We stayed here for 4 nights in August and loved this place. The rooms were clean, the bed was…read morecomfortable, and the hotel was quiet. More importantly, the bathrooms had been updated recently, with a good shower and heated towel rack. My only complaint about the bathroom was that the hot water took a bit to heat up but it got plenty warm and had good water pressure. We also ate in the bar for lunch and at the restaurant for dinner. Both meals were excellent. The staff was very helpful, let us use left luggage when we arrived early and let us settle our bill the night before/gave us instructions for leaving our keys when we checked out very early. Location is convenient to buses at the visitor center and to the city center for shopping, sight seeing, and dining.

The shore provides some lovely rooms, a restaurant, a back bar and a bar open to the public. The…read morefood is always delicious, the staff friendly and everything is spotless. The bar is the only place in town where you can get a proper cocktail, which are always delicious. The interior is stylish, with leather sofas, a tv showing sports and a tempting display of bottles behind the bar. It is right by the harbour and open for lunch and dinner for food.

Unlikely location sort of behind a trailer park. The Blue Door is made further unlikely by its…read morefare; hamburgers, shakes and espresso. The atmosphere is sort of resort casual with picnic tables and vinyl polka dot table clothes. The bathrooms were old, but clean. The place overlooks the ocean, but takes almost no advantage of this fact. The service seemed to be all friendly, well-trained young people, perfect with the casual atmosphere. The beef was better than anything we would have the right to expect, local, Scottish, butchered down the road. Toasted buns seemed just right, as did the chips, hot and not greasy. Since coffeehouses are not a thing in town, this seems a great place to relax for coffee, until the need for a burger arises. Pro tip: you need to park in the correct place.

Excellent American-style diner at the very tip of Scotland!…read more We not only ate here but we also camped at the accompanying camping park. The owner was lovely and very accommodating. We had breakfast here, I had the Floridian and my partner had the Sampler. The crispy bacon is awesome and the whole meal was delicious. But by far the best thing of all was the Pumpkin Pie Milkshake!! Screw Starbucks and their lattés, this shake was AMAZING!!! I'm sure the actual pie is just as good! Will definitely return if I'm ever in Thurso. Thanks, from the 2 Australians who were dumb enough to camp in a tent in the middle of October :D

Lovely little cafe right by the waterfront in Thurso. Doesn't open till 10 so not good for early…read morerisers unfortunately. Decorated tastefully to a seafront theme with paintings from local artists on sale on the walls. The food is really good, plenty of breakfast combinations available l. We went for the cheapest which is 6 items. The food was great, bacon cooked perfectly with only a little fat, you can choose Haggis and black pudding also if you wish. It did say there was free wifi. It I didn't ask about it. Staff were friendly and attentive. The only downsides I would say are it opens a little late and it is a little pricey compared to places I've got a full British breakfast before.

The food here is amazing, the breakfast is so nice, very good quality food, the bacon and sausage…read moreis top quality, the cakes are so nice, top place

We had some time to kill before taking the ferry to Orkney and spotted this cute little shop. I'm…read moreso glad we had the extra time. This place is utterly charming. My three children and I enjoyed breakfast and shared some wonderful desserts. The server was prompt and friendly. The owner came out to chat with us and explained that her dessert recipes had been handed down from her Granny. The Victoria Sponge cake was delicious. We took some cupcakes with us to go. Our only disappointment was that we returned from Orkney at a time that Cups was not open. We would have happily stopped in again! Make the time to stop in and visit Cups if you are headed to Orkney. You will be glad you did. (My son says to try the salmon sandwich!)

Discovered this fabulous café by accident. If you are in the north of Scotland - go there! The…read moreservice is friendly and personal, the food reasonably priced and well presented. The haggis and cheese ciabatta was very tasty!

Sweet little coffee shop and restaurant in the shopping area of downtown Kirkwall - Orkney Islands,…read moreScotland. It's a really unassuming little shop that from the outside looks like they only serve coffee and teas. Once inside you'll notice that there are three booths and at least 7+ tables for dining. Upstairs there seemed to be another large dining area but it was closed off (likely due to staffing). We were surprised to see they had a full kitchen menu and decided to sit inside as dining options were limited in this area. If you only want a tea and pastry you can order at their counter and take it to go. It's also really interesting as the kitchen is upstairs so this spot is bigger then it looks! The staff were very very nice girls here. They were working super hard as the cafe stayed busy so I get why they really couldn't manage more then the 10 tables as there were only three girls responsible for working the register, making all the drinks, and acting as severs on the main floor. They were all lovely and helpful. Menu was impressively large with plenty of sandwiches, burgers, breakfast items, and drinks. I just wanted a snack so I got some fries with Mayo (yes Mayo). Love EUROPE as I don't get judged for eating my fries with this condiment haha. Anyways fries were super crispy and delicious, can't go wrong. The girls also turned me on to a fabulous cranberry and raspberry iced tea that I'll for sure be purchasing when back in the states, 10/10. Check the menu for the brand and flavors of their instant iced teas, so good and flavorful. Wayyy better then a Starbucks tea. Prices were reasonable and it was just really nice to receive sit down service. Bathrooms upstairs were super clean which is a 10/10 pro tip when traveling as it can be hard to find a nice bano. Cute little spot for tea and snacks, would definitely recommend as it's so easy to miss.

