Michelin Recommended Eateries for 2023

Any restaurant or pub included by Michelin in its guides is sure to have many gourmands flocking to its doors. At these highly recommended eateries you are guaranteed sublime food and a warm welcome with attentive service. The inspectors look for the whole package before putting their name to a recommendation.

Seven restaurants spread across the South of Scotland made it into the UK Michelin Guide 2022. With the Lonely Planet recommending the South of Scotland as a Must Visit Destination for 2023, here are our Must Visit restaurants – book in during the quieter months and beat the crowds! And a couple are geographically close enough to sample more than one in a weekend – go on, great food Starts Here!

1610, The Globe Inn

Where: Dumfries

A new entry this year, the Globe Inn‘s 1610 restaurant offers casual fine dining with menus packed full of the seasonal, local produce. And while the pub’s history as the favourite haunt of the Nation’s poet Rabbie Burns has long been a reason to visit, the chefs in the kitchen are putting food front and centre. Michelin’s inspector calls the dishes “creative, modern, and full of colour and flavour”, and recognise the vintage-style restaurant with its Tam o Shanter mural makes for an atmospheric setting.
Added bonus: There’s an option for private dining if you want somewhere special to hold a family celebration.

Provender

Where: Melrose

Scottish, British and French cuisine mingle comfortably at Provender in Melrose. Michelin’s Bib Gourmand Guide, focuses on restaurants offering “simple yet skillful” cooking for under £30. The Michelin guide inspectors like this friendly, family-run restaurant with the chef’s time in London with renonwned chef Pierre Koffman showing in “well-executed, classically based dishes which deliver plenty of flavour and represent great value for money.” In festive season there is a Christmas Menu offering more than your average turkey and a seasonal tasting menu replacing the restaurant’s usual à la carte. If you’ve missed out on an evening meal, there is always brunch, on offer Wednesday – Sunday.
Added Bonus: Vegans are well catered for from snacks and starters through mains and pudding.

Auldgirth Inn

Where: Auldgirth

Chef Robert Macaleese has secured three AA rosettes and a mention in the 2022 Michelin guide for the Auldgirth Inn which gives you some idea of the quality of food awaiting you. Just down the road from where the great Robert Burns once lived, this roadside pub lays claim to Burns as a regular. Michelin notes the “eclectic menu ranges from pub favourites to some more adventurous combinations; all are generously proportioned and full of flavour.”
Added bonus: You can stay the night in the newly refurbished smart, modern bedrooms.

Osso

Where: Peebles

The style at Osso is British/European with a little Asian thrown in for good measure. This bright, modern dining room specialises in tapas-style small plates ideal for sharing. A light lunch might be two plates, with a full meal up to four. Starter style options include whipped salt cod mousse on toasted sour dough or mushroom and peanut bao bun. Try coley fillet in Goan curry sauce or beef shin croquettes and chilli cabbage slaw for more substantial fare. The friendly attentive staff impressed the Michelin inspectors just as much as the delicious food.
Added Bonus: Open for lunch as well as dinner which makes a great option for those wanting to sample and stay on budget.

Knockinaam Lodge

Where: Portpatrick

Once a Victorian shooting lodge, Knockinaam Lodge is now a 10-bedroom hotel with delicious food and glorious views over the Irish Sea. Referenced in John Buchan’s classic spy thriller The 39 Steps, Knockinaam also was the secret rendez-vous location for Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American Brigadier General Dwight D Eisenhower as they planned the D-Day landings. Today’s food is modern, evolving with the seasons – Michelin notes “the Drummore lobster ravioli has become something of a speciality”.
Added Bonus: Book in for the weekend, head out for a stunning coastal walk and then induldge in afternoon tea.

The Hoebridge

Where: Gattonside

The Hoebridge is a family-run restaurant that has won multiple accolades, including its entry in the Michelin guide. Local boy Kyle Tidd returned from New York City to take on this former pub in 2015. Decorated with simple elegant charm, the restaurant’s menu features the best of Scottish produce with on-site production where possible. Michelin praises “the carefully prepared local ingredients in flavour-packed, internationally influenced dishes”. Open Thursday through Saturday for evening meals and Sunday afternoons.
Added Bonus: The bar is open to all so even if you can’t snag a table you can enjoy a drink from their selection of natural and organic wines by the glass, local beers from the Tempest Brewery, cocktails and no- & low-alcohol alternatives.

The Limetree

Where: Moffat

The superb view down the valley matches the food at the Limetree. Run by a single chef, the “short seasonal menu features classically based dishes with rich flavours” according to Michelin. Do take note the restaurant opens from April to mid-October and for dinner only Tuesday to Saturday.
Added Bonus: Moffat is Europe’s first Dark Sky Town, so book in early or late in the season to get the best out of the wonderful starry skies.