Top Places to Eat on the North Coast 500
The North Highlands are a culinary heaven for ‘foodies’!
When embarking on an adventure you need the right fuel right? and with a natural local larder right on our doorstep, there is certainly no shortage of great places to eat on the North Coast 500!
The North Coast 500 boasts rich fertile farmland, spectacular coastlines, glistening lochs, deep water fish ports as well as roaming game and foraged foods throughout the sparsely populated landscape. Here in the North Highlands you are spoiled for choice when it comes to great food and drink. You can enjoy the mix of fine dining, authentic eateries, farm shops, chocolatiers, craft breweries and distilleries created from the land, larder and history. Taste your way around the NC500 and we are sure that you will agree with us that Scotland has a wide enough variety of flavours, textures and dishes to suit everyone!
Here are our top picks of places to eat on the North Coast 500
Clynelish Distillery
The tasting platter at Clynelish Distillery
If you believe you can only really get to know a place through its cuisine, you’ll delight in the tasting platters at Clynelish Distillery, the Highland Home of Johnnie Walker. They allow you to experience their famous whisky paired with fresh local specialties that perfectly enhance Clynelish’s coastal Highlands character. Whisky and platter pairings can be curated to your personal flavour preferences. Food options include Highland Antipasto (vegan option available), Highland cheeses, and delectable Highland chocolates from their local chocolatier. A true taste of the Highlands that’s simply too good to miss.
Visit their website to find out more or to book a tour.
Bruach Bistro & Booze at Ness Walk
Freshly caught Moray Firth langoustines at Ness Walk
Outdoor dining and drinking in the heart of Inverness doesn’t come more beautiful than this. The new Bruach Bistro & Booze at Ness Walk is a heated bar that radiates luxury and sophistication. The perfect spot to eat whatever the weather, Bruach delivers sweeping views towards the River Ness and beyond.
Indulge in one of their refreshing cocktails while perusing their menu, trying to choose from one of their many mouthwatering dishes will be tough! Their chefs have prepared a fantastic collection of dishes, from freshly caught Moray Firth langoustines, to their vegan watermelon steak, your tastebuds are in for a real treat.
Visit their website to find out more or book a table.
Mara Restaurant at Links House
A sample of the the delicious fayre available at Mara
Mara Restaurant at Links House in Dornoch is a new dining concept, designed to celebrate the best of Scotland’s larder. Inspired by the dramatic Highland landscapes which surround Dornoch, the restaurant serves the finest produce from Scotland’s waters, fields, and forests with dishes designed to delight and inspire.
Translating to ‘sea’ in Scottish Gaelic, Mara provides diners with a truly authentic Highland experience with a menu motivated by sustainable values and filled with local, seasonal produce. Menu highlights include Roasted Saddle of Ardgay Roe Deer and Slow-Cooked Highland Wagyu Feather Blade as well as a selection of Highland Fine Cheeses.
Want to treat yourself? Then why not indulge in the restaurant’s signature seven course tasting experience, an a la carte menu is also on offer, alongside tasting flights, matched wines, cocktails and soft beverages. For those wishing to enjoy a more hands-on approach to fine dining, Mara also serve a show-stopping sharing menu featuring whole Brora lobsters, platters of Orkney scallops, Maorach Beag Oysters and even sharing prime cuts of Highland Wagyu Beef.
Links House at Royal Dornoch is currently ranked as the 6th Best UK Hotel by Conde Nast, and has featured in The Times’ Top Hotel Guide for 2020. They also operate The Courtroom restaurant in the centre of Dornoch for those who prefer a more casual bistro atmosphere.
To find out more or to book a table visit www.linkshousedornoch.com
Enjoy a Wood Fired Pizza at Melvich Hotel
Delicious Wood Fired Pizza from The Melvich Hotel
Melvich Hotel’s wood fired pizzas are a love letter to the fusion of local produce and time honoured Italian tradition.
Homemade sourdough (created using classic Caputo flour and not a few hours of dedication), a San Marzano tomato based pizza sauce and authentic Italian cheeses – all as you would expect. Most importantly, however, these pizzas come fully charged with local red meat, fish and divine inspiration. Each pizza is hand spun to order, topped with incredible ingredients and fired in their beast of a pizza oven right there in their Melvich kitchen.
Melvich Hotel offers only the very best of our local larder and when they built the wood fired oven in their kitchen several years ago, they were determined to ensure that the principle remained the same. With the very best of local suppliers right on their doorstep including locally butchered red meat from Bews in Thurso, native breed Dexter beef from Cairnhill Agriculture, locally landed fish and Strath Halladale venison, you can be sure that you will be enjoying the freshest of local Highland ingredients. These incredible ingredients are perfect on the grill, of course, but once you add them to the sourdough, the combinations are phenomenal.
How about Strath venison with Black Pudding and Goats Cheese? Or Dexter meatballs with Haggis, Chorizo & Jalapenos? Or why not create your own combo – Highland Brie with Chicken & Red Onion? Smoked Bacon, Strathdon Blue & Pineapple? The Caithness & Sutherland larder is your oyster.
Go Vegan, meat free, dairy free, gluten free or switch the pizza sauce for a pesto base. they love to create and see the new creations and might even pinch an idea or two to update their house menu. Take away, sit in, grab a slice in the car – just book your order and the choice is yours.
