Seafood in Kirkwall: Where to Eat Orkney Fish and Shellfish

What Orkney seafood actually means on a menu

On an Orkney menu, seafood usually means four things: hand-dived scallops, crab (often listed as partan toes, the claws), salmon, and smoked fish such as haddock. Bere bannocks, a griddle flatbread made from ancient barley, sometimes turn up in place of a bread roll at the start of a meal, and breaded deep-fried Grimbister Farm cheese is a popular starter in many Orkney restaurants. For the non-fish side of the larder, our guide to Kirkwall food covers the rest.

Ordering is straightforward once you know the vocabulary. Partan toes arrive as crab claws, often dressed simply so the sweetness survives, and scallops are the hand-dived sort that Orkney is known for. Smoked fish is the other pillar: Jollys of Orkney smokes fish in its own traditional kiln using oak wood chippings, and its smoked range now sits under The Orkney Smokehouse brand, with haddock, kippers and mackerel as everyday buys and smoked salmon the one people carry home.

First stop in town: The Brig Larder on the main street

The Brig Larder is Jollys of Orkney's deli in the main street in Kirkwall, and it is the most useful single stop for anyone assembling a picnic or a self-catering supper. It stocks Jollys' own smoked salmon and fresh fish alongside Orkney cheese, Orkney fudge, oatcakes and meat, so you can put together a full Orkney plate without a second shop. Orkney Cheddar, made by a farmers' cooperative since 1946, is matured between 10 and 18 months, and makes a safe order when the catch is thin.

For a lunch on the hoof, a smoked-fish or crab roll from the counter beats a sit-down starter on time and money. Buy early rather than late: a deli counter sells down through the day, and the smoked salmon is hand-sliced to order, so a morning stop gets you the widest choice. If you are staying self-catering, ask what came in fresh that morning before you commit to a recipe.

Buying to cook or take home: Jollys of Orkney at Hatston

Jollys of Orkney's shop and factory are at Hatston, on the edge of Kirkwall, and this is where the fish is filleted by hand and the shellfish prepared by hand. The shop carries fresh and smoked seafood plus Orkney cheese, meats, oatcakes and biscuits, and the team also make hot and cold filled rolls, pies and ready meals on the premises to traditional recipes. That makes Hatston a practical stop before a ferry or a self-catering week rather than a restaurant in disguise.

The company is family-owned by Orcadians George and Anne Stout, with two of their sons working in the business, and it has served Orkney for over 70 years. For visitors, the useful consequence is a mail order service covering the UK, so a fillet of smoked haddock or a side of smoked salmon can follow you home instead of sitting in a warm car. In Stromness, the Orkney Fishermen's Society shop sells fresh and frozen fish and Orkney crab if you are heading west anyway.

Where seafood fits into a Kirkwall eating day

A sensible pattern is a cold seafood lunch and a cooked main later. Take a smoked-fish or crab roll and a piece of Orkney Cheddar from the Brig Larder at midday, then sit down in the evening for scallops or crab done properly. If you would rather keep lunch hot, the town's chippy tradition is covered separately in our guide to fish and chips Kirkwall, where a pattie supper sits alongside the haddock.

For the evening, look at the wider list of best restaurants to see which kitchens are cooking Orkney seafood rather than imported fish, and favour a menu that names its scallops, crab or beef by farm or boat. Pair a seafood main with a beer from a local brewery, or keep it simple with a glass of something dry. If your evening plan is a pub rather than a dining room, the pubs in Kirkwall mostly do straightforward food, and some will have a fish dish on the board.

What is scarce or seasonal, and how to order around it

North Ronaldsay mutton is not seafood, but it is the Orkney menu item most likely to run out: the Sheep feed almost entirely on seaweed behind a long stone wall on their island, the meat is lean and gamey, and it usually runs out during the winter months. Treat it as a bonus if you see it, not a reason to book. Seafood shortages are less predictable, so have a second choice in mind.

Orkney Ice Cream, made by the Bichan family at Crantit just outside Kirkwall since 1995, is the reliable pud. If a kitchen has run out of scallops, a smoked haddock main or a crab starter will rarely disappoint, and a starter of bannocks and cheese is a fair way to eat Orkney without touching the seafood at all. Ask what is local before ordering, because a kitchen working with the same suppliers as the deli will tell you plainly what came off the boat.

Beyond the town: The Skerries Restaurant at the Merkister Hotel

The nearest thing to a destination seafood dinner is The Skerries Restaurant at the Merkister Hotel, in Harray on the shore of the Loch of Harray, about eight miles from the Ring of Brodgar and eleven from Stromness. It is a drive out of Kirkwall, not a stroll, but the room looks over the loch towards the hills of Hoy. The kitchen specialises in Aberdeen Angus beef from farms within a ten-mile radius and in local seafood including hand-dived scallops and fresh-landed halibut.

The menu changes daily, with a separate specials sheet that also moves, so there is no point memorising a dish before you go. Meals are served in both the lounge bar and the restaurant, all table service, which suits a mixed group where one person wants the full three courses and another just a main. Ring ahead rather than turning up, and ask what is on the specials that day; that call is worth more than any online menu.

Matching the dish to the setting

The trade-off is time against atmosphere. A Brig Larder lunch costs you twenty minutes and lets you eat outside; The Skerries costs you an evening and a drive, and gives you a loch view and a daily-changing menu built on Orkney beef and seafood. If you have one dinner in Orkney and you want it to feel like an occasion, book the drive. If you have one lunch and a ferry to catch, buy from the counter.

In between sits the pub and chippy middle ground, which suits families and anyone eating before a fixed timetable. Pub food Kirkwall tends to be unfussy, and a chippy supper is the cheapest way to eat local haddock. Neither will give you the loch at sunset, and both are quicker to organise on the day.

Practical points: booking, kitchen times and buying early

Book any sit-down seafood dinner ahead, especially at the weekend or if you are a group larger than four; the Merkister takes bookings by phone or email and a daily-changing menu means the kitchen wants notice. For town places, a same-day call in the afternoon is usually enough, but do not assume a table at peak time. Kitchen times and closing days change with the season, so phone the venue on the day rather than trust a listing.

Buy fish and shellfish before noon if you can, because counters sell down and the hand-sliced smoked salmon goes first. If you want a whisky with your seafood, our whisky Kirkwall guide sets out what is worth ordering, and if you are staying over, our guide to breakfast in Kirkwall covers the morning options near the harbour. The Brig Larder is Jollys' Kirkwall deli in the main street, a short walk from the harbour and the main-street shops.

Which seafood day suits you?

Choose the deli-and-drive day if you want to cook or take food home: the Brig Larder on the main street for smoked salmon and cheese, then Jollys at Hatston for fresh fish, shellfish and a filled roll for the road. Choose the loch-side evening if you want one proper dinner and do not mind the drive to Harray. Either way, buy early, book ahead for dinner, and keep a second choice in mind for the days when the scallops are gone.