The Real Food Cafe Named Walkers' Cafe of The Year
Our Cafe received an early Christmas present when the Great Outdoors Magazine announced the winners of their 2022 The Great Outdoors Reader Awards. We were thrilled to learn that our Tyndrum Cafe won the Walkers' Cafe/Restaurant of the Year category!
The Great Outdoors Reader Awards have a reputation as the UK’s biggest democratic celebration of the people, places and businesses that make our outdoor lives better. They first launched eleven years ago. Over the years these awards have run, they have reinforced what the outdoor community cherishes and remains loyal to, including some pubs and cafes. In the 2018 edition of the awards, our Cafe took Silver in the same category.
This year, The Real Food Cafe was nominated by the outdoorgoing public and then shortlisted with nine other fantastic UK-based businesses in the category (all offering sit-down dining, from chippies upwards). The awards had 15 categories in total and according to The Great Outdoor Magazine: "The shortlists in the 15 categories represent the most inspirational personalities, organisations and businesses in the outdoor world."
The competition in the Walkers' Cafe/Restaurant of the Year category was stiff but eventually, it was the public that voted that our roadside diner in West Scotland, conveniently located on the midpoint of the West Highland Way, just a short drive away from Glencoe & with easy access to many great walking paths, cycling routes and breathtaking Scottish scenic views, is the best for a sat down meal & drink to take a break, to relax & refuel. We would love to thank everyone who nominated us and voted for us, our fabulous team, suppliers. None of this would be possible without these dedicated and loyal people.
Our Founder, Sarah Heward, said, “Situated as we are at the north end of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park on the A82, in Corbett and Munro paradise and at the halfway point on the West Highland Way, we are in an ideal and beautiful location for walkers and mountaineers.
We are delighted to win this award in recognition of the café’s popularity with the walking fraternity and to fly the flag for Scottish walking and mountaineering. We are very grateful to our team for their enthusiasm and hard work and of course to our customers, who support the café and voted for us. There was some tough competition in this category, especially from the Snowdonia region, so it’s a double delight for us to have won!”
According to TGO article announcing the Awards' winners many voters said the same thing about our Cafe which could be summarised by this comment: “The Real Food Cafe is always warm and welcoming. They are always keen to make improvements and you can tell that they really care about their customers, their staff and their community.” Our gluten-free food options and accessibility were often praised, along with the facilities for dogs, boots, bikes, and location on the West Highland Way.
Having an iconic cafe, popular with outdoor enthusiasts from all walks of life, and all corners of the world was Sarah's mission when she started the business in 2005. Now winning this award and beating off some fierce competition feels like that original mission is very close to being achieved.
We also wanted to congratulate Clachaig Inn based in Glencoe which won the Best Walkers Pub category. Overall, the awards meant a fantastic result for Scotland's West Coast.
