A quiet hamlet, a short hit from the coast, is home to this ‘tasteful’, family-run restaurant-with-rooms in a ‘well-maintained’ Victorian terrace house. Visitors this year praise ‘friendly, efficient service’ from Maria Watson and her son, Garry, the award-winning chef, and his ‘excellent food’: ‘nothing disappoints’. A wood-burning stove in the restaurant ‘adds to the character’. The seasonal modern British menus are ‘cooked with panache’, using ‘top-quality produce’. A ‘comprehensive wine list’ delivers perfect pairings for such dishes as North Sea turbot, chargrilled sweetcorn, crispy chicken wings, mushroom purée, burnt cabbage; pistachio crème brûlée, rhubarb compote, mascarpone sorbet; Scottish cheeses. To go with fine food, fine accommodation. Five individually styled, ‘luxurious’ bedrooms have bold Scottish flair (thistle-themed wallcovers, punchy tartans), a ‘very comfortable bed’ and a ‘well-appointed bathroom’. ‘Our courtyard room was beautifully clean and well furnished.’ Breakfast is ‘just as good as dinner’, with home-baked bread, home-made baked beans. ‘The scrambled eggs were the best.’ Follow it up with a generous serving of fresh coastal air on the beach at Lunan Bay. (Philip Bright, BW, JG)