Eating Out

Whether you’re looking for excellent Scottish cooking (traditional or modern), for a tasty bar supper, an Indian, Italian, good old Fish & Chips, a morning coffee or afternoon tea, we know where you should go.

We’ve tried almost all of them! (An arduous job but somebody had to do it).

For such a small village, we have a good choice of places where you can get a bite to eat and a nice drink. As things start to open up once again, we will do our best to keep up to date with the latest situation regarding who is open and their opening hours. We we will, of course, let you know when you’re with us.

There’s something to suit most tastes and budgets, without you having to travel too far afield. Indeed, the ones in Newtonmore are all within easy walking distance of Clune House.

So, what’s on offer? (For the ones marked with an *, it is best to book. We’ll happily do that for you.)

In Newtonmore:

The Balavil Hotel*

Just 200 metres up the road, The Balavil is “our local”. Fraser and his team offer a good choice of well-cooked, reasonably priced dishes in a very friendly atmosphere.

The Glen Hotel*.

A 15 minute stroll along the Main Street takes you to the Glen, where Chris & Kim provide a super, wide ranging menu in a very welcoming, pub-like setting.

The Wild Flour.

A really friendly cafe where you can enjoy a nice cuppa, good home baking and delicious light lunches.

Antlers and Toshacks Tuck Shop.

Two other cosy places for a cuppa, sarnie or light daytime meal. Here in Newtonmore, you’re spoilt for cafe choice!!

Mehmoods.

The village also has a great wee place offering good International Cuisine to takeaway, perfect for watching that sunset from the comfort of your car.

In Kingussie:

The Sugar Bowl.

Fay & Russell do wondrous things in their cosy corner cafe – great coffees and smashing grub too. Perfect for a morning cuppa, a light lunch or afternoon tea.

The McInnes House Hotel.

The gents at the McInnes offers decent pub grub, freshly cooked to order. It is dog-friendly and you can choose to eat in or sit out too.

Joe’s Chippie.

A top-notch chippie with great fish & chips, other things too and really friendly staff.

Further afield.

Laggan.

Just a 10 minute drive or so down the Fort William road takes you to Laggan, home of The Laggan Coffee Bothy. Stuart & Gordon offer great coffees, sarnies, cakes and the like with friendly service and you’ll simply love the welcome you’ll receive from Kara their parrot too!! There are also some very nice gifts & souvenirs, including items utilising Stuart’s excellent photos.

Aviemore

Not too far north of us, about 15 minutes by car, in Aviemore, there’s an even wider range of bars and restaurants.

Boat of Garten – Anderson’s Restaurant.*

Put simply, in our view, it doesn’t get any better than this. Steve and his team have built a superb reputation as one of the area’s best places to go for dinner. In our view – the best. It is well worth the 25 minute drive.

Doing our best to keep you safe while you’re with us.

First & foremost, Irene and I hope that you and yours have been able to keep well during the Coronavirus Pandemic, something which has had a major impact on us all.

We both very much look forwards to welcoming guests again, once we are allowed to re-open. The Scottish Government’s latest advice, as of 19th June, is that this is still going to be on 15^th July, though there is the possibility of that being delayed. The First Minister announced that there will be a further statement no later than 2nd July.

However, while we have been closed, we have not been idle. In addition to getting some exterior renovations and upgrades done, we have been taking a detailed look at the way Clune House operates, taking into account the recently issued Scottish Government Guidelines. We’ve been planning and implementing the changes necessary to ensure, as much as we can, that we keep you, our guests, as safe as possible while you’re here with us.

Alongside that, we have not forgotten that our reputation for friendly, customer service is at the heart of what we do. Taken together, this means that we will play our part in you safely enjoying your time here in the natural splendour of the Highlands.

What we are doing for you.

In summary, the actions we are taking include:

Arrival.

When you arrive, you’ll still enjoy our normal, warm, friendly welcome, albeit without any hugs or handshakes. We’ll also happily still help with your luggage if you’d like us to.

We still intend showing you up to your room and telling you how everything works – as we normally do, and we’ve devised a way of doing this which meets distancing requirements.

Your room and house keys, sanitised of course, will be in your room door.

Your Room.

Here, we have made a number of changes, removing non-essentials such as cushions and throws, plus simplifying a few other things while still ensuring that you have everything you need for an enjoyable, comfortable and safe stay here.

For your first night with us, you can be confident that your room will have been well-aired and thoroughly cleaned and sanitised, utilising antibacterial cleaning liquids and sanitisers throughout, in preparation for your stay.

When we’re refreshing your room between nights of your stay, we’ll be following a new routine with even more attention to detail than our usual.

We are doing all this ourselves so that we can be as sure as we can be that it is done the way we want it to be.

Public Areas.

Your safety starts at our front door with sanitisation of the doorbell and handles. Moving through the public areas, these will be cleaned even more thoroughly than usual, especially higher traffic things such as table tops, the handrail up the stairs, door handles, etc.

We have rearranged the chairs and sofas in our Guest Lounge a wee bit, to allow you to relax in our comfortable seating but at the required distance from your fellow guests with whom you’ll still be able to chat if you’d like to. We’ve also done a bit of decluttering with most of Irene’s Teddy Bears on furlough for now and, sorry, but the choccies bowl has been retired too.

Breakfast.

Most significantly, we have replaced, for now, our much-loved communal breakfast table with separate tables for two which we’ve managed to place the required distance apart.

We made the room layout as flexible as we can so, if you are travelling as a group or family, the tables can easily be rearranged to make a larger table for 3, 4, 5 or 6, no problem at all.

For now, we have “rested” three dishes from our menu which still offers you the widest breakfast choice in the area. We also still cater for any dietary needs that you have.

We’ve introduced changes to the way we prepare and serve your breakfast to comply with the current best practice guidelines.

Check Out.

We have devised a simple and safe process for you to pay by card on your departure as normal. However, if you prefer to settle your bill directly into our bank account the night before your departure, we can do that too, no problem. For the time being we prefer not to take payment by cash or cheque.

What we ask of you.

“Coughs & sneezes spread diseases” – never, perhaps, has this old saying been more appropriate.

There’s no easy way for us to say this and without wanting to appear unwelcoming at all, if you have any of the symptoms associated with Covid 19, we would suggest that you think about your travel plans, perhaps rescheduling them for another time.

No symptoms? That’s great news. Here, then, are a few simple things, please, to help us help you.

Every time you come into the house, please sanitise your hands using the sanitiser provided in reception.

Every time you enter the Guest Lounge, whether for breakfast or just to relax, please sanitise your hands using the sanitiser provided in reception.

Play Your Part – Try To Stay Apart.

Be respectful of your fellow guests, giving each other ample space and allowing each other to pass safely, especially in the corridor, on the stairs and in reception.

Working together, you & your fellow guests can all enjoy your time together at Clune House and we can enjoy looking after you while also helping to keep each other safe and well.

Thank you in anticipation of your cooperation.