Best Restaurants And Luxury Dining In Scotland

You may know all about Scotland's reputation for producing the finest whisky and gin in the world, but you may be less familiar with the country’s outstanding cuisine. Scotland's unique shores and landscapes provide a bounty of natural produce and flavours to explore. Alongside expert locals who have been cultivating these resources for generations, master chefs from across the world have been drawn here too. World-class dining experiences have blossomed across the country. Whether you’re a connoisseur, foodie enthusiast or just love how the perfect meal shared with the right people can make a trip unforgettable, Scotland's culinary paradise is the place for you. At The Tartan Road, we’ll work with you to find the best meals to suit your tastes, or bring you options that will help you experience something completely new. Just get in touch, let us know your ideas, dietary requirements and favourites. We’ll pool all our local knowledge and years of experience delivering bespoke luxury trips to make it happen. Your unique Scottish food tour starts here:

In need of some inspiration? Here is a flavour of what’s out there, along with a few of our favourites.

Let’s start with some of the venues that boast Michelin Stars, some of the most sought-after and widely recognised awards in the fine-dining world. What better place to begin than the Andrew Fairlie Restaurant at The Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire? This beautiful spot got a special mention in our article on Luxury Hotels, but the Andrew Fairlie Restaurant is an independent gem and it is right to include it here as Scotland’s only restaurant to hold two of the coveted Michelin Stars. The best of Scottish and French cuisine, crafted by true experts and offered within the glamorous setting of the hotel, with faultless fine-dining service. Sourcing many of its ingredients from its own walled kitchen garden, and others from Paris’ famous Rungis Market, the Andrew Fairlie is the definition of authenticity and class.

It's no surprise that Scotland's largest cities and cultural centres are a treasure trove of luxury dining. Timberyard in Edinburgh is a family-owned find which continues our Michelin-starred list. With a relaxing, rustic design, this peaceful oasis in the city offers everything you could wish for, with a tasting menu, a 5-course feast or the hugely popular 3-course lunches. You can be guided to the perfect choice of wine by the in-house sommelier, or finish with a craft coffee. The Timberyard team excels at providing vegetarian and vegan alternatives throughout their menus and dining experiences. Some specialist fine-dining restaurants can be a little inflexible when it comes to accommodating these preferences, so we thought it well worth highlighting here.

Sticking with Edinburgh, fancy some of the best seafood on the East coast? On the Royal Mile in the historic Old Town, you’ll find Ondine. These specialists in luxury marine cuisine pride themselves on fresh, sustainably sourced fish prepared to perfection. Winners of Good Food Guide's Scottish Restaurant of the Year award in 2018, 2019 and 2021, Ondine has gone from strength to strength since opening in 2009 and become a well known hotspot which attracts seafood lovers from all over Scotland and beyond. This year they have branched out into offering meats, selected cuts grilled with the same expertise and care as their famous fish. We’ll come back to Seafood later on this page, but for now let’s move on to Glasgow.

Cail Bruich is the Gaelic name of our next feature, which translates as ‘to eat well’. Head Chef Lorna McNee is the genius behind the menu at this chic fine dining restaurant in central Glasgow. She was formerly Soux-Chef at the Andrew Fairlie Restaurant (see above), and now runs her own operation, having received her Michelin star in less than 6 months. The same respect for local ingredients is clearly carried through, as Cail Bruich likewise boasts its own kitchen garden. With a delicately selected seasonal menu, there is quite a buzz around Cail Bruich and McNee in particular, who has been widely acclaimed since she took the reins in 2020. The restaurant has also released a bespoke gin in partnership with the Garden Shed Drinks Co. We at the Tartan Road haven’t tried it yet, but it’s very much on our research list.

The West End of Glasgow is a haven of luxury restaurants, and this reputation is only growing. Chef Graeme Cheevers and his team took up residence at UNALOME in 2021, and by 2022 had secured their first Michelin Star. Sustainability has been a watchword at UNALOME from the beginning, not just in the sourcing of ingredients but in the fabric of the business itself. The restaurant runs entirely on green electricity, and recycling and energy efficiency practices are woven into everything they do. The ovens and kitchen technology are cutting edge, and heat recovery allows the systems at UNALOME, from cooking to cleaning, to run using far less energy than other restaurants of this kind. As if this isn’t enough to be excited about, the menus offer incredible, sophisticated dishes with an emphasis on tasting sets. You can even watch the magic happen with the Kitchen Table Experience, where a select number of guests can sit at a raised bar looking right into the kitchen workspace. See your dishes coming together, and receive them straight from the chef’s hands to your table.

There are many more Michelin-starred establishments to explore, enough to warrant their own page. A more detailed article on them, exploring their individual offerings and characters in more detail, will be linked here very soon. If these examples so far have got your attention, get in touch with us and tell us what appeals. These prestigious restaurants are always popular and must be booked well in advance. So what are you waiting for?

For now, let’s continue our name-dropping of extraordinary chefs by moving on to the Raymond Blanc Experience. Not so much a restaurant as a 4-day luxury cuisine, cookery and immersive nature event. This is like an extended dinner party, hosted by the famous Raymond Blanc himself. As well as preparing and providing world-class food, Blanc shares his stories, philosophy and expertise with lucky participants. Small-group demonstrations and time spent in the company of this giant of the culinary world make for an unmissable opportunity. And did we mention this all takes place in the Alladale Wilderness Reserve in the Scottish Highlands? An all-inclusive stay at the secluded Alladale Lodge, this is a truly unique experience.

Now to the Isle of Skye. There is plenty to attract you to this legendary island, but alongside the storied history and striking landscape your foodie journey can continue. Loch Bay restaurant is an intimate 6-table delight in the picture-perfect village of Stein, on the Waternish Peninsula. It’s run by husband and wife team Michael and Laurence Smith. If Ondine was the seafood star of the East Coast, Loch Bay of Skye is surely the same for Scotland’s West.

The Gaelic motto gives you a sense of how closely tied this restaurant is to its Island home. By exploring Skye and making a visit to Loch Bay, you’ll be experiencing one of Scotland’s most celebrated destinations and it’s heritage on a whole new level. What’s offered here is not just Michelin Star fine dining (though it is that too), Chef Michael will give you a taste of the abundant marine resources that have been sustaining the Islanders since the Ice Age ended.

Skye is not a one-stop wonder when it comes to food. Here are some more suggestions on what you can find on the island:

Want to expand your visit to take in other unmissable dining destinations? Take a look at some of our favourites:

For our final example of this page, let’s head to the shores of Loch Lomond. Cameron House is a 5 star hotel worth its own feature, but we’ll concentrate on a restaurant housed inside: Tamburrini & Wishart. Helmed by not one but two renowned chefs, Paul Tamburrini and Martin Wishart, this restaurant is “inspired by Scotland’s natural larder”, and keeps the menu fresh and strictly seasonal by changing it every two weeks. The interior and presentation is stylish and modern, and alongside their exceptional locally farmed meats and produce, you’ll find some of the best vegetarian options in fine dining. Having developed quite a reputation for the quality of their high-end vegetarian dishes, and boasting a dedicated meat-free menu, Tamburrini & Wishart are an excellent choice. Their simple-sounding but beautifully detailed dishes will stay with you and push the boundaries of what you can expect from plant-based cuisine.

Have we whet your appetite? Do you see yourself taking a trip through the world of Scotland’s luxury fine dining, soaking in the landscape and sampling the work of experts? Give us a call, and we’ll help make your dream tour a reality.