Located in a former crofter’s cottage and boat store on the shores of Loch, Inver is an emphatic celebration of Scotland’s larder that displays great reverence to the provenance and quality of its local ingredients.
Chef Pamela Brunton took over the running of the Inver with her husband Rob in the spring of 2015, and with their friends and family have built the sort of place they like to spend time. The cosy lounge-bar provides the setting for a pre-dinner craft ale or glass of natural wine and gives way to a vintage-style dining room that overlooks the Loch.
The à la carte lunch and dinners menus feature fresh, simply prepared seafood, as well as native meat and game in season. A four-course tasting menu is also served in the evenings, which uses current cooking techniques and a combination of local, wild and farmed ingredients to offer a contemporary take on traditional and forgotten Scottish dishes.
Brunton’s CV is weighty, and includes stints at revered, trend-setting establishments including Noma in Copenhagen; and Faviken in Jarpen, Sweden. Given that pedigree, it’s unsurprising that Inver bears the imprimatur of the New Nordic principles.
Sustainability, in particular, is key, with Brunton focused on supporting and maintaining the ecosystem that surrounds her restaurant. It is this ecological commitment that led Inver to become one of the first to be awarded the new Michelin Green Star, which recognises sustainable gastronomy and distinguishes restaurants taking responsibility in the conversation of resources and the protection of biodiversity.
