A Dining Adventure @ Skerries Bistro

After a long day of sightseeing in the cold, rain, and wind, we were very grateful to have a nice dinner planned at Skerries Bistro. We had a reservation for their tasting menu in the private glass dining pod.  It's a glass bubble outside of the main restaurant that you can reserve to enjoy their tasting menu. 

Unfortunately, because of the weather they couldn't use the dining pod that evening.  The wind was so severe that the servers would not have been able to bring food and drinks out to the pod without them blowing away.  This wind was no joke.

So instead, they were nice enough to block off a corner of the restaurant just for us.  They dimmed the lights and lit candles on the surrounding empty tables.  It was so thoughtful of them to go out of their way to still make it a private, romantic dinner for us.  The pod would have been a really cool experience, but the views from restaurant are still gorgeous and we had a great meal ahead of us!

When we're traveling, one of our favorite budget splurge items is a tasting menu.  It's usually a little more expensive than just ordering off of the menu, but we always love it.  Skerries Bistro was no exception.  Each course was so delicious - and beautiful! You could really tell that the chef took pride in the dishes and made each one special.

This tasting menu blew us away.

Our dining experience started with cocktails, of course.  A lovely glass of rosé and a glass of Highland Park - only fitting since we weren't able to make it to their distillery tour that morning.  

The first course was an amuse-bouche.  The perfect little taste to get the meal started.

Next came a fresh fruit plate with homemade sorbet.  This is the kind of plate I would expect as a dessert, but it was so fresh and light.  It was a great palate cleanser before the heavier dishes.

 The next course had to be my favorite.  The seafood chowder soup with fresh baked bread.  Oh. My. God.  It was unlike any chowder I've ever had in my life.  The broth wasn't as thick as most chowders I've had in the US.  It was more brothy, but it was loaded with the freshest local seafood.  It was out of this world.  

The next course was the seafood plate.  It was a sampling of several different kinds of fresh local seafood.  Every single piece was delicious!

The 2nd main course was scallops with asparagus.  Probably two of my favorite things in the world.  

The dessert course was a homemade cheesecake.  One of the best cheesecakes I've ever had.  Sometimes cheesecake can be a really heavy dessert - but this wasn't at all.  It was so light and fluffy!

But wait, there's more!

While we were chatting with our server, she mentioned that they had discovered a Neolithic tomb right next to the restaurant in 2010.  It's called the Tomb of the Otters and until recently, it had been undisturbed for thousands of years.  Only one of the six chambers has been excavated so far and it contained human remains that are over 5,000 years old.  They do guided tours of the tomb for only £6.  The tours end at 6pm, so it was too late for us since we were there for a late dinner. 

So if you're planning a trip to Orkney, then do not hesitate to book a reservation at Skerries Bistro - but also be sure to get there early so you can check out the Tomb of the Otters!  Check their website for more info or to make reservations.

Also check out our Glamping Adventure at Wheems Organic Farm and the rest of our Adventures in the Orkney Islands!

Adventure Always.
Mary Kate

Check out my Ultimate U.K. RoadTrip Itinerary for an epic 17 day adventure through England & Scotland!