If you enjoy fine dining and want to splash out on a special dinner, the Tiroran House Hotel could be the place for go! Tiroran is a Victorian country house in a south facing setting on the north side of Loch Scridain, with a lawned and wooded garden, which feels very lush compared to our open setting here. They welcome non resident diners but you need to book. Tiroran has built a very good reputation as a Country house hotel, winning lots of awards for their food and hospitality. Guests staying there who we talked to before going into the dining room loved the combination of comfort and food!
We were asked to arrive in time for drinks and canapes around 7pm. We were given a menu and paper and pencil so we could write down what we wanted to eat. I fail miserably as a restaurant reviewer as I cannot remember the exact descriptions of these elegant dishes. My friends are both fish-eating vegetarians and I was happy not to eat meat with them. We all had Gnocchi to start with, which was light and delicious, with wild mushrooms.
My main course was a ‘Confit’ hen egg’! Well, I know what a regular confit du canard is, but I had never heard of a confit hen egg!! We had to ask the waitress what it was, and she came back from the kitchen explaining that it was a slow cooked egg, baked in the oven for 2 hours at 65 degrees. It was served with asparagus and baby beets. It was a case of putting your trust in the hands of the chef! Anyway, it was surprising – the slow cooked egg was firm but soft – and certainly not like an over cooked hard boiled egg. The tastes were very subtle.
The other two had John Dory with a fish broth which they said was delicious. Each dish looked so beautiful when it arrived, which pre-disposes you to enjoy it even before you have taken a mouthful! Puddings followed – C had roasted pineapple with a ‘something’ ice cream, I can’t remember which flavour! T and I had Caramel and white chocolate, which was oh so sweet. Because by then it was after 10pm, we decided to head for home rather than adjourning to the drawing room or conservatory for coffee and petit fours! All in all, we had a delicious dinner, and a lovely evening. It was a long drive, but the views along Loch na Keal and the Gribun cliffs still never fail to enchant. You could always add it on to a day trip to the Ross of Mull or Iona, by having that special occasion dinner at Tiroran on the way home! I think it took us about an hour and a half to get there from Treshnish, so it is quite a commitment, though at this time of year it was still light at nearly midnight when we got home.
