Itinerary Set, But Where to Eat and Where to Visit a Distillery?

For Broadford (Skye) you could check out the Claymore restaurant for seafood. I've not been but local friends say it's good.

Distilleries. There are two on Skye (Talisker and Torabhaig) but if you want a lovely adventure you could take the 25 minute ferry to the island of Raasay and visit their distillery.

In Edenburgh you might want to try Maison Bleue at 36 Victoria St. just off George IV Bridge St. just off High St. (The Royal Mile) and close to the castle. You can't miss the blue façade. Did not need reservations for lunch, bur reservations are advised for dinner. Small place, same ownership for years, and excellent food. Go to googlemaps.com, type in the address, and you'll be able to locate it easily. You can use the street view to "walk" to it before leaving home.

In Oban there is a place that has excellent sea food named The Waterfront Fishhouse. Oban also has a fine distillery that offers tours and a tasting.

I thought of Oban distillery but even in August the last tour is at 3,30pm. Routing Mallaig and Glencoe you wont get there in time without pushing it, but would have been ideal for the driver to share.

Maybe the Holyrood Distillery in Edinburgh on Day 2 or 3- or ask for a "driver's dram" at Raasay.

I might recommend waiting until you hit Dublin and visiting the Teeling's distillery. They distill single malt and single grain whiskies, and they even make a peated malt that resembles an Islay malt in character. It's a small, family-operated distillery.

Hubby and I were in Edinburgh last August. Dinner reservations are a must then, it is very crowded. One place we had dinner was the Dome restaurant. Great food! Reservations a must. I made them online before we left for Scotland. Oh, don't forget the Fringe will be going on in Edinburgh in August. You might enjoy reserving a show or two. Check it out once the events are online. The Tattoo is fabulous! It took us 3 years to finally get to see it (Covid got in the way). Worth the wait.

Distillery in Oban is very crowded. Reservations are a must. We did not make reservations and were turned away. They did suggest a pub that we could taste their scotch. Do know that most distilleries offer the driver a "takeaway" sample pack that can be drunk once the driver gets to a hotel/home. My hubby did that in several places while I tasted during the tour.

We took the Mercat Vault tour. It was fantastic.

We reserved the tour at Culloden Battlefield and it gave us a deeper understanding of the sight. Reserve online prior to departing for Scotland. Allow time to explore on your own if you book the tour.

Have a blast in Edinburgh...we did!

For Edinburgh restaurants (excerpt from my trip report of 2022 travel in August)

“Mussel Inn (salmon lox with fried caper on sourdough and bucket-1/2 kilo of mussels cooked in their own juices). I loved the food here and the service is excellent (2 meals here; must reserve). Howie’s (excellently prepared hake on a bed of tomatoes and other vegs) service very good; must reserve”

Thank you all for the great suggestions!

Some favorite restaurants in Edinburgh:
Cafe Royal
Dishoom
Mussel's Inn Restaurant
Makar's Mash Bar
Kao Pao Restaurant

We had a tasting and tour at the Taliskers Distillery on Skye.

If you need to stop for lunch while driving through Glencoe, try The Gathering at the Glencoe Inn.

Seems most if not all the distilleries give you little bottles for the driver to taste later.