After Bunnahabhain, we taxied to the Lockindaal Hotel in Port Charlette. All the roads on Islay are single lane with pull-outs located every so often for passing. I did not get comfortable with the left-hand side driving and we continually found ourselves looking the wrong way when crossing the street. There is no way I’d want to drive in Scotland because I had a tough enough time as a passenger.
Lockindaal Hotel and Restaurant
I really like the Lochindaal Hotel, 5 stars. For me, it provides the perfect mix of approachability and comfort. The 5th generation of MacLellans are old enough to manage a few chores between the hotel, pub and family owned restaurant down the road. I made reservations ahead of time at the Lochindaal Restaurant, home of the famous Seafood Platter. I’m not sure how famous the platter really is, so we stuck with the menu items. Wow, Iain MacLellan really knows how to cook. The people are friendly, and the restaurant is cozy with a peat burning stove at the far end.
I had a fish stew and we both enjoyed our meals enough to take a leap into the seafood platter for the following evening. Yes, sometimes a restaurant is so good that its not worth taking a chance somewhere else for the sake of eating somewhere else. Believe me, if there was a huge option for dining in Port Charlette I may think otherwise, but we made the best decision to stick with the good food and people. The next day, after Bruichladdich, Kilchoman and 7 miles of hiking, the seafood platter was a perfect meal. Basically, the platter is so big, the dinner might as well be all you can eat.
Give us 24 hours and we may know everyone around. Port Charlette is a pretty small town. The Lochindaal Hotel sports both the best breakfast and best pub. The boys of the 5th generation make themselves known and are pretty fun. And basically, we started our days with the Full Scottish Breakfast and ended our evenings with unique bottlings from the wide selection of Scotches, Blues on the jukebox and some modified games of pool. We were not the only ones with a routine schedule. In the mornings, a local couple and their son had breakfast with us. The local construction crew came in at 9ish every day for their breakfast and other guests made their way through the pub in the evening. The pub is broken into two sections, the sitting section is where breakfast is served. The music and pool table section is where we planted ourselves sharing stories with the younger crowd. This younger crowd mainly consisted of two teenaged MacLellan boys and their friends, supplemented by the work staff from the family’s restaurant down the road. Making friends with this crew was both fun and adventurous.
Getting back to the Seafood Platter. As we approached the restaurant the second night, we ran into one of the restaurant staffers outside. He invited us into the kitchen through the back door where we met Iain. He was holding a crate of live lobsters and suggested we pick one for our platter. This was pretty fun to be in the action of the kitchen selecting our food with the owner.
We walked around front and surprised all the wait staff. After all, why would two random Americans be walking through the kitchen. This was Saturday night and the same staff as the previous night were working. The restaurant seats about 20 people at 7 or 8 tables. As we walked to our table, we stopped to talk with the couple we met at breakfast. We sat down and as we did, in walked another couple we had met at Bruichladdich. So, we talked with them. We did not need to order food as the Seafood Platter was pre-ordered the night before. Instead we talked a bit with our waitress. Then a woman we met while hiking to Kilchoman came in and sat next to us and we talked with her. At this point, the restaurant was full and we knew almost everyone.
Then the food arrived. Holy cow, the biggest pile of shellfish I’ve ever seen. Lobster, crab, prawn of several types and sautéed scallops. Lobster, crab and prawn are pretty good on the whole, but those scallops were the best I’ve ever eaten. I live next to a fish monger in Chicago and I make scallops at home but not of the same league as these scallops. The restaurant scallop sauce is a secret family recipe. The sauce must include reduced fish stock, scotch and anything else that’s good in this world. When we asked, Iain said a New York Times crew once visited three nights in a row trying to decode the recipe and failed. The secrets of Islay.