A Taste of Scotland: what to eat and drink

If you’re planning a visit to Scotland, here are my favourite must-try traditional Scottish foods.

My top 10 traditional Scottish dishes to try

Looking for traditional Scottish food? From haggis to smoked salmon, here are the most famous Scottish foods to try:

Scottish smoked salmon– cured with salt and sometimes flavoured with herbs (gravlax), smoked salmon is then traditionally cold-smoked over oak chips. It is typically served thinly sliced and often accompanied by capers, and lemon. You can also get hot smoked salmon, which isn’t necessarily served hot – it is just the way it has been smoked. Always look for wild salmon rather than farmed.
Scotch beef and lamb – Scottish beef and lamb is renowned for its quality and flavour. Scotland has ideal grazing conditions for cattle and sheep and produces some of the best beef in the world. Ask your restaurant if your beef or lamb is Scotch and try beef as steaks, roasts, or in traditional dishes like steak pie and mince and tatties or cottage or shepherds pie.
Scottish game – you will regularly find game on menus across scotland – partridge, pheasant, pigeon and grouse, but most commonly venison. You will find casseroles (venison slow-cooked with vegetables, herbs, and rich stock or red wine), venison steaks and venison burgers on Scottish restaurant menus.
Haggis – no visit to Scotland is complete without trying haggis. Our national dish is a savory pudding made from a blend of sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs, mixed with oatmeal, onions, suet, and spices. It is far more tasty than it sounds! Haggis is usually served alongside neeps (mashed turnips) and tatties (mashed potatoes), haggis is the ultimate in Scottish comfort food.
Cullen Skink – a traditional Scottish soup hailing from the coastal town of Cullen. This hearty soup is made from smoked haddock, potatoes, onions, and cream, and has a rich and smoky flavour. The best stuff is so thick that you can stand your spoon up in it!
Scottish prawns – otherwise known as langoustines, Scottish prawns are huge and are served in their shells, hot or cold, and usually come with a big bowl of salty chips and sometimes garlic mayo for dipping.
Fresh crab – best served hot from a seafood shack. Grab a bench and tuck in to crab claws or a crab butty. In seaside towns you may find dressed crab on the menu.
The Scottish Fry Up (the Scottish Full Breakfast) – a full breakfast of bacon, square or link sausage, eggs your way, tattie scone, hash brown, mushrooms, beans, haggis and black pudding served with an Irn Bru.
Shortbread – a classic Scottish biscuit (cookie) made with butter, sugar, and flour. It has a crumbly texture and a rich, buttery taste. Millionaires shortbread is traditional shortbread topped with layers of caramel and chocolate. An Empire Biscuit is two shortbread biscuits sandwiched together with raspberry jam and topped with icing and a glace cherry or sweet.
Scottish Tablet – like fudge? You will love tablet. Your teeth won’t as tablet is sugary, buttery, crumbly, delicious – and addictive.

Scottish fish dishes

With over 11,000 miles of coastline, 7,500 miles of river network and 25,000 fresh water lochs, Scotland is renowned for its fish. Here is what to try:

Fish supper (fish and chips) – fresh white fish, often haddock or cod, is dipped in batter or breaded and deep-fried until crispy. It is served with chips (fries) and usually accompanied by tartar sauce or mushy peas.

Arbroath smokie – this is a specialty dish from the town of Arbroath. It consists of haddock that is gutted, salted, and hot-smoked over hardwood chips. The resulting fish has a distinctive smoky flavour and is often served with butter and bread.

Fish Pie – a comforting and hearty dish, fish pie combines various types of fish, such as salmon, cod, and haddock, with a creamy sauce and topped with mashed potatoes. It is then baked until the top is golden and bubbling.

Scottish prawns – otherwise known as langoustines, Scottish prawns are huge and are served in their shells, hot or cold, and usually come with a big bowl of salty chips.

