Food from our region For produce that is fresh and local, the West Highlands is the place to be. Here, you can enjoy just-caught game and seafood, locally brewed ales and single malt whiskies, Highland beef and hill lamb and home baked treats – all a stone’s throw from source. Why not dedicate a day to enjoying all that’s delicious? Begin by sampling a hearty Scottish breakfast – whether you choose a Stornoway black pudding (from the Isle of Lewis), porridge with seasonal fruits, Loch Fyne Kippers, or the Oban-originated square Lorne sausage. In the West Highlands the perfect setting
can only enhance your eating experience, whether you head to a waterfall for a picnic – perhaps some Arran cheese and oatcakes – take your time over tea with fresh-from-the-oven scones at a lochside hotel, or savour dinner with a sea view. If you enjoy local fare in situ but don’t want the experience to end yet, there are plenty of specialist shops and home producers offering local delicacies to take away. The region hosts several farmers markets where you can enjoy a lively shopping experience and get hold of fresh local produce direct from the people who caught, farmed or created it.
A Highland holiday takes you to the heart of whisky and gin country, and you can visit distilleries and craft breweries on the mainland and islands to sample the taste and hear the story of your tipple. If alcohol isn’t your thing, you can quench your thirst with local lemonade, from Dunoon, or delicious Wee Isle Dairy milk.
Eating out The natural resources of this area are the envy of chefs the world over, many of whom have chosen to make their homes here because of the richness of the natural larder. The flagship restaurants of many of the region’s celebrated hotels offer signature dishes which add a new twist to quality ingredients. Fine dining, usually with spectacular views and a wine and whisky list to match, is an option in bigger towns, but you might be surprised to find remarkable restaurants in out of the way places as well.
(‘home baking’ here really is made by locals in their own homes – try cherry scones and millionaire shortbread for starters). Seafood is a particular speciality and it is a matter of pride for establishments that what appears on your plate was in the sea a matter of hours ago. Most chefs will be happy to share the precise provenance and you might even be lucky enough to look out of the window and watch the catch landed for yourself. Among the destinations where fish is a particular source of celebration, are Tarbert, Loch Fyne, home to the popular Tarbert Seafood Festival, and Cairndow, near Inveraray, where the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar chain began. Carradale, on Kintyre, and Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, are good places to watch a catch landed and see fishing woven into the fabric of a community.
While traditional Scottish specialities retain a strong presence, the variety of visitors and the availability of fresh ingredients ensures a strong international influence. Dishes with a global theme appear on most menus and you will find speciality establishments, including French, Thai, Indian and Chinese too. The tea rooms and coffee shops of the West Highlands have a growing reputation mouth-watering snacks, meals and hot drinks in atmospheric settings
Milk that’s hard to beat, from the only dairy farm on Gigha. Pasteurised the low temp batch method. Good old-fashioned drinking milk.
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