The estate-to-table inn was described as “full of warmth”.
The inn was praised for its food and cosy ambience(Image: Kinneuchar Inn)
A Scottish inn has been named the “best pub for a family celebration” in the country. It was praised for its fresh food offerings and cosy atmosphere.
On Wednesday, November 5, The Good Food Guide published a list of the top 17 pubs across the UK for gathering with family and friends. The only Scottish venue to be named on the roundup is The Kinneuchar Inn in Fife.
Situated in the village of Kilconquhar, The Kinneuchar Inn is a 17th century pub and restaurant. The inn was previously named the Best Local Restaurant in Scotland in 2023 by The Good Food Guide, and features on the guide’s 2025 list of the 100 best pubs in the UK.
The Good Food Guide assigned a rating of ‘good’ to the venue’s uniqueness and ‘deliciousness’, while its warmth earned a rating of ‘very good’. Overall, The Kinneuchar Inn was given a ‘very good’ recommendation by the food experts.
The Kinneuchar Inn offers a daily-changing à la carte menu that is based on ingredients that are sourced from the nearby Balcaskie Estate. The inn’s chef and co-owner James Ferguson was praised by The Good Food Guide for being “plugged into local supply lines”.
Among the starter dishes listed on the inn’s November 2025 sample menu are Castelfranco with pickled pears, robiola, hazelnuts, and Pecorino and Shetland Mussels with puntarelle, radish, chilli, and lemon. Also on offer is deep-fried purple sprouting broccoli with parsley cream and Cantabrian anchovy and hot smoked beef brisket with apple and mustard butter and pickled walnut.
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Meanwhile, mains include spiced aubergine with chickpeas, tomatoes, and labneh, Tamworth pork chop with Manteca beans, squash, and anchovy, and day boat plaice with roast cauliflower, leeks, and Scottish girolles. Additionally, guests can enjoy desserts such as banana bread with rum and raisin ice cream and treacle tart with crème fraîche.
On special occasions and Bank Holiday Mondays, The Kinneuchar Inn also serves its “super special” Kinneuchar Fried Chicken Buns. The delicacy, which started as a lockdown-era takeaway option, has become a favourite amongst regulars.
With Christmas coming up, The Kinneuchar Inn has unveiled its special one-off seasonal menus that will be available on December 24 and 31. Dishes such as rotisserie lamb leg and tzatziki and baked cod and roast red peppers will be on offer on Christmas Eve, while the Hogmanay menu features grilled Lincoln red beef sirloin and Sauce Valois, roast Shetland cod, and more.
In addition to the main dining area, which was praised by The Good Food Guide for its candlelit ambience and “air of simple rusticity”, the inn also features a private dining room. Seating up to 27 guests, the space includes its own bar, conservatory, and courtyard.
The inn is also dog-friendly, with up to two dogs per booking welcome in its bar area. However, customers are advised to inform staff beforehand if they are planning to bring their four-legged friend.
The Good Food Guide states: “The sign outside this whitewashed 17th-century inn—and its logo—reference the local custom of curling on the frozen waters of nearby Loch Kilconquhar, although most attention focuses on the output of the pub’s kitchen these days.
Hake with chick peas, rainbow chard, and an anchovy sauce at The Kinneuchar Inn(Image: Callum Moffat / Daily Record)
“This part of Fife feels fairly remote, but chef/co-owner James Ferguson is plugged into local supply lines—not least from the Balcaskie Estate, which oversees 2,000 acres of mainly coastal farmland hereabouts.
“Menus change daily, depending on what produce arrives at the kitchen door, so expect anything from refined seafood dishes such as steamed razor clams in oloroso to a starter of Shetland lamb offal, fired with pickled chilli and served with yoghurt flatbread.
“Line-caught mackerel might take its place among mains, grilled and served with horseradish-infused baby beetroot, while russet Tamworths provide the pork chops that are cooked with fennel, onions and sage.
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“When it comes to finishers, homemade ice creams with oaty shortbread are hard to beat, or look further afield for a sorbet of Amalfi lemons soused in Polish vodka. Drinks include craft beers and cider, plus a short but enterprising wine selection.”
The guide added: “There are tables outside for the balmy seasons, and an air of simple rusticity within (complete with candlelight in the evenings)—thanks to co-owner Alethea Palmer, who runs the place with appreciable cheer and a breadth of welcome that extends to pre-advised dogs in the bar area.”
The full list of 17 best pubs in the UK for a family celebration can be found on The Good Food Guide website.