On the way back to Edinburgh from playing golf, we asked our driver for recommendations for dinner.  He said we absolutely needed to eat down by the water in Leith so we made a reservation for Loch Fyne.  A small UK chain, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but read lots of great reviews.  We were welcomed to a beautiful store on the pier with modern nautical-themed interior.  It was open, comfortable and casual.  It also wasn’t too busy on a weeknight, which was fine by us.

Our server was swamped and a little slow, but she was charming and super-sweet.  After running through specials and recommendations, we settled on a bottle of wine and a couple starters.  The king prawns were sweet and firm and fresh.  The smoked ham hock terrine was surprisingly light and a tasty combination of salty and fresh pops of sweet peas.  I also had to have a few of their signature oysters.  From the brackish waters of Loch Fyne, they were beautiful mouthfuls of sweet ocean candy.  There is NOTHING like them!!

The selection of mains celebrates all that the area has to offer in fresh seafood.  The seafood pasta in a light cream sauce was rich and full of perfectly-cooked scallops, mussels and shrimp.  The seared cod with fresh pesto was simple, but well done too.  My father couldn’t pass up the ridiculously-huge platter of steamed seafood.  A hubcap-sized plate piled with prawns, clams, oysters and mussels was enough to keep my dad quiet for the next 30 minutes.  While nothing was unusual about the preparation, everything was exactly as you hope such local fare would be.

Cappuccino and a mixed-berry crumble rounded out our evening and a delightful dinner  on the water.  Given the number of locations, you should be able to find one near you while in and around the UK.  It’ll be tough to beat the experience and location of the Leith store however.  Find a spot and for God’s sake have some of those oysters!!  You can take a look at their menu and particulars at lochfyneseafoodandgrill.co.uk.  Dig in!