Pub Food in Kirkwall: The Pubs Worth Planning Around
Pub food in Kirkwall, from harbour-view tables to Orkney beer on draft. What each pub is good for, whether to book, and why kitchens close early.
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Eat early in Kirkwall. The town's pubs and restaurants cluster along the main street and harbour front, and food service in the main pubs and bars often finishes around nine in the evening, so the useful question is not which pub is best but which one fits the hour you have. This guide sorts the pubs that cook by the decision in front of you: a quick early tea, a booked dinner in a proper dining room, or a drink once the kitchens have packed up.
What you get on the plate is Orcadian produce treated plainly: fish landed locally, Orkney cheddar, haggis, and pub classics done in-house rather than shipped in. For the wider picture of what the town cooks and where, see What to Eat in Kirkwall, while the best restaurants in Kirkwall guide covers the sit-down options beyond the pub and this page stays with the pubs and the bars attached to them.
What Kirkwall pub food is actually like
This is a small island town, not a city gastropub scene, and the food reflects that: short menus, local fish, and comfort plates rather than foam. Portions are generous, cooking is done in-house, and the beer list leans heavily on Orkney breweries, with real ale served both on draft and by the bottle.
The planning constraint is the clock. Pubs along the main street and harbour front generally stop serving food well before a late night out, so a table booked for eight is safer than turning up at half eight hoping. Decide whether you want an early tea or a proper booked dinner, then pick the room to match.
Helgi's, 14 Harbour Street: the booked dinner with a harbour view
Helgi's is the pub to book if you want a sit-down meal rather than a pint standing up. It opened in 2009, and its menu has grown since but keeps to homemade comfort food using as much local produce as possible; the kitchen turns out breaded haddock with chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce, and a burger topped with haggis, smoked bacon and Orkney cheddar. Five Orkney beers are on draft alongside a wide bottled selection, plus local gins, vodka and malt whisky.
Two details decide whether Helgi's suits your group. It is strictly over-18s only, so families with children need one of the other options. Bookings are advised, and the upstairs room holds two window tables with harbour views — worth asking for by name when you reserve, since the ground-floor bar area is a different experience.
The Bothy Bar at the Albert Hotel: the central bolthole for an early tea
Tucked down Mounthoulie Lane off Albert Street, the Bothy Bar is part of the Albert Hotel and does pub food with good beer in a central spot that is easy to miss if you stick to the main street. It suits the early tea: food is served through the evening but stops around nine, so it rewards an early start rather than a late finish.
Treat it as the practical choice on a day when you have been out and want something solid without a formal booking. The lane position keeps it quieter than the harbour front, and the beer is the draw as much as the food. If you would rather plan a longer evening, the pubs in Kirkwall guide covers the wider choice of rooms.
The Harbour View Restaurant at the Kirkwall Hotel: a proper dining room
The Kirkwall Hotel's Harbour View Restaurant is the most formal of the pub-food options, a dining room on Harbour Street built around Orcadian produce — seafood, local meat and vegetables — alongside classic pub favourites and chef specials. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free menus are available, and the bar behind it carries a deep whisky selection.
The hotel sets its serving times by season, with lunch and dinner sittings and a shorter winter dinner window than in summer, so check the current times against your plans before booking. Booking is essential here apart from breakfast, and dogs are not allowed in the restaurant — they go in Skippers Bar or the Highland Park Bar instead.
Skippers Bar and the Highland Park Bar: a drink without the full meal
When you want the pub rather than a table, the Kirkwall Hotel's two bars are the answer, and they welcome dogs, which the restaurant does not. The Highland Park Bar is the whisky side of the operation, home to more than 100 Highland Park expressions — a reason to come for a single dram at the end of an evening rather than a full meal.
Light bites are served daily over the early afternoon if you want something small with a drink, and otherwise these bars are simply places to sit down without committing to a booking. That distinction matters in a town where booking is essential for the main dining room but unnecessary for a pint.
How to choose between them
For an early tea with beer and no fuss, go to the Bothy Bar off Albert Street and arrive with time to spare before the kitchen closes. For a booked dinner where the room matters as much as the food, choose Helgi's upstairs window tables for harbour views, or the Harbour View Restaurant for the full dining-room treatment with local seafood and a wine list.
For a drink-led evening once the kitchens have shut, the hotel bars keep things simple, and a whisky flight at the Highland Park Bar stands in for pudding. Groups mixing adults and children should note Helgi's over-18s rule and head for the hotel instead, where the bars take dogs and the restaurant takes bookings.
Practicalities: booking, kitchen times and where things sit
Kirkwall's pubs and restaurants are strung along the main street and the harbour front, with the Bothy Bar tucked just off Albert Street down Mounthoulie Lane — all within a few minutes of each other on foot. That makes a late change of plan cheap: if one kitchen has stopped serving, another room is a short walk away.
Two rules cover most of the planning. Book for the Harbour View Restaurant, where booking is essential outside breakfast, and book ahead for Helgi's, where bookings are advised but walk-ins are welcome. Everywhere else, earlier is better than later, because service in the main pubs and bars tends to wind down around nine.
Which Kirkwall pub should you book?
Book Helgi's if you want a proper meal with a harbour view and your party is all adults; book the Harbour View Restaurant if you want the dining-room version with Orcadian seafood and a whisky list behind it. Keep the Bothy Bar for an early tea and the hotel bars for a drink when the kitchens have closed.
Whichever you pick, eat earlier than you would on the mainland and confirm the day's serving times before you set out, since Kirkwall's kitchens keep island hours. If you would rather have takeaway, the fish and chips Kirkwall guide covers the chippies on Bridge Street.
Explore more Kirkwall guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I eat dinner in Kirkwall?
For a booked sit-down dinner, choose Helgi's on Harbour Street for in-house comfort food, Orkney beer on draft and upstairs harbour-view tables, or the Harbour View Restaurant at the Kirkwall Hotel for Orcadian produce in a proper dining room. Both reward booking ahead, and Helgi's is over-18s only.
What food is Orkney known for?
Orkney's larder shows up on pub menus as locally landed fish, Orkney cheddar, haggis and beef, with home baking and local beer alongside. In Kirkwall, expect fish and chips, burgers topped with haggis and cheddar, and daily seafood specials rather than a long international menu.
Do Kirkwall pubs serve food late?
Not usually. Food service in the main pubs and bars tends to stop around nine in the evening, so plan an earlier dinner or check the current serving times before you go out. The Kirkwall Hotel publishes separate summer and winter dinner times, with a shorter window in winter.
Sources
Notes on eating out in the UK
Optional updates when our city guides change.
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