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hand picked restaurants

Holiday makers who chance upon Forres, Morayshire in North Scotland are enchanted by this beautiful town, renowned for its golf courses. The Cluny Bank Hotel is well established in a listed, historical building and like many others of its ilk, retains the old world charm while providing the best of modern amenities to its guests.

Franklin's, their restaurant, has been in the news lately for winning an award for innovative use of local produce. An interesting if frequently changing menu has peeled black tiger prawns, pan fried with garlic and okra among the starters. For mains, the Aberdeen Angus fillet steak with a roasted echalion shallot and a sherry jus makes an excellent dish, while the seared goose breast with a sage and onion dumpling and light apple gravy is equally acceptable. The selection of desserts is homemade and announced by the chef at the table, to help you make your choice. A wide range of cognacs, ports and liqueurs are there to accompany the coffee.

Situated in the two hundred year old Grandholm Mill, this restaurant, café and lounge provides a grand dining experience for the curry lover. The ambience reflects its stylishness, with a lounge area on the ground floor and a courtyard for alfresco banquets above.

They fuse fresh spices and herbs in a sophisticated and subtle way to present a menu that takes customers on an exciting journey across the various regions of India.

Aloo papri chaat, a combination of crispers, boiled potatoes, chic peas, served chilled, for starters and kori gassi, a sweet and spicy curry cooked with mustard seeds, curry leaves and a touch of honey for the main course can be the choice of the day. A list of popular dishes like chicken korma also appears on the carte du jour.

The Mill Suite, a large room with multi-media projector facility is available for private events.

This is a real find. Not only does it do what its name says it does, it does it extremely well, possibly because it resists the temptation to over-complicate and fuss. Local delicacies make regular appearances. The speciality of the house is the famous Speyside platter with its smoked salmon, whiskied chicken live pate, smoked venison, cheeses, wholemeal bread, oatcakes and salad.

The kick, however comes, as so often, in the tail. The restaurant formerly housed a whisky tasting centre, this in the town that styles itself 'the malt whisky capital of the world'. When the centre transformed into its new role much of the very fine stock of malts appears to have remained in situ with the result that after the meal can agreeably take quite a lot longer than the meal itself. There is also a good wine list. Open all year except January.