Mingary Castle - Restaurant with Rooms

One of the best places to stay and dine. The setting is beautiful, the rooms are extravagant and the food is Michelin star worthy. Don't want to sound like a travel agent but you should book this now before everyone else finds out and you can't get a booking. This is my second visit and it was even better than the first trip. The friendly service is second to none and the food is exceptional. Then there are the views, great sunrise and sunsets from the battlements. Another plus for us was the EV charge point that allowed us stress free travelling in rural Scotland.

The castle location is amazing and we were really looking forward to the meal. Staff were great, very friendly, but there was a lot about the meal that was disappointing. The little venison on pork crackling for example, the crackling was stale and chewy rather than crispy. Then there was a bread course - a filler with no wine. Although the breads and butters were tasty, we were surprised that ‘bread’ was a ‘course’. Next came the courgette flower. The flower was tiny, the butter inside nice but not much of it and the mushroom veloute was disgusting. It wasn’t a veloute, it was thick, very salty, gloop. I believe there was a problem with it as the waitress had to go and get more as it didn’t pour well and ran out. The most disappointing course however was the duck dish. Our duck was really tough, and the pearl barley risotto was just a dry heap of cooked pearl barley. There was nothing ‘risotto’ about it. Inedible. The cheese plate was a joke with one bite of one cheese and dessert looked amazing but was so salty it tasted savoury. We were totally baffled by the lack of wine also, apart from the first glass of fizz, each glass of wine was barely two sips, my husband even asked for a bit more at one point which was reluctantly given but again was barely there. When paying £100 for the wine flight we did expect to have a reasonable glass with each course. I actually said to my husband that perhaps Sundays is the chefs day off. Nonetheless it was a miserable and expensive experience.

One of the nicest hotels I have stayed in. Amazing rooms, staff and food. We got a tire puncture on the way there, luckily only 2 miles from the hotel, and the staff helped us find a garage and recommended activities for us given our vehicle-less situation. Note, no in room refrigerator and the hotel is closed Monday nights so all staff get a well deserved day off. The surrounding area is spectacularly beautiful with lots of opportunities to explore the Scottish countryside and coastline.

WOW! WOW! WOW! Mingary Castle is outstanding, utterly beautiful sat perched on the cliff, and oozes charm & character. Staff are welcoming, friendly, very proud & passionate, & happily explained the history of Mingary castle. Service is very attentive & each course is described in detail with pride. The food is sublime! Each dish has exacting detail you would expect from this level of professional cookery, the Chef uses many seasonal & locally sourced ingredients, & all dishes are intriguing, well balanced & unctuous. Each dish was bursting with flavour, & considered, worthy of any Michelin star! The menu was very well priced, and I would love to visit again, I only wish I lived nearer! Excellent quality, excellent food, well designed menu & such a talented team & Chef!

Well worth a stay or a visit to the restaurant. Our suite was well appointed and extremely comfortable and both evening meal and breakfast were of first class quality. The staff were attentive and charming without being intrusive. Would recommend without hesitation.

We decided to try Mingary castle for my wife's birthday. I had read that the chel Colin Nicholson was one of the upcoming chefs in Scotland. I wasn't disappointed! We arrived a little early and we were given a tour of the refurbished castle. Absolutely stunning with fantastic views to Mull and the small isles. We had an aperitif in the drawing room before moving to the dining room. The choice was the eight course tasting menu with matching wine. The courses were varied, sour dough bread with locally flavoured butter, oyster with yuzu, local crab on a sourdough crumpet, local beef, cheese fondu, Mingary green apple with a surprise inside. Unfortunately I did not take any pictures.. All of the courses were sublime and the staff explained very well the origin of each course and also why the wine matched. I need to mention Heidi who was a star throughout the evening. I have eaten in some great restaurants including Midsummer house in Cambridge. Mingary castle was up there in every aspect. This is a fantastic restaurant which will go from strenth to strength in the future. Highly reommend.