Popped in for a sandwich after sitting for 15 minutes elsewhere without being given a menu…read more Friendly and quick. Very happy with salad and pizza; it ain't American-quality pizza, but it's acceptable. Charming place to sit. We liked it enough that we came back for tea and cake the next day.

Stopped here enroute to taking the ferry to Orkney and grabbed a bacon and egg sandwich (£4.50) and…read morex2 milkshakes (£5 for both). The breakfast sandwich was excellent with just right amount of barbecue sauce (similar to what you get in Australia) and milkshake was perfect amount of ice-cream and fresh strawberries so it wasn't overtly sweet. There is plenty of charming seating and the free wifi is another bonus (ask server for password). Would totally recommend it stopping here if needing a quick bite and break while on the road.

Food was beautifully cooked and fresh,service was excellent and very friendly. Would have no…read moreworries about recommending Thyme and Plaice to anyone, thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Ironically, we went to Cafe Bar to get away from pub food and ended up eating the best pub food we…read morehad in our entire visit to Scotland. You enter Cafe Bar through a small shop that opens up into a light and bright cafe with big windows overlooking the pier (and outdoor seating if you want). The menu is short and sweet - posted up on a blackboard at the front or on cards at the table. Service is attentive and friendly - interchangeable young women dressed in black, at least the two times we visited. Mostly they do sandwiches, pannis, wraps, soups, etc. but everything comes with a side of nice fresh greens or a fresh-made salsa. Ironically, they also had the best batter-fried fish I ate in Scotland - far better than any of the pub fish and chips I tried. The coating was thin and very crisp. The fish was fresh and moist. I confess I went back twice twice for the fish (with salad instead of chips). Between my husband and I during two visits we also tried soups and wraps and the fish. Everything was fresh and tasty. Also, don't forget to try the Orkney ale. Not sure if they're open evenings but the place is great for brunches, lunches and afternoon eats - we had a late Sunday lunch there at a time when it seemed that everybody else in town had closed their kitchens. Also they have a display case of nice looking cakes and pastries which we didn't try.

Stopped in for a pint (8 of us) - clearly the bartenders have a problem with tourists. Stood in…read moreline for 10 mins and younger bartender kept serving locals and ignoring our group. We did not feel welcome. Will now spend less money here.

I can't believe there aren't more reviews of this place! The staff at the Ferry inn are absolute…read morepros. The tour company we used to ferry over to the islands, that also bussed us around seeing the sights for a couple hours, had a lunch voucher for this place. It was hard to pass up the discount, so we stopped in during our free time before the ferry back. The place was packed! The special must be on offer for multiple tour companies because it seemed to be overloaded with tourists during the typical lunch hour. But there was no wait to sit (at least when we arrived, can't speak for everyone) and our waitress was efficient and upbeat. The beer battered haddock with chips and peas was great. The batter was in perfect ratio to the fish and prepared well. We were happy to get some peas on the side -- a couple other restaurants in the highlands had different approaches that while good, left us wishing for peas! -- and the chips were some of the best we had in Scotland. All in all, we were very impressed with the quality provided from an establishment that could very easily get away with far less. *Visited in June 2015*

Julia's is a great pick for a light meal near the Ferry in Stromness…read more Having tried multiple menu items, I can say that almost anything you pick is certain to be a satisfying and tasty choice. The Orkney smoked Salmon and Coronation chicken rolls were top notch. Will be coming back again next time we visit Stromness

Cute little cafe, nice staff, ordered the hamburger. Should've requested it cooked medium rare. It…read morecame WAY over cooked and quite tough. BIG disappointment. Dry. Almost flavorless. Sad. Should've ordered soup.

Looked forward to a visit for some time, guided by good reviews. The ambiance of the business was a…read morepleasant surprise; at odds with much of what this part of Scotland has to offer. Forty five minutes in before our initial order arrived though and the initial shine was starting to fade. My meal, at £35 for a pretty mundane piece of steak accompanied by some near end of life chips, some onion rings and a mushroom was definitely a let down.They do a decent Cheesecake. Clientele initially mannerly and quiet, became very noisey without any intervention by staff, to seal the deal.

Food was absolutely delicious- smoked salmon and coleslaw was so tasty! The salmon was fresh and…read morebest smoked I've had outside the USA. The service was on point- beautiful view and atmosphere. Highly recommend!