The Balaclava Byre — Restaurant in Scotland

A-MAZ-ING!! Of all the places we ate on Islay, this restaurant hit it out of the park. The chef is so talented and the flavor profile is incredible. I was tempted to lick my plate. 😆 we started with olives & paper thin cucumber slices steeped in gin, which I promptly added to my gin for a self made martini! We also had the halloumi fries and the chicken bites- middle eastern flair with taziki type sauce- so delicious! For mains, we had the vegetarian pie (I’m not vegetarian, but the description was so interesting, I had to try it- I was not disappointed. It was full of flavor!) and my hubby got the fish. It was super crispy and spot on. My dessert was a vanilla panna cotta with rhubarb sauce and crumbled cookie - WOW! Just WOW! And my hubby had the chocolate cookie ice cream. This place is a ‘do not miss’! I often take pics and include them. I think I was too busy enjoying this experience. ☺️ Sorry, no pics. If you visit, CHEERS, to an...

We arrived and were instantly impressed by the wooden chairs and tables there’s a cool story behind them, but I won’t ruin the surprise. Make sure to ask your waiter about it!

We started with the tomato soup, and wow, it was amazing. It came with this caramelised butter that was honestly out of this world.

For mains, we had the sole with warm potato salad, which was absolutely delicious, and the tagliatelle with mussels, which was fantastic. We also tried the beef burger with some amazing chips. Not gonna lie, the chips were great, but the burger was pretty average. The kids had beef burgers too, and they were just okay.

To wrap it up, we had the lemon panna cotta super fresh and tasty and the brownie, which was next-level good. It was made with whiskey, and it was honestly the highlight of the meal.

This place is definitely worth a visit, and I’d totally...

We had an amazing time at this cozy little restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious, and what really stood out was the waiter—super friendly, full of positive energy, and incredibly attentive. He took the time to walk us through how certain dishes were made and even gave us some great insights into what everyday life on Islay is like, which we really enjoyed as tourists.

We loved it so much, we came back again the very next evening. It's definitely one of the top highlights of our stay on the island. Just a heads-up: the place is quite small, so we’d definitely recommend booking a...