Airds Hotel
Port Appin, near Oban, Argyll, PA38 4DF
Tel: 01631 730236
Internet: airds-hotel.com
GPS: 56.554235, -5.407364
It says something of the beauty of Scotland’s western coastline, not to mention the standard of hospitality and service received at Airds Hotel on my last visit, that just 15 months passed before I once more slipped behind the wheel to make the journey west to Port Appin. But given the fact that just a few days after my previous stay the hotel had been sold, the question foremost in my mind was an obvious one. Would the experience be better? Or worse? Or merely comfortably familiar?
As with my last visit I rocked up on a Friday afternoon having soaked up the scenery en route, enjoying the drive along the banks of Loch Lubhair and Loch Dochart, and through Glen Coe. Once arrived at my destination on the banks of Loch Linnhe there was barely time for a quick nap (it’s a hard job, but somebody has to do it) before I headed down to the first of two dinners.
There are indeed a few obvious developments here under the new owner, businessman and hotelier Benjamin Andrews, in particular a welcome sprucing up of the dining room and a significant tightening up of the wine list. I can’t help feeling that the kitchen had upped its game as well, as pretty soon I was sitting down to a succession of high-quality dishes, produced by head chef Calum Innes who has stayed on here through the change of ownership. An Isle of Mull crab roulade, with coriander emulsion, seaweed jelly, puffed rice and lemongrass bisque demonstrated a delicious purity of flavour, the tight roulade of crab benefiting from the bright and aromatic lift coming from the coriander and lemongrass nectars.
Following this a fillet of monkfish, charred leek, baby carrot, mussel and fennel beurre blanc was a delight; the leeks were indeed charred, heavily so, yet despite their dark and rather concerning appearance the flavour was not overpowering, and they worked well with the beurre blanc and gently cooked mini-fillets of monkfish. A fine starter followed by a fine main course, what more could you ask for?
To find something to drink I dived head-first in to the wine list, a rather more select affair than it was when I last dined here, and when I came to the surface I found I had a bottle of the 2019 Domaines Leflaive Mâcon-Verzé in my hand, the restaurant having finally moved on from the 2016 vintage I drank here previously. This was a good match with both dishes, coping just as well with the fragrant herby crab as it did with the more textural monkfish plate.
I finished up with a pressed apple terrine, partnered with burnt honey cream, Sauternes and a crème fraîche sorbet, which was a cool yet dense delight. In enjoying it I began to accept that my sweet tooth is perhaps rather larger than I once believed it to be (as if the many bottles of Sauternes and Quarts de Chaume in my cellar weren’t a clue). We all live and learn, I guess.
The next day I headed out for a walk, to soak up some of Port Appin’s beautiful scenery. Last time I visited I headed north, feeling myself drawn towards the solemn isolation of Castle Stalker, but this time I headed south, to walk around the coastline. To be frank this was a much more enjoyable walk, with great views across to the Isle of Lismore and the hills of Morvern and distant Mull. The clouds cast slow-moving shadows across the rugged slopes opposite, while the water glistened in the late-winter sunlight. It was a beautiful panorama – if I ever decide to sell up in the Loire Valley (not very likely, but stick with me) I think I have found my new home.
I walked all the way round to Clach Thoull, a natural arch formed in the quartzite rock, before heading back to the hotel alongside a sandy inlet and then through a pocket of deciduous coastal woodland, before I popped into The Pierhouse for lunch. And then, after another hard afternoon of napping, guess what? It was time for dinner.
On my second evening I began with a supreme of wood pigeon, foie gras choux farci, heritages carrots, pommes maximes and roasted jus, which was a great way to start, the wood pigeon cooked to pink perfection, while the little foie gras parcel added an alternative note of decadence. It was upstaged, however, by a delicious seared loin of Argyll venison, served with braised haunch, parsnip purée, creamed savoy cabbage and port. The combination of precisely cooked loin, with slow-roasted haunch served within a little pie of its own, was a delight. And who doesn’t love a blackberry with their venison?
