Hay's Dock Cafe Restaurant in Shetland Islands

Friendly staff, good food, plenty of gluten free options. First time I visited there was hardly any customers but the second time it was very busy so I was glad I reserved a table.

We always book lunch here when we visit the museum on our Shetland holiday. Yes the menu is limited, but the food we've had has always been ample and delicious. I'm surprised by the other reviewers. We shall continue to visit when we are in Lerwick.

Very limited, pretentious menu with no simple and solid choices. Ate here as a group of 3 and none of us could give compliments beyond "decent" on the dishes we ordered. They forgot to give one of my group members their bread roll. Service and atmosphere were much like the food, decent. 2/5, would be a 3/5 with a better menu.

We were there for lunch today nothing wrong with the service but the menu was the worst I have seen totally disappointed

Amazing food,exelent and attitued staff. Well done.

Waited more than half an hour for our food when the waiter told us it was never sent through the kitchen and would have to wait another 20 minutes for it to be done as they just noticed the mistake - there were 5 people in the whole restaurant so no clue how the staff never thought about it.Absolutely ridiculous service.

Great atmosphere, plenty of room for bringing a family, food was excellent and staff are friendly and helpful

Poor service combined with a cold meal, unfortunate as food was excellent once replaced. I'm sure improvements shall be made.

Brilliant lunch yesterday had to take my second choice as meatballs had finished at 12:30! Scotcheggs were fantastic, staff very approachable and friendly, well done will return soon

The food was excellent, as was the service. There's not much of an atmosphere but then the space doesn't lend itself well to that, as it's with a museum building, but the view it the north of Lerwick harbour is interesting.

Always a pleasure to dine here!

After a tour of the Museum we went upstairs for a coffee and scone with butter and jam. Very moist and tasty and the coffee was hot and bold.

Called in mid afternoon for an early dinner late lunch looking forward to some Shetland Lamb on the Dinner menu.

Waited 40 minutes for a scone. It was brunt on the outside and uncooked in the middle. We were the only customers in at 11am. They didn't charge us for it and we left.

We visited this cafe during a very wet morning's visit to the Shetland Museum. Although it was pouring with rain, the view from the cafe was brilliant, right across the harbour and it would have been even better on a good day!

If you are either using Hay's Dock museum for the Archives, visiting the Museum or the building is a base for a week festival, then the café; restaurant is a great place to have a meal and see the post of Lerwick at work. The food is excellent and well presented. The value is excellent as well.

Located within the Shetland museum and has lift access Staff were struggling to cope with the numbers when we visited, Recommend booking especially on cruise ship dates.Lovely setting looking over the harbour. Food very good..

We were on holiday here Shetland and we really enjoyed our meal here the staff were lovely. We will Definately be back on our next holiday to Shetland

Visited the Hay's Dock Cafe Restaurant the first week in September 2018.

I have always enjoyed going to Hays Dock but this time something was different.

Great view but service poor. All tables reserved then told they weren't and given a table with great view. Waited very long time to order and half the order never arrived. Three front of house staff, few customers but no efficient service. Great view, nice menu but let done by service.

After visiting the Shetland museum we went for lunch in Hay’s Dock cafe . We both agreed that the fish cakes were the best we have had for a long time . Friendly and helpful staff . Would highly recommend this cafe .

Came here for lunch with my girlfriend for the first times in ages and had some of the most flavoursome roast tomato soup we've tasted in town. Our server Bryan was very pleasant and swift - he told us he was only on his second shift so he should be exceptionally proud! Would recommend place this to anyone.

Fantastic meal, so much flavour! Brian our waiter was superb and gave us excellent service even when it was very busy.

We both felt that it was very expensive for what you got. Also confused about sample menu vs standard. Not explained very well. Food was nice. Very cold in the restaurant.

Lovely space, beautiful lookout, perfectly cooked veg (Sunday lunch), friendly waitress, nice pace for drinks, starter and main. Very good veggie tomato and bean soup, and lentil loaf. Thanks!!

They were turning people away because they said tables were reserved. however we managed to get a table but it took ages for them to take our order, and even longer for the food to appear. The only good thing was the food wasn't bad.

