Restaurant at Balkissock Lodge

Scotland is well endowed with small country house hotels of this sort, but this one is special. Built as a shooting lodge for the Laggan Estate it is well hidden in the hills behind the coastal village of Ballantrae with good access for the ferries, the Galloway Forest and the West Coast of Scotland.

Denis and Fran Sweeney run a tight ship, and BYO rules. Guests staying at the hotel have preference when it comes to places at table, so it is wise to make a call beforehand and book. Denis likes nothing more than people who appreciate his lively brand of cooking. The local game makes frequent appearances on the menu, and starters could include the celebrated haddi pots with a Parmesan crust - oak smoked haddock and smoked salmon in a light sauce.

Main courses could include local crab crusted halibut with a leek and bacon mash, or in season locally shot partridge braised on bacon, cabbage and white wine with juniper berries served with wild rice and raspberries. Sticky spiced apple cake comes with a delicious elderflower cream. But in the best sense the menu here is a real lottery with additions at short notice, particularly on the seafood so plentifully available just down the road.