Cullen Skink – Scotland’s most famous soup, Cullen Skink is a delicious soup of potato, onion, smoked haddock, bay leaves, chicken stock, cream and black pepper. The best place to try Cullen Skink is in the town where it was first made, Cullen on the Moray Firth.

Salmon – Scotland is famous for its high-quality salmon, thanks to its pristine rivers and lochs. It can be served smoked (hot smoked, or cold smoked) grilled, or poached. Scottish salmon is the best in the world, imo. Just add bread and butter, or even scrambled eggs at breakfast.

Smoked salmon– cured with salt and sometimes flavoured with herbs (gravlax) then traditionally cold-smoked over oak chips. It is typically served thinly sliced on oatcakes, often accompanied by capers, and lemon.

Crab claws – especially from the seafood shack in Ullapool. Grab a bench and tuck in.

Scottish meat dishes

Scottish meat is renowned across the world – and not just for our most famous of dishes, haggis. Here are more traditional meat dishes you will find on restaurant menus in Scotland.

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties

Haggis is Scotland’s national dish and a must-try. It is a savoury pudding made from sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs, combined with oatmeal, onions, suet, and spices. Traditionally, haggis is encased in a sheep’s stomach and then simmered.. It is typically served with neeps (mashed turnips) and tatties (mashed potatoes) or as haggis bon bons with a whisky sauce.

Scotch Beef and Lamb

Scottish beef and lamb is renowned for its quality and flavour. Scotland has ideal grazing conditions for cattle and produces some of the best beef in the world. Ask your restaurant if your beef or lamb is Scotch and try beef as steaks, roasts, or in traditional dishes like steak pie and mince and tatties or cottage or shepherds pie.

More meat dishes to try in Scotland

Forfar Bridie – The Forfar Bridie is a savoury pastry originating from Forfar in Angus, Scotland. It is a baked pastry filled with minced beef, onions, and seasonings.
Game – you will regularly find game on menus across scotland – partridge, pigeon and grouse, but most commonly venison. You will find casseroles (venison slow-cooked with vegetables, herbs, and rich stock or red wine), venison steaks and venison burgers on Scottish restaurant menus.
Stovies – a delicious popular Scottish dish made of potatoes, onions and, traditionally, leftover roast meat. A great winter warmer dish!
Chicken balmoral – commonly found in traditional Scottish restaurants, this is a variation on a theme of chicken stuffed with haggis, wrapped in bacon, usually seved with a peppercorn sauce.
Mince and tatties – a very traditional Scottish dish of minced beef served with potatoes – very simple but delicious.
Scotch broth – a soup made with lamb or mutton, barley, and a variety of vegetables such as carrots, leeks, celery, and onions. It is a popular dish, especially during the colder months, and is often served with crusty bread.
Chicken tikka masala – a Glasgow invention – spiced chicken in a mild tasty sauce.

The Scottish Breakfast

From a ‘roll and sausage’ to a full ‘fry up’, from porridge to kedgeree, the best way to start your day is with a traditional Scottish breakfast. Here is what you will be offered to eat for breakfast in Scotland.

Porridge – a breakfast of Scottish porridge is guaranteed to set you up for the day – and probably the next day too. This most traditional of Scottish breakfast is oats soaked in milk or water, and served with honey, jam, or even whisky or salt.

The Scottish Fry Up (The Scottish Full Breakfast) – a full breakfast is typically a cooked breakfast served with an Irn Bru – and is often made up of:

Bacon – typically back bacon, which is less fatty compared to streaky bacon. It is fried or grilled until crispy.
Sausage – pork or beef traditional sausages are common in a full Scottish breakfast but you might also get square or ‘lorne’ sausage’ which is a square-shaped, flat sausage made from minced meat.
Black Pudding – a type of blood sausage made from mixture of pork blood, suet, oats, and spices. It is sliced and fried until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Haggis – savoury pudding made from sheep’s offal (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onions, oatmeal, suet, and spices. It is usually boiled, fried, or grilled.
Eggs – fried, scrambled, or poached.
Tattie scone – potato scones made with mashed potatoes, flour, and butter. They are usually cooked on a griddle or in a pan until golden brown.
Baked Beans – a common accompaniment to a Scottish breakfast. You can also find beans served on toast – called ‘beans on toast’.
You might also find mushrooms, fried tomatoes, hash browns, fried bread, or even spinach.