When we’re home on holiday we always make sure we squeeze in a trip to this Restaurant - indeed we plan a trip to the museum around it! Food was delicious and well presented and the service was friendly and welcoming. Good selection on the menu for everyone - even an awkward vegetarian!

Eating out in Shetland is always like the curate's egg. Some great places, some mediocre and this definitely fits into mediocre: Largely because of the poor service (lack of attention to detail) and the long, long, long, wait for two simple courses.

Sehr gute Speisen, Servicemitarbeiter sehr jung, nett, unerfahren, können nicht empfehlen.

Portions un peu réduites compte tenu du prix. Le service n’est pas très rapide. Magnifique vue sur le port

They need new menu sheets, I don't like being handed a scruffy piece of paper. Servers unsure about menu choices.

This is a return visit following a not great experience previously. Reports in local press hadn’t exactly helped but we were in the area for Sunday lunch and thought why not.

We stopped in for a drink after a long day of hiking along the coast. There aren't a lot of good bar options in Lerwick so this place was a great find. It has a great waterside view and, depending on the museum's movie schedule, it stays open late.

Book, or get there early. It's small popular, and fills up fast. It's does proper meals of excellent quality in a very stylish setting at the Shetland Museum and Archives. Slightly on the expensive side but a bit of a treat. When we went, the waiting staff were pleasant and efficient.

Try the taster menu it's great. Staff friendly food scrumptious surroundings lovely and the view.

Staying Lerwick for holidays we have been out in the restaurant in the museum. Perdect service, nice food. The beer (Lerwick Azurre) was refreshing and delicate. The choice of meals is related to local food.Good value for your money and the view to the harbour is for free.

We returned to the restaurant this morning having been there several times and enjoyed excellent service on a previous visit to Shetland in 2016. We went in at about 10.30 to book a table for lunch time, but the young lady (one of two that we could see) told us that she couldn't be certain that there would be any lunch because only one chef had come in. She said they were trying to get a second chef, so asked us to return around 11.00 when they would know.

Had the Sunday beef roast dinner followed by the chocolate torte, which was really lovely. Highly recommend this place for the food. The thing that was disappointing was the service. After being seated by a guy who seemingly went on his lunch break immediately afterwards, I waited 10 mins for a menu despite catching the young waitresses eye several times. Once I had ordered, the food came quickly and was beautiful. I then waited over 25 minutes for someone to clear my plate and offer me a dessert menu. No-one did so I walked up to the till to ask for one. In those 25 mins I watched as the staff did not clear any tables or make any effort to pay attention to the customers - they were not busy doing anything else. Poor service and badly trained staff is letting this place down.

We had the luck to be in Lerwick, when the Hay's Dock was open also in the evening. We had a friendly reception and even got a better table than initially set. The menu is split in two version: a traditional menu with starter, main course and dessert or the tasters menu. The tasters menu is based on ordering multiple smaller dishes being shared at the table. We decided for the tasters menu and enjoyed it fully: We had six dishes (for two persons) and finally some dessert. We were able to select six different dishes - some were not available eg. due to missing fresh sea food - which offered a great mix of traditional preparations with new spices or different kinds of combinations of materials. It was really a pleasure to have this six plates.

3日の夜に予約して訪問。ほぼ満席だったので予約してよかったです。ここはtasting menu という小さなポーションの料理があり、少食の私たちにはありがたかったです。

Arrived an hour before lunch service ended. Only tea, coffee and limited desserts were available. Waitress promptly made and served me a delicious latte and cleaned an outdoor deck table so I could enjoy the sunny day and watch goings-on in the Lerwick Harbor. A lovely break after taking in the Shetland Museum exhibits.

We booked a table for 1pm lunch, and we're shown to a table piled high with dirty crockery.

Questo ristorante si trova all'interno del museo, molto accogliente, personale gentile e cenato ottimamente!

We ate lunch and dinner her a few times during our stay in the Shetland Islands. The food was excellent, and everyone was so engaging!

Attended a wedding reception there. All went smoothly, no problems.

