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Andrew Fairlie
Many passionate epicures make their way to Perthshire for the sole purpose of dining at Andrew Fairlie, having booked their tables months in advance. When Gleneagles hosted the G8 Summit in 2005, Fairlie, a local culinary prodigy who trained in...
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Ballintaggart Farm
This hidden gem is a must-visit for travelers driving north to the Highlands from Glasgow or Edinburgh. If you do not have time for a mini masterclass at the renowned Cookery School, enjoy a rustic lunch at this charming farm,...
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Bertie’s Bar
Refined, glamorous and elegant, Bertie’s Bar was named after Queen Victoria’s extravagant eldest son, King Edward VII, also known as “Bertie.” This intimate, hidden bar in The Fife Arms is Scotland’s top whisky bar, with over 390 whiskies organized by...
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Boath House
In addition to housing a Michelin-starred restaurant, this restored Georgian mansion just east of Inverness is home to Donald and Wendy Matheson, its devoted conservators and residents of more than twenty years. The impressive structure, originally built in 1825, is...
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Café Cùil
Run by award-winning chef Clare Coghill, an Isle of Skye native, Café Cùil reflects Clare’s passion for Hebridean produce and is heavily influenced by Gaelic Scottish traditions. The menu at Cùil (which means “nook,” “nest” or “corner” in Scottish Gaelic)...
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Caora Dhubh Coffee Company
Caora Dhube (“black sheep” in Scottish Gaelic) is a coffee shop just across from Talisker Distillery that gives off the same rustic, hip vibes that a coffee shop in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn might. The coffee here is sourced...
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Clunie Dining Room
Like everything in The Fife Arms, this restaurant is a dramatic feast for the eyes, from the prominent stag head to the cubisitoid style wall mural called “The Clunie River Mural” by Argentinian artist, Guillermo Kuitca. Diners can expect traditional...
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Edinbane Lodge
Set in a 16th-century hunting lodge that was renovated and restored in 2018, Edinbane Lodge offers a relaxed take on fine dining. The tasting menu is seasonally driven and sourced from the restaurant’s local and tightly-knit community of farmers and...
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Elsa’s Bar
Elsa’s is the signature cocktail bar at The Fife Arms, bringing art deco elegance to the Scottish Highlands. The cocktail lounge was inspired by fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli and her love of shocking pink and “bon mots.” The bar is...
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Kinloch Lodge
Skye-bound epicures should plan to have dinner (and possibly a good night's rest) at the ancestral hunting lodge of the Donald Clan, which has become a fine-dining mecca of sorts. Lady Claire Macdonald, an accomplished cookbook author and indefatigable champion...
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Leakey’s Bookshop and Café
Still heated by a wood-burning stove, Leakey's is a charming place to sit down and skim the local paper over a cup of coffee and a home-cooked treat. Housed in a converted 18th-century Gaelic church, it is also Scotland's largest...
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Loch Bay
Despite its Michelin star, Loch Bay embraces a casual and cozy approach to dining in the Scottish countryside. But don’t let the wood-burning stove and tweed chairs fool you—the dishes are expertly crafted and taste authentically Scottish with a contemporary...
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Tarmachan Café
Tarmachan Cafe, near the village of Braemar, is a lovely stop for breakfast or lunch for those staying in the area. The cafe serves specialty coffee and baked goods, as well as a variety of delicious sandwiches and salads. Do...
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The Flying Stag
The Flying Stag is the social hub of the village of Braemar and is located on the ground level of The Fife Arms. It is a charming, traditional pub created by the artist James Prosek and serves very well done...
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The Old Inn
The image in your head of that classic Scottish pub...that is The Old Inn in Carbost on the Isle of Skye. The restaurant sits right on the water and has outdoor seating in the warmer months, plus live music on...
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The Oyster Shed
Just up the hill from Talisker Distillery is The Oyster Shed, a literal shed reminiscent of a Cape Cod seafood shack. The oysters are fresh and delicious, as are the other seafood items on the menu, which are all caught...
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The Three Chimneys
It seems a small miracle that this solitary, windswept eatery on Skye's remote northwestern coast should have survived for almost thirty years with sheep, seals and sea eagles for neighbors, let alone captured the attention of big-city critics. But when...
Scottish Highlands

Courtesy of the Three Chimneys
Given that the Highlands are so vast and so sparsely populated, many of the region’s finest (and most far-flung) kitchens have become destinations in themselves – ‘restaurants with rooms’ – where one can retire to a fire-lit bedroom with a digestif rather than embarking on a long, dark, postprandial journey.