La Taverna - Aviemore

A L.

La Taverna is a fantastic place to eat — great value for money with an ‘eat what you can’ option that’s truly worth it. The food is delicious and plentiful, with a lovely selection of tasty dishes and desserts, including ice cream. Even the kids were full before dessert — which says a lot! It’s in a good location, and the atmosphere is welcoming. Strongly recommended for families or anyone who enjoys generous portions and quality food.

Jake T.

Went in for some food after camping for the previous few nights. The staff seemed really pleasant and friendly, all of them smiled as they passed and as they brought us our drinks, but unfortunately due to the lack of staff we were told we would only be able to have buffet food rather than freshly cooked food brought to us which was a shame.

Despite being really hungry we were unable to eat much of the food at all. The quality of the food was very poor, and may have even been microwaved or heated from frozen. It did not taste fresh, and many of the foods we tried tasted bland and flavourless. The pizzas were warm but you could tell they had been out for a while and the chicken on the pizza had a strange texture (again possibly microwaved). Additionally the pizzas were all combined onto plates with vegetarian and meat options almost touching. The garlic bread was incredibly similar to a frozen supermarket garlic baguette. The puddings looked dry and we were so fed up, so we decided to leave without bothering to try them.

The inside itself didn’t feel welcoming and we were cold where we sat. The prices were wildly exaggerated for the experience we had, I would have been uncomfortable spending £15 for the food but the £22 price was very extreme especially given the poor quality.

We saw the menu beforehand and expected to pay about £16 for a fresh pizza so for the buffet to cost £22 for food that was not freshly cooked and bland was almost insulting.

I have been eating the same packaged camping food for 2 meals a day for the last 3 days. These meals are awful but easy and efficient. To anyone looking at going to this restaurant I would advise you to either buy a ready meal from a supermarket, have a camping meal, or go to a different restaurant as all of these would be preferable. I would not recommend this food to anyone.

Mike C.

I have very mixed feelings about this place. We shared a starter of bruschetta - but they brought only one plate (despite knowing that we wanted to share). My wife had sea bass for the main course, which looked very good - and she thoroughly enjoyed it. However, my rump steak was rather bad - it had been cooked as I wanted (rare) but it had clearly not been rested (it was as tough as old boots) and the fat hadn't been rendered properly, so was utterly inedible.

We were offered dessert, but then told we had to get it ourselves from the buffet area - no table service for dessert, apparently. And I'm afraid that the ice cream I chose to eat was rather insipid.

We were the last to leave - and felt like we were being rushed out at that. No offer of coffee to finish the meal, although I must admit that we wouldn't have had the coffee anyway, because by then we were feeling terribly disappointed and unwelcome in equal measure.

What a shame, this place has the potential to be a great place to eat, but I'm afraid it's not living up to that potential at the moment. Maybe we caught it on a bad day. Maybe. However, I won't be rushing back.

Joshua F.

We always love a visit to La Taverna if we are up in Aviemore, the whole ambiance, theming and food is just a total win. I would always advise booking ahead of time as they can book up really fast and just a note: during the summer season they offer a buffet selection rather than table service, this all changes round at the end of October for the winter season.

If you love proper Italian food, La Taverna is definitely the place to go: perfect for date nights, fuelling up after hiking/skiing or if you are just in the area and feel the need for pasta! The food is delicious, all homemade and served in very generous portions and the staff go above and beyond to make you feel at home, shoutout to Bethan who sorted out our reservation and arranged it all for us. It doesn't hurt the pocket too much either as there is always room for dessert right?

La Taverna also offer takeaway options so ideal if you're staying at a nearby lodge or campsite and want to enjoy some pasta or pizza by the fire. Cant wait to be back for some more spicy pizza!

Tom B.

A lively well established restaurant that has it all. Good food, good atmosphere and great staff. We went in with two hungry toddlers and were sat down and eating within about 10 mins of walking through the doors. Great value too, the buffet selection is impressive and there's lots of choice of desserts too. Highly recommend

Cecilia D.

Really great food and really good portions size, we all had the lasagna and it was one of the best we ever had

Roger N.

Just had a meal out tonight, very nice restaurant with friendly staff and a beautiful setting. Food was prepared quickly and was delicious. Buffet option with plenty of choice. Reasonably priced. Fourth time we have dined here when holidaying in the area.

Chris B.

Absolutely the best place to eat in Aviemore. the buffet is incredible value for money - 3 courses for £22 and as many return visits as you like. Book ahead at peak times as it's justifiably busy. Magnificent place, food is exceptional, staff are wonderful. Seems they also serve a really good pint of hand pulled ale too. We will be heading straight there when we next return to Aviemore.