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Food and drink
in Orkney.

It’s 20:05 in Orkney.
Orkney

Scallops, scones and a peat fire.

Eating out in Orkney means island produce cooked without fuss. In St Margaret's Hope, the seafood comes off a family's own boats, and an old general store is now a coffee house and bar with music. Kirkwall has a small harbour-front pub and a country-house hotel with a peat fire and a long shelf of malts. There is a dining room looking over Scapa Flow, a tearoom on Burray on the drive south, and fresh scones at Birsay with a view of the tidal island. Book dinner ahead in summer, when tables fill fast.

Robertsons Coffeehoose Bar→
Birsay Bay Tearoom→
The Foveran→
Helgi’s→
Lynnfield Hotel→
Place of the day18 hours ago

Birsay Bay Tearoom.

A tearoom in Birsay looking out to the Brough of Birsay and Marwick Head, with scones baked every day.

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Open now17 hours agoOrkneyRobertsons Coffeehoose BarCafeOrkneyHelgi’sRestaurantOrkneyLynnfield HotelRestaurant

Open right now.

At 20:05, by their own hours. Ring ahead before the drive.

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From our guide16 hours ago

Lynnfield Hotel.

The Lynnfield is a small country-house hotel on the rise above Kirkwall, looking over the town to the bay and the North Isles beyond. Its best room is the wood-panelled lounge, with a peat fire, deep sofas and hundreds of malt whiskies, and Highland Park is just along the road. The restaurant is known for its Orkney produce, from seafood to North Ronaldsay mutton. Dogs are welcome, and a table can even be laid in the whisky room for diners who want their dog beside them. Book ahead for dinner.

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Tonight14 hours agoOrkneyHelgi’sRestaurantOrkneyThe FoveranRestaurantOrkneyLynnfield HotelRestaurantOrkneyPolly KettleRestaurantOrkneyThe Murray ArmsRestaurant

A table for tonight.

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

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Newly discovered13 hours agoOrkneyGlimps Holm BeachAttractionOrkneyPolly KettleRestaurantOrkneyThe Harray PotterAttractionOrkneyThe Viking Village BirsayAttractionOrkneyMaeshowe Chambered CairnAttractionOrkneyUnstan CairnAttraction

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

The newest places on our pages on Orkney.

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From our guide12 hours ago

The Orcadian Bookshop.

The Orcadian Bookshop on Albert Street is run by the islands' own newspaper, and it is the place to go for anything written about Orkney. The shelves cover local history, archaeology and wildlife, with maps, calendars and the annual bird report, as well as best-sellers and gifts. Among them are books on John Rae, the Orkney-born Arctic explorer. There is a children's corner with low shelves and small chairs, so it is an easy place to linger with the family.

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Afterwards11 hours agoOrkneyGlimps Holm Beach1.8 milesOrkneyItalian Chapel3.0 milesOrkneyChurchill Barriers3.2 miles

Round the corner from Polly Kettle.

The three good places closest to it: Glimps Holm Beach, Italian Chapel and Churchill Barriers.

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From our guide8 hours ago

Sheila Fleet Kirk Gallery.

Sheila Fleet has run her jewellery business in Orkney since 1993, and her enamel colours come straight from the islands: the blues and greens of the sea, the ochres of the winter hills, the northern lights. The Kirk Gallery at Tankerness is a converted parish church, with the work shown where the pews used to be. Everything is designed and made in Orkney, and the workshop is close by. There is a café as well, so it makes a good lunch stop on the east side of the Mainland.

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From our guide5 hours ago

The Orkney Distillery.

The Orkney Distillery stands on the Kirkwall waterfront, a short walk from the cathedral. Its gin is called Kirkjuvagr, after the old Norse name for Kirkwall, and it uses botanicals grown on the islands, among them angelica, burnet and the ramanas rose. There is rum and whisky as well. Tours take you through the stillhouse and finish with a tasting, and the bar upstairs looks out over the harbour. Leave the car at your lodgings, and the tasting is easier to enjoy.

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From our guide4 hours ago

Hoxa Tapestry Gallery.

The artist Leila Thomson opened this gallery at Hoxa in 1996 to show the large weavings she made on the loom. Their colours are the ones outside the window: sea greys, field greens and the light on the water. Her daughter Jo and son Andrew run it now, and Jo's own work hangs beside her mother's, with rugs, prints and cards. Look for it half a mile past the beach at the Sands of Wright.

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From our guide3 hours ago

The Murray Arms.

The Murray Arms is a family-run hotel in St Margaret's Hope, and the reason to come is the shellfish. The family runs its own boats, so much of what reaches the plate was landed close by, from hand-dived scallops to crab and lobster. It is a proper village hotel, with a bar that locals use and a dining room that fills up. Booking ahead is sensible in summer. It makes a fine supper after a day exploring the barriers and South Ronaldsay.

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From our guide41 minutes ago

Robertsons Coffeehoose Bar.

Robertsons is a family-run coffee house and bar in the old general store at St Margaret's Hope, and the Robertsons General Merchants sign still runs over the door. The bar menu is served all day, with lighter meals and choices for most diets. It is relaxed, but it can be lively too, with a jukebox, instruments to pick up and play, and sometimes local musicians. It is handy for the Pentland Ferries boat from Gills Bay, which comes in at the village.

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