Reviews in Orkneys and Shetlands

The food at Hamnavoe is excellent, well-cooked and thoughtfully presented. A combination of local ingredients and imaginative combination made the meal a delight. Some aspects of the restaurant gave the impression that it was not as settled as it could be (and I noticed that they were advertising for help front-of-house). The service, whilst friendly, was a bit amateurish, with the napkins and cutlery simply dumped on the table in front of us (and cheap paper napkins at that); while our service was prompt, I noticed that the adjoining table’s guests had to repeatedly go up to the desk to request things (both their wine and their bill). It is undoubtedly Stromness’s best restaurant, and probably the best in Orkney. We would gladly eat there again.

A delicious meal - wonderful fusion British/Asian. Beautifully cooked. Waiting staff very friendly and attentive. Thank you. Have booked again.

Gorgeous food and very kind service staff. I have food allergy and the Chef selected in advance which dishes were right from me. My favourite course is the lobster: absolutely delicious. It’s a tiny and cozy restaurant, so reservations are reccomanded.

Another wonderful evening at the Hamnavoe! We asked to change the table setting to suit our group better and staff were extremely accommodating. The quality of the fish cookery is exceptional and the Easter influences bring a lightness and zing. Best in Orkney by a long way, one of the best in Scotland!

Lovely meal, food and wine were great and staff were very helpful and friendly.

Beautiful, intimate little restaurant in Stromness, somewhat off the beaten path. The menu is very different, and the food is delicious and creative. As a gluten free/dairy free patron I had to ask which dishes could accommodate my dietary needs. This made things a bit challenging. The menu is detailed, and varied, and I actually didn't know what some things were. It was tough to choose what to eat and the server was unable to explain everything to me . So the other lady, I think she was the owner actually, explained it all to me and I ended up having two starters and a side. The portions were quite generous, absolutely packed with flavour and freshness and quite unique from what I expected. One of my favourite parts was the cucumber/lemon imbibed carafe of water on the table and the real tealight candle lit in a cute little pottery holder. The ambience was lovely, as was the jazz music playing in the background. Reservations are highly recommended due to their limited opening times.

It was a great experience returning to the Hamnavoe under its new owner. You can tell there is a sillies chef in the kitchen. The food made the best of local ingredients with a light eastern twist. It was great to see the local seafood prepared with skill. It was top class in the view of our table of six. There is a good choice of wine at a very reasonable price and the staff were very helpful and pleasant. Orkney needs a top class restaurant and this may be it!

It was a great experience returning to the Hamnavoe under its new owner. You can tell there is a sillies chef in the kitchen. The food made the best of local ingredients with a light eastern twist. It was great to see the local seafood prepared with skill. It was top class in the view of our table of six. There is a good choice of wine at a very reasonable price and the staff were very helpful and pleasant. Orkney needs a top class restaurant and this may be it!

It is great to see the Hamnavoe open again with such an accomplished chef. Orkney has such great produce but there are not many restaurants that do them justice. This is one of them. We had an excellent meal with prefect scallops, tempura and dried cod croquettes to start. We followed with excellent lobster, cod and perfect tortellini. The chocolate tart was unctuous. Windy choice is good and reasonably priced. Service by the young staff was professional and friendly. The only downside for me was the slightly obtrusive music which was not very relaxing. I look forward to returning next time we are in Stromness.

Wow! Fabulous meal. Great menu. Fresh food, beautifully cooked. Encapsulated our holiday in Orkney. I'd come back just to eat here.

Food amazing . Flavour combinations exceptional . Very talented chef(s) Portion sizes not for the hungry or greedy . The wine list an extravagant selection for a real treat A lot of care has gone into the Hamnavoe fine dining experience About 20% more expensive than my usual local dining venues Ps washroom immaculate ..

I may be biased, but when I walk into a restaurant and the first thing I hear is jazz blues, I already suspect it’s going to be a great place. Hamnavoe did not disappoint. Hamnavoe is a cozy little restaurant, tucked off the main street in Stromness. Reservations are highly recommended. The restaurant was busy, which is also, always a good sign. The staff were attentive, and I was lucky enough to be tended to by Sebastian, whose first night it was at the restaurant. You did fine young man. I first learned of the restaurant from the Orkney.com online newsletter, and as soon as I read the article, I made a reservation. I started with the scallops, and then moved onto the lobster. I then finished with the lemon and honey polenta cake with the Yuzucello. The food was wonderful. Clean plates all around. The front staff were very attentive and very accommodating. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anybody traveling to Stromness. Fact is, I would recommend that people travel out of their way to attend this restaurant. Thank you to the servers. Thank you to the chefs behind the scene. I had a wonderful evening and it was all down to you folks doing a fantastic job and producing wonderful food.

A lovely place to eat, good menu and great service. I went on Saturday night with friends on their first visit to Orkney. We all enjoyed our main courses (the beef was beautifully done - so soft and tasty!) and had enough room for chocolate terrine and a fab dessert wine that rounded off the experience nicely.

Amazing restaurant in wee Stromness. The food was excellent and so was the service. We tried a variety of dishes but particularly, the lobster dish was to die for. Amazing desserts too. Definitely recommend.

First time I have eaten here under new management. I was a single diner on Saturday night. The restaurant retains the comfortable, buzzy environment. The menu is relatively modest, but a great selection of freshly cooked dishes. The quality of food was exceptional. The service very friendly and efficient. It is not cheap, but worth the money. Highly recommended and worth making the effort to ear here.

Wonderful restaurant tucked away in Stromness and well worth the visit if not staying locally. Cosy dining room that had mainly couples dining on a Friday evening but can accommodate a larger tables. A warm welcome for an early dinner. Three choices for each course. Scallops with pea mash and bacon were fresh and delicious. We could not turn down the option of the lobster, ginger & spring onion noodles, shiitake, dashi butter sauce. Perhaps just a little over done but yummy! Full enough to turn down dessert. Wine list has enough to keep me interested and the chablis was a great accompaniment to the seafood. Well priced menu in my opinion for a good dining experience and served by very attentive staff. Would not hesitate to go back and if I was based in Stromness would likely go every evening!

We ate here early on a Saturday evening. The service from the enthusiast staff was excellent every bit matched by the quality of the meals. We each had a different fish main course and I had scallops to start. The presentation on the plate was very good & the taste even better. It certainly lived up to its reputation. A most enjoyable experience throughout.