The Scalloway Hotel Restaurant in Shetland Islands

Disregard any previous reviews which are trying to put you off and lessen your experience in this restaurant! Sure, sometimes things might not go as planned, we're all human (although l do wonder about some of these writers!!) and there might be hiccups here and there, but do give the Scalloway Hotel a second chance, you won't be disappointed! The menu and food was excellent, (such a varied choice!) the service was great, thanks girls - the attention to customers made us feel special, and all with a smile, which is always appreciated! (Nobody wants grumpy waiting staff!) Special mention to Chris the barman, what a hoot! So kind and patient with the oldies, couldn't have done more! Can't wait till we can go back! But don't take our word for it, or anybody else's for that matter, go find out for yourselves!

When you arrive in Shetland on a Sunday, and not sure where to get lunch, this turned out to be to be a good choice. Service was friendly and timely, the menu was pretty comprehensive, and we enjoyed the cooking. Perhaps not the most fashionable of places, but authentic, and we liked that. In fact we also went back to the bar a couple of days later, for an end of day drink. Lively and fun.

The restaurant itself is dull, monochrome and uninspiring. Staffed by the local high school it would seem. The menu is small which isn’t always a bad thing but that would suggest that everything on there is well practiced & cooked to perfection. Oh dear. Moules served in a thick creamy onion type gravy incredibly salty. Awful. Oysters overcooked topped with breadcrumbs very salty. Awful. Duck overcooked, dry & served with a fig & rosemary sauce. Way too much rosemary, should have been seived barely edible felt like I was eating the whole bush. Awful. Red snapper end fillet, very small 2/3 of it inedible. Both dishes served with shredded soggy vegetables not entirely sure what they were apart from some raw carrot obviously added later perhaps for colour? Laughable. Why we ordered dessert is a mystery. Well for me it was to get the taste of rosemary out of my mouth & my partner was still hungry. Lemon meringue pie what could go wrong with that we thought. Lemon curd was like rubber too much gelatine. Pastry was soggy & undercooked. The meringue itself was ok. We will never return unless they replace the chef….

It was after 2pm and we were looking for food. The local coffee shop had stopped selling lunches, so we bought a couple of their delicious cakes to take away and their staff directed us along the road to The Scalloway Hotel. They were still serving in the bar. The menu was good, reasonably priced and included weekly specials for soup, curry, pies, sausages, steak and giant Yorkshire puds. We chose the soup, Fish Chowder. It wasn’t what I would call chowder, being tomato based and not creamy, but it was so tasty. The broth was well flavoured, thick with wee morsels of fish and julienne vegetables, and topped off by a delicious oyster in its shell. It was served with a warm baguette. The lady working at the bar was very friendly and we had a nice chat with her and one of the locals. We would definitely return.