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Station Road

Highlands & Islands, Fort Augustus - Modern Scottish - Restaurant - ££££

Immersive, interactive dining in an elegant Highland hotel

Overall Rating: Very Good

Uniqueness:Does the establishment stand out in the context of the local area? Very Good

Deliciousness:How delicious is the food? Exceptional

Warmth:How warm is the service and the hospitality in general? Exceptional

Strength of recommendation:How enthusiastically and widely would you recommend the establishment? Very Good

Chef Sean Kelly’s journey has taken him from top-rated venues in Paris via Corsica and Italy to this colourful, contemporary restaurant housed in an elegant hotel by the shores of Loch Ness. Visitors to Station Road are treated to an ‘interactive and immersive’ dining experience that is big on ambition, technique and culinary wow factor but never feels gimmicky – even if it is leavened with stories and nuggets of info on provenance.  The tableside tale around the 'beremeal and treacle bannock' bread course even comes with its own props, including a handful of grain and the mini mill used to grind the bere (an ancient Orkney barley). The bannock itself is cooked in a skillet and served warm with a quenelle of sea-salted butter and dish of earthy pesto made with herbs from the kitchen garden. Everything feels fine-tuned here, and the amuse-bouches are bitesize works of art – a tiny tart of chicken liver parfait topped with damson jelly alongside a bal...

Chef Sean Kelly’s journey has taken him from top-rated venues in Paris via Corsica and Italy to this colourful, contemporary restaurant housed in an elegant hotel by the shores of Loch Ness. Visitors to Station Road are treated to an ‘interactive and immersive’ dining experience that is big on ambition, technique and culinary wow factor but never feels gimmicky – even if it is leavened with stories and nuggets of info on provenance. 

The tableside tale around the 'beremeal and treacle bannock' bread course even comes with its own props, including a handful of grain and the mini mill used to grind the bere (an ancient Orkney barley). The bannock itself is cooked in a skillet and served warm with a quenelle of sea-salted butter and dish of earthy pesto made with herbs from the kitchen garden.

Everything feels fine-tuned here, and the amuse-bouches are bitesize works of art – a tiny tart of chicken liver parfait topped with damson jelly alongside a ball of Arbroath smokie mousse crowned with a salty sliver of white lardo, for example. Dishes such as home-grown potatoes with a free-range egg and locally foraged mushrooms are intricate reimaginings of humble ingredients, the egg wrapped in a crunchy latticework of Shetland Black potato in a soupy sea of fungal foam sprinkled with nasturtium leaves. Elsewhere, a pairing of wild halibut, Shetland mussels, crab cannelloni, courgette and sea fennel is exquisitely pretty, the black-and-white striped cannelloni like a giant mint humbug.

At the sweet end of the menu, you might be offered a 'cheesecake' of Perthshire raspberries involving a raspberry mousse sprayed with a green chocolate casing, topped with fresh raspberries, tart sorbet and a raspberry leaf. It looks – and tastes – simply gorgeous. Finally, a warm madeleine on a bed of spruce sugar is a bit like the Auld Alliance on a plate, while wines, whiskies and other drinks are chosen for their stories and ethos as much as their food-pairing potential.

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VENUE DETAILS

The Lovat Hotel, Loch Ness
Fort Augustus
Highlands & Islands
PH32 4DUGB

01456 459250

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OTHER INFORMATION

Accommodation, Private dining room, Separate bar, Wheelchair access, Parking, Electric car charging, Credit card required

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