Lunch at Lake of Menteith Hotel, Scotland

We have recently been to Lake of Menteith Hotel (http://www.lake-hotel.com) for lunch. The hotel is located within The Trossachs National Park and on the banks of The Lake of Monteith. According to their website the current hotel building was used to be the manse for the church nearby.

The Lake of Monteith is said to be the only body of natural water referred to as a lake in Scotland, however Wikipedia informs me that there are actually four other small artificial bodies called lakes in Scotland. In any case, until the early 19th century, it was called Loch of Monteith.

Anyway, it was a lovely weekend and we did not have booking however we decide to try to see if we could get in.

We were lucky to get a table in a lovely conservatory which reminds you of a boat house. Their website did say that the hotel is designed in a style of New England Waterfront Inn. Lovely....

You can see The Lake of Monteith in the background from our table...

The menu sounds quite nice with good selections for fish lovers and vegetarian too.

For starters, my daughter Maria ordered Pan-seared Lake of Monteith Fishcake with grilled Corn Slaw and Coriander Salsa. I tried this one a little and it was very nice. 

As we love artichoke, both my husband and I had Grilled Globe Artichoke, Sun-blushed Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella Salad with a Pesto Dressing. It was quite a big salad and we enjoyed this.

For main course, both my husband and Mary, my mother-in-law selected dishes from the hotel's Classics Menu.  My husband had "Moules-frites" - 1kilo of steamed West Coast Mussels with Garlic, Shallots, White Wine and Cream and Skinny Fries and Mary had "Fish n'Chips" - battered sustainable Icelandic Haddock with Garden Peas, Tartar Sauce and Skinny Fries.

My husband's Moules-frites....

and Mary's Fish n'Chips ...

My husband suggested to try Falafel stuffed Aubergine from the hostel's Signature Mains menu as I like Aubergine. I was considering it but also did not fancy falafel that day for lunch. The next thing I saw someone else having a big burger on a plate and suddenly wanting to have a veggie burger now.
So both Maria and I ordered Chickpea, Carrot and Courgette Burger with Tzatziki, grilled Haloumi and Skinny Fries.

After I ordered it, I then remembered that I am not keen on heloumi so I put the cheese aside on a plate and tackled the rest but the burger was quite big so I could not finish all. The burger bun was a brioche which I thought was really good.

We were quite full but there is always a space for dessert.

We ordered Lemon Tart and today's special - Maple Syrup and cinnamon cheese cake to share.  Cheese cake was very creamy (perhaps a bit too creamy for my liking) however with a hint of cinnamon without overpowering. I thought the lemon tart was good.

After that, my husband and I had a black coffee that came with a small short bread.

Maria and I went for a toilet check. We went through an central hallway for the hotel ....

It passed the test - nice and clean like a new facility. We noticed a nice lounge area near the bar too on our way back to our table. 

After we finished our lunch, we went outside to see the lake.... it's a lovely and relaxing place.

The hotel is within an easy reach from Glasgow or Stirling by car. You could do a boat trip to small islands on the lake, do finishing on the lake, go and visit the Trossachs National Park or even to Doune to visit the antique shop (see my earlier blog).  I notice there is Nick Nairn's cooking school nearby so you could also have a cooking lesson there, come back to the hotel for relaxing stay and lovely evening for dinner.... that's more like my sort of thing ...  eat, drink and merrily!

That's all forks!