We visited for Sunday lunch after our arrival off the ferry and some local sightseeing. We were hungry and headed in for an early lunch. This was lucky as many of the tables were reserved and people after us were turned away.

You would not think fresh air was what you would be looking for this far north but so far the service I have found in shetlands eating places has been utterly awful, worse than Fort William and that is saying something.

We were taken out to lunch by a friend. We were unable to book by telephone as it was permanently engaged so we went in to book a table. At the time of our booking we arrived and waited at the entrance to be seated. After 10 minutes we were eventually taken to our table having seen people being turned away and the young waiter trying to serve food to other customers. 30 minutes later after asking for our order to be taken we were eventually seen. At the time we asked for some water which arrived twenty minutes later after a reminder. Meanwhile other people arriving after us were being served their food. Another 30 minutes after giving our order we eventually received our soup and sandwiches. The soup was thick and over salted - more like tomato purée and the bacon sandwich was dry. Our friend, an elderly Shetland pensioner treating us to the lunch was extremely upset by the situation and kept apologising to us. I doubt we will be back any time soon to what in the past has been a superb restaurant with excellent service. What a waste of a great venue!

We turned up for lunch today and waited at the "Please Wait to Be Seated " sign. There were only about three other tables taken. After a while we got sick of being ignored, and seated ourselves after asking a passing staff member if it was OK. A couple who arrived ten minutes after us were initially turned away until we offered to share our table. About forty settings across half a dozen tables were empty at this stage, and remained so for the next hour that we were there (we were told later that a big group booked for 12noon were running an hour late). None of the outdoor tables were set up. It took us about 15 minutes to eventually get one of the staff to take our order. She repeated the "small fishcakes" order back to us, but on leaving they tried to bill us for a large serve. Both the fishcakes and the seafood chowder were OK, but not worth rushing back for. We appreciate that it's difficult to get staff on the Shetlands but there is an urgent need for some remedial training here, as evidence by the frequent service problems mentioned in these reviews.

Mit Blick aufs Wasser von fast allen Tischen und Terasse schön gelegen. Weiter weg vom Kreuzfahrt-Anleger. Das Essen fanden wir eher mittel. Der Service war in Ordnung.

This is a great restaurant with a really innovative menu. It is on,y open on certain nights and you will need to book in advance but it's well worth it!

Hay’s Dock has different opening times, only in the weekend open for diner. Lunch till 15.00. Because lack of staff. Such a shame

Mit Ausnahme des Wochenendes hat dieses Restaurant nur zur Mittagszeit (bis 15.00 Uhr) geöffnet. Offenbar will es kein einfaches Museums-Café mit dem üblichen Suppe und Sandwich Angebot sein, sondern ein gehobenes Restaurant, was in keiner Weise gelingt. Beim „Please Wait to be Seated“ Schild hieß es zuerst einmal warten, denn das reichlich vorhandene, überhaupt nicht gestresste Personal hatte an neu angekommenen Gästen kein besonderes Interesse. Schließlich wurden wir doch zu einem Tisch geführt. Die Speisenauswahl entsprach dem Mittagsangebot eines einfachen Restaurants oder Café, die Qualität der einer eher unterdurchschnittlichen Hochschulmensa. Das Servierpersonal schwankte zwischen unfreundlich und launenhaft. („You are the next on my list, okay!“ quer durch den Raum zu einem Gast zwei Tische weiter, der es gewagt hatte zur Unzeit einen Wunsch zu äußern.) Falls man während des Museumsbesuchs zu Mittag essen möchte, empfiehlt es sich, das außerhalb des Museums zu tun. Da der Eintritt ins Museum frei ist, ist das auch problemlos möglich.

We stopped here for lunch, as we hadn't booked we had a half hour wait but it was worth it. The staff were friendly and the food was freshly cooked - recommend the fishcakes!

The cafe is open through the day and again in the evenings. They specialise in Shetland Islands food and it doesn't disappoint. The ingredients are the best that you can get and the results are well worth sampling.

