Tarbert is not exactly overburdened with café-culture type establishments and that’s a shame because it could do with some. Of course it’s easy for the likes of us to swan in to a town like this and be super critical simply because we are used to something different. We don’t have to maintain a place through t

he winter when visitors are few and far between. Otherwise Starbucks or Costa would have set up here long ago. However, if there is a re

ally good coffee shop in Tarbert, you need to shout louder because we could not find you. We did find Lite Bites however.

Town planning

The town itself is built round the harbour however it is not nearly as busy as it once was. Fishing still goes on but it is much diminished. It now features an extensive marina which you would think would bring in a fair amount of money but in fact, the whole place looks a wee bit run down and tired. It does not help the overall impression  when you eventually find a coffee shop situated in a building that would not have looked out of place in the old  Soviet Russia. If Argyll has a town planning department it has some very serious questions to answer!

Facelift

Anyway, Lite Bites has a certain utilitarian feel to it as well probably inspired by the building. However, it is busy busy, so the hard working folks running it are doing something right. They also seem to get on well with the local people. Our scones were okay but as you might expect, presentation was a touch on the austere side. Hopefully Lite Bites and Tarbert itself will get a bit of a facelift before long.

PA29 6UJ            tel: 01880 820191             Lite Bites TripAd