Let me ask you a question - will you travel for food?

Have you taken a city break to a foreign city because you’ve booked dinner at a famous restaurant or hired a car so you can tour around a region visiting all the small food and drink producers?

Have you ever visited Naples for the pizza, Quebec for Poutine and Singapore for the Chicken Rice?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these, then YES you are a travelling foodie!

So as a foodie wanderer, I implore you to visit Portsonachan Hotel in Argyll and Bute. Take that detour off the A85 on route to Oban, a 17 minute drive from Kilchurn Castle to the hotel. Whether you choose to stay here in their glorious Timber Lodges, read my review HERE; their apartments or the hotel OR you are just hungry and need some great scran, do stop here for lunch or dinner.

REVIEW OF DINNER AT PORTSONACHAN HOTEL, ARGYLL AND BUTE

Portsonachan Hotel is located on the banks of Loch Awe and has stunning views out over the loch, no matter what time of year it is. They have a large outdoor patio area, which during the Summer months creates the perfect dining spot. During the colder months, dining takes place inside the large conservatory.

As we were staying in the self catering Timber Lodges, sited just along the road from the hotel, it was lovely to have the option to dine in. The menu is large enough to offer some classic British dishes and some with a wee twist here and there, like the Cajan Spices Grill Chicken and Chicken, Vegetable or Lamb curry. There’s pizza’s, burgers, a kids menu and they can cater for vegetarians too.

We chose the Prawn Platter with melba toast (£5.50) and the Beetroot Pakora Balls with sweet chilli sauce (£5.50).

Both dishes were cooked well if a little old school on the presentation. Both dishes were quite nostalgic with the way they were plated up giving us warm fuzzy feels. The prawns were aplenty and well coated; and the beetroot pakoras where crispy and soft at the same time.

Other starter dishes that caught my eye were the Battered Calamari Rings and the Red Kidney beans and Rice salad had me intrigued.

For Mains you’ll find some classics on the menu like Balmoral Chicken stuffed with haggis, Beef Pie and Baked Sea Bass.

We chose the Lamb Curry with basmati rice, poppadom and naan bread (£16.00) and the Wild West Burger with blue cheese, onion rings and bacon (£12.00)

The portions are generous and there is no way even the hungriest person would leave here still feeling ravenous.

The Lamb Curry was nice, came with a kick but plenty of rice, crispy fresh poppadom and large naan to abate the spice.

The dish that steals the show is however the Wild West Burger and I have to say, that if you are a foodie wanderer, then come here for this burger alone.

I had been wanting to get my chops around a burger for a while and just couldn’t resist ordering it. It came with all the lush toppings that I love on a burger.

Bacon - YES

Blue Cheese - YES

Onion Rings - YES

Everything in between - YES

It was a hefty number but oh so bloody delicious. I managed to scoff the lot and not feel bad about eating any of it! I have to mention the chips too, as they were perfect - all light fluffy and crispy.

Gosh please please do yourself a favour and go eat this burger!

You know what’s coming for dessert. My yardstick, Sticky Toffee Pudding (£6.00)! It was pretty much great. Sticky gooey soft sponge with a definite datey, treacle taste, a pool of sauce and a big dollop of cold ice cream. My only gripe - you need more sauce - but that’s just me haha!

With Portsonachan only 2h30mins from Edinburgh, 1h50mins from Glasgow and 20 mins from Inverary, a wee day trip is so easy to do; for tourists, its an easy stop over on your way to/from Oban and the Highlands/West Coast of Scotland.

Put Portsonachan on your map, stop here and eat that burger. You won’t regret it!

Portsonachan Hotel, South Loch Awe Side, Dalmally, Argyll and Bute PA33 1BJ www.portsonachan.com

My Spoon Award : Gold Spoon 9/10

I was invited by Portsonachan Hotel to review their menu. Food and drink were complimentary but the views are very much my own.