The Oystercatcher, Portmahomack

I have to say that i would not agree with first review. We ate at the restaurant and the quality of the seafood, wine, service all made this value for money.It was a special occasion but have had more expensive and far less pleasing meals in my time. It was pricey but there is a fixed priced menu which is more reasonable. The range of the menus is impressive, all the food is locally sourced and that info is on the menu. You can ask the lovely lady anything and she will give you really helpful and interesting info about the food and wine. Service was impeccable. I loved the decor, quaint, cosy but relaxed. Real attention to detail is shown in everything. Best seafood I've eaten in a long time, imaginatively and perfectly cooked.

There is also a bistro which I have yet to go to but will the next time I am in portmahomack. This is a more family friendly cheaper menu and area but looks to be equally high in standards of ooking, choice and service. We stayed overnight in one of the rooms which was simply perfect. I would love to do this again. The breakfast was substantial and fantastic. I would highly recommend this place for bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner. A real hidden gem. The best bed and breakfast I've had, th dinner was in my top 3 all time favourite meals. An unforgettable evening.

Although the restaurant is closed from November to March, they were very happy to open for our booking.

We received a warm welcome from the owner and shown to our table.

The pre-starter of Cullen skink, oyster Pearls and Mulled wine (in a syringe) were well presented and kept us amused.

This was followed by our starter of warm Lobster salad and it was lovely. a great way to taste lobster if never tried before.

this was followed by apple and Calvados ice which was very refreshing.

for main course my wife had the duck, while the rest of us had the scallops. All accompanied by chunky chips in Duck fat, broccoli with almonds and bacon and berry salad with raspberries, strawberries, etc. All delicious.

The desserts were also superb and with a very impressive selection of whiskeys to wash down with, we all thought this restaurant gave great value for money.

We'll definitely be back and next time will stay in the B&B to enjoy more of the whiskeys!!!!

The quality of the shellfish and fish is second to none, I flew up from London to enjoy my 39th birthday there, it was Friday night and there was only us in the establishment. Service was impeccable (as you would expect). It was a magical evening in this blustery beautiful place with an exceptional wine list put together with both excellent knowledge and passion. The lobster thermidor was mind blowing. No it is not cheap - but it still represents excellent value in my opinion.We went back for lunch the next day, do try the mussels and the crab au gratin or the cullen skink. All too fabulous for words!

When you go to a restaurant in a remote Scottish backwater and realise that they are charging the same as Ramsey in London, you know it will be either wonderful or terrible. Unfortunately, it was a costly mistake for us.

The food at The Oystercatcher in Portmahomack was vastly over-priced and over-salted. This has to be the first time I have actually felt sick during a meal in a restaurant.

I had mussels in little bread shells filled with garlic butter. They were so salty that I couldn't taste anything but salt and garlic. The little bread shells were hard and hurt your teeth. Nasty. However, this was a feast compared to my husband's starter - what were they thinking? I can only describe this dish as a cornucopia of culinary error. He had scallops with jellyfish floating on a sea of Absinthe. The booze was so strong, nothing else came through, and the jellyfish was there for novelty only. Very, very poor.

The main courses surpassed the starters in terms of horror dining. My main was named 'Portmahomack Partan Pie', and it was disgusting. The crab arrived served in two different ways, firstly as a crab 'souffle' in its shell and crab claws (barely cracked). The souffle was like a bad crab omelette gone wrong. It had a bitter, slightly off taste with a dry texture. The crab claws, when finally breached with much huffing and puffing, were raw and jelly-like.

My husband had a lemon sole dish with a sauce, that he described as smelling like a cross between halitosis and urine. It smelled so bad, we wondered if the fish was off. I can't actually think about this too much as my gorge still rises.

By this time, we were already £80 lighter, so we skipped the deserts and the £14 sorbet option - what's that all about? and left like the cowardly fools that we are, without a word of complaint. We won't be returning!