The Gardener's Cottage

Multi-course tasting menus all too often involve a dress code, a steep check and postprandial penance, be it a calorie-induced coma or a three-day juice cleanse. The Gardener's Cottage, so named because it occupies the former residence of the royal palace gardener, offers a mercifully low-impact approach. Situated on a lonely hillside, with candlelit communal tables and an open kitchen, the cottage is a fairytale of warmth and bonhomie. The menu is earnest and uncomplicated, with culinary exhibitionism ceding the spotlight to Scotland's seasonal bounty. My November visit met with hearty hedgehog mushroom tagliatelle and fresh apple juice infused with sea buckthorn (an antioxidant-rich orange berry that grows on Scotland’s coastal shrubs). Everything, from the fennel crackers that accompanied the roasted winter squash, to the traditional oatcakes served with local cheese, was made in-house.