The Creel's air-fried Scapa Bay Prawns (aka langoustines) marinaded in mixed paprikas and garlic.
Eating at the Creel
I have turned The Creel into a bed&breakfast with the capability of very occasionally offering evening meals to guests (i.e., it is no longer a walk-in restaurant with an extensive menu but rather a place that on occasion serves good honest cuisine with an emphasis on local Orkney produce). I have also created a room called the Blue Lobster Bar where, once again on occasion and dependant on the availability of good lobsters, I serve those and other goodies accompanied by some seriously interesting wines.
If cooking, I buy fresh produce on the day for the day. I cook a single 3-course supper (all priced at £30 per person) using as much Orkney produce as possible. I often cook Moroccan tagines for which our Orkney lamb is wonderfully suited. Sometimes, instead of a restaurant meal, I do a luxury ‘bar’ meal in my Blue Lobster Bar — typically a starter of salami, mortadella, hommous etc etc followed by a lobster sauce meunière. As a great standby when lobsters aren’t available, I substitute a half kilo of langoustine tails, which I marinade and air-fry, for the lobster.
The two greatest influences on my cooking are Elizabeth David and Claudia Roden, from whom (apart from my mother and father) I learnt most of what little I know. I suppose that I was also given direction and taste formation through having spent most of my younger years in France and Morocco.
I am expanding my wine list, but its core will always remain the dozen or so really excellent yet reasonably priced Italian wines I bring up from a specialist importer in London.
The gist is that guests should not plan on there being an evening meal at the Creel, although it could happen.
HOWEVER...
There are plenty of other options, both within the village and further afield. Here is a list of some of my (and my sons') favourites:
If cooking, I buy fresh produce on the day for the day. I cook a single 3-course supper (all priced at £30 per person) using as much Orkney produce as possible. I often cook Moroccan tagines for which our Orkney lamb is wonderfully suited. Sometimes, instead of a restaurant meal, I do a luxury ‘bar’ meal in my Blue Lobster Bar — typically a starter of salami, mortadella, hommous etc etc followed by a lobster sauce meunière. As a great standby when lobsters aren’t available, I substitute a half kilo of langoustine tails, which I marinade and air-fry, for the lobster.
The two greatest influences on my cooking are Elizabeth David and Claudia Roden, from whom (apart from my mother and father) I learnt most of what little I know. I suppose that I was also given direction and taste formation through having spent most of my younger years in France and Morocco.
I am expanding my wine list, but its core will always remain the dozen or so really excellent yet reasonably priced Italian wines I bring up from a specialist importer in London.
The gist is that guests should not plan on there being an evening meal at the Creel, although it could happen.
HOWEVER...
There are plenty of other options, both within the village and further afield. Here is a list of some of my (and my sons') favourites:
Eating out in South Ronaldsay and Beyond
The fact that the Creel operates in the way it does, does not mean that it will be difficult to find good eating at all levels both on South Ronaldsay and a little further afield.
My sons and I love going to the following places:
My sons and I love going to the following places:
The Bellevue Inn (30 steps away)
Tel. 01856 831383
Fed up with the Creel’s Blue Lobster Bar and want a traditional Orkney pub? Step out onto the waterfront, turn left, walk for 30 seconds, and enter a nice, old-fashioned Orkney pub.
The Murray Arms (100 paces, or thereabouts, away )
Tel: (01856) 831 205 Facebook
Our very friendly family-owned local which serves good, economical, and generously-portioned pub meals. This being Orkney, even this can be with a difference – fresh Scapa scallops anyone? You can find out why a little village pub can serve wonderful scallops by eating there and asking.
The Grill (5 minutes' walk)
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Gourmet burgers from 10am to 2:30pm at the top of the hill in St Margaret's Hope. A nice way to have a quick, easy, and tasty lunch. See my blog post about The Grill here.
The Skerries Bistro (10 minutes’ drive)
Tel 01856 831605 Facebook
This place has a magnificent cliff-top view of the North Sea, which contrasts nicely with The Creel’s wonderful sea-level view of a Scapa bay. The food is good, too. I frequently suggest to our guests that they should try a meal there and have had consistently pleased reports.
Robertsons Coffee Hoose & Bar (5 minutes' walk)
Tel 01856 831889 Facebook
Friendly and lively. Teas, coffee, food and drink.
The Sands (8 minutes’ drive)
Tel 01856 731298
On the next door island of Burray, this open-all-year restaurant is popular with locals and visitors alike
The Foveran (20 minutes’ drive, with grandiose views all the way)
Tel. 01856 872389 Facebook
Orkney beef is the best and The Foveran does some of the best steaks I have ever had. Having taken the trouble to get to Orkney, I think it would be wrong to miss out on treating oneself there to a superb grilled fillet steak (which I don’t cook) in a lovely modern room with a great view over Scapa Flow. A personal favourite.
The Lynnfield (20 minutes’ drive, with grandiose views all the way)
Tel 01856 872505 Facebook
Nice hilltop location overlooking Kirkwall, next to the Highland Park distillery. Beautiful room with antique furniture and very good food. Fantastic selection of whiskies in the bar. A personal favourite.
The Merkister (35 minutes drive)
Tel 01856 771366 Facebook
A view over fresh water – Harray Loch, not sea! A good place to stop on the way back from the Neolithic mile.
In town (Kirkwall) one can also enjoy
Italian food at Lucano (tel. 01856 875687) – lots of fish, lovely pizzas
and
Indian food at Dil Se (tel 01856 875 242)
Italian food at Lucano (tel. 01856 875687) – lots of fish, lovely pizzas
and
Indian food at Dil Se (tel 01856 875 242)
Last but not least, what if you're feeling peckish during the day?
We have some outstanding solutions:
Leigh's Hamburger Van in Finstown
Leigh’s hamburger van works in the car park between road and sea in Finstown. This is a 3-star experience of all Orkney produce including the beef for the burgers. My favourite at Leigh's is not a burger but fillet of Orkney beef with onions and mushrooms in a burger roll. It's not even expensive! Yet it is an actual fillet steak from one of our top butchers. Leigh cooks it to your preference, so you can have it rare (or in the case of my younger son, who is 15 - blue). It's so tender no knife is required. Meanwhile my older son likes the broughbuster burger, which is meat patties, a fried egg, tattie scone and more. Why he's still thin as a rake is beyond me). One can then enjoys one’s food at the picnic tables on the lawn by the sea while enjoying the million-dollar view of the bay.
The van and its million-dollar view
Or closer to home, we have the Grill at the top of the hill:
see my blog post about it here
Or maybe a picnic?
Make it a gastronomic one and buy the supplies from
Kirkness & Gorie
see my blog post about this wine merchant and delicatessen here
Location:
