Argyll And Bute, Fish & Seafood Restaurant Guide

“Very fresh fish and seafood” – much of it caught in the waters it overlooks – is the USP of this long-running operation from the MacLeod family, set in a “modern building on Oban’s North Pier” with epic loch and mountain views.

2022 Review: This squat former croft with a red tin roof overlooks the Inner Hebrides from the Knapdale peninsula and hosts Clare Johnson’s “brilliant” cooking of the wonderful ingredients on her doorstep: game, rare-breed meat and most of all seafood fresh from the famous surrounding waters such as Isle of Gigha halibut and lobster, crab, scallops and langoustines landed at Tarbet. Clare and her partner David Wilson moved here in 2004, and quickly established an enthusiastic following.

2022 Review: “A shack at the pier head” in Fionnphort at the far end of the Ross of Mull, “selling the freshest seafood” – most of it caught by owner Alex Cameron’s husband, Andrew, and other divers in the sea immediately behind. “We only had a lobster sandwich, but both bread and lobster were good. It’s not a restaurant because there’s only some outside seating – but on a good day, what’s not to like?”.

2021 Review: It spawned a national chain, but there was curiously little feedback last year on this popular stop-off on the A83. Originally little more than a shed (started in the 1970s), it has been refurbished in recent times to provide a more comfortable bistro-style experience, with views of the loch, but the focus remains on simple fish and seafood, much of it from its in-house smokery.

2023 Review: “Lovely small restaurant” in an old bank building that’s carved a niche for itself over the past two decades with “great cooking” that makes good use of Argyll’s “local and seasonal produce” – with seafood, meat and game all featured. Chef-patron Richard Fowler and his wife Nicola are “lovely people” and offer “great service” – “we dropped in for an impromptu lunch and it massively exceeded our expectations”. It’s “good value too”.