The Waterfront, Inverness

Attractive exterior leads to a fairly generic mid-range food-led place inside (probably was a characterful local once) – and utterly deserted mid Sunday afternoon (isn’t that when food-led pubs are meant to be at their busiest??). Red paint and dark wood décor. If you can bag a window seat there's a fair view of the far bank to be had. Live music advertised, maybe it gets a bit livelier then? Just Cairngorm Wildcat on which was middling and notably expensive for Inverness, served-up by a distracted Weegie barman. Not worth the walk.

The view from the front of the pub is being upgraded with a concrete wall to help contain the River Ness. Although there were no water marks on the side of the pub to show that the River ever raised above the existing wall. Very pleasant and quiet as its on the other side of the main town. Not much has changed from the last review below.

On the opposite bank of the Ness from the city centre, this is a bit quieter than most of the pubs across the river, with a combination of diners and drinkers. Lunches are served from noon until 2.15 p.m. and evening meals from 5.00 p.m. onwards. Available on draught are John Smith's bitter, McEwan's 80 Shilling (at £3.15 a pint), Guinness, Amstel, Fosters and Kronenberg lagers, Strongbow cider and one real ale called Autumn Nuts. There is live traditional music every Thursday night, which was provided by two guys singing Scottish folk songs on the night I visited.

Originally known as Friars Shott, apparently a reference to the fishing habits of those men of the cloth, the Waterfront is an old building that feels like it has had a fairly recent makeover. There's exposed stone on most walls, with a smart modern-looking bar on the right and tables set for diners throughout, some with reserved cards on them when I was here one early Saturday evening. There's plenty of room for drinkers by the bar, which has the usual Scottish fonts and just one solitary hand pump. Apparently the real ale here always comes from Cairngorm brewery, and the Highland IPA, although at 5.0% a little stronger than I would have preferred to drink, was well served and went down a treat. The location by the river is pleasant enough, but if you're looking for a drink rather than a meal, perhaps this is a little further out of the centre than could be justified by the limited ale offering.