Firstly, before I go any further with this, please be aware this is my first time reviewing a restaurant. Not only that, but this is a review I chose to write – I haven’t been asked to write it, paid for it, or anything like that and the opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Back on a Saturday night in November, around thirty of us crossed the threshold of the Wee Lochan for a very late 21st birthday party for Ellie, one of my friends I made in first year uni. As a mixture of friends and family, the age range was definitely a large one, and yet this place seemed like the perfect location for everyone. Now, let’s be honest here – I am a nightmare when trying to write these sorts of posts mainly because I’m that idiot who forgets to take pictures until it’s too late. For this reason, any pictures you see here are from TripAdviser and I have tried to credit the photographer in each one, however if you see one of your photos and you have not been credited, please contact me and I will rectify this immediately. (Yup, I’m just covering any possible disclaimers here, sorry!)

Arriving in the dark, we walked through the door to what can only be described as the perfect date place. Bar directly opposite the door, plenty of tables in all directions – but not too many to make it overcrowded – and a welcoming smile as you walk in through the door. There were fairy lights dotted around the place, making me feel all Warm and cosy inside with the reminder that Christmas is very much on it’s way. The whole place was so warm and inviting, we found ourselves questioning why we hadn’t been before!

Before I start into who ate what and how good it was, because trust me when I saw it was incredibly good, I wanted to talk a little about Wee Lochan. Back in first year uni, Ellie would disappear for an evening to go work in her parent’s restaurant that, when asked, Ellie would say was in Partick. We frequently said ‘Oh, we should go there sometime!’ but as quite often happens, life got busy and we never got round to going.

After a glass of bubbly to help celebrate Ellie’s birthday, and a bit of a chat with any family or friends who came our way, we were presented with a menu with a choice of 4 starters, 3 mains, and 3 desserts – so much choice for us students! Nuala settled on the twice baked parsnip souffle with a mixed leaf salad, Pablo on the Stornoway black pudding with a poached egg, crisp smoked pancetta, red onion marmalade and mixed leaves, and I on the soup of the day; celery, blue cheese and thyme. Now while I didn’t taste the other two, everything looked and smelled incredible! My soup was delicious. I’m not a fan of thin soups, so when this arrived and was the perfect consistency for me I couldn’t have been happier. Plus it was nice and warm on a cold night! The only starter I wasn’t aware of anyone eating was the trio of mackerel however I’m sure it was to die for!

We chatted and had a laugh with the others sitting around us as the tables were cleared by the friendly, helpful staff, and before long our main courses were presented to us. Nuala and Pablo both ordered the roast haunch of venison with braised red cabbage, woodland mushrooms, in a red wine and juniper sauce and mustard mash. I went with the courgette, lemon and ricotta wellington served with crisp butternut squash and tomato gnocchi,roast garlic and parsley puree, truffle veloute and beetroot and kohirabi salad – both mains were incredible! The other two thought I was strange going for the vegetarian option but it sounded too good to pass. Safe to say, it was hard not to lick the plate clean. The final option for mains was a delicious looking tranche of hake with boulangere potatoes, braised puy lentils, creamed leeks, tiger prawns and a green peppercorn sauce.

By this stage, we were all beginning to feel quite full, however when offered a three course dinner, you make sure you eat your three courses! For any of you who remember, Nuala has celiac disease meaning she can’t eat anything glutenous, and so she was offered something off the menu for dessert as our choices were tiramisu, Sticky Toffee Pudding, or warm apple tart. She had the lemon posset and actually really enjoyed it! Pablo went for the tiramisu, and I for the sticky toffee pudding. Again, portion sizes were the perfect size and no matter how full I was I refused to leave a drop of food on my plate. Also, if you do go visit, make sure to try the fudge!

Please please please do give them a visit if you’re ever down my neck of the woods, or if you’ve been before then what did you think of it?

Ktkinnes xx