Top 10 Best Restaurants on Arran for Delicious Scottish Meals

As you probably already know, people love talking about how Arran (one of my favorite Scottish islands) is ‘Scotland in miniature’.

And that means exactly what you think it means: everything Scotland has to offer, Arran also has to offer. And that includes lots of drool-inducing meals and morsels!

One of the best Scottish islands for food, Arran is home to lots of tasty treats, artisanal eats, and independent venues—so it’s a great place to hunt for things to cram into your big fat mouth.

So in this lip-smacking guide, we’ve brought you the 10 best restaurants on Arran, including local stuff, international eateries, budget picks, and high-end options. Read on!

1. Crofters

Right in the center of Brodick, I reckon this pub-style hangout is the best restaurant on Arran. I love it.

A perfect little slice of everything Scottish eateries should be, you get traditional home-cooked favorites, friendly staff, seaside views, excellent live music, and nice low prices.

Favorites here include tasty twists on old classics such as burgers, fish, venison, and duck. They also craft excellent cakes and desserts. For a combo of both classic and modern, you honestly won’t find much better at this price.

It’s an unpretentious place, perfect if you’ve just finished hiking or cycling or whatever. You can sit in your hiking boots and muddy jacket, and no-one will care.

If you’re only going to eat at one restaurant on Arran, I reckon you should make it this one. If you can, try to eat here when they’re playing live music—it’s usually traditional stuff from friendly locals.

• Price range: $$
• Opening hours: 4pm until midnight on Fridays, 12pm until 1am on Saturdays, and 12pm until midnight on Sundays. Closed all other days
• Address: Crofters Arran, Knox House, Shore Road, Brodick, KA27 8AJ, United Kingdom
• Website: https://croftersarran.com/

2. Brambles Seafood & Grill

Also in Brodick, this place comes with a hefty reputation, and some people reckon it’s the best eatery on the island.

Situated inside the lovely Auchrannie House Hotel (one of the best hotels on Arran), they’re famous for their super-fresh seafood and contemporary tastes.

It’s the type of place where you’ll get carefully-assembled food served to you on a piece of slate—but it’s also the sort of place where the staff are genuinely smiley and friendly, so it offers a great compromise between elegant and informal.

They offer laid-back cuisine such as burgers and fish and chips, along with more inventive dishes such as salmon & king prawn thermidor, lamb shank, and beetroot & goat’s cheese tart. They also offer excellent desserts, and they even have a diverse breakfast menu.

If you want to treat yourself to a really beautiful dining experience when you’re on the Isle of Arran, this is absolutely our #1 recommendation.

• Price range: $$$
• Opening hours: 7:30am until 9:30pm, 7 days a week
• Address: Brambles Seafood and Grill, Auchrannie Road, Brodick, KA27 8BZ, United Kingdom
• Website: https://www.auchrannie.co.uk/brambles-seafood-grill.html

3. Mara Fish Bar & Deli

The UK is famous for its fish and chips.

But over the past few years, eateries like Mara Fish Bar & Deli have started popping up across the region, specializing in modernizing the food, without at all modernizing the environment or the approach.

This cozy hangout looks exactly like the sort of place where you’d plonk yourself down with a vinegar-soaked portion of traditional fish and chips… except the food they serve is much more special and interesting than that.

The chalkboard-style menu changes all the time, but they typically offer delectable delights such as langoustines with butter, kippers with butter, fish curry and fish koftas. If you want fast, fresh and interesting, this is the best restaurant on Arran.

Best of all, they source much of their food from local suppliers around both Arran and other parts of Scotland—and they place a large focus on sustainability and freshness.

• Price range: $$
• Opening hours: 4pm until 8pm Tuesdays and Fridays, 9am until 4pm Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and 10am until 4pm on Sundays. Closed on Mondays
• Address: Mara Fish Bar & Deli, Shore Road, Corrie, Isle of Arran, KA27 8JB, United Kingdom
• Website: https://www.mara-arran.co.uk/

4. Hooked and Cooked

If you’re instead looking for traditional fish and chips, this is the place for you.

Here, you don’t get contemporary twists or tricks. You just get old-school fish and chips, served with loads of salt and vinegar. It’s the sort of scrumptious stodge your grandmother would love (assuming your grandmother is also from the UK, like mine).

Weirdly, considering Arran is a Scottish island, this is the only fish and chip spot I know of. Or at least, I can’t ever remember seeing another on the island. Whatever the case, it’s a proper tasty place, and I totally recommend it.

The food here isn’t anything innovative or pioneering, but it’s excellent at what it does. You get fresh chips and battered fish, then all the classic accompaniments like gravy, peas, curry sauce, and battered sausages.

They also offer chicken, burgers, black, pudding, haggis, and plenty more.

• Price range: $
• Opening hours: 4pm until 8pm, 7 days a week
• Address: Hooked and Cooked, Unit 3, The Pier, Brodick, Isle of Arran, KA27 8AU, United Kingdom
• Website: https://www.facebook.com/HookedAndCookedOfArran/

5. The Drift Inn

The Drift Inn is exactly the sort of place I love.

Set inside an old-school bar with retro decor, you get the feeling that the furniture hasn’t changed much here in the past 30 years. But that doesn’t hold back the modern menu, which offers delicately flavored (and appealingly-presented) cuisine.

The menu changes frequently, with a huge range of stuff scribbled on its charming chalkboard. Expect seabass, venison, cod, scallops, burgers, and plenty more. And expect most of it to be local.

On a warm day here, make sure you eat in the outdoor dining area. Perched right on the shores of Lamlash, you get excellent views of the Holy Isle, along with lots of roving boats (if you’re eating fish, one of the boats you can see probably helped to catch your dinner). I genuinely think this is one of the prettiest views on Arran.

