Seggat Farm Holiday Cottages

There is a luxurious feel to this smartly renovated pub, where the cooking mixes the modern with the traditional. Among the well-executed dishes on the menu are some contemporary choices alongside recognisable classics like rib-eye steak, fish & chips and chicken liver parfait. Come at lunchtime to enjoy their classically served haggis, neaps and tatties, which is a real treat. Four bedrooms, cosy sitting rooms and an immaculate terrace complete the very pretty picture.

Kevin Dalgleish is a well-known chef in Aberdeen and his restaurant occupies the spacious basement of a granite townhouse, in a quiet residential neighbourhood yet just minutes from the city centre. Kick off with a drink in the bar or by the wood burning stove. The kitchen use prime Scottish ingredients blended with French techniques to create good-looking dishes that deliver on flavour.

Tucked away in a city centre side street is this restaurant run by a friendly team with a genuine desire to please. Given the name, it's unsurprising to find a French bistro style to the décor, including simple wooden tables and wood panelling on the walls. The menu has a similarly Gallic influence, with time-honoured classics like pommes anna and crème brûlée to be found on the à la carte – yet there is a modernity and creativity in the cooking too, alongside technical skill from the kitchen team.

Forming part of The Macallan Estate, this is a beautiful restaurant from top to bottom. It sits on the first floor of the futuristic distillery, with floor-to-ceiling windows affording Speyside views that are just as stunning as the open kitchen, the whisky wall and the wine cellar. There’s immaculate presentation in the cooking too, on a menu overseen by the Roca brothers from the famed El Celler de Can Roca in Girona. Their signature ‘Lactic’ dessert makes an appearance, as do several nods to Scotland. Go for the whisky pairing, as it seems appropriate here.