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Black Isle Bar, Inverness

68 Church Street
Inverness
IV1 1EN

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Danny O'Revey left this review about Black Isle Bar

large tavern style, long benches and good beer.

On 2nd May 2023 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Blue Scrumpy left this review about Black Isle Bar

Corner bar that was very busy on our Friday visit. Being one of 2 Black Isle Brewery bars (the other is in Fort William), this one stocked a good range of their beers. Most were on keg, but there were 3 cask - 21 Pale, Goldfinch & Red Kite. The keg options were Blonde, 21 Pale, Supply Chain Issues, Porter, Hibernator Oatmeal Stout, Scotch Ale, Spider Monkey, Goldfinch, Heaven Hill Barrel Aged Full Circle, Systems Theory - West Coast Edition, Colonel Custard's Imperial Barrel Aged Scotch Ale, Red Kite, Road Runner, Farmhouse Spelt Lager, Rolling Palace 3 & The Big Sleep Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout.

The draft cider was their Natural Organic Cider and there were also a number of guest beers on keg - Brouwerij Boon Kriek Boon, Black Hole Equations #2, Tiny Rebel 505, Magic Rock Serendipitous, Huyghe Delirium Tremens & Beerbliotek Eternal Darkness.

On the ground floor, there is a roughly square shaped room with the bar to the rear left. A screen to the side of the bar lists the full beer selection. Service was quick, but there were no tables available. We had been hoping to try one of their pizzas cooked in their wood-fired oven at the rear of the room. But the lack of tables seemed to reduce our chances.

Instead, we chose to try out the secret garden on the rooftop. You pass some of the premises' bunk rooms on the way. The garden area was much larger than we had anticipated. There is a separate bar in one corner, stocking a more limited beer range, whilst some tables are located under heaters, with others more exposed to the elements, despite most of the area being undercover.

We did eventually manage to grab a table and we did try the pizzas, which were very tasty indeed.

I very much enjoyed my visit here and of all the pubs and bars we tried during our weekend in Scotland, this was the best.

On 8th November 2021 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2442 recommendations about 2441 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Ian Mapp left this review about Black Isle Bar

Pizza and large open plan dining/drinking den that recreates the hipster style bars of bigger cities.

The brews were on a TV Screen and no complaints on my Scotch Ale, even when only served in halves. I soon found a way around that.

Walked past on the evening and it was heaving.

On 4th October 2019 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1329 recommendations about 1315 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Will Larter left this review about Black Isle Bar

A large corner bar with wooden floor, seemingly hand-made benches and tables made from scaffolding poles and reclaimed timber, with refectory chairs. A mural depicts the Black Isle itself, I believe, but the ceiling is disappointing industrial grunge. The bar counter is made from a slice of a single tree, which reflects the organic ethos of the brewery.

Beers are dispensed from taps in the bar back, and listed on a computer display alongside. It is possible to pick out those that are real ales by looking for the word "cask" alongside the beer's name - the numbered taps are otherwise indistinguishable. There were three cask ales and a cider at the time of my visit. Beers are available (and priced) in thirds as well as halves and pints: my half of their own Red Kite was £2.

On 24th September 2017 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3699 recommendations about 3440 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about Black Isle Bar

A newly-opened bar bringing hipster culture to the Highlands. Chunky scrubbed wood tables, exposed pipes, a nasty bare concrete ceiling plus a jumbo wall mural of some generic-looking countryside with a 'welcome to' sign (is it meant to be the outside of Inverness??). A genuinely impressive feature is the long and solid tree bar top. Food offering is inevitably pizza, priced from £9.50 to £10.50. 25 keg beers (no traditional cask) potentially available with about 20 on during our visit, displayed on an electronic screen ala the Wellington in Brum. Prices are generally expensive and only one offering came in at under 2 quid a half. Noticed that no pint servings were available for beer over 6% - pub’s doing or Scottish Parliament nanny statism? Tried the BFM BATS (pretty meh) and Black Isle Hiberbator (decent), both served very cold. Unusual feature are the sinks in the toilets, with the ‘taps’ actually being a singular copper pipe that has a set flow from the hot and cold pipes feeding into it – looked daft but actually had a practical use in that the water was warm coming out at the first time of asking. Overall it’s expensive and a tad pretentious but was fairly busy mid-Sunday. Will the novelty wear off? I might be tempted in gain, but only for (a cheap) one. 6.5

On 27th October 2016 - rating: 6
[User has posted 5050 recommendations about 5033 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Black Isle Bar

New-style brewery alehouse, with a 'L'-shaped layout featuring a mix of basic wooden furniture and industrial lighting / ventilation high above. Also offers accommodation. 20 keg taps for craft beers and a cider (about 50% their own products) supplemented by six gravity taps. The latter were dispensing three of their beers when I called in: Yellowhammer (£3.80), Red Kite and Goldeneye. Visited at a quiet time (relatively early on a Sunday) but the staff were friendly and offered a couple of samples.

On 15th October 2016 - rating: 7
[User has posted 8066 recommendations about 8066 pubs]