Kinloch Lodge
Isle of Skye, Highlands & Islands
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Once the hunting lodge for Clan Macdonald's ancestral seat, this 17th-century house has, for the past half-century, been a hotel established by the doyenne of Scottish cookery, Lady Claire Macdonald – and now run by her daughter, Isabella. Needless to say, the setting by the foot of a hill on the shores of dreamy Loch Na Dal, is magical. Chef Jordan Webb's daily changing, three-course dinner menu showcases contemporary Scottish cuisine, with regional ingredients firmly in the spotlight: cured Portree mackerel with scallop mousse, langoustine mayo and pickled vegetable salad is typical, while mains might bring Skye roe deer with turnip, leek and locally foraged bramble jus or ribeye and sweetbread of rose veal with pot-roast cauliflower, walnut crumble and Blue Murder cheese (handcrafted in Tain). Desserts also highlight Scottish specialities such as Perthshire strawberries. By contrast Sunday lunch is strictly old school – a mighty meat fest taking in everything from shoulder of Beauly lamb to aged sirloin of Highland beef: our haunch of venison was exquisitely cooked, slices of succulent meat with just a hint of pink, on a bed of sweet red cabbage plus a host of vegetables. For pudding, crème fraîche and yoghurt panna cotta with pepper meringue and raspberry sorbet was built for sharing, creamy comfort food rather than a refined dessert. The setting matches the food to a T, with gilt-framed ancestral portraits in the sage-green, wood-panelled dining room, the gentle hum of family chatter, soft jazz in the background and ever-welcoming Isabella whizzing around the room. To drink, you might opt for a stone-fruit and citrus-laced Albariño by the glass or a spicy Périgord Merlot from a wine list that is reassuringly lengthy, with a smattering of biodynamic labels adding interest; also check out the whisky bar, which boasts more than 120 Scottish beauties.
