I visited there for the first time on Weds night and it was pretty quiet really - some of the old faces, but not as many by any means. Didn’t note many new faces either.
Strangely though, all the old regulars (myself included) now seemed to have taken up position on the far wall, as far away from the pub and music as you could get. Inside it was empty, bar a couple of folks indulging in Thai food and a couple of barhangs.
All in all the verdict from the three tables of the usual crew was that it was more of the same, only worse. On sunny nights like last night, folks will still meet up in the beer garden, but people are already mocking and being forced out by the music, which doesn't bode well for winter nights. I suspect that the early evenings will be ok, and people will trek back for big sporting games, but it'll struggle through the cooler months otherwise on present evidence.
All in all it's a pretty shoddy half-cut job. It's the same with crudely repainted surfaces, some cheap looking check/tartan curtains, some strange looking lampshades and newspapers pasted to the wall in the style of a 70s/80s student pub. The old main bar has now become a pseudo-restaurant, closed until late in the evening and lacking the pool table. The barn like back bar has now become the main bar and only opens up at 4pm now – FWIW I’d rather have it open earlier, preferably without the three surplus staff and a bouncer. In all it’s a bit of a Changing Rooms job – quick cosmetic paint over bubbling undercoat and little else, bar the levelling of the floor in the old main bar. A perfect example is the toilets – the drainage is still fucked, and whilst the door frames have been crudely painted, the same broken loo seats in place. A couple of the staff, the younger ones, were in unfetching kilts and sporran numbers, but were well outnumbered by the management and assorted hangers who weren’t. Similarly, if you’re expecting a a Scottish home from home when you walk in you’re likely to be disappointed – apart from the cheesy curtain. I had to endure a soundtrack of that notable highlander Sheryl Crow, the Welsh playing football and a deserted inner bar with only a couple of people eating Thai food. It’s a clearly half-baked, half followed through concept to be fair.
Plus points? The staff were friendly, if a little personality free and inept – three behind the bar when they opened late and still they failed to put sparklers on the pumps and ready the beers. They even managed to cock up the first three rounds that I witnessed, albeit all in the customers favour. Bargain! And the Thai food looks pretty good too – they’ve got a comprehensive menu in place, taken directly from a restaurant and still bearing Inverness address details, and a Thai family in the kitchen. Sod all to do with Scotland perhaps, but I like Thai food.
Not sure how it’ll pan out in the long run, but there are few signs that many will stay around for the live music. The cold snap will bring the real test.
We'll probably give it another go some other time. I wouldn't wish failure on anyone.. but I do think this could be a tough nut to crack.
