Restaurants in North & West Coast
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Ferry Boat Inn
Known as the FBI, this inn is to Ullapool what the castle is to Edinburgh. The pub’s a little less traditional-looking these days with its bleached wood and nonstained carpet, but it’s still the place where locals and visitors mingle. Some dishes on the menu are a little bland, but a well-run dining room, quality ingredients and great presentation compensate.
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Frigate Café
This waterfront cafe is a popular venue for coffee, tea and ice cream; it also sells a very tasty local smoked cheese. But you can also sit down and graze the Italian-influenced menu of salads, pizzas and pastas, or just drop by for a glass of wine or a beer.
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Morefield Motel
This sedate motel serves an outstanding medley of local seafood, including langoustine, salmon, swordfish and lobster, in its lounge bar. It has a deservedly fine reputation and is popular with locals and tourists alike. There’s not much atmosphere, so come for the food not the buzz. If you can’t decide from the extensive menu and specials board, choose the seafood sampler. The motel is off the A835, a mile north of the harbour (follow Mill St).
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Bar 16
This is Thurso trying to get tarted up. It attracts a mix of tourists and locals looking for something a bit classier than trawling the scruffy local pubs in town. A modern space with couches and comfy chairs possessing a hint of minimalism, it’s a bit sterile but there’s a little sun-filled courtyard perfect for an evening drink. Steer clear of the seafood salad but try the chicken fajitas or sirloin steak baguette for a winner.
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Holborn
A trendy, comfortable place decked out in light wood, the Holborn contrasts starkly with more traditional Thurso watering holes. Quality seafood – including delicious home-smoked salmon – is the mainstay of a short but solid menu at its Red Pepper restaurant, where desserts are excellent too.
Its bar, Bar 16, is a modern space with couches and comfy chairs where bar meals (£7 to £10) are uncomplicated but decent.
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Arch Inn
There's plenty to like about this waterfront inn, from its cosy bar (with pool table) serving comfort food like bangers and mash, to its classy upstairs restaurant with glorious loch views and smart creations using Scottish produce with a regional French twist. The outdoor tables right beside the lapping water are a top spot for a pint.
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The Seaforth
Accolades for the seafood dishes at this place are growing, which include homemade fish pie, a platter of creel-caught langoustines and crayfish tails with apple salad. Eat in the bustling pub downstairs with its booth seating, or for more sedate dining venture upstairs to the bistro where a tastefully furnished room and another bar is a good setup for families or groups.
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The Mountain Coffee Company & Hillbillies Bookshop
The Mountain Coffee Company & Hillbillies Bookshop is a shrine to all things mountaineering and has a lazy, chilled-out vibe. It sells excellent hearty food for walkers, best consumed in the attached conservatory. Besides, how can you go past a place that sells a mars bar cappuccino, New York bagels and mountain scones?
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Ferry Inn
Near the ferry dock in Scrabster, this traditional stone pub has rather ugly extensions, but these house the busy restaurant. It specialises in steaks – pick your size – and local haddock; we reckon it’s a tad overpriced but the evening view over the harbour is great. Cheaper bar meals (£8 to £11) are downstairs, along with a pool table.
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Captain’s Galley
Right by the ferry terminal in Scrabster, Captain’s Galley is a classy but friendly place offering a short, seafood-based menu that features local and sustainably sourced produce prepared in relatively simple ways, letting the natural flavours shine through. Most rate it the best eatery in Caithness.
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Le Bistro
Less sophisticated than when it was Thurso’s main gourmet option, this eatery buzzes with chatter on weekend evenings as locals of all ages chow down on its simple meat and carb creations. What it does, it does well: the respectably sized steaks come on a sizzling platter and service has a smile.
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Café Cardosi
Stylishly decked out in warm colours and a trendy, minimalist décor, Cardosi pumps out decent coffee, salads, light hot meals and sandwiches. The decadent home-baked cakes are a standout, but the best thing about this joint is people-watching, both inside and on the busy street outside.
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Ceilidh Place
The restaurant at the Ceilidh Place serves up inventive dishes catering for most palates. It was a little disappointing last time we visited but the bar is still a great place, with a cosy atmosphere, outdoor seating, good wines by the glass and regular live music and events.
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Red Pepper Restaurant
A step up again in the local dining scene. A simple dining room with lots of wood, good lighting and, most importantly, well-prepared food with generous portions and lots of local produce. Try the smoked chicken and spinach linguine followed by homemade cheesecake.
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Seaforth
Family-friendly and always packed, this big establishment in the heart of town does good-value bar meals and takeaway fish and chips downstairs, and pricier but more peaceful bistro fare upstairs, with serene harbour views.
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Chippy
A previous winner of a best UK takeaway award. The grub here really is a cut above your average greasy chippy – the chips are freshly sliced and the fish is freshly cooked.
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Tea Store
Billed as 'the cafe the locals use', this trad tearoom with chunky pine tables serves fried breakfasts, filled rolls, soup, baked potatoes and homebakes, plus the house speciality – venison burgers. There's also OS maps and walking information for hikers to consult over coffee and cake.
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Waverley
This superb restaurant is an intimate place with excellent service; try the taste of land and sea, combining Aberdeen Angus fillet steak with fresh local prawns.
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Tigh an Eilean Hotel
The Tigh an Eilean Hotel is famous for its seafood, and offers the choice of eating in the formal hotel restaurant or the more laidback Shieldaig Bar and Coastal Kitchen bistro. The latter has an outdoor roof terrace, and serves unusual dishes such as a wood-fired pizza topped with crayfish, shrimps, squid and a plump langoustine in the shell.
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Plockton Shores
This cafe-cum-restaurant sports a tempting menu of local seafood, including hand-dived scallops with lemon-and-basil dressing, squat lobster tails cooked in white wine and garlic, and a splendid platter of langoustines with paprika and garlic butter. There are also steaks, haggis and saddle of venison, and a small selection of tasty vegetarian dishes that are more than an afterthought.
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Cafe Tempest
A blue shed by the harbour houses this cool wee cafe, with its comfy armchairs and sofas, beachcomber bric-a-brac and chilled surfing vibe. The coffee is brewed just right, and the menu ranges from breakfast dishes to homebaked cakes and filled panini.
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