One of the things that surprises guests most about staying in this part of the Trossachs is the food and drink scene. It doesn’t advertise itself much. The area around Loch Katrine is quiet by nature, and the best places to eat tend to sit quietly alongside everything else — a proper lochside cafe at Stronachlachar Pier, a Michelin-recommended restaurant forty minutes up the road doing wood-fired cooking with local produce, a country pub in Brig o’ Turk that looks unremarkable from the outside and turns out to be excellent. Scotland’s food and drink continues to get better and better and around Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park the eateries reflect that.
Local knowledge though is a must to avoid being disappointed as some places close mid-week, a few don’t take bookings, and one or two are genuinely easy to miss. So here is our guide to some great local cafés and pubs near Loch Katrine.
Right on the Doorstep: The Pier Cafe, Stronachlachar
If you’re staying at the western end of Loch Katrine, The Pier Cafe at Stronachlachar Pier is the most obvious starting point — and genuinely worth it rather than just convenient. It’s right on the water, informal, and the outside tables on a good day look straight across the loch. The menu runs from breakfast through to afternoon cake with soup and light lunches in between. Nothing complicated, all done well.
It’s licensed, which is a bonus on a summer afternoon. The SS Sir Walter Scott cruise brings people in at scheduled times, so if you want a quieter table it’s worth arriving slightly before or after the boat comes in rather than at the same time as everyone else. Dogs are welcome too which is a great plus if your staying nearby with your four legged friend. Check the Pier Cafe website for current opening hours before making a special trip out.
At the Eastern End: Steamship Cafe, Trossachs Pier
The Steamship Cafe at Trossachs Pier is run by the Loch Katrine Cruises team and sits right where the Sir Walter Scott departs on its loch cruises. If you’ve spent the morning on a bike hire or walking the southern shore, it’s a natural place to stop on the way back. The food is straightforward — soup, sandwiches, hot drinks — but the location earns its keep. Check out this website for the latest opening hours alongside cruise times if you’re planning a full day at the eastern end of the loch.
The Byre, Brig o’ Turk
The Byre at Brig o’ Turk is about fifteen minutes from Stronachlachar by road, in a small village between Loch Katrine and Loch Venachar. It’s the kind of country pub that hasn’t been renovated into something unrecognisable — wood, stone, a proper bar, food that’s actually cooked rather than reheated. Scottish food done straightforwardly: steak pie, local ales, homemade soup. The sort of place you end up staying longer than you planned.
The drive in from Callander past Ben Ledi is worth doing on its own. The Byre is dog friendly and sits on the Rob Roy Way, so the mix of people in on any given evening tends to be walkers, locals and visitors in roughly equal measure. Check byreinn.co.uk for food service times before heading over.
The Lade Inn, Kilmahog
The Lade Inn is a family and dog friendly pub restaurant in Kilmahog, just outside Callander on the road towards the Trossachs. It’s a reliable option for a proper sit-down meal — steak pie, fish and chips, homemade soup — with a good selection of Scottish ales and a comfortable, unfussy atmosphere. If you visit in the winter you can warm yourself with a delicious whiskey by their warm open fire.
Set in some beautiful surroundings near the foot of Ben Ledi mountain. This pub offers consistently great food and doesn’t require a booking for most visits outside of peak summer weekends. There’s also a quiz night running regularly if you happen to be around for it. Around twenty-five minutes from Old Smiddy by road. See theladeinn.com for menus and events.
The Station Coffee Shop, Aberfoyle
Aberfoyle is the main village gateway into the Trossachs from the south, and The Station Coffee Shop is worth knowing about if you’re passing through or making a dedicated trip into town. It sits in a converted Victorian railway station building — the line closed long ago but the building has been put to a good use — and does the kind of proper coffee and homemade baking that makes it a reliable stop before or after a drive through the Duke’s Pass. Around twenty-five minutes from Old Smiddy and a good excuse to have a look around Aberfoyle itself, which has a decent selection of independent shops alongside the Scottish Wool Centre. Did we mention they make their own Ice Cream?
A Little Further Afield: Mhor 84 and Monachyle Mhor
If you’re after something a bit more special — a proper evening out rather than a lunch stop — the Mhor group of restaurants are worth the slightly longer drive. Mhor 84 is a roadside motel and diner on the A84 between Callander and Lochearnhead, doing good unpretentious food with local ingredients in an unexpectedly stylish setting. It’s the kind of place that looks like it shouldn’t work and absolutely does.
Monachyle Mhor is the more ambitious sibling — a hotel restaurant on a farm track off the same road, with a menu that changes with the seasons and uses local produce from the surrounding estate. It has a Michelin recommendation and the kind of dining experience that justifies the journey. Worth booking well ahead, particularly in summer. Both are around thirty-five to forty minutes from Stronachlachar.
Venachar Lochside
Loch Venachar sits just south of Loch Katrine and most visitors drive past it heading somewhere else. Venachar Lochside is on the shore, with the kind of view across the water that makes a weekday lunch feel more worthwhile than it has any right to. The menu leans into local Scottish produce — sharing plates, good fish, seasonal dishes — and the setting does the rest. On a quieter weekday you can usually get a window table without planning too far ahead. Around twenty minutes from Old Smiddy, heading east toward Callander and then south past Invertrossachs.
The cafés and pubs around Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park tend not to shout about themselves, which is probably why most of them are still worth going to. Having somewhere comfortable to come back to after a good evening out makes the whole thing considerably better — and Old Smiddy is well placed for all of the above. If you’d like to check availability for a stay, the bookings and enquiries page is the best place to start.
