Auchterarder, French Restaurant Guide

“Food, service and ambience are all excellent”, as one might expect of this grand resort hotel’s traditional dining venue, which focuses on spectacular Scottish seafood and roast meat, leaving more adventurous interpretations to Restaurant Andrew Fairlie (its neighbour along the corridor). Even some diehard fans, though, complain that “the price has gone up and up over the years”.

“A brilliant annual treat!” that’s “worth the enormous drive to get there!” – this stunning venue regularly tops our annual diners’ survey as the UK’s best venue, and was once again applauded unanimously in reports this year for its “exceptional cuisine”. The flagship for the world-renowned golf resort, it’s a cosseting, dark-walled space whose elegant decor helps offset its windowless position within the heart of the hotel. “Unique flavours are beautifully presented” by chef Stephen McLaughlin who worked with Andrew Fairlie for 26 years before the latter passed away in 2019; and GM Dale Dewsbury presides over an “amazing” front of house team. As well as the ‘Degustation’ menu “it offers a three-course à la carte for £125 per person, which is a nice find in these days of taster-only options”. Top Menu Tip – “the signature home smoked lobster is a great dish”.

2022 Review: Chef-patron Fabrice Bouteloup combines his classical French training with “lots of local produce” to create excellent meals at the “very good” restaurant with rooms he opened with his wife Alison in 2007.

2021 Review: Set up in 2007 by Slow Food aficionado Graeme Pallister, who trained at Kinloch House Hotel and the restaurant at Gleneagles, this elevated Scottish dining room, on the western banks of the Tay, remains a Perth gem that’s “exceptional value early evening”.

2022 Review: This “little piece of France” – down to the terrace under a red awning along the streetfront – has earned a strong local reputation over more than a decade as a haven of classic Gallic cuisine.