Aviemore," there we were treated like royalty and so grateful! STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!

After driving about for a bit through the town and looking at the options available, decided to stop here for our evening meal. We were luckily able to get a seat without a reservation - I would seriously recommend reserving a table though as the waiters appeared a bit rushed and we had to wait a small while to be served initially, but the service was still good after that - friendly, warm and welcoming, so no complaints. Small range of, but varied choice of, meals on the menu to choose from - plenty of gluten free variations of those meals available, which is part of the reason we chose to eat here. Other half had the gluten free version of the Beef Burger and I had the Cajun Chicken Burger - probably one of the best i've tasted. Other half loved his burger as well - both came with tasty chips and coleslaw at the side. Delicious. Would definitely recommend for a nice meal out but recommend you make a reservation instead of just walking in - prices reasonable, service good after initial waiting and food we had was very, very tasty.

We come up to Aviemore every year and drop in to the Winking Owl 🦉 every time. It’s a great little place. This year was sadly a little bit different. There was a lack of Ale options. Just one single ale called Wildcat which is a very nice pint but I’d expect more options from a pub that has craft ale pub in their description. The food and service was good as normal but this time I tried the sticky toffee pudding which appeared to be have been heated up in the microwave. It was a bit of a dampener on the meal in general.

Great place to try haggis! Beautiful spot with otherwise average food and fairly poor service. Our waiter disappeared and the others we had to ask seemed a little irritated at having to help. All condiments come in packets. The fries were bland. The Winking Owl definitely earns its 4-star average.

Ordered the salmon with potatoes and seasonal veg and, whilst it was lovely, it’s a bit cheeky that this means 6 cherry tomatoes, two and a half new potatoes (not joking) with a salmon fillet. Had to go buy a some more food from Tesco on the way back to the hotel… Nice but overpriced for what it is. Sadly I won’t return next time I’m in the area as alternative restaurants have been much better during the stay.

Lovely food and friendly staff, dog friendly restaurant, always visit when I'm up on holiday.

A really lovely upstairs restaurant. We went as a family on a Friday night around 6pm. The waiting staff were so kind and anticipated our needs with the kids. The food was excellent and very glad we chose this over the hotel restaurant. We'll be recommending to other families. Got busy as we were leaving at 7pm.

The food here is pretty average. The macaroni was actually OK, steak pie was average and the haggis was awful. Presentation is poor and the veg and chips are frozen. Couldn't get out of the place quick enough and nobody finished their food.

Really great food, good service, nice venue

Stopped in on a Monday not strictly out of season but the bothy bar wasn't open. 2 drinks and 2 bowls of chips for nigh on £30 is a bit pricey. Nice enough service. Dog friendly is always a good point.

this is a follow on from my review on 18 September after out visit on the 17th. I am looking at all the reviews now I have the time. Find it shocking that no complaints have even be graced with a reply. I can see looking back further that this was not the case previously. I can only assume a change of hands has brought about the terrible food and offensive service. Passing trade seems to be taken for granted but this is totally unacceptable. My family live near there so a large number of us regularly look for eating places in Aviemore. This place sadly will never be forgotten or have a recommendation from any of my family or friends. No attempt was made to put right our complaints.

The only reason for 4 stars is they only serve one stake, which is ribaye, and it's very tough to eat, not would be better if they had another option as not everyone wants ribaye

Great pints, great food at a good price, and friendly staff. What more could you need after a day hiking. Also dog friendly 😀

The Bothy Bar has a blue haired youth playing a mix of Billy Joel and sub-Eurovision crap too loudly, the ideal way to empty a bar. The table tops are also inexplicably sticky all over, a bit grim really.

I would give less than 1 star if it was possible, the food, service and atmosphere were dreadful, the food was totally unacceptable, an absolute excuse for a Caesar salad, minute pieces of chicken and ham, the plate was more or less a plate of lettuce and I was expected to pay £15 for it!!! NO WAY ! They should be thoroughly ashamed to present food like that, their foreign tourists will be thinking that is how we in Scotland make this dish, which there is no cooking involved in, scandalous to say the least. I tried this restaurant 5 years ago and was horrible disappointed then but thought surely it can’t still be that awful but they surpassed themselves on this occasion with inedible and dull over priced food!! I will not be giving them another try that’s for sure 😡

Two decent beers were off, so limited to commercial fare. Food was good, and portions well sized.

