Most places only have one really good thing. A great location, an epic menu, or a stunning view. Colquhoun’s at The Lodge on Loch Lomond has all of it. After a 200 mile drive, a run on the beach, and an icy swim in the loch, Victoria and myself were absolutely famished. We strolled down to Colquhoun’s Restaurant in the Lodge on Loch Lomond with our home bargains COVID masks wrapped firmly around our ears, following the rigid one-way system until we were taken to our table by the friendly staff. Our window table framed the famous loch perfectly as both of us were giddy with excitement for our long-awaited meal.
Crabtastic
Victoria and I both wanted the crab salad for starter, so I, being well aware of my place, looked again at the menu. I opted for the gnocchi, having never had gnocchi before or ever really even knowing what it is. Binging Masterchef to death on iPlayer and being forced to watch re-runs on Netflix (how can you eat supper at home without watching John and Gregg?) had taught me how to pronounce it, so I asked for it like a pro.
When it arrived along with Victoria’s crabtastic salad (more on this l8trz) I was ready to devour it in seconds. What surprised me was that I am in fact, a total bam. I thought gnocchi was some proper pasta-y pasta thing. To my surprise, gnocchi is actually little heavy bites of tatties. The penny had dropped.
The crab salad was a delight, from the tiny amount Victoria let me taste. It had gone full circle for her, after a summer learning to fish, and only catching tiny crabs, she finally got some on a plate.
Trout and About
For the main, we went for the Sea Trout and Chicken Bhuna. I had to google what a bhuna was, not for the flavour (I’d eat anything) but for the heat level. Google told me it was a 4 out of 5 and I don’t discriminate. It turns out that a Bhuna is a really tasty curry, and while this offering from Colquhoun’s was spicy, it wasn’t the punch in the face of heat I had feared it might be.
The star of the show again was what Victoria ordered. Whilst her sea trout was a lovely thing, the shellfish sauce that accompanied her fish was up there with the tastiest things ever made. Seriously it was so good I think both of us could drink gallons of it for breakfast, lunch, and supper.
Pudding in an effort
We shared an olive oil cake. Our intrigue got the better of us with this one. Little triangles of cake with super sour raspberry sorbet, a nutty green crumb, and a fruity gel finished off our meal perfectly. It was one of those courses where all the elements came together to form a truly exciting plate.
For more information and to book your friendly, yet socially-distanced table, check out Colquhuon’s, a restaurant by Loch Lomond.