We enjoyed a good, albeit rushed (our fault) early dinner here before going to an event at the nearby Mareel Centre and decided to return on another evening to enjoy a more leisurely meal. We booked in advance and gave a mobile phone number. However, when we turned up at the appointed time on 21st June the building was locked, there was not a soul inside and no notices up anywhere to explain the closure.

Ce café restaurant est dans tous les guides, pourtant il est un peu décevant. Situé à l'étage du musée des iles Shetlands, sa vue sur les docks fait l'attraction. Les produits sont frais, cependant, selon l'heure on a parfois l'impression d'être dans un self. Le service est lent malgré les nombreuses serveuses qui sont toutefois aimables.

As a party of 3. one Vegan, one Gluten intolerant and one normal diet we sometimes find it difficult to find a place that suits all of us. To Hays Dock this was not a problem their menu is not vast but it is quality. We enjoyed our first visit so much we went back again twice more during our stay in Lerwick and each time we were able to select something different which is not always the case for Vegans & GF diets.

Nestled in a brilliant museum this small restaurant has excellent food and wine with a beautiful view. Booking recommended. We went for lunch and my friends had the fish cakes which they highly recommend. I had a coronation chicken sandwich and we shared sweet potato chips. Beautiful lunch.

This was a real let-down, given the overall review history - our reason for going there.

We’ve had some great food in Shetland but I don’t think this is the best restaurant in Shetland (or Lerwick) by any means.....

We chose classic meals. The plate of shetland mussels with pastis sauce was excellent. You have to book as it could be very busy and the staff is very helpful and attentive.

A very warm welcome. It was lovely to be here again. The views out over the dock are so good. The menu tonight was good.

The view is lovely from this cafe at the Shetland Museum. The food is good and wait staff helpful. Gluten free options are available.

Beautiful room, good food, a wee bit slow sometimes but a must visit. The view is of the old Harbour.

This restaurant is located in the Shetland Museum. It is open during business hours and also in the evening after the museam shuts. The food and ambience are the best in Lerwck. Highly recommended

Lovely meal at hays dock , fresh home made food delicious fish cake , and fish on roasted meditraian veg , sticky toffee pud home made but not to my liking to much alcohol taste and bit dry for me , but all in all lovely meal excellent service

Very good food fantastic staff. Lovely views and hey ahve seating outside as well. Book table in advance

We visited twice: once for morning coffee, and again for an evening meal. The restaurant is easy to find if you know that it is directly above the museum, accessed via the stairs from the museum main foyer. Both our visits were fine. We booked in advance for the evening meal, and the food was excellent, and the service was very good. We had a window view, looking out over the harbour to the sea. We'd have visited again for dinner, but the restaurant is only open in the evenings on Friday and Saturday. I'd definitely recommend this.

We visited midweek but a cruise ship was in so the town was very busy. The restaurant was recommended by a local and we had seen it in some of the tourist books. However we waited a very long time for our food, seafood chowder and a small plate mussels, I asked if the mussels came with bread it didn't but they said it could, I asked for gluten free bread. When the food eventually arrived the mussels were just warm and no bread, I asked again for the bread, the waiter went away and came back to advise they had run out so for £7, all I had was about 12 just warm mussels. I even had to ask for a spoon to finish the sauce as I had no bread to mop up with. I wouldn't go back again.

We had delicious food and a very enjoyable experience. Would highly recommend this restaurant and we went twice in a week.

Friend took me there for lunch. I've never been before. It was very busy so I would advise to book a table in advance. Good size menu. I and kedgeree it was delicious. After we ordered coffee with almond milk and cake. Very friendly and attentive staff. I will go back to try other oprions on the manu.

We enjoyed our visit to Hay’s Dock Cafe and returned twice because of the welcoming atmosphere and cordial reception. The food was well prepared and delicious. We recommended this cafe, whether you are visiting the museum or looking for a place to enjoy good food.

An interesting menu for lunch. The food, when it arrived, was delicious. Just let down a little by being a bit slow. It wasn't that the place was too busy but still very good overall.

After visiting the museum, we decided to try Hay’s Dock for lunch having heard very positive things about it. We weren’t disappointed. The staff were very friendly and knowledgable, the food was excellent and the setting pleasant. We can highly recommend the burger and the kedgeree.

