A small restaurant overlooking Loch Fyne in Argyll has been named the best in Scotland, taking the top spot in a new national guide celebrating the country’s finest places to eat.
Inver, located in Strathlachlan and owned by chef Pam Brunton and her husband Rob Latimer, has been awarded first place in The Times’ inaugural list of Scotland’s 75 best restaurants for 2026.
The achievement places the Argyll restaurant ahead of some of Scotland’s most celebrated dining establishments, including Michelin starred restaurants and acclaimed venues in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Compiled by award winning restaurant critic Chitra Ramaswamy, the new guide celebrates the diversity of Scotland’s food scene, from intimate countryside restaurants and traditional inns to ambitious city kitchens.
For Inver, the recognition is another remarkable chapter in the story of a restaurant that has helped redefine perceptions of Scottish food.
Set within a historic crofter’s cottage beside Loch Fyne, Inver has built its reputation around thoughtful cooking, seasonal ingredients and a close connection with Scotland’s landscape and produce.
Ramaswamy described the restaurant as a “radical redefining of modern Scottish cuisine in a historic crofter’s cottage” and said choosing it for first place was “a piece of cake”.
Taking second place was Glenturret Lalique in Crieff, which holds two Michelin stars, while Glasgow’s Mediterranean inspired Gloriosa claimed third.
Edinburgh’s Timberyard followed in fourth, with the Kinneuchar Inn in Fife completing the top five.
The remainder of the top ten featured Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, Lyla in Edinburgh, Fallachan Kitchen in Glasgow, The Free Company in Balerno and The Palmerston in Edinburgh.
Unlike guides based on formal inspections or fixed scoring systems, the new ranking is a personal selection reflecting Ramaswamy’s experiences reviewing restaurants over the past six and a half years.
Every restaurant included is somewhere she has personally eaten, with the aim of recognising memorable food, distinctive hospitality and the people responsible for creating them.
Ramaswamy said:
“I’m always asked for restaurant recommendations.
“My answer to the ‘what’s your favourite restaurant’ question shifts with the seasons, just as the restaurants on our high streets, neighbourhood corners and in our towns and villages do.
“Restaurants, after all, are living, breathing entities cooked up by people. You cannot pin them down.
“So, compiling this list was like attempting the impossible.
“The result is a list of places I love and I hope you will too.
“Every place, in its own way, captures the enchantment of going out to eat: sitting in a room with strangers, tasking food imagined by minds we will never know, cooked by hands we usually never see.
“I’ve tried to be fair.
“I’ve tried to achieve a balance of Glasgow and Edinburgh, a generous spread across the country, and a true representation of Scotland’s dynamic food scene.
“I invite you to pull up a chair, raise a glass to Scotland’s world-class dining scene and get stuck in.”
The guide is being published in conjunction with Alba, the lifestyle supplement from The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland, and is intended to become an annual celebration of the country’s evolving restaurant scene.
Dale Miller, editor of The Times and The Sunday Times in Scotland, said:
“From lochside fine dining restaurants to heritage gastropubs, Scotland’s superb culinary scene deserves to be celebrated.
“In this vein, I am proud to showcase our inaugural list of Scotland’s 75 best restaurants, the definitive guide to the country’s must-visit venues.
“We have intentionally chosen not to replicate the Michelin Guide, by selecting a range of restaurants, from fine dining to casual, that showcases all price points for discerning foodies across the length and breadth of Scotland.
“The list has been selected by our very own restaurant critic Chitra Ramaswamy, a four-time winner in the food and drink writing category at the Scottish Press Awards.
“The selections and the order are meant to be debated, so please tell us where else you think should have made the list, and which restaurants should be higher or lower in the rankings.
“But most importantly, make sure you venture out to personally experience the very best restaurants that Scotland has to offer.”
For Argyll, Inver’s position at the top of the list is a reminder that exceptional dining is not confined to Scotland’s largest cities or grandest establishments.
Sometimes the finest food experiences can be found in a small building beside a Highland loch, where the ingredients, the people and the place tell a story of their own.
The full list of Scotland’s best 75 restaurants for 2026 is available online by clicking here