Butteries and other pastries – a buttery or a ‘rowie’ is a type of salty croissant that you find at breakfast in the north east,

Kedgeree – a smoked haddock rice dish which is made with indian flavours

Smoked salmon – cold smoked salmon is often served with scrambled eggs.

Breakfast rolls – bacon, egg, haggis, black pudding, or lorne sausage with tattie scone in a fluffy white morning roll.

Traditional Scottish desserts, cakes, puddings and snacks

You always need to leave room for Scottish desserts and puddings! These are my favourite traditional scottish desserts:

Sticky toffee pudding – a moist sponge cake made with dates, covered in a rich toffee sauce, and typically served with vanilla ice cream or custard.

Shortbread – a classic Scottish biscuit (cookie) made with butter, sugar, and flour. It has a crumbly texture and a rich, buttery taste. Shortbread is often enjoyed alongside a cup of tea or coffee and is a popular souvenir to bring back from Scotland. Millionaires shortbread is traditional shortbread topped with layers of caramel and chocolate.

Cranachan – this is a traditional Scottish dessert features layers of whipped cream, raspberries, toasted oats, and sometimes a generous drizzle of honey or whisky.

Scottish Tablet – like fudge? You will love tablet. Your teeth won’t as tablet is sugary, buttery, crumbly, delicious – and addictive.

Teacakes – one of Scotland’s most famous brand, Tunnocks, make delicious tea cakes – a biscuit base topped with marshmallow covered in chocolate.

Dundee Cake – a rich fruitcake that originated in Dundee, Scotland. It is made with almonds, currants, sultanas, and sometimes cherries. The cake has a dense texture and is often topped with whole almonds.

Oatcakes – a type of biscuit (cookie) made with oats, flour, and butter. They have a slightly savoury taste and a crumbly texture. Oatcakes are often eaten with cheese or as a base for various toppings like smoked salmon or pâté.

Empire Biscuit – two shortbread biscuits sandwiched together with raspberry jam and topped with icing and a glace cherry or sweet.

Garibaldi Biscuits, also known as “squashed fly biscuits,” are made with currants sandwiched between layers of thin, sweet pastry. They are named after the Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi.

Scottish drinks – what to drink in Scotland

Scottish Whisky

Scotland is world-renowned for its whisky production. Distilleries throughout the country produce a wide range of whisky styles, from smoky and peaty Islay malts to smooth and fruity Highland whiskies. Visitors can take distillery tours to learn about the whisky-making process and sample different expressions.

Scottish Ales and Beers

Scotland boasts a thriving craft beer scene, with numerous breweries producing a diverse range of ales and beers. Traditional Scottish ales such as Scotch Ale and Scottish Export are known for their malty, rich flavors. Be sure to try local brews and explore the beer offerings in various pubs and bars.

Irn-Bru

Scotland’s most popular carbonated soft drink, often referred to as “Scotland’s other national drink” (after whisky). It has a unique, slightly citrusy flavor and vibrant orange color. Irn-Bru is a beloved Scottish beverage and can be found in stores, pubs, and restaurants throughout the country.

Scottish Gin

In recent years, Scottish gin has experienced a surge in popularity. Craft distilleries across Scotland produce a wide range of gins infused with various botanicals, including locally sourced ingredients. Scottish gin often showcases flavours such as heather, seaweed, or berries.

Time to tuck in!

Love, from Scotland x

kate@lovefromscotland.co.uk

The travel blogger and photographer behind Love from Scotland