Wining and dining on Islay

In my Islay travelogue I already mentioned the superb dinner we had at the Harbour Inn in Bowmore. We enjoyed the best (Islay) steak we ever had complimented with Haggis and an Islay Ale. So it doesn't come as a suprise that the Observer newspaper's restaurant critics placed the Harbour Inn in the top 50 of the “nation’s best for the perfect summer’s lunch”, with the following enthusiastic entry:

“This whitewashed Inn serves dishes that are firmly built on the island’s produce; oysters gratinéed with leeks and cream, baked crab with a soufflé topping and Lagavulin Bay scallops are just a few examples from their mouth-watering menu. You can practically smell the fresh shellfish being unloaded at the harbour from the Inn’s restaurant but local game and meat are also superb.”