Check out the hotel website for all the opening hours, contact details and social media links or to get in touch www.melvichhotel.co.uk
The Cabin at John O’Groats
The Cabin
What is better than Fish & Chips beside the sea? Well, how about Fish and Chips from the most northerly food takeaway in Great Britain! Situated on the Quayside at the world famous John O’ Groats Harbour, The Cabin provide great takeaway food, which is also great value for money to locals and visitors a like.
Their renowned Fish & Chip suppers should be on any foodies list when visiting John O’Groats, however, they also serve Breakfast, lunch and a range of snacks throughout the day.
Simply turn up and order, or if you are in a hurry you can call 01955 611400 to order in advance. Check out their full menu here.
The Downright Gabbler
A twist on traditional at The Downright Gabbler
The Downright Gabbler in Beauly is no ordinary restaurant! You’ll get far more than just excellent food and drink when you visit. For this unique experience combines the finest Scottish food and drink with stories of our history and culture. It’s also a great way to meet other travellers and even the odd local.
The Downright Gabbler is a family run business and chef Kirsty takes pride in using the finest local produce to provide traditional Scottish food with a twist. Stovies is taken to a whole new level and Kirsty’s cranachan is a very different take on the traditional Scottish dessert.
At their Living the Dram event, over the course of a sumptuous four course dinner, Garry tells the story of how a rough peasant hooch became the drink of aspiration for much of the world. During their Tipsy Afternoon Tea, Jane recounts how tea, coffee and chocolate all played their part in creating the modern world.
The Downright Gabbler will happily cater for most dietary requirements, with a little notice. It’s been getting rave reviews since it opened earlier in the year with visitors describing it as “memorable for all the right reasons” and “delicious food and interesting stories”. It is so much more than a restaurant, it’s an experience and the perfect way to immerse yourself in the local culture and history.
Visit their website for more details on the various events they run – www.downrightgabbler.co.uk
Lochinver Larder
Famous for its pies (homemade since 1986), Lochinver Larder has fast become the ideal pit stop for those on road trips around the Highlands and Islands, for backpackers, beach goers and mountain adventurers.
With over 18 pies to choose from or a specials menu with dishes ranging from local seafood to vegetarian and vegan delights, Lochinver Larder offers something for everyone.
The Larder itself sits on a sheltered bay in the wilds of the far North West. Dominated by remarkable views across the river and loch, it offers some of the most stunning scenery in the north of Scotland. With both an indoor restaurant and outdoor riverside garden with a Pie Shack, Lochinver Larder is the perfect place to kick back, with a pie in hand and take in the breath-taking views.
To find out more about these famous pie’s and view their menu, or perhaps order some pies to be sent to your home visit their website.
Bo & Muc at The Torridon Resort
A stop at Bo & Muc is a real treat, experience phenomenal food whilst soaking in the breathtaking views of the Torridon hills.
Simple flavoursome cooking, seasonal and local produce, and a relaxed and informal dining experience is what you can expect from a visit to Bo & Muc.
This casual, relaxed restaurant gets it’s name from the Gaelic words for pig and cow and they firmly believe in using seasonal and local produce with a field to fork approach. This includes their very own pork and Highland beef from the Torridon Farm, and vegetables, salads, fruits and herbs from the two-acre Victorian Kitchen garden. They love celebrating and showcasing other Scottish producers and products, especially local shellfish, estate game, cheesemakers and Highland farms.
Bo & Muc serves simple food cooked with seasonality, flavour and provenance at its heart.
The neighbouring Beinn Bar serves local ales and Scottish gins, including The Torridon’s own gin, Arcturus.
The Bo & Muc serves, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Availability is shown live online and can be booked through their booking page.
The Scrabster Seafood Bar & Takeaway
A Seafood Lovers Dream at Scrabster Seafood Bar
If you are a lover of seafood then you wont want to miss a stop at the Scrabster Seafood Bar & Takeaway. Serving freshly caught produce landed by the local fishermen, you are sure to be in for a treat.
Next door neighbour and little sister of Captain’s Galley Seafood Restaurant, Scrabster Seafood Bar serves the same sustainable Scottish fish and shellfish, but as harbour food and takeaway dishes. Their menu is structured on seasonally available species and the weather on any given week greatly dictates which boats land, therefore, their menus can change from one day to the next.
For a sample menu or to check their seasonal opening times please check the Scrabster Seafood Bar website
Kylesku Hotel
Delicious Seafood from the Kylesku Hotel
Kylesku Hotel is an award-winning Scottish restaurant and bar known far and wide for its wonderful fresh seafood and relaxed, friendly welcome. Whether you’re looking for classic Scottish fish and chips, seafood so local it’s practically swum in the door, venison from the nearby hills or free-range local pork and lamb, the Kylesku Hotel will not disappoint! Their fantastic menu offers something for everyone (including vegetarian, vegan and special diets) and their sustainable ethos means they make the most of what’s seasonal and plentiful at every time of year.
Kylesku is lucky to have Loch Glendhu on their doorstep and amazing fishermen, crofters and producers who provide outstanding local seafood, meats, fruits and vegetables, all of which are used by the talented chefs in their kitchen. Shellfish straight off the boat, pigs that run on the beach, foraged herbs from the hill – ingredients really don’t get more local!
Visit their website to request a reservation or to view a sample menu – www.kyleskuhotel.co.uk
