DAMNED FYNE FOOD

The Mystery Diner goes sailing around Loch Fyne and savours some extraordinarily good seafood restaurants

The mystery diner visits The Oystercatcher Inn while sailing on Loch Fyne

When the sun is up, there is nowhere better in the world than the West Coast. And the sun’s been up a lot of late.

So, being determined to make the most of this once-in-a-generation summer, I returned to my old stamping ground of Loch Fyne for a few days in the best possible fashion – on the water.

If you are wondering what on earth this has to do with a column on restaurants, then you are clearly unaware of the remarkable abundance of seafood restaurants in this part of the world. Nor are they just decent restaurants; this, I knew, would be a journey that would make my heart sing.

The five of us – three 21-year-olds, myself and my pal the skipper – started off from Greenock in blazing sunshine. The plan was for a leisurely jaunt that would last four nights, where we’d eat out two or three times and cook on board once or twice.

Our trail would take us past a selection of the country’s most remarkable seafood restaurants. After motoring past the venerable Livingstone’s at Dunoon, on the first night we moored just upstream from the Colintraive Inn, where Patricia Watt has long had a reputation for serving heaving platters of langoustines. It’s also worth trying Patricia’s signature dish of linguini pasta pescatori with mussels, crayfish tails, king prawns and garlicky tomato sauce, a wonderful recipe she inherited from her Italian mother.

Sadly we made the decision not to eat there, and moved on. As we progressed around the Kyles of Bute and into Loch Fyne, we passed two places where I used to love to eat when I lived in the west but which I haven’t visited for some time: the Royal An Lochan in Tighnabruaich, and the Marina Restaurant at Portavadie.

Instead, our destination was the remote Inver, on the east bank of Loch Fyne which under new patron-chef Pam and Rob Lorimer has been making a name for itself as a possible Michelin-starred destination of the near future. I have been to this place countless times and love it for its rustic charm and the beautiful pre-lunch walk around the bay to the ruined Old Castle Lachlan. Sadly, though, we were out of luck: a flurry of phone calls established it was closed the day we arrived and full the next.

So we reverted to another old favourite, the Oystercatcher, a remote but exquisite gastropub at Otter Ferry, opposite the entrance to the Crinan

Canal at Ardrishaig. This gorgeous old ferry inn was taken over three years ago by Chloe Stapleton and Dave Wall, who have revolutionised the place. They’ve upgraded in the sort of muted colours that you see in slick city gastropubs, but without losing the character of the place.

The beers are from nearby breweries and the food has changed out of all recognition too. As well as home-baked bread and the now obligatory dedication to local produce – Ballimore Oysters and Evanachan cheese are sourced within a mile, the shellfish arrives from Tarbert four times a week, the fish from Glasgow fish market, the nearby Shellfield Farm supplies lamb and Auchinbreck Farm delivers rare breed pork – the real revelation is the pared-down presentation and contemporary use of ingredients.

The menu changes almost by the hour depending on availability, but whether it was the thick but gloriously tasty cullen skink or the moules mariniere with chilli, our starters were all worth waiting for. So, too, were the main courses of pan-fried hake with chilli, lime and basil, and the whole roasted (and disconcertingly blackened) mackerel. But the real star of the show was the huge Tarbert-landed whole crab in a chilli and ginger broth, with home-cut chips which two of my companions pulled apart, sighing with pleasure as they ate.

The puddings were decent too, with the home-made ice cream being my favourite, although the creme brulee and dark chocolate brownie with pecan and raspberries also went down a storm. Not that it was cheap: the starters ranged from £5.50-£10.50, the main courses started at £13 and the puddings were £6.50.

After leaving Otter Ferry, we sailed past Inver Cottage and Creggans at Strachur, then headed up Loch Fyne to Inveraray and another old haunt in The George. This wonderful pub is at its best in the winter when its roaring fires, real ales, huge whisky collection and easyeating comfort food make a compelling mix, but even in the summer its terrace was a good stopping off point.

Our remaining stop was at the picturesque fishing village of Tarbert on the Mull of Kintyre. The area is rich with seafood restaurants (like the marvellous Kilberry Inn, ten miles out of town), but the Starfish has emerged as comfortably the best despite being off the main drag. With its stone walls and super-friendly staff, this bustling and perennially full little restaurant is a gem, mainly because the fish is so fresh that I had to order three times as they had just run out of the dish I wanted. If you go there, I recommend the whitebait, seafood stroganoff and razor clams.

And with that we were back to base, replete with a new stock of culinary memories and a determination to come back for longer next time.