The best restaurants in Highlands and Islands

As always such a good meal. Food amazing! Bruschetta, pizza & tartiflette absolutely banging! Can’t recommend enough. A local gem that is great value for money.

We have been impressed with so many of the restaurants in Inverness but sadly this was not one of them. The food was not at all special. I had a pasta dish with loads of peas and large chunks of broccoli floating in a very mediocre tomato sauce. My husband had a pizza that was not very special as well. The male waiter was pleasant enough but the female was abrasive and very curt. Until this evening both my husband and I had commented on how attentive the waiters had been in all the restaurants we had been in Inverness. The female waitress in Little Italy let down the rest of Inverness.

I cannot recommend the Oakwood Restaurant and the Highland Lassie enough. Calling ahead to make a reservation and preorder the food was a minor struggle for me—doesn't seem like the cellular reception is great there—but it was absolutely worth the small effort. Bring your own wine if you want it, Oakwood has no liquor license. Also of note: you're on a boat, the small dining room has only one table that seats six. Perhaps we should've expected it, but we were surprised to arrive and find that we were sharing the table with two sets of strangers. Don't shy away, lean into this! We all got to chatting and sharing stories of our lives and experiences, and it made the meal so much more memorable, enjoyable, and special than it would've been otherwise. The food is fantastic, I don't think there's a bad item on the menu, everyone exclaimed about how delicious their meals were, we all cleaned our plates and made room for the fantastic desserts as well. If you have dietary restrictions, let them know when you call, Gus & Gaby will find a way to accommodate you with something special. Gus was very attentive during the meal trying to make sure that everyone was happy. If you have an appreciation for boats, especially wooden boats, dining on the Highland Lassie is an extra special experience. My partner grew up on a wooden boat and knows the craft that goes into them and how much work they are to maintain. We got to talking with Gus and Gaby and they revealed the time and effort they personally put in to restoring the boat (formerly a fishing trawler), designing the wooden decks, rails, and cabins, the types of wood used, and Gus very kindly gave us a tour of the boat after dinner to show her off. She is an absolutely stunning lady with an amazing character and history. The rooms are quite nice, too, if you're considering sleeping on board or taking a cruise! Wonderful experience all around, definitely a memory we will treasure and a highlight of our trip to Loch Ness and the Highlands! Mahalo nui Gus and Gaby, from Angela and Forrest! Aloha from Hawaii and Orkney!

Came here for breakfast in the summer and really enjoyed it so thought we would go again today. Got a table quickly as there was about five spare if not more. The coffees took 30 minutes to come out then the young girl chucked down the coffee tray, spilling one, didnt say anything and ran off, which led up to a mix up of drinks which resulted in partner not enjoying theirs. I did mention these issues to the girl who served us when paying but she kept saying sorry they are busy, which i mentioned there was alot of people that arrived after us that received there orders before us. Very disappointed 😤

A set price of £43 (plus a 10% service charge) gets you a nice 3 course meal. That works out at £9 for a starter, £9 for dessert and £25 for fish & chips (with peas). £7 will get you a pint of ale at the bar or £7.70 if you order from your table. £29 (plus 10%) will get you the cheapest bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. We’ve eaten here a few times over the past 4 years simply due to there being no competition for miles around. It’s always been decent but overpriced. We ate on a Friday evening and despite being told it was probably going to be busy, only 7 tables out of the available 17 were occupied. The staff were friendly and pretty efficient. Would we go again? Probably, because there’s nowhere else locally. The location and view are excellent, if you go during daylight. At night you won’t be getting any sort of view whatsoever! I know they took some flak in the press for their prices a couple of years ago and reduced them slightly. I’d love to give the place 5 stars and wish them the best but it’s simply too expensive for what it is. Wouldn’t like to see it closed down and derelict though.

We had terrific food. Best meal we had on a 2 week trip through the West of Scotland, mix of traditional and clearly original cuisine, 10/10

Excelente e innovadora comida. Personal bien informado y atento. Selección de vinos maridados a juego con cada plato. En conjunto, una comida muy especial.

Beautiful location by the water. Friendly staff & excellent food. Everyone was happy with their respective choices. Recommended.

I booked this for an anniversary dinner after reading the lovely reviews. The set meal was great! The service was amazing. I asked for a decorative plate for anniversary and they did this for me with no fuss. The food was very tasty and well presented, portion size was just right and we managed to squeeze in a dessert which was also very good. Well priced also!

The food was absolutely delicious Had a Caesar salad, great taste and the additional Stornaway black pudding chunks was a winner. I had a bottle of cider with my dinner (the cider wasn’t the best but that’s personal preference) Staff friendly and place seemed pretty full but didn’t have to wait long for food at all. If in Lerwick get it down ya.

Enjoyed another fabulous meal at the pier on Friday 7th March. The service was faultless, the ambience perfect, sociable and classy without any pretentiousness. Most importantly the food was outstanding, obviously made by people who know what they’re doing and care about the quality, it was sublime. The cost was spot on, not cheap, just right for the quality offered. Everything finishing with the coffee was first class. Thank you

We had visited Cafe Kisimul some 6 years ago when walking Hebridean Way and were really looking forward to taking our respective wives there. I'm sure they thought we were exaggerating that there was a really good "Indian" restaurant on Barra. Neither we, nor they, were disappointed. However if you want to try the place for yourselves yo may have to wait until Spring 2025 as I believe they close for the winter season. Friendly staff, busy so reservation recommended. Probably essential

Lovely food and service, very good value for money.

WOW, WOW, WOW !!! What a beautiful and full of character restaurant !!! Decorated beautifully for Christmas which added to the atmosphere. We enjoyed a 3 course meal from the Christmas menu and each course was pure perfection which was matched by the 5 Star service provided by Flo, Lily and Jason. The meal was probably the best experience I've had in any restaurant in Scotland and should be the highlight for any visitor to Scotland. Pure quality from the time we walked in until we left. We loved it that much, we have booked The Old Station Restaurant for our celebratory meal for us and our guests, following our wedding in July 2025. Thank you Flo, Lily and Jason for such an amazing night

An absolute gem of a restaurant looking over the harbour. A warm welcome on arrival and an extremely good dinner. The scallops and smoked salmon starters were superb and we followed up with cod, halibut and pork belly every one of which were genuinely delicious. I can’t recommend a restaurant more highly.