Great Places to Eat in Scotland
- Victoria's Restaurant and Coffee Shop, Pitlochry
The Location
Many visitors to Pitlochry will stay in a local B&B or Guest House with no evening meals provided. When my partner Ken and I stayed recently at Craigatin House they recommended we have a pre-theatre supper at Victoria's. In a word - excellent.!This well established, family run Café and Restaurant is bang in the centre of town on the Atholl Road - an ideal pit stop for coffee and cake, lunch, tea and scones or an evening meal. From here it's just a ten minute stroll down the hill, over the river to the Festival Theatre.
By day, or on a warm sunny evening you can sit outside in the garden patio, decorated with colourful flower planters. Inside is a spacious dining room on two levels, with well spaced tables covered in checked cloths like a typical Italian pizzeria - but Victoria's offers much more than a bowl of "spag. bol".
Dinner Menu Takes You Around the World
Evening meals are served from 5.30pm which is ideal for a pre-theatre supper or a leisurely dinner later on. The menu is truly extensive and would suit all nationalities and appetites.Starters include Calamari, Duck spring rolls, nachos, smoked salmon. Main courses to tempt you - Victoria's Steak Pie which is genuinely home made - (Scotch beef with vegetables cooked in red wine, with pastry topping, baked in the oven and served with potatoes.), Mussels, Fajitas, Steaks, Burgers, Lasagne and choice of Salads. And much else besides.
As we were going to the theatre, I ordered one course, the Vegetarian Pizza (smothered in Mozzarella, peppers, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, sweet corn), with an extra topping of prawns. With a choice of other pizzas, extra options to create your own favourite pizza are chillies, pepperoni, spicy chicken, pineapple.
The pizza was made to order very quickly and was huge. It had a thick but softly baked crust and my combination of seafood and vegetables was spot on.
My dining partner chose the Nicoise Salad - a large bowl of crisp leaves, boiled egg, anchovies, olives, green beans, chopped new potato with a large slap of freshly seared tuna on the top. Satisfying and healthy at the same time. We shared a bottle of red wine and enjoyed the relaxed ambience - Rod Stewart singing some classic love ballads on the soundtrack, friendly, efficient service. For dessert, Victoria's is renowned for rich chocolatey treats, banoffee pie and ice cream.
Daytime Menu
Victoria's is busy all day too, open from 9am until 5.30pm, serving drinks, cakes, pastries, and hot dishes. Call in for breakfast - porridge, croissants, bacon rolls; lunchtime soup, sandwiches of every kind, from classic cheese to steak club and paninis. Substantial meals too - fish and chips, haggis, pasta and salads.If you visit Pitlochry - even driving through en route north or south, do visit Victoria's. If you don't take my word for it - read on to this glowing review.
"During our annual holiday to Scotland, we always try to squeeze in a trip to Victoria's. We discovered this little gem in August 1999 and have been returning ever since. Great food for a good price." Visitors from Belgium.
Further Information
For more information and to book online see Victoria's Pitlochry Web site. The address is 45 Atholl Road, Pitlochry, Perthshire, PH16 5BX. It is located on the main street through town at the South end, just a short distance from two large car parks. Telephone number is 01796 472670 and their email address is fiona@victorias-pitlochry.co.uk
Vivien Devlin, British Guild of Travel Writers
September 2013
Return to the Index of Great Places to Eat in Scotland.
