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Food and drink
in Lochaber.

It’s 20:06 in Lochaber.
Lochaber

Mallaig langoustines and island kitchens.

Eating in Lochaber follows the boats. Mallaig's harbour sends fish and shellfish straight up the brae to its restaurants and a takeaway hatch, and Fort William has seafood platters, an all-vegan café and dinner in a hotel hung with art. On Knoydart, the community pub and a tea room on the pier are reached only by boat or on foot. Out on Canna and Eigg, little cafés cook from the island and its waters. There's a climbers' bar at the head of Glencoe, and a boathouse at Kingairloch cooking the estate's own venison. Book ahead in summer, especially on the islands.

The Stables Cafe, Ardnamurchan→
Knoydart Shop→
Knoydart Pottery and Tea Room→
Kingshouse Hotel→
Lime Tree Hotel→
The Wildcat→
Café Canna→
The Tea Garden, Mallaig→
The Old Forge, Knoydart→
Galmisdale Bay Café & Bar→
The Boathouse, Kingairloch→
The Lookout, Knoydart→
Place of the day19 hours ago

Crannog at Garrison West.

Fort William's Crannog seafood restaurant, now cooking in the town centre at Garrison West on Cameron Square, with seafood platters, scallops and oysters.

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Open now18 hours agoFort WilliamLime Tree HotelRestaurantLochaberThe Old Forge, KnoydartRestaurantGlencoeKingshouse HotelRestaurantIsle of CannaCafé CannaCafeIsle of EiggGalmisdale Bay Café & BarCafeGlencoeLodge on the LochRestaurant

Open right now.

At 20:06, by their own hours. Ring ahead before the drive.

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Food and drink18 hours ago

Knoydart Shop.

The community shop in Inverie, run by the Knoydart Foundation, with food and drink, local crafts and Knoydart wool, and a post office.

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From our guide17 hours ago

The Highland Soap Company Fort William.

A mile north of Fort William, between the River Lochy and the ruins of Old Inverlochy Castle, the Highland Soap Company has its visitor centre and Larder Café. The shop is big and bright, with bars of soap stacked like cheeses on wooden tables, and you may see a batch being cut by hand. Book a workshop and you can make your own soap with essential oils. The café serves coffee and homemade cakes with Ben Nevis in view. Ben Nevis Distillery is just along the road.

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Food and drink16 hours ago

The Lookout, Knoydart.

A restaurant above Loch Nevis in Inverie, run with the Gathering, serving food and drink all day with a terrace over the water.

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From Issue 8 of Hidden Scotland magazineIssue 816 hours ago

Café Canna

Gareth Cole left London to run Café Canna on an island of eighteen people, foraging the shore, brewing beer and cooking seafood in one of Britain's most remote restaurants.

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From our guide15 hours ago

Lodge on the Loch.

Everything about the Lodge on the Loch points at the water. The hotel stands on the shore of Loch Linnhe at Onich, between Glencoe and Fort William, with its own private beach and the mountains rising across the loch. The dining room looks straight out over it all, so ask for a table by the window, whether it's breakfast or dinner after a day on the hill. Afterwards there's a whisky lounge for a dram by the view. It makes an easy stop for a meal on the road north.

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From the magazine14 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 13Issue 13Autumn / Winter 2026-27

Jan Jacob Baak was told venison was too lean for charcuterie without adding pork, and now makes venison salami near Spean Bridge in the Highlands.

Jan Jacob Baak and his wife Anja moved from the Netherlands to the Highlands in 2000, where Jan helped manage the wild deer on a small country estate, and they fell in love with venison. Cured meat was a taste of home for Jan, who remembers the butcher giving him a little dried sausage for the journey home as a boy. After experiments with a hand-built smoker in the garden, they launched Great Glen Charcuterie in 2003 from a friend's old butcher's shop. Their green pepper venison salami, the first they made, has picked up three Great Taste Award stars. 'You can’t speed these things up,' says Anja.

Read the full story in Issue 13
Tonight14 hours agoLochaberThe Chlachain InnRestaurantGlencoeLodge on the LochRestaurantArgyll and ButeCrannog at Garrison WestRestaurantFort WilliamLime Tree HotelRestaurantLochaberThe Tea Garden, MallaigRestaurantLochaberThe Old Forge, KnoydartRestaurant

A table for tonight.

Restaurants to book ahead, and the ones you can still walk into.

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From our guide13 hours ago

Ardnamurchan Distillery.

Halfway along the Ardnamurchan peninsula at Glenbeg, this small distillery has been making whisky since 2014. Its white buildings and pagoda-roofed kiln stand among the hills, and its labels carry the coordinates of the lighthouse at the peninsula's tip. It makes two styles of single malt, one peated and one unpeated, and both have won awards. It's small enough that on a tour you can watch the team at work around the copper stills and wooden washbacks. Book a tour ahead, and leave time for the shop.

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Newly discovered12 hours agoGlencoeLodge on the LochRestaurantArdnamurchanLoch MoidartAttractionArdnamurchanLoch SunartAttractionLochaberMallaig Heritage CentreAttractionLochaberSilver Sands of MorarAttractionLochaberThe Chlachain InnRestaurant

Some good places to go, newly added to the site.

The newest places on our pages in Lochaber.

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From our guide12 hours ago

Canna Community Shop.

A short walk from Canna pier, behind green railings and a hand-painted sign, the community shop runs on trust. Help yourself to groceries, cold drinks and crafts made on the island, then pay into the honesty box, and a share of the money goes to island projects. There's a table by the window looking over the harbour. Check the whiteboard on the wall, where people note the wildlife they've seen on Canna and Sanday, from seals to eagles. There's no mobile signal on the island, so it's a good place to slow down.

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