Estate of Ord is on the fringe of the Black Isle, just outside Muir of Ord.
It’s a little off the beaten track, and turning off the main road to the estate does have a magical, time travel-ish feeling.
Ord House is a 17th century manor house lying in the heart of Outlander country and the focus of pilgrimages by many a Diana Gabaldon fan and Outlander enthusiast.
Owners since 2022, George and Sonja Irving liken it to Lallybroch house in the series.
Estate of Ord opened to the public in a lowkey way last year, and had only just entered my consciousness despite my being local to the area.
A lovely country house offering everything from breakfast though brunch, to lunch, afternoon tea and dinner! What were we waiting for? We booked dinner immediately.
Welcoming feel at Ord House
Ord House has an unmistakably welcoming feel, amplified by the genuine friendliness of the staff.
The feeling was of being welcomed into a family home, and this is what George and Sonja Irving have set out to achieve, with their emphasis on employing young, cheerful local people.
We couldn’t eat in the restaurant, called Matilda’s in a nod to the Irvings’ Aussie origins.
It had been commandeered by some 50 young ladies all learning how to arrange flowers while consuming copious amounts of prosecco and cocktails.
The staff set us up instead in the prosecco bar, a sweet snug delightfully decorated with garlands of flowers over picture frames.
I really liked the décor, with its spring feel.
A somewhat disappointing start to our meal at Ord House
It was bitterly cold outside, and the menu offered hearty starters, including lentil soup.
My companion chose haggis bon-bons (£7.45).
The menu said they would come with ‘buttery mash and silky turnip puree. Finished with a drizzle of whisky sauce, for a perfect balance of flavour and texture.’
There was a thin layer of mash, but the other adornments seemed to be missing.
Mark is a die-hard haggis/black pudding fiend, so the bon-bons kept him happy. I believe he would have liked twice as many though, the wee piglet.
I opted for Butternut Squash Arancini (£7.45), described as ‘arancini filled with creamy butternut squash, served with silky pumpkin puree and finished with toasted pumpkin seeds.’
It promised a lot.
The two arancini balls were filled with rice, I’m not sure if they had butternut squash in there at all.
And the toasted pumpkin seeds were a no-show when we were there. The dish was bland and somewhat disappointing.
Did the main courses make up for our starters?
Flavour was abundant in my main course though, slow-cooked beef and ale stew with mash and Chantenay carrots (£16.45).
The stew was tasty and tender, but – just meat in gravy, nothing exceptional for the price tag.
Mark chose pan-fried cod (£17.95), described as ‘served on crushed potatoes with black olives, sun-dried tomatoes and a delicate dill butter.’
The fillet came in a bowl, sitting on a circle of mashed potatoes with olives, but apart from a few fronds of dill on the fish, there was no evidence of the full menu description.
Again, not quite there for the price tag.
There was nothing wrong with any of the elements exactly, it’s just they didn’t meet what was described in the menu.
And for dessert…
Puddings were a hefty £9.45 each, but pleasant.
In fact my sticky toffee pudding was truly mouth-watering with its hot, plump, soft sponge and little jug of yummy toffee sauce.
Mark enjoyed his crème brûlée with its side of berry compote.
We’d have liked a coffee afterwards, but by this time the flower-arranging party had reached some kind of zenith, judging by the trays of cocktails and drinks rushing forth from the bar.
We didn’t have the heart to disturb the hard-pressed staff.
Verdict:
Lovely surroundings and delightful staff went a long way to mitigating some of the shortcomings of our meal.
Along with one other family, we were the only diners that night as the focus was on the flower party.
I’d like to think that on a calmer night we might have experienced the flair promised in the menu.
With or without the menu descriptions, it would have been nice to have a few more elements on the table, a dish of buttery steamed vegetables, for example would have gone down well with both main dishes.
Some extra potatoes? Maybe some warm bread and olive oil?
Scores:Â
Food: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Surroundings: 4/5
Information:
Address: Estate of Ord, Ord House Dr, Muir of Ord IV6 7UH
Tel: 01463 870492
Price: £68.20 for three courses each.
Disabled access: The restaurant is disabled friendly.
Dog friendly: The restaurant itself is not dog friendly, but in warmer months the deck area is. The bar areas are dog friendly, so customers are able to bring their dog and enjoy a meal or coffee and cakes in those areas. There are a couple of dog friendly accommodation rooms as well.
Read our other restaurant reviews online here.
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