Allegedly the best place in the area for real ale...no longer the case it appears. Only had two cask...one dark and one bitter. Asked about pale/blonde/IPA...was offered Neck Oil ...🙄...didn't stay

We had a reservation but cancelled it as we went in for a coffee in the afternoon and were made to feel very unwelcome. Restaurant was cold. 3 of our drink choices were not available. We cancelled the booking but were told thar there was no booking. Then got a call 2 nights later as we 'had not turned up for our booking' we were back home by then!

The food was good, but having to manually add another 10% to the bill at the end is a disgrace. It's a shame... We would have liked to come again.

Top notch steak and ale pie. Love the views and cosy vibes in the upstairs restaurant.

Food was pretty average, but the atmosphere was good. Not overly expensive.

No craft ales, everything with mash.

Went here last night for Sunday roast waited 20 minutes and no one came over for our food and drinks order had to go and find someone. Food came out and was cold. Waiter came cleared out plates then asked if wanted to see desert menu which we did,but again waited 15 mins before my husband went over to bar to pay and we left. Terrible service and food drinks over priced restaurant not busy and turning customers away.

Supposed to be a Real Ale pub but had no Real Ale.

Good beer & friendly staff. Loud rock music in the early on Friday afternoon may have put some patrons off, so it was emptier than I've seen it, but I liked it!

Ordered my food and waited for an hour. Had to ask if there was anything wrong just to be told that they lost my order. They even had the boldface to ask me to remind them of what was ordered. Horrendous service, would never go back.

I had the steak and ale pie, which had lovely flaky pastry and lots of steak and the chips were delicious, would highly recommend it

Expensive for little food staff on the rude side

Very solid offering - menu isn't huge but some good choices. Service was good. Food was good, left feeling well fed.

I was there during a Harley Davidson festival. Very good atmosphere despite the rain.

Food was underwhelming, bland and small portions, and definitely not worth the crazy high prices. £6 beers too meant I ended up only getting one. Left without a dessert even though I'd been planning to get one. Would not recommend this place

Closed on a midweek early evening. No indication of opening times.

Dreadful! No excuse for bad food these days. Avoid unless you like your hamburger looking like it’s been killed 10 x over.

Good food, drink and service.....also dog friendly so all of the party accommodated! 🐕

If Heineken did pubs this wouldn't be one quite possibly the worst service I've ever recieved or didn't the wait was that long, eventual service led to the wrong drink order staff ridiculed a customer

We had been out walking to Loch Uaine and we needed something nice and warm to eat, so we decided on the Winking Owl, and I couldn't have been more satisfied. We were met with a warm welcome, and the staff were very accommodating and happy to get us a table. The food was delicious and couldn't fault a thing, and we all agreed we'd definable be back, thank all the staff for providing such a lovely meal.

Great atmosphere, busy but relaxed. Great menu with plenty choices but straight forward food pub grub. Food quality was excellent, service was exceptional and it was good value for money. Kid friendly, good drinks on offer. Couldn’t complain at all.

The title 'craft ale pub' is misleading, there wasn't a single craft ale on tap there. Pints are more expensive than a middle of the road pub in London.

Nice place bit cheeky about service charge five or more didn't find out till look at meau

Quaint, saloon-esque pub with fantastic ale. Not a lot of choice of real ales but good selection of lagers. All in all a good stop before heading Glencoe. My stubborn friend ruined it by not playing cards with me due to a difference in rules. Grow up, Ben.

I have a feeling that some of what this pub is trying to be is rather out of date. Real ale pub; absolutely not. I personally found that the food coming before the drinks was a bit weird. I could see then on the side of the bar ready, just nobody was delivering. There was far than enough staff around, just i think no designated jobs or communication going on. The food was pretty nice. We had haggis and tatties and we were seated with and excellent view of the Cairngorms.

Nice bar to have a drink. Friendly staff.

Good food, large selection. Friendly service.