What restaurants do you recommend in Shetland?

Shetland offers a range of delicious eating and drinking experiences from locally-grown lamb & beef, outstanding seafood, and artisan gin to fresh artisan breads, German-inspired cakes and a range of locally produced beers.

A Taste of Shetland is an organisation that proudly promotes Shetland’s wonderful produce to the world. It is part of Shetland Food and Drink, the membership organisation that represents Shetland’s leading producers.

There are several places to eat in and around Lerwick, including several takeaway options that include Chinese, Indian and Thai food. You should be sure to order a takeaway fish supper during your stay from the Fort Cafe & Takeaway. Traditional battered fish and chips, wrapped in paper, eaten on a bench on the pier – what could be better than that?

On the main street, Commercial Street, you’ll find two of the best restaurants – The Dowry and No 88. The Dowry is a cafe/bar that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with everything from freshly made soups, waffles and sharing platters to seared Shetland scallops, Burra lobster and local rhubarb crème brûlée. They are passionate about using local produce and supporting local producers.

A few doors along you’ll find No 88 Kitchen & Bar, which opened in 2020. The menu is based entirely on the best local and seasonal produce, and they are passionate about showcasing Shetland’s top-class seafood.

Perhaps the best cafe in Lerwick is Peerie Shop Cafe. Situated on the Esplanade, the Peerie Shop serves the best coffee in Lerwick, and their daily soups are unrivalled. Visit on Friday for James’ famous Cullen Skink fish soup – it often sells out. If you’re just in to rest those weary legs, the scones – plain, fruit and cheese – are very good.

The Unken Wagen is a quirky little takeaway with the best mandarin cream gateau you will ever taste. The Unken Wagen – combining the Shetland dialect word for strange or unfamiliar and the German spelling of ‘wagon’ – is a beautifully converted former bus selling artisan cakes, barista coffee and a savoury lunchtime option.

If you’re having a day trip in the North Mainland, there are plenty of options along the way. Heading North, the first place you will pass in Brae is Frankie’s Fish & Chip Shop – Britain’s most northerly award-winning fish and chip shop.

A few miles further, on the road to Muckle Roe, is Busta House Hotel, a former Laird’s house situated on the shores of Busta Voe. Dating back to the 16th Century, Busta has a long and intriguing history – it’s even said to have a resident ghost.

Braewick Cafe & Restaurant overlooks the stunning Braewick Bay. With views overlooking the Drongs (sea stacks) and fresh local produce on the menu, Braewick is the perfect place to stop and refuel before heading on to the cliffs at Eshaness.

For an area as large as the South Mainland, there’s a bit of a lack of places to eat, so you need to plan where you want to go. Heading south from Lerwick Mackenzie’s Farm Shop & Cafe is just outside the village of Cunningsburgh. They sell much of their own produce from the family farm at Aithsetter, and the bright and airy tearoom and well-stocked gift shop are worth stopping at.

Continuing South, the Hoswick Visitor Centre & Cafe has fantastic local history displays and serves some of the best home bakes in Shetland. The cafe is simple and tasty, with warming soup, sandwiches and toasties on the menu daily. If you’re looking for a locally-made gift, the gift shop here stocks many local craft items.

At the southern tip of Mainland Shetland, the Sumburgh Hotel also featured as a filming location for the hit BBC show Shetland and is open daily serving hot meals and drinks. The menu includes local scallops and mussels.

Like the South Mainland, there aren’t many places to stop and eat on the West Mainland, but the places they do have are a delight to visit.

Heading west, the Bonhoga Cafe at Weisdale is situated in a former mill that also houses an art gallery. Their mackerel pate is delicious, and they have a hot soup option every day.

You may notice in Shetland that there are honesty boxes and cake fridges dotted around the countryside. The idea is that you help yourself to fresh eggs or home bakes and leave the money in a tin – the system operates on an honesty basis. A few miles outside Aith, you’ll find the Original Cake Fridge & Tearooms. The honesty fridge is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and restocked daily with fresh cakes and bakes. In 2019 they opened the quaint Tea Room, which is situated next door to The Cake Fridge. Drop in at this quirky cafe to relax with a coffee and cake or try some homemade soup and made-to-order sandwiches.

Perhaps the best place on the West Mainland to get a real sense of the community is at the Kirk cafe in Waas. This is a community cafe that runs in the Church every Friday, selling soup and cake. It’s a real community hub, and money raised goes back into the church and the local community. It’s a fantastic place to experience some of the locals’ exceptional home bakes.

If you are in the North Isles, be sure to drop in and have lunch at Victoria’s Vintage Tearooms – Britain’s most northerly tearoom. It has a real vintage feel with decorative mismatched china crockery and floral bunting strung around the light and airy tearoom. Victoria’s cakes and bakes are unmissable, and the ploughman’s lunch is to die for.

A final note on Shetland’s restaurants is to say that if you see a sign advertising ‘Sunday Teas’, be sure to drop in. Sunday Teas are a very Shetland institution, held throughout the isles during the summer months. Sunday Teas are held in local public halls, usually as charitable fundraisers, and are organised by the hall’s committee of volunteers who all prepare a picnic-style banquet. For a nominal fee of usually a few pounds, you can stuff yourself silly on all the cakes, sandwiches, tea & coffee that you can hold. Shetlanders are renowned for their hospitality and their baking, and you will be given a very warm, heartfelt community welcome.