Ria’s Restaurant

We came here for two nights to celebrate a birthday. It was a very difficult place to find since the sign on the wall is so small it can't be seen from the road! We got there in the end after few drives round and I'm very glad we did.

The food is quite exceptional. Modern, in the the complexity dazzles frankly. But there is never a time when you feel you are not in the hands of people who want to feed you.

Dinner here is not a chance for the chef to show off or educate. This is a proper meal with loads to eat too. It's a set menu but if you are here for two consecutive nights they "do" you a completely different menu from the first night.

Now. The menu is sparse in its description. it will say "Quail pie" or "Hand caught orkney scallop". But as to how the humble if huge scallop that arrives at table is turned into absolute magic I cannot tell you. I'm a bit deaf see. Age.

One of the chefs all of whom are charming to to a T will crouch at table and tell you exactly how the dish was apparently coaxed from the metaphysical fabric of the universe.

It can't be any other way, if you think about it. To put that lengthy description( whatever it was!) on the menu would cause it to swell to Dostoyevskian proportions.

Trouble is I couldn't hear the description. So I was reduced to smiling and nodding politely and hoping the food stayed warm. It did

Re: scallop it was the best I've ever eaten and the quail pie indeed all of it was of a level. 8/10 old GFG standard imo. Desserts are plentiful but maybe not quite as good.

Service is excellent. The front of house is a true professional and a shout out for the young waitress who was always there. Long hours for her, a professional to her fingertips.

The chef is a super bloke and a master of his trade.

Accommodation is good too. We had the larger of three rooms which was lovely and comfy But its roadside location meant it was very noisy until late in the piece.

This is a superb place and we'll be back.