Three Chimneys, The

The Isle of Skye is not the first place that would come to mind for most people if you were just nipping out for a spot of dinner. But then Three Chimneys is no ordinary place and in any case they have recently added rooms so there is always the temptation for a stayover. One restaurant critic did the job on Night One and was so entranced he went back for dinner the following night. Perhaps one of the benefits of the now well-established road bridge is that places even as remote as Three Chimneys have a good chance of survival. The string of awards and accolades the restaurant has achieved can only reinforce that hope.

The menu changes with the seasons and is two courses for lunch and a choice of three or four for dinner. Starters on offer may include a hot Bracadale crab tart with warm cherry tomato vinaigrette, Stornoway black pudding and mushrooms on toast with apple and horseradish sauce, pan-fried breast of partridge, skirlie cake (a sort of mealie pudding) and rowanberry game jus, or Three Chimneys smoked ham and haddie kedgeree with a light curry cream. Then follows a soup course which may also include oysters, and features cream of Jerusalem artichoke, the house's lobster bisque, Cullen skink to name but a few.

Main courses contain yet more legendary Scottish names, with Loch Dunvegan (right outside the window) langoustines with dressed organic leaves and herbs from Glendale, roast pave of Scottish salmon with asparagus in season, baby potatoes and wild chanterelles, and citrus-baked halibut fillet with Skye oyster and champagne veloute, sweet garden peas and new potatoes. Puddings produce the signature dish of hot marmalade pudding with Drambuie custard, and the delicate Talisker and heather honey cranachan with fresh Skye raspberries, a true Scottish dessert if ever there was one.

The lively wine list draws from France, Australia and New Zealand with six bottles of house wine from £17.95 all served by the glass as well.

Reviewed by Michael Tebbutt