Bringing in the catch. Photo / The Three Chimneys at Talisker
From pretty fishing villages to romantic restaurants, Joanna Whitehead reveals why everyone should take a culinary tour of the Scottish Highlands.
When is a prawn not a prawn? When it’s a langoustine – and it’s from Plockton. This pretty fishing village in the Scottish Highlands, surrounded by dramatic peaks, sits on the edge of the opaque waters of Loch Carron. Located just seven miles from the Isle of Skye, it’s renowned internationally for its “prawns” – the local name for langoustines – which are caught locally. Around 95% are shipped to mainland Europe, leaving lucky locals and visitors to feast on the freshest catch. Chris Fahy is the proud skipper and fisher of the prawns, which we eagerly devour in the warmth of the Plockton Inn. Cooked simply with garlic and lemon, they’re sweet, firm and deliciously juicy.
“Not many people know that the prawns actually live in the mud in burrows like rabbits,” he tells us over a pint of Guinness in the bar before dinner. “Here on the west coast, we have deep waters and soft ground – and that’s where you catch the prawns. And they’re premium – everything we catch has to be alive.” When it comes to quality seafood, you can’t get much fresher – or better – than this.
If your knowledge of Scottish cuisine begins and ends with haggis, you’re long overdue a refresh. Scots are rightfully proud of the extensive larder this wild land offers, from ocean bounty to the Aberdeen Angus beef and game that grazes in the woodlands, moorlands and mountaintops of this picturesque part of the world.
In a bid to discover more of this delicious, locally sourced cuisine and see more of the epic landscape, I hopped in a car and embarked upon a seafood odyssey of the Scottish Highlands.
While there are plenty of ways to reach the Highlands, a fellow traveller and I choose to take the train to Edinburgh and collect a hire car on the station concourse. This enables us to soak up some of Scotland’s most breathtaking inland scenery courtesy of the A84, which hugs the glassy waters of Loch Lubnaig and cuts through the Trossachs Forest. The view becomes more dramatic as we travel north past the menacing peak of Ben More and onto the A82, passing the great moor of Rannoch and the Three Sisters of Glencoe. When it comes to Scotland, the journey, rather than the destination, is undoubtedly the main character.
Our first stop is The Pierhouse Hotel in Port Appin, a quaint fishing village on a secluded peninsula between Oban and Ballachulish. Located on the shores of Loch Linnhe, you can watch the freshest mussels, lobsters and langoustines being hauled mere metres away from the dining tables, while handpicked oysters come from the beds of Loch Creran just 10 minutes away.
We begin with a platter of oysters; the first arrives battered and deep fried with tarragon mayo and mignonette and tastes sublime – decadent, sharp and tangy. It feels a long way from the fabled deep-fried Mars bars that have gained something of a cult status in fish and chip shops across the country. I follow this with buttery scallops baked in-shell with a hat of puff pastry, then sweet hake swimming in a coconut broth; both are delicious.
Pierhouse is one of just three Argyll restaurants featured in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland this year. In addition, head chef Michael Leathley, who has been awarded two AA rosettes for his cookery, was named Scotland’s Chef of the Year at the 2025 National Hotels of the Year Scotland Awards, meaning we’re in safe hands. On the same evening, Pierhouse also scooped the title for the Most Romantic Restaurant of the Year. After watching the sun descend over the hills of Morvern with a dram of whisky in hand, it’s not hard to see why.
Scotland’s weather is nothing but changeable, and we experience what feels like four seasons in a single hour: sunshine, showers, hail and many rainbows. The mist descends as we drive past Ben Nevis on the road north, the UK’s highest mountain casting a moody, atmospheric ambience. Arriving on the Isle of Skye, we trundle along single-track roads to reach the remote, world-famous Three Chimneys. Sitting shoreside on Loch Dunvegan, this whitewashed former crofter’s cottage manages to be both extremely chic and reassuringly cosy.
Named the Best Restaurant of the Year at the 2025 National Hotels of the Year Scotland Awards, head chef Paul Green aims to honour local produce and serve it simply. Nowhere is this more apparent than in his treatment of the humblest of ingredients: butter. A warm and pillow-soft black garlic, onion and oregano bread rolls come accompanied by a heavenly dollop of butter that is light as mousse and tastes like lemon parfait. Other highlights include a cranachan – a traditional Scottish pudding consisting of cream, raspberries, Scottish oats and whisky – which is topped with a whisky sour granita that resembles a peaty, smoky and utterly delicious cocktail.
We take a scenic route from Skye that skirts the North Coast 500: a 516-mile scenic driving route around the Highlands famed for its dramatic coastal scenery, mountains, white sandy beaches and castles. The journey along the north coast is littered with seafood bars and restaurants to suit all budgets, from Kishorn’s Seafood Bar, Shieldaig Bar & Coastal Kitchen to a simple seafood shack in Ullapool serving up lobster rolls for a song. Check opening times in advance, however, as many remote places close for the winter season.
We drop down into the spectacular wilderness of the Cairngorms National Park, the UK’s biggest and wildest national park, home to a quarter of Britain’s threatened species, including wildcats, red squirrel, golden eagles, pine martens, osprey and deer, making it an unmissable destination for nature lovers. Our final port of call is the Old Manse of Blair, a five-star country house dating back to the 1700s that once sat on the lawn of nearby Blair Castle before being relocated. The restaurant is described in the 2025 Michelin Guide as “Scottish to the core”, with executive chef, Scott Davies, producing seasonal, sustainable showstopping plates.
Hand-dived scallops from the Isle of Skye arrive in a creamy, rich cauliflower veloute with apple and black truffle, the dry-aged Aberdeen Angus beef is juicy and tender, while the North Sea halibut is a contender for the best white fish I’ve ever eaten.
It’s all over much too quickly. We leave reluctantly after feeding the adorable resident Highland cows who reside at the hotel. For a culinary introduction to this marvellous land’s cuisine, however, our trip has been nothing short of sensational. We are already counting down the days until we return.
The journalist was a guest of The Pierhouse, Plockton Inn, Three Chimneys and Old Manse of Blair.