Local Dining and Drinks

Fresh air and clean water, combined with traditional farming practices mean that our restaurants have access to some of the world's finest ingredients.

Good food and fine dining

Digby Chicks

One of our favourites is Digby Chick in central Stornoway its blue-grey exterior hides some gourmet treats and a very reasonably-priced set lunch menu.

http://www.digbychick.co.uk

For more modest fare, the Woodlands Centre in the Lews Castle Grounds, owned by the Stornoway Trust and set beside the historic Lews Castle is worth a lunchtime visit. Both places offer room hire for special occasions.

http://www.stornowaytrust.org.uk/woodlands-cafe/cafe-information.html

An Lanntair is the Stornoway-based cultural hub of the Hebrides – with a cinema, theatre, gallery, restaurant, bar and conference rooms it often hosts acts and artistes of international repute.

http://www.lanntair.com

Stornoway is the main commercial centre on Lewis, with a number of cafes, restaurants and take-aways. Traditional fish and chips, made with freshly-caught local fish can be found at Cameron's Chip Shop on the main shopping precinct behind the Royal Bank of Scotland; equally good offerings are also found at the Church Street Chippy, down a narrow cobbled street just past the Police Station. On Sundays, the chips shops close, but the some of the Chinese and Indian takeaways still open in the evenings.

The best Sunday meals can be found at the main hotels – all of them offer reasonably-priced roast lunches and dinners. Watch out for special offers in the local press.

Further afield on the West Side of Lewis, Morven Gallery offers an upscale tearoom amidst stunning artworks; more home-made food can be found at the Eoropie Tearooms near Ness, who also provide a webcam service so you can check the weather before you set off. The Tearooms are an excellent pit stop for families visiting the fantastic Eoropie Dune playpark across the road: swing on an aerial ropeway, crawl through a pipe maze and play on swings and slides, then go for tea. But do check timings first, because not everything is open all year; and most facilities are closed on Sunday, in line with island tradition.

http://www.stornowaytrust.org.uk/woodlands-cafe/cafe-information.html

Local drinks

The Hebridean Brewing Company in Stornoway produces three fine local dark beers, which are sold at local supermarkets and food stores. The three varieties are a bitter, a malt and a porter – traditional Scots beer styles. The islands are too far north for any vines, but of course there is always whisky, produced again on the islands for the first time in 200 years by the micro-distillery Abhainn Dearg on the west side of Lewis – details can be found at

www.abhainndearg.co.uk