We feel fortunate that we were able to have a delicious, well-presented meal at Frasers at the Bracken Hide Hotel. Fortunate in a number of ways, not the least of which is the ability to make a reservation in Portree at all. The town's legendary scarcity of dinner reservations is well documented in this forum. Upon arriving in town, there were few restaurants even taking reservations. The restaurant and hotel have been open for little more than a week, which may be a reason there is little known about the restaurant or hotel. The hotel is a collection of new 'glamping cabins', with the restaurant the main building on the property, and actually is in keeping with the overall design profiles of the cabins. So much for the property. The food was impressively prepared, and just as impressively presented without being overly ostentatious. For a starter, I had the pan-seared pigeon breast, followed by the duck breast with blueberry emulsion. My wife had the mussels for a starter, and the hake as the main. Simply delicious. We both split the dessert of raspberry souffle with mint sorbet. I believe this restaurant will also join the cadre of Portree restaurants with difficult to obtain a reservation, but for now, make your reservations when you can. You will enjoy the entire experience.
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2375 posts
Although I have no immediate plans for a 3rd visit to Scotland and Skye, both the restaurant and the cabins sound very appealing. Thanks!
Posted by
Duluth 🛶
6318 posts
Thanks for the recommendation! I booked a dinner there during my May stay - the menu looks impressive!
I'm also going to post something about the hotel on the Scotland board in case anyone is looking for a room - it looks like they have some openings in June, July and August.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
I should have also mentioned that we stayed at the Ballintoy B&B while in Portree. It was at the recommendation of the B&B owner (Gillian) that we try the restaurant. The Ballintoy is a RS recommended lodging. I can highly recommend it, as well. Always pays to ask the locals.
Posted by
Massachusetts, USA
1604 posts
bmccarthy97, thank you for recommending Frasers! I will make a reservation. The menu sounds delicious.
Just curious, how long did you stay on Skye and where else did you eat? How long was the wait at restaurants that don't take reservations?
We are staying in Portree for 4 nights; there are 4 of us. I have made dinner reservations at Rosedales, and I am waiting to hear back from The Harbour in Broadford. I like the menu at Lower Deck but they don't take reservations; I am concerned about how long the wait could be. And you can't make reservations online at the Sea Breezes, only by phone. And I read that some people who made phone reservations did not have a reservation when they arrived and they couldn't get seated. Am also considering Edinbane Inn but non-residents can't make reservations until 2 weeks prior to arrival.
So just wondering what your experience was.
Posted by
OP
9 posts
kmkwoo
We were in Portree two nights. The first night we came in late, and knowing (anticipating?) there were no available restaurants, we ate earlier in Fort William. We checked out a few restaurants via Yelp the day befor arriving, and was warned of the scarcity of available reservations. Seemed right, as the different restaurants we were looking at were either out of our budget (95 GBP pp) or did not take reservations at all. Some that historically did take reservations stopped doing so. We didn't fancy waiting in a line in the rain to test the possibility of getting a table or not. All the inns/B&B's signs we observed said 'No Vacancies' which likely added to our anxiety. There are alternatives if takeaway is OK with you. So, long story short, we were in Portree one night, and it was a Saturday, at that. YMMV. Good luck.
Posted by
Isle of Skye, Scotland
1117 posts
An update on the restaurant at the Bracken Hide. Visited this week. Service was chaotic, wrong items brought to the table and some completely forgotten. Had to order and pay for cocktails separately from dinner as the bar is 'separate' (whatever that means!). Main of mussels is just that - mussels, no side of bread or fries available. Soup came without bread. Panna Cotta was split and looked a real mess on the plate. It tasted awful. The whole experience was poor and over priced. No way will we (locals) be going there again. Oh, and the walk up to the restaurant from the car park at the bottom of the hill is a joke!