Inspiration

Fine dining restaurants near delightfully remote Scottish holiday cottages

Guest Expert

5 min read

Escaping into the wilds of Scotland to marvel at rugged landscapes and enchanting views, dolphin-splashed seas and eagles soaring above glittering lochs, needn’t mean you have to lower your foodie expectations. There is more on the menu than haggis (much as we love it, served with the classic neeps and tatties) and the bounty of the North Sea makes Scottish seafood some of the best in the world. There are rich pickings and impressive gastro experiences to be found in the biggest cities and the most far-flung islands. We’ve rounded up a handful of our favourite places to stay near superb eateries. Treat yourself to a Michelin star meal, expertly crafted tasting menus, and the best modern Scottish cooking, finished off with a wee dram.

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Scotland

Near Byre

Seemingly far from civilization, your converted cow-byre is a stroll from seafood heaven. The Michelin-starred Loch Bay lies down the hill. This snug, intimate and informal restaurant, set in an old crofter’s cottage, serves perfectly executed dishes packed with seafood from the surrounding ocean. Apart from reading and relaxing you can pull on your boots and set off from the door. Scramble up the Cuillin, the UK’s most challenging mountain, wander through the weird and wonderful rock formations of the Quiraing, or stroll along Talisker Bay. Return to relax by the wood-burner and lap up the view, which swoops to the Outer Hebrides, with buzzards wheeling, and sunsets sinking into the sea.

Guest Caroline: We ate in Michelin-starred restaurants, explored deserted beaches, saw eagles from the bed and watched dramatic storms roll over the Minch from the safety of the fire-side.

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Gille Buidhe’s Broch

It’s quiet here in tiny Polbain on the Coigach Peninsula, the only sounds are the birds, the wind and the waves. In Ullapool, 22 miles south, on the shore of Loch Broom is The Dipping Lugger, a small restaurant dishing up a tasting menu bursting with flavour and doing delicious things with sublime local produce. Return to a modern take on an Iron Age roundhouse and burrow down into squashy sofas, take in the views through the enormous windows or work your way through a stack of books. Outdoors you can amble along the hills and beaches, swim in sea and loch, or hire a kayak and pack a picnic to spend fine days exploring hidden beaches.

Guest Dave: Thanks so much to Reiner for the many recommendations of places to visit, walks to take and fishing trips. What an amazing week!

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An Airigh

This beautiful, private space is an award-winning, architect-designed retreat on the hill with wildlife watching all around. Spot whales, dolphins, eagles, seals, otters and deer as you strike out on bracing walks to a wonderful coral beach. A winding 10-minute drive delivers you to The Three Chimneys on Loch Dunvegan’s waterfront, whose modern Scottish menus, packed with local seafood, are a treat. Back at base, ogle the views through floor to ceiling windows, plump on the sofa and sea gaze, before sleeping in a crisply dressed bed. Lovely Ian and Robbie are just down the hill but you can’t see them and they can’t see you. They leave you tasty biscuits and a good bottle of wine to open in the sleek kitchen.

Guests Sally and Chris: An Airigh was the most inspiring escape for us! Awesome views over Loch Dunvegan and the white coral beach in Claigan.

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The Old Laundry, Dunalastair Estate

A hideaway cottage on the vast 17,000-acre Dunalastair Estate hunkering in a wooded glen at the end of a private lane with long views of hills and mountains from every window. On the other side of Loch Rannoch is the relaxed Moor of Rannoch restaurant with glorious views over the wild moors. Menus change daily and include local and foraged produce as well as the best picks from their bountiful kitchen garden. Drive home and light the stove, have a long soak in the plinth-mounted tub and sleep deeply in a big four-poster in your studio room. Bring binoculars for spotting red squirrels, pine martens and ospreys. Go wild swimming on the loch, hike up Munros and down dells, play tennis on the estate.

Guest Caroline: This cottage ticked all the boxes on the wish list. Off the beaten track. Able to walk our dogs from the door. Wonderful wildlife to watch especially the red squirrels. No wonder so many people return.

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Mini Mouse

This bright, warm and colourful studio, adjoining the owner’s house, is a happy place for two. Find fresh flowers, a bottle of wine and a homemade cake as well as milk, tea and a Nespresso machine in the dinky kitchen. A ‘sitooterie’ with a log burner is grand for morning coffee and evening sundowners. For a treat, book dinner at atmospheric Killiecrankie House, a 20-minute drive down the road. The Michelin Guide says, “arrive at 7pm for drinks before dining on a tasting menu of Scottish classics brought playfully up to date”. Then sleep in perfect comfort on White Company linen with lovely throws and stride out the next day into the Perthshire hills.

Inspector Pamela: They say that good things come in small packages and this certainly applies to Mini Mouse Studio. A little gem.

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Explore all our special places to stay in Scotland >

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Carmen McCormack

Guest Expert

Carmen is a freelance writer specialising in travel. She once lived in a bus in north Wales, skipped off to study in Barcelona, and now calls Bristol home. When she’s not tapping away on her laptop, she can be found reading (a lot), lake swimming (a little), and pottering on the allotment with husband and two kiddos. She’s currently dreaming about cold cerveza and torta in Mexico.

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