Excellent choice of food in a lovely setting. Outside veranda seating if weather permits. Staff couldn't be more helpful and friendly.

Building, Food, Service, all fabulous.Expect to pay a little extra for really nice food. Really great location with parking nearby close to Mareel and hays dock itself

Lovely food in a beautiful setting. Do try the specials! Lovely selection of food on the menu, good choice of drinks both alcholic and non-alcoholic and very reasonably priced.

Okay, so it’s Lerwick, but Hay’s Dock has the best combination of decent food, good service, nice location and reasonable prices of any place in town.

Went after visit to museum great food, choice of drink bit limited on day we were there but enjoyed the lunch. Good value and pleasant setting overlooking a small harbour - do book popular for lunch and dinner

Nice location within the Shetland museum. May be worth booking even for lunch (can get busy especially if Cruise ships dock). Good new menu, leaning towards fish/seafood. Vegetarian option seems less attractive and bland - we didn't select for that reason. Limited selection of desserts. Open in evenings but at weekends only. Good service and great views over the harbour

we were delighted to find such a lovely restaurant in the Museum building, there was a good choice of dishes, served by cheerful staff. One bonus was the wonderful view.

We had mussels, chips extra, and a chowder that was mainly potatoes. The restaurant is light, clean, and has views of the river. It is conveniently situated inside the museum.

We had a little difficulty finding the restaurant since it is on the top floor of the Shetland Museum and Archives but the entrance is on the ground floor of the Museum even though at the time of our visit the Museum itself was closed. A table for the five of us had been booked and we had a view of the harbour. The menu was interesting for having foods from different cultures. For instance I started with local smoked salmon followed by slow cooked lamb with a North African, maybe Tunisian, style of vegetables, and finished up with a Belgian chocolate mousse. All were excellent. service was prompt and unobtrusive.

We paid a visit to Hay’s Dock and what a great place it is.

As I just said to the manager here at Hay’s Dock Café Restaurant, ‘That was the best meal I’ve had in years.’ :-)

We walked to Lerwick’s excellent museum along the fascinating waterfront and after a leisurely explore of the Hays Dock and exhibits we headed upstairs for lunch......oh my! A proper restaurant with ravishing views north across a busy port, chefs, professional waiters and a great welcome.

We had a lovely lunch here. Restaurant very busy, service was quite quick, but relaxing ambience. Staff were very friendly, view over the harbour lovely and food great.

Enjoyed bouillabaisse and lamb so much we returned following evening. Booked because of folk festival. Would recommend

I had enjoyed some lovely meals and afternoon teas here on my last visit to Shetland so was delighted to find that the standard hadn't dropped. Excellent lunches, friendly, professional staff.

Not many guests, but what a meal! Mojito prawn cocktail to start with and then slowcooked shoulder of lamb! Best lamb I have had ever.

This restaurant is attached to the Museum. We visited at lunchtime and it was excellent. Well, cooked, tasty food at a reasonable price and the service was excellent.

Lovely place, nice atmosphere and clean and tidy. Good food

Absolutely wonderful from greeting to seating, from drinks to food, from atmosphere to cleanliness. Only little thing was keg beer was off and I had to sample the local brewery from a bottle. Didn't take anything away from the evening tho. Well done, worth another visit.

Good food, excellent view across Lerwick harbour. We eat here fairly regularly. Can be surprisingly busy during weekday lunchtimes. Recommend booking!

A decent restaurant for lunch with a view out over the dock and bay. We both had fish and it was cooked perfectly along with chips and peas, a decent selection of beers and attentive service all made fro a very pleasant experience. We would have like to sample dinner there but simply ran out of time, next time maybe.

Fantastic food, great friendly service.food served quickly and hot, good selection covers all tastes.

I ate here with work a few weeks ago and ate a 3 course vegan meal here. The staff were really friendly and explained which courses were vegan (and there's a lot) and everything tasted amazing! Especially the mushroom bruschetta! I'll definitely be back if I'm up in Lerwick again :)

Exzellentes Essen und schöner Ausblick auf den Hafen.