Unlike many trips Michael and I take, our time in the Scottish Highlands didn’t quite revolve around food. Trying restaurants that we’ve read about is a huge part of the way we travel (see February’s trip to Charleston), but with Scotland we were more focused on experiencing the natural beauty and sights of the countryside. Outside of our meals in Edinburgh, many of the pubs or restaurants we happened upon were nothing extraordinary, which, combined with the plethora or gorgeous public areas, actually inspired us to have a few more picnic meals than we usually do. All of that being said, there was one meal, however, on Skye that we were really looking forward to – our lunch at The Three Chimneys.

We’d read about The Three Chimneys in both our Where Chefs Eat book and our copy of the NY Times 36 Hours in Europe, and after our deliciously memorable lunch there, we can easily see why the restaurant is consistently named by many esteemed food writers and respected publications as one of the world’s best restaurants. The setting – an old stone crofter’s cottage overlooking Loch Dunvegan – is idyllic, and the food – sourced primarily from the island and the surrounding Highlands – is nothing short of excellent.

The three course lunch menu allowed us to sample a variety of the restaurant’s modern Scottish fare. Michael opted to start with the Ham & Haddie Terrine with cucumber, apple, sorrel, and herring roe, while I began with the Russian Salad with roasted candy beetroot, asparagus, mustard leaf, and seeded praline. Up next – the Blade and Tongue of Black Isle Beef with puy lentils, celeriac remoulade, ramsons, and pickles for Michael, and the River Esk Sea Trout with anna potato, peas, radish leaf, and choron sauce. Our meal could have concluded here and we would have left the restaurant more than delighted, but thankfully we still had dessert! We shared bites of both the famed Hot Marmalade Pudding with Drambuie custard and the Dark Chocolate & Stem Ginger Ganache with malt ice cream. As we finished the final bites of our dessert course, we grinned in simultaneous conclusion that this truly was one of those once in a lifetime meals – one that we surely won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

All photos taken by Meredith Perdue for Map & Menu.