The choice of wine this evening brought me to the world of Peter Sisseck, but not Château Rocheyron (which I visited a few weeks after this dinner), nor Pingus, but the 2019 Ribera de Duero Psi from Bodegas y Viñedos Alnardo. This is a joint project between Peter and Pablo Rubio, the fruit largely sourced from small parcels of old bush vines owned by retired (or just tired) locals – a sort of Ribera del Duero version of Thierry Puzelat’s Puzelat-Bonhomme project in the Loire Valley, only with riper fruit. In this case the end result is fully flavoured, concentrated and textural, with a fairly spicy and velvety composition; it made a robust match for both the pigeon and the venison, but it worked for me. Just.
At this point I was winding down, finishing with a duck egg crème brûlée, plum and blackberry compote, earl grey and cinnamon doughnuts, a dish which I thought would be an easy-going conclusion to the meal (as well as continuing to satiate my blackberry addiction – one is never enough). But it turned out to be the most delicious crème brûlée I have ever eaten, and I immediately regretted not taking a photograph before wading in with my spoon (I did take a snap of it half-eaten, but I have demurred from adding it to this report). I offer my apologies for this lack of planning to my dining photography. And I offer my thanks to the duck who gave her eggs to this fabulous conclusion to this dinner.
My return to Airds Hotel was a great success, with delightfully informal yet professional service from the staff throughout. And in comparison to my last visit, the new owners will surely be pleased to learn it was undeniably better, on all counts. Better weather, enhancing the scenery, admittedly not something I can promise will be the case should you decide to stay here yourself. More importantly also better service, of course a string of high-quality dishes coming from the kitchen, and a smart if somewhat perfunctory wine list. Will I come here again? Certainly. In fact, I might just make a reservation later today. I don’t want to leave it another 15 months.
Prices: I paid my own way at Airds Hotel, taking advantage of a two-night weekend offer, which secured a room for two people, for two nights, for £270 per night. This includes dinner on the two nights, but does not include any aperitifs, supplements or wines, so to that we must add the cost of the wines at £85 and £95 respectively. With a few soft drinks and snacks on top, the total bill for the weekend was £736.10. (18/8/23)
Despite having lived in Scotland for more than sixteen years the natural beauty of Caledonia’s hills, mountains and coastline still has the power to take my breath away. The lowlands have a gentle charm all their own, sometimes reminiscent of my native heath, but there are few landscapes to match the raw splendour of Scotland’s highlands and islands. I was reminded of this only a few weeks ago when I took a trip over to Airds Hotel, a little north of Oban, on Scotland’s west coast.
Airds Hotel is an old 18th-century ferry inn located in Port Appin, which is the departure point for a tiny shuttle which carries foot passengers over the waters of Loch Linnhe to the island of Lismore. No doubt it was once an important staging post and watering hole for weary travellers, while today it offers a respite for those wanting to get away from the pressures of modern life for a day or two. Visitors can soak up the majestic scenery and slower pace of life for a weekend or even just an overnight stay, relaxing in one of the eleven sumptuously appointed bedrooms. However long you rest your hat here though, fine dining, courtesy of chef Calum Innes, will be a significant part of your stay.
At the time of my visit, late in November 2021, the Airds Hotel was in the hands of Shaun and Jenny McKivragan, who have been in charge here for nineteen years, since they acquired the property in 2003. A few days after my stay – by which time I was already touring the vineyards of Bordeaux, tasting the 2019s for a forthcoming report – news broke that the property had been sold. Despite any rumours you may have heard, the sale was not a result of my visit causing the exasperated owners to throw in the towel (honest!). In truth the McKivragans decided it was time to retire, and with that in mind they have sold the business to Benjamin Andrews, a Scottish hotelier and investor.
So what’s the first thing you do on arriving in your hotel room? Hang your shirts? Raid the mini-bar? Collapse on the bed, exhausted? I could have done any of these I suppose, but keen to make the most of the daylight I downed a wee dram of Whisky Mac, a cocktail of whisky and Stone’s Original Green Ginger Wine (a complimentary decanter sits in your room, magically refreshed each day), donned a warm jacket, and struck out along the coast road.
The area is rich in walks short and long, inland and coastal, and I chose to head north along the line of the coast, crossing the Jubilee Bridge (pictured), a wooden footbridge built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, in the direction of Castle Stalker (pictured).
A four-storey tower house on a tidal islet at the mouth of Loch Laich, Castle Stalker has a history dating back to at least 1320; it is surely best known for its appearance in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, when the French guard (John Cleese) hurls insults from its battlements at King Arthur (Graham Chapman). The privately owned keep is in itself imposing, and yet dwarfed by the magnificent scenery wrapped around it. I fear my photograph – taken from some distance, across Loch Laich – does not really do it justice.
I stayed at Airds Hotel for two nights, on a weekend deal, and thus dined twice in the restaurant. Those looking for a change of dining room could always walk down the road to The Pierhouse, a restaurant with rooms in the same ownership as The Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye, but I decided to save that experience for another time. As noted above the head chef at Airds Hotel is Calum Innes, who stepped into this role only a few years ago. He offers two menus, one a limited à la carte menu (three options for each course), and one a fixed seven-course tasting menu. Naturally, with two evenings to fill, I checked out both options.
The style of cooking at Airds is fresh and modern, Calum Innes taking full advantage of the coastal produce, seafood and game on the kitchen’s doorstep, marrying these ingredients with sensitive precision on the plate. While I enjoyed dinner on both occasions, all the weekend’s highlights were packed into the seven-course tasting menu on the second night. After a very good Loch Fyne oyster with caviar, Champagne and lime granita, followed by a decent crab salad with whisky-cured trout and avocado ice cream, Calum took it up several notches with a dish of Loch Linnhe scallop, salt-baked celeriac, samphire and shellfish bisque; these scallops (pictured), from the very loch on which Airds stands, were melt-in-the-mouth gorgeous, but the high point of the dish was the rich and savoury deliciousness of the shellfish bisque.
I was excited by the concept of the Pigeon Wellington, with wild mushroom and chorizo, but while the flavours were delicious the pastry felt like it needed another ten minutes in the oven. By which time, I suppose, the pigeon within would have been dried out. Perhaps this dish needs a little more thought? But the fillet of beef, with braised cheek, duxelles, shallot textures and Bordelaise sauce was a return to divinity on a plate, the combination of flavours presented here, with the soft bite of the beef (pictured), the savoury shallots, and the oozing umami-rich depth of the red-wine-and-marrow Bordelaise sauce nothing less than sublime. Nothing else matched the star quality of this dish, and while the praline cheesecake, salted caramel and pistachio macaroon, followed by the dark chocolate délice with caramelised white chocolate were both delicious, it is the memory of that beef which still lives with me.
The wine list at Airds includes some interesting bins. I was rather taken aback by the listing of the Sancerre Les Baronnes, from Henri Bourgeois, at £89 per bottle, although since I last bought a bottle of this entry-level Sancerre retail prices seem to have doubled (when did that happen?) to stratospheric levels, which explains the price here. Instead I found more joy in Burgundy than in the Loire Valley (there is a first time for everything); the 2018 Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc Les Setilles worked well on the first night, even if the fruit and oak added a very subtle twist of confected sweetness. The 2016 Domaine Leflaive Macon-Verzé which I drank on the second night was a good step up, with subtle fruit swirled with mineral and oatmeal elements. It worked really well with the oyster, scallop and trout dishes. Of course, for those interested in matching wines, this is an option with the tasting menu.
My weekend away at Airds was a delightful opportunity to relax, take some fresh air, do a little walking and then to chill out over dinner, each evening kicking off with cocktails gathered around the crackling fire in one of the hotel’s two cosy lounges. The staff are friendly and never intrusive, the welcome warm and polite, appropriately formal but never overbearing. It was a joy to come here, and even the drive from Scotland’s east coast, past the majestic and rugged Glen Coe, was a joy. I have my fingers crossed that quality remains high now that Airds is in new hands, but with that proviso I thoroughly recommend a stay here. Just remember to pack a warm coat and some good walking shoes.
Prices: I paid my own way at Airds Hotel, taking advantage of a two-night weekend offer, which secured a room for two people, for two nights, for £287.50 per night. This includes dinner on the two nights, but with a £32.95 supplement (per person) for the tasting menu. The wines were £62 and £96, close enough to 300% of current retail price to be considered ‘fair’. Matching wines is another option, at £47.50 per person. With lunchtime sandwiches, beers, waters, cocktails and coffees, a weekend away at Airds could set you back to the tune of £800. (14/1/22)