2 Best Restaurants in Inverness and Around the Great Glen, Scotland

With a reputation for quality and simplicity, this restaurant on the town pier serves outstanding seafood. Fishing boats draw up on the shores of Loch Linnhe and deliver their catch straight to the kitchen. The menu might include fillet of hake with a cashew pesto crust or panfried monkfish with coconut and chili. From the window seats you can watch the sun setting on the far side of the loch. During summer the restaurant runs daily, seal-spotting cruises of Loch Linnhe (£17.50, 90 minutes).

Head chef and owner Alfie Little draws heavily on local inspiration to shape the menu at this tiny riverside seafood restaurant, which has an interior as stylish as its appealing gray-and-white exterior. Start with mussels or oysters from the Scottish islands, then take your pick from mains based on native fish, such as Shetland halibut and Scrabster hake, and wash it all down with a local beer. Even the desserts are sourced from a nearby bakery. In summer, sit outside to make the most of one of the best locations along the River Ness, away from the hubbub farther up. The small number of tables means reservations are essential, especially in high season.