Scotland’s most northerly five-star hotel, Links House at Royal Dornoch, has announced the opening of Mara, a new dining concept, designed to celebrate the best of Scotland’s larder.
Translating to ‘sea’ in Scottish Gaelic, Mara seeks to provide diners with a Highland experience through a menu motivated by sustainable values and filled with local, seasonal produce.
Opening this April and serving high-quality produce from local waters, fields, and forests, Mara’s menu highlights include Portmahomack Lobsters, Orkney Scallops, Saddle of Ardgay Roe Deer and Embo Rhubarb and White Chocolate Bavarois.
With every signature seven-course tasting experience, a donation is made to Trees for Life, a project re-wilding Scotland’s Caledonian Forest.
The Links House kitchens will be led by Executive Chef James McDonald, who brings over 20 years’ international experience to the role. With time spent in the Michelin-starred kitchens of Gordon Ramsay and Bjorn van der Horst, as well as periods spent cooking in the Middle East, McDonald has designed a menu which celebrates the region, and dishes will include elements grown on-site and foraged nearby.
In tandem with the opening, the new restaurant will also launch a series of immersive food experiences, which will involve learning about the produce behind the menus.
Experiences include costal foraging, which involves collecting ingredients such as sea buckthorn berries and catching shellfish, as well as whisky tasting with The Regional Scotch Tasting Experience at Carnegie Whisky Cellars in Dornoch.
In addition, guest can take part on cheese tasting at a micro-dairy and salmon and brown trout fishing on the river Oykel.