• Price range: $$
• Opening hours: 12pm until 11pm Thursday to Saturday, and 12:30pm until 8pm on Sunday. Closed from Monday until Wednesday
• Address: The Drift Inn, Shore Road, Lamlash, Isle of Arran, KA27 8JN, United Kingdom
• Website: https://driftinnarran.com/

6. Eighteen69

This pretentiously-named place is a self-styled ‘Scottish tapas bar,’ perfect if you’re on the hunt for something a little different.

Just like Brambles Seafood & Grill, it’s also located inside the Auchrannie House Hotel. But it’s a little classier than its gastronomical cousin, set inside the naturally-lit confines of a charming glasshouse, and overlooking the hotel’s gardens.

The decor is modern-come-classic, with lots of wood, and a pretty minimalist approach. If you’re on the hunt for appealing interiors, you’ve found them.

Menu options include pies, cod cakes, black pudding fritters and endless fish. You should get at least 4 plates per diner—if you’re the type of person who can never quite decide what you want to eat, this is the Arran restaurant for you.

• Price range: $$$
• Opening hours: 5pm until 10pm, 7 days a week
• Address: eighteen69, Auchrannie Resort, Auchrannie Road, Brodick, KA27 8BZ, United Kingdom
• Website: https://www.auchrannie.co.uk/eighteen69.html

7. Blackwaterfoot Lodge

Most of Arran’s eateries are on the eastern side of the island (because most of Arran’s people are on the eastern side of the island).

But if you’re looking for a great restaurant on Arran’s western stretch, this is our favorite.

Set inside the Blackwaterfoot Lodge Hotel, it’s also a lovely place to stay—but you don’t need to be a resident to eat at the restaurant. Eat here for great food set inside a hospitable and friendly old home. The service in particular is fantastic—if you like feeling special, you’ll love it.

They serve up hearty, filling portions of traditional classics, but the dishes look very modern and contemporary. They also offer an excellent traditional breakfast. And for the style, the prices are very reasonable.

• Price range: $$
• Opening hours: 8am until 10pm, 7 days a week
• Address: Blackwaterfoot Lodge, Blackwaterfoot, Isle of Arran, KA27 8EU, United Kingdom
• Website: http://www.blackwaterfoot-lodge.co.uk/

8. Pierhead Tavern

Another no-frills pub-style restaurant, this place is great.

A homely and welcoming family-run hangout, it’s impossible not to feel at home here. It’s popular with both tourists and locals, perfect if you’re on a quest to avoid tourist traps… or meet some native islanders.

They offer big portions of standard pub food, with burgers, fish and chips, pies, and all that stuff. I massively recommend the steak pie, which is crammed with plenty of meat.

They also host lots of live music, usually from young locals.

And best of all, the pub is placed on a lovely part of the island. Right beside Lamlash’s diminutive pier, you get excellent views of the sea, and you can see right over to the Holy Isle.

Overall, I massively recommend the Pierhead Tavern. If you’re looking for great pub food at low prices, this is one of the best restaurants on Arran.

• Price range: $$
• Opening hours: 12pm until 1am Friday and Saturday, and 12pm until 11pm Sunday to Monday
• Address: Pierhead Tavern, Lamlash, Isle of Arran, KA27 8JN, United Kingdom
• Website: https://thepht.co.uk/

9. Little Rock

If you’re on the hunt for a cafe, this is the best on Arran—people absolutely love this hangout, and it comes with an excellent reputation. Another Brodick option, it sits right in the heart of the village, and has lovely sea views right out of its front.

It’s a step up from standard cafe fayre, with tasty salads, hasselback potatoes, fresh paninis, smoked salmon and some really healthy stuff. If most cafes are uninspired and unhealthy, this is exactly the opposite.

The Little Rock team put an emphasis on regional flavors and local produce, and you can tell they’re proud of their food.

Inside, it’s trendy and modern, with sparse decor and lots of wood. It’s like someone took a hipster city-center cafe, and somehow transported it to one of the most beautiful parts of Arran. Anywhere in the world, you won’t find many better lunch spots than this.

• Price range: $
• Opening hours: 9am until 4pm, Monday to Saturday, and 9:30am until 4pm on Sundays
• Address: Little Rock Cafe, Brodick, Isle of Arran, KA27 8BA, United Kingdom
• Website: https://www.facebook.com/littlerockarran/

10. Indian Garden

Okay, our last entry is a bit of a leftfield one.

An Indian takeout rather than a sit-down restaurant, it’s maybe not exactly what you came here looking for.

But if you’ve been on a big hike or a big day out, and you can’t be bothered with getting ready to eat out at a restaurant, Indian Garden is a handy (and tasty) solution. You can buy some food, take it back to your hotel, and crawl into your bed like a filthy animal.

I really love this place. Indian food across the UK is massively popular—and considering this is Indian food on a remote Scottish island, it’s surprisingly good. It’s been serving up saucy portions of authentic stuff for more than 10 years, and it has a very extensive menu.

And best of all, the prices are great, perfect if you’re traveling on a budget!

• Price range: $
• Opening hours: 5pm-11pm, 7 days a week
• Address: Indian Garden, Lamlash, Isle of Arran, KA27 8NF, United Kingdom
• Website: https://www.facebook.com/IndianFoodArran/

Final Thoughts and Further Reading

There they are—the 10 best restaurants on the Isle of Arran! Make sure you visit as many as you can, and chow down on lots of tasty treats.

For much more information on Arran, check out our guides to the best hotels on Arran, the best hikes on the Isle of Arran, and the top 14 reasons you should visit the island.

Thanks for reading, you gallivanting globetrotter, and we’ll see you next time!