Following a two-month winter makeover, The Pierhouse Hotel & Seafood Restaurant at Port Appin has reopened its doors to guests and is gearing up for spring and summer visitors, having expanded its kitchen facilities.
The small hotel and renowned Scottish seafood restaurant, which was crowned ‘National Restaurant of the Year’ at the Hotels of the Year Scotland Awards 2023-24, is led by head chef Michael Leathley and his kitchen brigade.
That award-winning team is now making the most of the new kitchen space to create a new spring menu to sit alongside the Pierhouse’s popular classics.
Showcasing the best fish and seafood from the west coast, diners can expect dishes like piermaster bouillabaisse with west coast fish, mussels, langoustine and miso; and plaice kiev with a parsley and caper sauce.
From the land, The Pierhouse will be serving up roast Appin deer, braised shoulder ragu and polenta; as well as crispy lamb belly with fermented barley, preserved lemon and fennel salad.
Favourites on the Pierhouse menu will continue to include the freshest langoustines, mussels and lobsters harvested from Loch Linnhe and Loch Etive, as well as fine handpicked oysters from the oyster beds of Loch Creran, just 10 minutes from the hotel.
As well as its ‘National Restaurant of the Year’ win, the restaurant also has two AA rosettes and is one of only three Argyll restaurants listed in the Michelin Guide for Great Britain and Ireland 2024.
General manager, Fiona McLean, said: “As we reopen to guests for the 2024 season, our team is already gearing up to ensure our wee corner of Argyll gives the warmest of welcomes to all our guests.
“Our new kitchen makeover will help our team of chefs to enhance the dining experience for all day visitors and overnight guests. Our head chef Michael Leathley will also continue working with a close network of the region’s best local producers and suppliers to help retain our place on Scotland’s food map.”
Leathley added: “I enjoy letting the food speak for itself using classic, simple techniques. The real luxury in cooking these days is making use of what is here, right now. It’s a joy to use produce available locally, with known quality and provenance, sourced wherever possible from within 50 miles of the hotel.”
Long-standing local suppliers to The Pierhouse include the Caledonian Oyster Company, a family run business that has been farming pacific oysters for over 30 years and is based just around the corner from the hotel in Loch Creran.
Eoghan Black supplies the hotel with langoustine from Loch Linnhe right outside the front door. Mark and Morag Grant from the award-winning Grant’s the Butchers in Taynuilt supply beef sourced from Achnacreebeag Farm in North Connel.
The Pierhouse is part of The Wee Hotel Company, which was founded by international hotelier, Gordon Campbell Gray, and includes the world-famous Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye.
