Taking the A9 up from Edinburgh via Perth on your way to Inverness doesn't exactly offer you the most extravagant choice of restaurants and places to eat along the way. It does, of course, well make up for this downfall by the scenery and the remoteness of the area you will be driving through - but it is definitely worth mentioning that unless you want to stop at some little pub in a village along the way for a pub lunch, pack your own or wait until you get farther north.
Staying on the more remote and harder to reach south side of Loch Ness on this trip - we opted to head into Inverness city to get a bite to eat and maybe do some sightseeing before heading down to the hotel for the night.
It became very apparent very quickly, however, that actual 'sightseeing' in Inverness was going to be difficult. We arrived in on a Friday night, just at rush hour in a drizzling summer rain to a city that turned out to be a lot more factories and warehouses than I had expected. This, as it turned out, is a city in its simplest form, and there seemed very little in the way of relaxing sightseeing worth doing - when all of the Scottish Highlands lay at our feet. We opted to have a meal and head out.
As Friday night was kicking off, and we really wanted to get out to the hotel to do some walking before the night settled in, we went for a safe choice. Yes, it is true the Filling Station is a franchise and a bit of a themed restaurant; but these things do have their place and a reliably good meal at a reasonable price which was precisely what we were after.
The location was good - just about a two-minute walk from the train station and about a minute from the local shopping centre which, as far as I could tell, offered about the best parking opportunity in the city. We parked underground in a reasonably-priced spot and walked up to the restaurant.
Even for 530 on a Friday night we didn't have to wait for a table, and though the restaurant was beginning to fill did not have to wait long for service or food. The waiting staff were pretty good, and friendly and the food was nice.
I would be hard pressed to rave about it, but I was very pleased. For about £10 we both had really nice meals (my travelling companion had a Bison burger and I had a chicken stuffed with Haggis, so a bit of local flavour despite the American theme) and yes, the American theme was a bit nice as well from someone who's been away from home so long.
The portions are a good size, and the prices very reasonable. I could find nothing to complain about.
It is a very safe bet to sustain you on your trip.