Talk of the Town is the recently opened gastronomic foray from the Black Sheep Hospitality Group, the ambitious family-owned business behind several boutique hotels and self-catering properties throughout the highlands.
The restaurant is housed in the group’s most luxurious hotel, The Ambassador, where some £6m plus has been spent on a complete and impressive upgrade.
The restaurant sits on the banks of the River Ness, as we arrived at dusk, the last of the winter sun highlighted views over the river.
Talk of the Town has a modern, contemporary interior with comfortable bench seats around tables down one side of the room—a very welcome option for my back these days, allowing for comfortable and relaxed dining.
The elegant, muted colour scheme, soft lighting and immaculate table presentation set an auspicious tone for the evening.
There’s an excellent wine list curated to complement the Indian and traditional dishes and I opted for a recommended Riesling—a good choice.
Freshly baked and still warm bread was brought to the table. This presented a problem as it was so good that we both had to ration ourselves carefully and not overdo it before our main meal.
Onto the menu which is an interesting and original mix of Scottish and Indian cuisine. I started with a crab, asparagus and avocado salad, three favourite ingredients combined.
The firm and fresh white crab meat complemented by the zesty citrus of the grapefruit dressing and topped with micro herbs was superb.
My husband went for the Galouti kebab, spiced lamb served with a side and dressed with mint and coriander; it was also excellent.
For my main I went for the paneer tikka makhanwala. I would usually opt for a meat or fish dish (it was also available with chicken) but I decided to try something different and I was so pleased I did.
Rich and comforting without being overpowering, it featured light, fluffy basmati rice. We also went for a side of lachha paratha, which was a lovely, flaky flatbread—completely unnecessary given the portion sizes, but we finished it all off even after our initial pre starter bread fest.
I pride myself as being a pretty good amateur chef and I have a special penchant for Indian food so I was glad my husband ordered the king prawn moilee as it’s one of my favorite dishes to prepare.
I was eager for his opinion and comparison. Pride slightly dented, he gave it a ten out of ten considerably beating the seven out of ten awarded for my home prepared offering. I had a taste and had to agree. Excellent depth of flavour.
The fresh curry leaves struck that perfect balance of fragrant warmth and subtle heat so as not to overpower the delicate sweetness of the prawns.
Somehow finding room for dessert we finished with the delicious kulfi—creamy Indian Ice cream topped with almonds and pistachio and the Gajar Ka Halwa slow cooked sweet carrots topped with cream and nuts..
The restaurant prides itself on sourcing all ingredients locally where possible, and the freshness and quality was apparent in all dishes.
We finished with a rather lovely and expertly presented cocktail in the cosy, wood-lined Library Bar.
We both enjoyed our meal immensely. I can see I have room for improvement on my own home made Indian dishes – perhaps a stint as a Commis Chef in the kitchen here might be what’s required.
Read more Reviews here.
Subscribe to read the latest issue of Scottish Field.
TAGS