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Food and drink
in Ross and Cromarty.

It’s 20:07 in Ross and Cromarty.
Ross and Cromarty

Black Isle beer and Fortrose sourdough.

Eating out in Ross and Cromarty means good local food in friendly places, and the Black Isle alone could fill a weekend. In Fortrose there's sourdough baked by hand, a café and deli with a wood-fired oven, and an old inn with a whisky bar. Near Munlochy, an organic brewery stands on its own farm, and a white country inn serves Sunday roasts. On a hillside above the Cromarty Firth near Dingwall, a timber farm café bakes everything on site. Further afield are a restaurant in Tain's old railway station and a harbour inn at Balintore. Book ahead for dinner at the weekend.

CafésRestaurantsBarsPubsBakeries
Place of the day19 hours ago

Highland Farm Cafe.

A timber eco-café on a farm above the Cromarty Firth near Dingwall, with local food and home baking, a deli of Highland produce, a play area and firth views.

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From our guide18 hours ago

Balblair Distillery.

At Edderton, on the south shore of the Dornoch Firth, Balblair has been making whisky since John Ross founded it in 1790. It moved a short way in 1894 to be nearer the new railway, but it still draws its water from the same burn. The buildings are of warm pink-grey stone, with a tall red-brick chimney banded in black and a copper still standing outside. Tours follow the whole process and end with a tasting, so book ahead. Afterwards, call at the Clach Biorach, a tall Pictish standing stone in a field just along the road.

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From Issue 9 of Hidden Scotland magazineIssue 918 hours ago

A Weekend Exploring the Black Isle

Illustrator Tori Gray of Harbour Lane plans a weekend on the Black Isle: Bakhoos Bakery in Fortrose, Chanonry Point lighthouse, the Fairy Glen and Cromarty's shops and cinema.

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From the magazine17 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 04Issue 04Spring / Summer 2022

Jeni Iannetta left a career in the arts to bake gin and tonic cupcakes at Bad Girl Bakery in Muir of Ord, in the Highlands.

Jeni worked for Scottish Opera and Dundee Contemporary Arts before she turned her passion into the day job. Her bakes went from a trestle table to the train when she was headhunted by the Caledonian Sleeper, and by the National Trust for Scotland too. That was the push, in 2017, to set up her own bakery and café with her husband, Douglas Hardie. The name is a playful poke at the old idea that if it's nice it must be naughty, and the café's motto is that bad girls make good cakes. Alongside the cupcakes, made with local Loch Ness Gin, you might find crème brûlée doughnuts and cherry cheesecake brownies.

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From our guide16 hours ago

The Bealach Café and Gallery.

At Tornapress, where the road to Applecross leaves the main road and starts its climb over the Bealach na Bà, this small café and gallery makes a welcome stop before the pass or after it. It keeps things simple and does them well: homemade soups, sandwiches and toasties, a full Scottish breakfast, good coffee and a counter of home baking. The carrot cake and the chocolate cake are the favourites. Part of the building is a small gallery of local crafts, jewellery and art. Hours change through the year, so check before making a special trip.

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Newly discovered16 hours agoThe Black IsleHighland Mobile SaunaActivityThe Black IsleFortrose HarbourAttractionThe Black IsleThe Fishertown InnBarThe Black IsleRosemarkie Beach CaféCafeThe Black IsleThe AndersonBarThe Black IsleCromarty CinemaAttraction

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

The newest places on our pages in Ross and Cromarty.

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Weather for it15 hours agoThe Black IsleThe AllangrangeRestaurantThe Black IsleBlack Isle BreweryRestaurantEaster RossBalintore InnRestaurantEaster RossInver InnRestaurantThe Black IsleThe Fishertown InnBar

A pint by the fire.

Cold and wet enough out there. The pubs with a fire lit and good food.

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From our guide14 hours ago

Chocolates of Glenshiel.

Finlay MacDonald grew up in Glenshiel and began experimenting with chocolate in his parents' kitchen at sixteen. Today he has his own kitchen, café and gift shop on the road through the glen, with the mountains and Loch Duich all around. His chocolate uses Highland flavours: foraged elderflower, whisky from Skye, gin from Harris, sea salt, tablet and even haggis spice. In the café the hot chocolate comes in different strengths, with whipped cream and homemade marshmallows if you like. Dogs are welcome, and it makes a perfect break on the long drive to Skye.

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Did you know14 hours agoLucy GillmoreWritten byLucy GillmoreRead Lucy’s piece

Euan Ramsay turned the old farm buildings of Newhall Mains, on the Black Isle, into a hotel with its own grass airstrip.

‘The Mains was once the beating hub of the farm. It was here that the workers on the 900-acre estate lived until, after the Second World War, advances in technology reduced the need for human labour. Euan’s family has farmed this land for four generations, but when he was growing up here these buildings were already derelict. After working in hospitality, as maitre d’ at The Wolseley down in London, it was natural for him to be the one to head up the renovation and the farm’s first foray into tourism.’

Lucy GillmoreWritten byLucy GillmoreRead Lucy’s pieceSee Newhall Mains · Ross and Cromarty
Sunday13 hours agoRoss and CromartyHighland Farm CafeRestaurantThe Black IsleThe AllangrangeRestaurantThe Black IsleBakhoos BakeryCafeThe Black IsleBlack Isle BreweryRestaurantEaster RossPlatform 1864Restaurant

Open on Sunday.

By their own hours, which is the only kind we trust.

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From the magazine13 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 05Issue 05Autumn / Winter 2022-23

Ryan Sealey, a Cornishman who makes Caledonian Cider on the Black Isle, has traded bottles of cider with the Dornoch distillery for whisky casks to age it in.

Ryan used to work for the cider maker Thatchers, and he moved to the Highlands with his Scottish wife and three apple trees. By day he worked as a distiller at Glen Ord, but his passion was making cider in his shed. He told the magazine, 'Everything I do is in whisky casks'. The cider ferments with wild yeast, and the late Highland harvest means a long, slow, cold fermentation through the winter. His Islay Cask cider has a peaty nose and a soft, smoky taste, and the challenge, he says, is to keep just enough fruit to balance the smoke. He has run a yearly apple swap, where people drop off crates of apples for bottles of cider.

Read the full story in Issue 05
From our guide12 hours ago

Rosemarkie Beach Café.

Right on the sand at Rosemarkie, a small blue timber café with tables outside is the natural place to stop after a walk on the beach. It is a community café, and the menu is short but done well: sandwiches and filled rolls on soft fresh bread, soup, and a counter of home-made cakes. Take your tea outside and watch the Moray Firth, or come in glowing from the wood-fired sauna next door.

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