The best restaurants in Highlands and Islands

Been in the area for four days and this restaurant is by far the best , the service was faultless. The front of house staff were very attentive nothing was to much trouble, the food was delicious, loved how we could see the food being prepared and cooked . The whole operation was like a well oiled machine, and the atmosphere was superb, couldn’t find a single fault

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.

Outstanding breakfast whilst up in Inverness. It's not cheap but the food quality and quantity is great, esp the black puddings. Definitely recommended. S

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!

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 live locally and cant believe we have not come here more often Best meal Ive had in a long time Staff very friendly and helpful Would highly recommend

Great grub in a wee cafe tucked away in a hot tub shop Wee gem

Absolutely fantastic! Food is extremely tasty fresh, a nice simple menu with a few specials all perfectly cooked. The service was excellent, warm, and friendly. Will definitely be back

We enjoyed the food and service, with just a couple of small complaints. Our reservation was for 7:30 pm and the email confirmation said they wanted the table back at 9:00 pm. One and a half hours is just not enough for such a restaurant. We probably could have decided on what we wanted a few minutes faster, but we eat fairly quickly, and were mainly limited by how fast they brought out the various courses. They let us order dessert at 8:52 pm, and by the time we paid the bill it was 9:15 pm. Had we wanted coffee or tea afterwards we would have been even more overtime. Had I wanted to have two drinks of alcohol, it might have been close to not having metabolized enough at the end to safely drive to the hotel. I understand the need to turnover tables, but I think they should give you 2 hours. Perhaps they plan for that and just say 1.5 hours to make sure it doesn't go past 2 hours, but when I mentioned it to the waitress before ordering dessert she went back to check to make sure it would be ok. And for those who like to use American Express, make you bring another card, because they don't accept Amex.

Excellent setting, good amount of seats. The menu is ok, though it doesn’t change much throughout the year but it has the best coffee in town and the tabnabs are yummy. My only grumble is I want to see the tables being cleaned after use with an actual cleaning product not a sad looking cloth. Haven’t we learned anything from covid in the spread of germs, plus it’s a restaurant this should be a given.

We booked our visit for the tasting menu and each course was a triumph. Ranging from a series elegant starters to very tasty mains and refreshing sweets. It was "tour de force" from start to finish. For this experience there is no menu and I lost count of the number of courses but each one was described in detail by the friendly and attentive staff. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Nicely done everyone and we’d have no hesitation in recommending this restaurant to others.

Stopped in for lunch without a booking and got seated no problem. The views are stunning, service was welcoming and friendly and the food was top notch. Presented nicely and tasted lovely. Scoffed the lot before we could take photos! Highly recommend

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

We had a very pleasant time here. The food was nice and the service was prompt and smiley! 😊

As we were in the area, we booked an early dinner for my birthday. We were not disappointed. It was quite busy, but the three ladies were friendly and efficient. I had the rib eye steak, and my partner had steak pie. The portions were plentiful. I mentioned it was my birthday and they gave me a free drink. I opted to take the pudding with me, to which they obliged. Thank you for making my birthday a good one.