Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Its famous steak pie and crinkle-cut chips made it an Inverness institution, but the Castle Restaurant is set to close after 60 years in business

A much-loved Inverness restaurant will close its doors after six decades in business next month.

The Castle Restaurant on Castle Street has been one of the city’s most-loved eateries since it first opened in 1959.

Speculation had been mounting online that its days were numbered and although its owners were not willing to speak at the restaurant today, a staff member confirmed that it will cease trading on August 4.

It is understood after a major refurbishment it will re-open as a fish and chip shop.

That means fans of the well-known restaurant have little more than a week to sample its famous steak pie and crinkle-cut chips for the final time.

The restaurant will close on August 4. Picture by Sandy McCook

The building had been listed for sale at offers over £325,000 by ASG Commercial and remains on the market.

News of the restaurant closing, affectionately known as the Castle Snacks, prompted hundreds of disappointed messages online.

Inverness Central councillor Bet McAllister said the restaurant was an institution in the Highland capital.

She said: “I have a lot of fond memories of it, its macaroni was always to die for.

Councillor Bet McAllister.

“It’s one of the most well-known places in Inverness and a lot of people will desperately miss it.

“It’s a real shame, it’s another old place lost to the history books. I am amazed, it’s obviously not doing as well as people thought, which is surprising.

“I worry for the staff, will they be kept on in the new business?”

John McDonald, Inverness Bid’s community safety manager, was sad to hear that the Castle Restaurant would be closing but added he hoped the new business would be in place as quickly as possible.

“It’s sad to see the end of a business that has been in place for 60 years,” he said. “It has served the public and visitors well and it will be sorely missed by the majority of people.

“We don’t like to see any empty sites in Inverness and hopefully the plans that are being suggested come to fruition very quickly.”

Castle Street in Inverness in 1964. The Castle Snack Bar is visible in the same location as it currently stands.

The restaurant, that can cater for 72, is housed in one of the city’s oldest buildings, built in 1744.

There was previously a question mark over its future in 2015 when long-time owner Brian Lipton retired and put the business up for sale.

It had been started by Mr Lipton’s grandmother Patricia Boni and uncle Joe in 1959.

Later Mr Lipton’s parents Roma and Clem took over, with another uncle Samuel and his wife Emma also joining.

Roma Lipton became one of the restaurant’s best-known faces, particularly for her steak pie – freshly made on the premises every day.

The keys were handed over to brother and sister Ewen and Katie MacKinnon in October 2015, who said at the time they were not planning to make any changes to the business.