I say this with as much love in my heart as I can muster: we were not expecting to eat all that well in Scotland. The point of our trip was the whiskey, and while I’m sure there are some great restaurants to try, we were trying to keep our food budget low, which meant a lot of fish and chips.
(Oh, and onion rings. TCB ate his weight in onion rings.)
I cannot even begin to express how pleasantly surprised by the restaurant at the Jura Hotel. Seeing as it’s the only restaurant on the island, they could have easily gone for budget over quality, and it wouldn’t have made a real difference. Instead, they’ve created an atmospheric place where it seems every one of the 200-some-odd Jura residents (and all of the hotel guests) can meet and mingle over a pint and a plate of delicious food.
While there is an actual dining room where we enjoyed breakfast on our last day, we spent most of our time (when we weren’t driving around or visiting the distillery) in the pub right next door, where the entire dining room menu is served, but where they also have a pool table, and extensive collection of Jura whiskey, and a super-friendly bartenders to boot.
You can tell that a good deal of thought has been put into the décor (featuring not only Jura deer antlers but also a painting of a mermaid at the bar, which I didn’t get a good shot of, so you’ll have to trust me when I say it’s awesome).
The same can be said for the menu, which had just changed the day we arrived.
At lunch, options like the fish and house-made chips up top or the salmon Caesar with homemade dressing are fresh and tasty.
I was also a big fan of this smoked salmon and avocado toast.
The dinner menu features a local Jura venison burger, but TCB stuck with traditional beef.
After a lot of hemming and hawing, I ended up doing as I usually do and ordering two appetizers: haggis is a Scottish specialty and is usually served with “neeps and tatties” (swedes and potatoes). In this revisited version, the chef made a haggis pâté and served it with a swede chutney and potato bread. I may have liked it even more than the original – and that’s saying a lot.
I also ordered the pork belly glazed with 10-year-old Jura whiskey; I love the smell of Scotch, but I generally find it tough to drink straight spirits. When reduced to a glaze, though, the fruitier aromas come through, and I like it just fine!
We were far too full for dessert, but then next morning (after blissfully sleeping through breakfast) we split a shortbread the size of our heads. (TCB, who didn’t know what shortbread was, declared it “butter with some sugar” – an apt description).
If you venture to Jura, you won’t have much choice in restaurant – but that’s far from a burden thanks to the Jura Hotel.
Jura Hotel Restaurant -Â Craighouse, Isle of Jura