all about us | search reviews | links | message board | articles | submit review | ipod reviews | rage | top ten requested reviews | archive | double agents | best burger in London | buy | join spy | advertise on spy | local pages | oldsite | contact us
Home

Bonaventure, Aird Uig, Isle of Lewis, HS2 9JA

Bonaventure, Aird Uig, Isle of Lewis, HS2 9JA

Aird Uig, Isle of Lewis, HS2 9JA

01851 672474

My wife and I dined at this restaurant on 23 August 2007. I had been induced to seek it out by the rave reviews on the home page of the restaurant's website and in local tourist brochures. We looked it over on 22 August and we were (or at least I was) enchanted by its position. Anticipating an excellent meal we arrived ravenous having spent the day motoring around the island.

The intrusive piped music that we heard on arrival should have warned us; but it was a wet day and the open fire seemed very welcoming. A table by the window with a view over the sea took our minds off the background noise and we ordered our wine.

The second warning sign should have been the apparent total absence of locals. We heard accents from Cheshire and the Home Countries but not from the Hebrides. The only Scottish voice belonged to one of the waitresses. Now Stornoway is a fairly substantial town and judging by the asking prices of the houses in estate agents' windows and the gleaming 07 registered motor cars in the driveways of some of those properties there are more than a few local burghers who could afford to dine at Bonaventure if they thought it was worthwhile.

As my wife had chosen lamb and I beef we selected a Cotes de Rhone at £17 per bottle. I leave it to my wife to try the wines since she has an excellent palette and sense of smell. Her grimace said it all. Not wanting to make a fuss she asked me to try it and it was awful. The waitress acknowledged that it was bad even though the sommelier tried to persuade us otherwise. However, he took the wine back and brought us an Australian Cabernet Shiraz (which was £4 more expensive) in its place.

The starter seemed to make up for the initial disappointments. My wife pronounced her mushroom soup good though on reflection she remarked that it was a little too heavy. My fish starter was unexceptional.

The second course was very disappointing. My wife complained that her lamb was tough and tasteless and asked me to try a piece. I have to say that I agreed with her. My steak (which was supposed to be rare) was overdone and dowsed in a sauce that discoloured my teeth for several hours. My wife left most of her lamb on the plate. I ate my beef but only because it had been drummed into me in childhood that wasting food was tantamount to wasting sailors' lives.

For me the biggest disappointment was the pudding. One of the glories of Scottish cooking is the "cranachan" - a confection of fresh raspberries or other soft fruit, shortbread and cream. What was brought to me under that appellation was a slab of frozen cream. Maybe there was shortbread and fruit somewhere but it was in deep freeze. My wife can't even remember her dessert. That of itself speaks volumes because she has a pretty good memory for food.

The bill was presented sheepishly in a bowl of toffees.

During our 5 days on the island we dined at The Lantern Arts Centre and tapas bar in Stornoway, the Dounes Bay Hotel near Callanish and the Anchorage at Leverburgh. We could happily recommend any of those restaurants. We also ate well at the Seaforth Hotel in Ullapool, the Summer Isles Hotel and the Fern Cottage in Pitlochry. At £90.40 not including service the Bonaventure was by far our most expensive meal in Scotland. It was also the worst.


http://www.bonaventurelewis.co.uk
By lobster at 29/08/2007 - 01:02 | 2007 | Article | Other | Rejected | Scotland | Views | ££££/$$$$ | add new comment | 142 reads