The Castle Tavern, Inverness

Opposite the approach road to Inverness Castle, this was known as the Harlequin until a few years ago. Together with Blackfriars at the other end of the central area, it is the city’s main real ale outlet and was CAMRA’s Real Ale Pub of the Year in 2008 and 2010. On offer were Orkney Best (at £3.35 a pint), Scapa Special, Blaven, Happy Chappy, Slainte and Nessie’s Ale. Guinness, Belhaven Best and Carlsberg and Tuborg lagers were also available. There is a very attractive beer garden at the front, looking onto the actual Castle, which is partly sheltered, with heaters and an outdoor TV screen. There is an upstairs restaurant, although food is also served in the bar, which, in view of its diminutive size, can become rather congested as a result.

Previous reviewers have described the pub well. There were six hand pumps available on my recent visit, mostly featuring beers from Scottish breweries, the outsiders being from Cross Bay (Lancashire) and Youngs (ex-London, now Bedfordshire). I had a beer from Swannay, an Orkney brewery new to me, and this was in excellent condition and at £3.50 a pint about average for Inverness. Well worth the short walk up Castle Street if you're in town.

An attractive looking stone-built pub right at the top of Castle Street, and with great views across to the castle. At the front is a decent sized patio with plenty of bench tables and chairs, a wrought ironwork gazebo at the rear and an attractive selection of hanging baskets and plant troughs. There is even a small bar counter here, although this was not in use on our visit. A blackboard listed not only the current beer offerings, but also those that were “coming soon”. The pub itself is remarkably small, with a single bar. There are plenty of pictures on the walls, a plasma mounted high up, a fruit machine and an attractive wood panelled bar. Upstairs is a separate restaurant area with some wood panelling, red drape curtains and plenty of squashed in tables and chairs. There is an extensive pub grub menu and a small specials board. What we had was decent enough and generous portions, but perhaps a little on the expensive side – a Scampi & chips was over £9. Beers on this occasion were Atlas Nimbus, Orkney Best, Midsummer Madness, Sun Dance and Dark Munro. The solitary cider was Olde English.