■ DIRECTORY WHERE TO EAT
CHEF’S CHOICE CRAIG WOOD ON HIS FISH SUPPLIER
9pm, Sun noon–5pm. £11 (lunch/dinner)
Since 1996 this place has been stemming the tide of Scotland’s exported seafood at least long enough to let diners willing to travel this far north to enjoy affordable world class Scottish food. The seafood platter here is surely the finest in the country, overflowing with king scallops, queen scallops, langoustines, crabs, oysters, mussels and squat lobster tails. More log cabin than restaurant choose to dine inside amidst the aromas of garlic butter or recline at a bench outside and admire the loch and mountain views.
■ The Lime Tree I’ve worked in Australia and the States, and regularly go to France on holiday, and I really believe that Scotland undersells itself with its fish. The cold waters lend themselves to great quality. Even in Australia where everyone was raving on about their fish, I’d be thinking, this isn’t a patch on what we have in Scotland. David Lowrie is a family-run fish merchant and wholesaler from Anstruther and he supplies all the best restaurants in Fife. He seems to have all the right contacts with the fishermen to get the best langoustine and lobster coming into places like Pittenweem and Anstruther. It’s right off the boats and always so fresh. When you touch it, feel it, work with it, it gives you the satisfaction and confidence as a chef that your dishes are going to be great. ■ Craig Wood is the chef/proprietor at the Wee Restaurant, North Queensferry.
but always stays defiantly local with the likes of Isle of Bute rose veal rump panroasted with shallots, pancetta and pavé potatoes. Seafood features heavily too with a local bounty of lobster, scallops and langoustines frequent stars on the menu.
■ Kinloch Lodge Sleat, Isle of Skye 01471 833333, www.kinloch-lodge.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–2.30pm, 6.30–9pm. £24.75 (set lunch) / £52 (set dinner)
‘Authentic, charming and discreetly luxurious’ is how author and cook Claire Macdonald describes her Highland hotel. The restaurant bears witness to her vision and attention to detail with Roux-brothers’ trained chef Marcello Tully winning a Michelin star for his kitchen in 2010.
■ Kishorn Seafood Bar Kishorn, Strathcarron, Ross-shire 01520 733240 www.kishornseafoodbar.co.uk Mar–Nov Mon–Sat 10am–5pm, Sun noon–5pm; Jul–Sep Mon–Sat 10am–
The Old Manse, Achintore Road, Fort William 01397 701806 www.limetreefortwilliam.co.uk Mon–Sun 6.30–9.30pm. £26 (dinner)
Good dining has struggled to find a home in Fort William, but young local chef Ross Sutherland’s cooking at the Lime Tree hotel and art gallery has been turning many head with his intricate, sophisticated style and high standards.
■ Loch Fyne Oyster Bar and Seafood Restaurant Clachan, Cairndow, Argyll 01499 600236 www.lochfyne.com Sun–Thu 9am–5.30pm; Fri/Sat 9am–7pm. £22 (lunch/dinner)
Knowledge, flair and expertise are the hallmarks of this truly remarkable operation whose passion for fresh sustainable seafood is written into every line of the business plan. The operation seeds, feeds, catches, processes and cooks much of the diverse menu on offer while white fish are landed by specially chosen small boats down in Cornwall. Pick up produce from the adjoining shop or make use of the new oyster shed in the car park for a takeaway.
■ Mountain Café 111 Grampian Road, Aviemore 01479 812473 www.mountaincafe-aviemore.co.uk Mon–Sun 8.30am–5pm. £8 (lunch)
Kiwi Kirsten Gilmour has imported her homeland’s easy-going café culture and made-from-fresh approach to Aviemore. Serving breakfasts, lunches and homebaked treats in-between, everything is made on the premises, using as much local produce as possible – the bread, scones and daily specials are inventive.
■ Ninth Wave Restaurant Bruach Mhor, Fionnphort, Isle of Mull 01681 700757 www.ninthwaverestaurant.co.uk Mon–Sat 7–9pm. £36 (set dinner)
An intimate restaurant in a modern croft from a husband-and-wife team based by the Iona ferry, the Ninth Wave produces ambitious, smart cooking with ingredients sourced from local fishermen and crofters.
■ Ord Ban Rothiemurchus Centre, Inverdruie, Aviemore 01479 810005, www.ordban.com Mon–Sun 9.30am–9pm. £12 (lunch) / £19 (dinner)
In a former schoolhouse, this smart café-restaurant offers a short but well-versed home-cooked menu from breakfast/brunch through to supper, with special ‘supper club’ music events and film screenings at weekends.
■ The Pierhouse Port Appin, Argyll, 01631 730302 www.pierhousehotel.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–2.30pm, 6–9pm. £28 (dinner)
Located at the mainland terminus of the five-minute Lismore passenger ferry, the Pierhouse is part of the Seafood Trail and serves restaurant and bar meals overlooking Loch Linnhe.
■ Lochleven Seafood Café
■ Seafood Cabin
Onich, by Kinlochleven, Lochaber 01855 821048 www.lochlevenseafoodcafe.co.uk Mon–Sun noon–3pm, 6–9pm. £21 (lunch/ dinner)
Skipness Estate, by Tarbert, Argyll 01880 760207, www.theseafoodtrail. com/members/seafood-cabin.php May–Sep Mon–Sun 11am–6pm. Closed Sat. £8 (lunch)
Sitting on the shores of Loch Leven, the Seafood Café grew from its roots as a shellfish distribution centre. Public demand for the seafood arriving at its doors each day led to the creation of a relaxed and informal bistro led by head chef Barry Moran, formerly of Andrew Fairlie’s kitchen at Gleneagles. Mussels, oysters, lobster, crab and razor clams make up most of the menu, though meat and vegetarian options are available.
A monument to simplicity and resourcefulness, the Seafood Cabin on Skipness Estate, next door to a ruined castle and with views to the peaks of Arran over the Kilbrannan Sound, is a wooden shack/café open in the summer months selling crab, prawns and locally smoked fish, served in rolls or platters with homegrown salad leaves.
■ Summer Isles Hotel Achiltibuie, by Ullapool, Wester Ross
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