Blackfriars, Inverness

Still one of Inverness's best pubs, the Blackfriars is a large, single large bar, basic decor and bare floor, slightly battered furniture and no frills. The building dates from around 1890, and it has been a pub since 1930. It was previously known as The Academy Bar, and before that was a temperance hostel, coffee house and general store. It's a regular live music venue and does decent bar food at a fair price. The staff were very welcoming, though the majority of the clientele were a bit dull. Three ales and a cider on, I had a pint of Orkney which as in excellent condition. I had forgotten how good this pub is since my last visit, but in future I shall make sure I come back when I'm in town.

This vies with The Castle for the title of the city’s foremost real ale pub and certainly wins in terms of spaciousness. The layout and decor are still as described by the other reviewers. Available on hand pumps were Golden Amber, Autumn Red, Dark Munro (at £3.25 a pint), Ossian, Devil’s Advocate Black Lager and Thistly Cross cider. Guinness, Caledonian 80 Shilling, Kronenberg, Heineken and Fosters lagers and Strongbow cider were also on offer. There is a variety of live music, including jazz, Scottish, Irish and open mic. nights, as well as quiz and ceilidh nights. There is also an extensive food menu and wine list.

A good size, traditional pub located just off the main shopping street. It’s a single room, U-shape bar, with the left hand side geared up for bands, open mic nights, etc. with speakers and an open area in front. The flooring is rough wood, and there is wood panelling to waist height around the walls. There’s a plethora of beer mats on the wall, presumably showcasing beers that have been served up here in the past. The wood panelled bar counter is at the back on the right. Adjacent to this is a fruit machine and a small fireplace with a wood burning stove. A solitary plasma was showing Sky News, but this was not obtrusive. Music seems to feature quite prominently, with regular Saturday night band slots. These forthcoming acts were all detailed in the front of the menu which was unusual. Thursdays are also regular music nights, and often feature traditional accordions and bagpipes. This was the case on our visit, and the two guys on were very good, although they could do with improving their geographical knowledge if they’re going to converse with the audience (they thought Bristol was near East Anglia!). There was a short “pub grub” menu, which was reasonable value with most of the mains being around the £7/£8 mark. There was also a small specials board. We both had the haggis, and this was a decent, enjoyable dish, and very generous portions. Good choice of beers on tap with Thrappledouser, Deeside Pale Ale No. 3, Orkney Raven, Crofters Pale Ale and Caledonian’s Deuchars IPA and Nectar. These were all listed on a board, along with a “coming soon” listing. Ciders were Weston’s 1st Quality and Strongbow.

One of the best pubs in Inverness in our opinion, this open plan pub has the pump clips from the hand pumps fixed all around the beams at high level. Both the Caledonian Autumn Red and the An Teallach Suilven ale were in good order. There were three other ales on during our visit. However there is a for sale sign out the front. Lets hope whoever takes over looks after it aswell as the current landlord.

Official site of Blackfriars, contains menu and real ale list - www.blackfriarshighlandpub.co.uk

Billed as a “Highland Pub”, it comprises one big square room but is almost divided into four spaces, with an alcove to the front, the bar counter to the rear right, a performing space front left and another area to the left at the back. Low ceiling and bare boards with pump clips and beer mats lining the wall at picture rail height and beyond, there are a few pictures on the plain walls. Listed on the black board are the five beers mainly from smaller UK breweries and two ciders (both from Westons) which are served along with a standard range of kegs and a good selection of malts. Beers coming soon are listed on a separate blackboard. Furnishing is traditional brown wooden chairs and tables, the service is friendly, but there were not enough customers in to describe a typical one, although it is a music venue and of course custom will vary with the type of music being played. The beer quality was excellent and the pub is listed in the GBG 2010.

Official site of Blackfriars, contains menu and real ale list - www.blackfriarshighlandpub.co.uk