The Russian Tavern (Port Royal Hotel), Port Bannatyne - pub details
Address: 37 Marine Road, Port Bannatyne, Isle of Bute, PA20 0LW [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 951 1000 (ref 4748) - calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras
Pub facilities/features:
- Food served, Real ale
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> Current user rating: 7.4/10 (rated by 13 users)
other pubs nearby:
Anchor Tavern, Port Bannatyne (0.1 miles), Criterion Bar, Rothesay (1.8 miles), Rabbie Burns Tavern, Rothesay (1.8 miles), Boat, Rothesay (1.8 miles), Grapes Bar, Rothesay (1.8 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of the Russian Tavern (Port Royal Hotel), Port Bannatyne
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 16 shown - see all reviews
| It's been some time since I've been on the Isle of Bute. At least six of the pubs in Rothesay are up for sale or closed up. In Port Bannatyne things are better as the new yacht marina is a great success. There are three pubs in the Port: The Port Inn for a suntrap beer garden and a pool table, the Anchor Tavern where a row of retired locals hold court and drink Tennants Lager, and then there's The Russian Tavern in which tourists and yachties relax, eat the very good Russian specialities and sample something a bit different. On my visit they had bottled beer from Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic, Erdinger Weissbeer on tap, both blonde and dunkel, Murphies Stout, and Real Ale from the Houston Brewery straight from the keg on the bar. The Eastern European lagers are served in frozen tankards which is neat. Great couple of evenings chatting to everyone watching the sun go down and then in candle-light. It's been 6 years since CAMRA awarded them Scottish Pub of the Year, but their standard is still very high. StephanJonesMD - 14 Jun 2012 17:58 |
| Directed to sail to Port Bannatyne by my reluctant "crew" Boris...or more exactly Boh-reees as he is from Kiev and very Ukrainian. Boris stomped ahead to this white-painted stone building on the seafront which, strangely is THE RUSSIAN TAVERN. Inside it's like a habour bar in Zeebrugge, or a country French cafe, but with flourishes of Russian murals, adverts in Cyrillic script, and those lacquered wooden dolls. The Details: Five Russian beers, one Ukrainian - "Oblomov" a malty light lager. I had "Stary Melnik" from near Moscow, rated by CAMRA, and like a hoppy Indian Pale Ale. Our meal was a footlong dish of local crayfish for myself, and a big dog's bowl of spicey stew, a borscht containing much more than beetroot and rated highly by Boris. The basket of bread was hot from the oven. 17 pounds for the two. Real Ales are poured straight from the firkins and the choice was: "Arran Blonde" from the Isle of Arran, Houston Brewery's "Peters Well" and "Gold" from Williams Bros in Aloa. There was Erdinger Weissebeer on tap both blonde and dark. An excellent evening chatting with all manner of folk, many from abroad, and through the windows fabulous views across the sea to the highlands. I shall have more confidence in Boris in future, and he insisted I put this review on "that computer site you follow like a sheep." HarryCohen - 13 Nov 2010 11:57 |
| Unique place. When my wife and I visited they only had one cask ale (Arran Blonde) but it was in good condition so no complaints - Bute is not exactly awash with good beer. Also the bottled Harvey's Imperial Russian Stout is wonderful (2003 vintage on my visit). The landlord and his wife are very friendly and interesting to talk to - you may not agree with all the landlord's opinions though! Menu looks expensive but quality is high, quantities are large and there are free extras (home-made bread, salad of wild leaves etc) so it's not unreasonable at all. Decor and furniture is somewhat Russian and rather basic - this suits me fine but might not be ideal if you want to take someone there to impress them (but if that's what you want you may not find it anywhere on Bute...) newbury_drinker - 16 Aug 2010 14:35 |
| Kept sailing into Port Bannatyne during our summer trip to the Scottish waters simply to get some great beers served direct from the barrel in The Russian Tavern. We are 7 guys from the Netherlands and together we've got one big thirst! There were three different local Real Ales available, Erdinger Wheat Beers both blonde and dunkel on tap, and bottled beers from Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic. Cider and Perry too. Dutchmen enjoy seafood very much and this place was serving up the fish and shell-fish landed on the pier just outside. We had great platters of crayfish served with hot bread straight from the oven. The mussels were very tasty. The scallops the best.Find this little place on the internet and then in the real world on board our yacht really made the vacation for us guys. The folk in the Russian Tavern were great company and friendly, and we shall go back if we can! Only just had time to write this but our visits were in August 2008. Thankyou Russians, you made our Scottish visit great! JanJenssen - 24 Nov 2008 14:28 |
| The beer is excellent, served straight from barrels on the bar. The food is very good but also very expensive costing �24 for goulash and up to �11 for a starter. The host is a very sociable fellow. ed_hill - 27 Jun 2008 10:49 |
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