News you can trust since 1817
The Good Food Guide was founded by Raymond Postgate in 1951 and today it remains the longest-standing and best-selling guide to dining out in the UK.
Inspections are conducted on an ongoing basis and anonymously with impartial recommendations then offered.
Members of The Good Food Guide Club can access hundreds of reviews and pictures via their app.
Currently there are 68 Scottish restaurants listed in the Good Food Guide, with six as new additions.
(105 Church St, Inverness IV1 1EY)
This bar and restaurant is described by the guide as 'a bit of a departure for Inverness and a great addition.
Opened in 2021, this laid back wine bar has become a popular spot for locals.
The guide continues by saying: "Inside is a small mix of tables with a room upstairs for tastings or private bookings – and when the sun shines, there's hot competition for a seat outside to enjoy the 200-strong wine list or the selection of Scottish beers, ciders and whiskies.
"Platters of cheese and dry-cured meats all come from Highland producers and are served with locally baked sourdough bread. Dogs and children welcome. Booking highly recommended."
(1 Ness Walk, Inverness IV3 5NE)
This mainstay of the Inverness dining scene has only just recently made it into the Good Food Guide. A
lthough the team don't rate the design of the restaurant, they say this about the food: "The food is sublime, cocktails masterly, the music smooth 'bossa nova' jazz, the vibe quintessentially cool. If you're after a table in the summer, you need to book weeks in advance.
"To avoid a revolving door of disappointed diners, a notice at the entrance spells it out. They're full. Rocpool's success is largely down to owner Steven Devlin, a warm, welcoming whirlwind who works the room, whipping off coats and whisking diners to their table.
"On the menu, Scottish ingredients are taken on a journey to more far-flung locations. Loin of Speyside venison might stay in the Highlands but the hand-dived West Coast king scallops are given a nudge towards the Mediterranean with baby chorizo, spring onion, crème fraîche and a lemon, garlic and parsley butter, while the ceviche of tuna takes a longer trip, seasoned with sesame, soy and chilli with creamed avocado, wasabi, lime and coriander."
(1 Palmerston Place, Edinburgh EH12 5AF)
Edinburgh's Palmerston is a new addition, with the Good Food Guide inspectors saying: "Menus are short, punchy and dependent on the availability of produce, while provenance is proudly woven through the courses, with breeds, locality and origin name-checked whenever possible. Look closely, and there is a love of Italian cooking at play.
"The team on the floor know their stuff, and come across as a friendly crew, independently knowledgeable rather than simply well-briefed."
(9 W Argyle St, Ullapool IV26 2TY)
This seasonal catering truck is a must-visit in Ullapool. The Good Food Guide think so too, and said: "Open daily from the beginning of April to the end of October, this totally unpretentious catering trailer is a godsend for holidaymakers and locals alike.
"Be prepared for queues, and for outside picnic seating if you want to eat on site – although the quality of the locally caught, sustainable seafood is second to none.
"Hand-dived scallops with herb butter, creel-caught langoustines with hot garlic and thyme butter, hot-smoked trout from the Ullapool Smokehouse, and a tempura-battered haddock wrap that’s fast achieving cult status are typical examples from a daily changing menu that's in tune with the catch from the inshore boats."
(Craignure, Isle of Mull PA65 6AY)
This B&B with restaurant is another new addition to the Good Food Guide, who said: "Good food is hard to come by in the Highlands but Pennygate Lodge performs a useful service and offers plenty of warmth.
"The menu performs something of a double act with hearty, pub-like comfort food at lunch (paninis, Cajun chicken Caesar salad, a rich, creamy Tobermory smoked haddock chowder), and more intricately constructed dishes materialising at dinner – although Hebridean seafood is a leitmotif throughout."
(Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel, 38 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh EH2 4HQ)
This Edinburgh favourite, from chef Stuart Ralston, is now in the Good Food Guide. The entry reads: "Despite nearing a decade of service, Aizle feels like a much younger restaurant. Following a cross-town transplant from St Leonard's Terrace in 2020, Stuart Ralston’s creation is now firmly established in the heart of the New Town’s Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel, yielding a comprehensive change in ambience.
"Menus allude to single ingredients rather than whole dishes, so expect an ambitious, highly seasonal journey into the unknown, with precise, technical skill and no small amount of theatre throughout."
