Callander, Scottish Restaurant Guide

2023 Review: “Well worth the lengthy detour” – “hidden away up a long narrow road”, with views over Lochs Voil and Doine – Tom Lewis’s “unique” boutique hotel puts a contemporary slant on traditional Highlands hospitality, while chef Marysia Paszkowska’s menus rely heavily on home-grown produce.

Scottish celeb chef Nick Nairn’s “really beautiful” outpost on the edge of the Trossachs National Park, comprising restaurant, lifestyle shop ‘Home by Julia Nairn’ (Nick’s wife) and cookery school. The brasserie-style fare features some “lovely dishes for grown-ups” (“so good we came back the next day for more”), ranging from the crowd-pleasing ‘Paul’s Pizza’ section of the menu to more “elevated” dishes. Best of all, though, is the “relaxed vibe” and gorgeous garden featuring a heated stretch tent. Alas, the Nairn empire has just lost a link – the chef recently closed his Bridge of Allan restaurant (latterly branded ‘Nairn’s’) just a year after reopening following fire damage – but on the plus side many of the staff have been re-routed to this venture.

Handy for Stirling Castle and the train station, this well-established venture has won an embarrassment of accolades over the years, including ‘Restaurant of the Year – Scotland’ at the country’s 2022 Food Awards. Reporters love its “retro menu of good old-fashioned cooking” (haggis with mash, chicken supreme), “though the layout and ambience make it feel a little more like a café than a really good eatery, which is what it is”.