Food review: Victoria's, 45 Atholl Road, Pitlochry • Foodie Explorers

What’s Victoria’s secret?

Victoria’s is a family-run restaurant on the main road in Pitlochry. It doesn’t have that in-the-moment hipster design, but what it does have is a warm and cosy feeling – an American mom & pop restaurant feel perhaps. We’d been to Victoria’s a few years ago and returned just before Christmas as the food last time was not only tasty, but also good value for money. Would it be as good as our previous visit?

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Inside

It was a chilly day so we were glad to get inside to the warmth. We arrived after the lunchtime rush so thankfully there was plenty of seating with tables as well as booths available.

Decor-wise it’s not modern but it is homely. Lots of local images from around the town and of the owning family grace the walls. It’s the kind of place where you know you’ll get a good bowl of soup!

Click here to see the menus. The day menu consists mainly of sandwiches, salads, burgers and main courses such as steak pie – there’s a mix of traditional with more modern dishes so there should be something to keep all the family happy. A full Scottish breakfast is also available if you’re there before noon and they’re also open for evening meals.

To drink, I ordered the Earl Grey Blue Flower tea (courtesy of Julius Meinl) from their intriguing tea list, which comes in a proper cast-iron Chinese teapot (£3.25 per pot), whilst Mr Foodie had a Portioli coffee – they actually have a coffee menu with a selection of liqueur coffees. Good news for anyone sensitive to caffeine, or vegans as all their coffees can be decaffeinated and they have a choice of semi-skimmed, whole and soya milk.

Food

We’d already had a big breakfast at The Old Mill Inn that morning, however a mid-morning walk around the dam and salmon ladder in the cold had built up a bit of an appetite. Not enough for a big meal, but instead a light lunch, which makes a change for us!

I ordered an Isle of Mull cheddar and Ayrshire bacon baked potato at £6.95. With lots of bacon and cheese on top of a perfectly cooked baked potato it certainly warmed me up!

Mr Foodie was feeling the need for something lighter so picked the Victoria’s Caesar Salad available at £5.95 for a starter or £12.95 for main course size. Although it’s not something he usually eats he lapped it up, enjoying the quality of the items very much.

Due to our earlier big breakfast we just couldn’t find space for dessert. Even though the empire biscuits were shouting out for our attention!

Conclusion

We arrived for a late lunch so Victoria’s was very relaxed on this visit. Unfortunately we didn’t have a very big appetite after our breakfast so could only sample one course each but both dishes were very tasty. Prices good. Staff were attentive, helpful and there were plenty of them around. Toilets clean and in working order, though down a set of stairs. There’s seating outside for summer and the restaurant is a short walk from the river Tummel and salmon ladder. If you’ve never been to Pitlochry it’s a lovely place with an impressive selection of eateries, places to stay, at least two pubs with real fires and two distilleries. An ideal place for an overnight stay for hill walkers, whisky fans or a romantic getaway.

So what’s Victoria’s Secret? Getting the simple things right!

TL;DR

+ No nonsense homely food
+ Good service/prices
+ Impressive tea and coffee selection
+ Cakes looked great!
+ Excellent location

– Not the most disabled-friendly

Location:

Victorias Restaurant & Coffee Shop, 45 Atholl Road, Pitlochry

On the main road, less than a 5 minute walk from Pitlochry train station. The main bus stop from buses from Glasgow and Edinburgh is about the same distance away as well.