Alison, David and Darren welcome you to the famous No5 Inn and Restaurant, proud owners since 2006.
Alison is your host and will make sure your visit is the best it can be whether it be for a drink in the bar, food and drink in the cosy snug, great food in the restaurant or just chilling in our new beer garden.
The kitchen is overseen by Chef David who works closely with local suppliers to bring you the best in pub favourites (have a look at the restaurant page for some tasty pics).
We also host a night of traditional music in the bar on the 1st Tuesday of each month. Why not pop along for some great foot tapping tunes.
Restaurant
To check out our reviews, click below.
A selection of our dishes - why not have a look at our menu's
Menus
History
"On Friday 29th September 1899, a memorial was unveiled at the new No5 public house in Alva to commemorate Robert Burns."
".........mark the spot where Burns took refreshments during his visit to Alva in 1787."
Forsyth, V., 2021. Walk in the Past: Unveiling of Alva’s Burns Plaque. [online] Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser. Available at: <https://www.alloaadvertiser.com/news/19612117.walk-past-unveiling-alvas-burns-plaque/> [Accessed 13 April 2022].
About Alva
Our Alva lies at the foot of the Ochil Hills where the Alva Burn runs from the Alva Glen. Water has always been a valuable resource and once it’s power was harnessed, which in Alva's case happened early, a settlement with a church was established in 1260 although control was granted to Cambuskenneth Abbey near Stirling. After the Reformation, the local estate was brought under the ownership of the Erskine family whose residence in the area was a tower house built just to the east of the town. In 1636 Sir Charles Erskine developed this into the much larger Alva House.
Throughout the 1700’s, Alva expanded considerably especially when silver was found in Alva Glen and a mine was opened by Sir John Erskine to exploit it, using miners from Leadhills. The ore that emerged was the purest ever found throughout Great Britain and made Erskine's fortune. At its peak of production in the years around 1710, silver to the value of £4,000 per week was being taken from the mine.
The first of Alva's modern style woollen mills was established in 1798 on the banks of the Alva Burn, and other mills quickly followed. The largest of Alva's mills, the Strude Mill, began work in 1825 and remained in use as part of a larger complex until 1976. Unfortunately, the textile industry in Alva diminished dramatically in the second half of the 1900’s. By the early 1800s Alva House had been purchased by the Johnstone family. They greatly expanded it in about 1820. The house passed to Miss Carrie Johnstone in 1890, but on her death in 1929 it could not be sold. It was destroyed during target practice by the military during World War II.
