The best things in life are worth waiting for. I know this for a fact, because I waited more than 20 years to visit The Three Chimneys Restaurant and the House Over-By.
This bonnie wee whitewashed outpost of culinary excellence and hospitality coories into the hamlet of Colbost on the shores of Loch Dunvegan overlooking the Duirinish peninsula.
The day my friend Ruth and I drive to Skye for our two-night stay, the weather gods provided the most glorious lighting. As the rest of Scotland settled for a dreich February week, a ridge of high pressure over the north-west coast kept us company throughout. Even the sheep looked startled by sunlight as they blundered on to the single-track roads.
The Three Chimneys was established as a restaurant in 1985 by Shirley and Eddie Spear after the couple, then living in London, bought the 18th-Century croft and moved to the island with their three young children.
Over three decades, with Shirley passionately promoting Skye produce on her menu, they turned it into a must-visit destination for foodies.
By 1999 its six-suite House Over-By was providing boutique-style accommodation, allowing the restaurant to open year round. It’s rumoured that in 2013, Madonna tried to book a table, but was told it was full.
In 2019, the Spears sold to Gordon Campbell Gray of The Wee Hotel Company. Gray, who also owns The Pierhouse hotel and seafood restaurant at Port Appin in Argyll, continues to emulate the couple’s ethos of offering an understated yet genuine experience of Scottish hospitality.
It’s not often that Ruth and I get the chance to spend good quality “yacking” time on our own together. This was the perfect setting for us.
Our suite overlooking Loch Dunvegan was the last word in understated yet luxurious design, with crisp white linens and a pale grey wool throw made by Skye Weavers draped casually across the bed.
In the bathroom, equipped with monogrammed dressing gowns, rainfall shower and swish Laura Thomas Co toiletries, we couldn’t help but pose for grinning selfies in the mirror to send to our respective family WhatsApp groupchats.
Our two-night stay included dinner and breakfast. We uhhmed and ahhed over the “wine flight” (£90 for the seven-course and £80 for the five-course tasting menus), which paired small dishes with a selection of carefully chosen wines, but opted instead for a modest bottle of French white wine.
On both nights, I had the pescatarian menu, while Ruth enjoyed the meat version, which save for one course of Glendale Estate venison wasn’t all that different, as The Three Chimneys promotes Skye seafood all the way.
The beauty of a tasting menu is that you try things that otherwise you might not choose; in my case shellfish. I can confirm that the Dunvegan crab tart, Sconser scallops, rosemary and orange, not to mention the cod & potted clams, were melt-in-the-mouth gorgeous.
Head chef Paul Green, who recently returned to The Three Chimneys two decades after working there as a commis chef, has brought a light touch to the menu, sourcing high-quality ingredients from Skye and the wider Highlands.
You might think that with all the eating, drinking and talking Ruth and I did over 48 hours, we didn’t have room to explore, but on our one full day in Skye, we got around.
Lightweights that we are, however, all we could manage for breakfast after the previous evening’s feast was the Three Chimneys’ own take on muesli and granola, which beats my usual supermarket fare hands down.
Fuelled for the day, we headed to the Skio Pottery in Waternish, where potter Kayti Peschke, one half of Skio with partner Luke Seaton, showed us around their clifftop studio.
If you love simple, beautiful and functional ceramics, you must visit. Ruth and I both left with spoils…
The Skio duo make a range of beautifully crafted stoneware in small batches for both The Three Chimneys and The Three Chimneys at Talisker. The latter is situated at the distillery’s waterfront space at Carbost on the shores of Loch Harport. With its huge picture window, the views out to the Cuillins are jaw-dropping.
Reflecting the rise of the “gastro distillery”, The Three Chimneys at Talisker offers a more casual and affordable dining experience, but the quality of food and service is still second to none.
As the sun started to set over the Cuillins, we headed to Talisker Beach, parking just that little bit further away from the grey sandy beach surrounded by soaring cliffs so that some yomping up hill and down dale would offer a balm to our Presbyterian souls.
As the sun set on another bonnie day on Planet Skye, we happily headed back to base for a second evening of fine dining – and fine sleeping.
Factfile
Jan stayed at The Three Chimneys as a guest of The Wee Hotel Company. Its Wee Winter Break at The Three Chimneys and The House Over-By includes overnight accommodation and breakfast for two guests until March 31. This package price starts from £275 per room, per night, based on two people sharing a room on a bed and breakfast basis. For more information visit threechimneys.co.uk
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe