Tarbet restaurant, pier cafe and bar
A hotel bar and restaurant, a pier cafe and a bar on the waterbus
For a Tarbet restaurant, the choice we can verify is the bar and restaurant at the Tarbet Hotel, which serves breakfast and brunch seven days a week and evening meals. At the pier, the Bonnie and Ben takeaway cafe sells hot drinks, snacks and ice cream. We give no ratings or prices, and you should check each venue's own site for hours.
- Places listed
- 3
- Tarbet Hotel breakfast and brunch, daily
- 8–2:30pm
- Station to the loch, on foot
- 10 min
- Waterbus crossing to Rowardennan
- 30 min
Where can I eat in Tarbet?
Eat at the Tarbet Hotel if you want to sit down. Its bar and restaurant overlook the loch, serve a traditional Scottish breakfast and brunch from 8am to 2:30pm every day, and offer evening meals. Walk-ins are welcome, and dogs can sit with you in the bar area. The hotel is run by Manorview.
Eat at the pier if you only want a drink, a snack or an ice cream before a cruise or the waterbus. The Bonnie and Ben takeaway cafe is in Tarbet car park and has free public toilets. Cruise Loch Lomond also says its waterbus boats have a licensed bar serving hot and cold drinks and snacks.
Tarbet is small. Arrochar, the next village at the head of Loch Long, has more pubs and hotels, so where to eat in Arrochar is the natural second page to open if you want more choice. For the village itself, open the Tarbet village guide.
Places to eat and drink in Tarbet
One row per venue, from the operator's own site on 13 October 2026. The columns say what it is, where it is, what it serves and what to check.
| Venue | Type | Where | What it serves | Good to know | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Tarbet Hotel bar and restaurant | Hotel bar and restaurant, run by Manorview, with 49 bedrooms. | Tarbet Hotel, Arrochar G83 7DE. Phone 01301 702 346. | Traditional Scottish breakfast and brunch, evening meals and drinks. Menus are on the hotel's website. | Breakfast and brunch run 8am to 2:30pm, seven days a week. Walk-ins are welcome, and dogs can join you in the bar. Bus services 926, 917 and 976 stop at the hotel, per its own page. | Open in maps |
| Bonnie and Ben Takeaway Cafe | Takeaway cafe at the pier. | In Tarbet car park, by the pier. | Hot drinks, snacks, ice cream and light refreshments. | No opening hours on the page we read, so check before you plan around it. Free public toilets are in the same building. | |
| Licensed bar on the waterbus boats | Bar on board the Cruise Loch Lomond waterbus. | On the boat, from Tarbet pier. | Hot and cold drinks and snacks. | Only while you are sailing. The waterbus runs in summer, so there is no bar on board out of season. | |
| Arrochar, the next village | A village at the head of Loch Long with its own pub and hotel restaurants. | Arrochar, G83. | See the separate page. | Our Arrochar page lists the venues we could verify there. |
We list three places in Tarbet and one row that points to the next village. We give no prices, ratings or review scores.
How to choose
Arriving by train
Arrochar & Tarbet station is about a 10-minute walk to the loch. The pier cafe is the nearest stop for a drink and the hotel is the nearest sit-down meal, so plan the walk with the Glasgow train times in front of you.
Crossing to Rowardennan
The waterbus is a 30-minute one-way crossing, with Tarbet to Rowardennan on Saturdays and Sundays and the return from the hostel jetty on Fridays and Saturdays, in a summer season of roughly May to late September. Eat at Tarbet first if you are heading for lunch and dinner in Rowardennan, where the choice is just as short.
If you drive
Tarbet pier car park serves the cafe, the cruises and the waterbus. The Tarbet car park guide covers the charges and the rules, and it is worth reading before you leave the car for a long lunch.
Bring the dog
The Tarbet Hotel welcomes dogs in the bar, with water bowls and treats on its page. Ask at the cafe if you want to sit inside.
Stay the night
If lunch turns into a night away, staying in Tarbet compares the hotel with the other options, and Tarbet camping options cover a tent.
Check before you go
- Hours: the hotel gives breakfast and brunch times only. The cafe gives none. Check both on the day, especially out of season.
- Evening meals: the hotel's page lists evening meals but not the days or times. Phone ahead if you want dinner.
- Waterbus: the summer season runs roughly May to late September, so the licensed bar on board is not available in winter.
- Dogs: welcome in the hotel bar. Ask at the cafe.
- Prices and ratings: we give none. Use the hotel's menus on its site.
Further along the loch
If you are heading on, these villages have their own places to eat.
- ArrocharAt the head of Loch Long, with a pub and hotel restaurants: see our Arrochar page for what we could verify.
- RowardennanAcross the loch, reached by the summer waterbus, with a hotel bar and a hostel.
Eat and drink around the loch
For every village page in one place, pubs, cafes and restaurants around the loch gives a short summary of each.
Questions people ask
Where can I eat in Tarbet?
At the Tarbet Hotel bar and restaurant, or at the Bonnie and Ben takeaway cafe in the pier car park. The waterbus boats also have a licensed bar.
Does the Tarbet Hotel serve food all day?
Its page lists breakfast and brunch from 8am to 2:30pm every day, plus evening meals. It does not say what is served between those times, so phone ahead.
Is there a pub in Tarbet?
The Tarbet Hotel has a bar, and dogs are welcome in it. Arrochar, the next village, has more pubs.
Can I get a coffee at Tarbet pier?
Yes. The Bonnie and Ben takeaway cafe sells hot drinks, snacks and ice cream, and has free public toilets.
Are dogs allowed in the Tarbet Hotel?
Yes, in the bar area, according to the hotel's own page.
Can I walk to a restaurant from Tarbet station?
The station is about a 10-minute walk to the loch, and the hotel and pier cafe are on the loch side. Check the walk on a map for your own pace.
Is there food on the Tarbet waterbus?
Cruise Loch Lomond says its waterbus boats have a licensed bar serving hot and cold drinks and snacks.
Are there more restaurants in Arrochar than Tarbet?
Yes. Arrochar has more pubs and hotels, and we list them on a separate page.