Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

As I have mentioned a few times, my parents are in the midst of a trip to Scotland.  During the trip, my parents have been acting as “roving reporters”.   Today’s post is a review of 9 famous, authentic and traditional Scottish foods.  For previous posts in the series, see

Today’s post comes from my Dad who reports on some of the authentic Scottish foods he tried while in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas of Scotland.

So you may be wondering, “What do people eat in Scotland?” or the real question, “Did you eat any Haggis?” I’ll answer that further down. First, some other traditional Scottish fare to try if you’re wanting a taste of Scotland:

1. Fish and Chips

As in the states, this is battered and fried fish with French fried potatoes. Our first night in Scotland, we were exhausted by the time we found our Marriott hotel in Glasgow, so we ate at the hotel restaurant. (READ MORE: “Today was the worst day of my life“)  Fish and Chips were a menu choice, and I tried that, thinking it might be a bit different in its country of origin. Not so. Christy had a burger. We knew it would be expensive eating at the hotel, but $45? Ouch.

a plate of food with crackers and mashed potatoes

Haggis, tatties and neeps – CC 2.0 license via Wikimedia

2. Tatties and Neeps

Tatties are potatoes, and Neeps are Turnips. We grew turnips in our garden this year, and I found a recipe in a Scottish Recipes book a friend had given me, so I tried this at home before we went. The potatoes and turnips are cooked and mashed together, and flavored with onions and butter. The turnips add a distinctive flavor, but I think I could acquire the taste. I never did see this on a menu of the restaurants we visited.

3. Sweet Potato soup/chili

I had this at 2 different lunch stops. The best was at “the Real Food Café”, where they served it with 2 thick slices of multi-grain bread. This was in the small town of Tyndrum, a bit north of Loch Lomond. It had been a gray, misty, rainy morning, spent driving on narrow curvy roads with a 60 mph speed limit, so I was glad to get out of the car, and get some warm food.

a plate of food and a bowl of soup

4. Linnhe Salmon

being a large island with many firths (bays and inlets), Scotland has lots of coastline, and lots of fishing villages. Monday night (8/14) we were in Fort William, a port city in Western Scotland, at the head of Loch Linnhe. Usually lochs are freshwater lakes, but this one is a sea loch, with tides. We went to dinner at “the Geographer”, and tried the local salmon (named after the loch), blackened on a bed of bean salad with sautéed veggies. I love salmon, and was not disappointed. A sign on the wall said, “please enjoy your food, but don’t take pictures of it”.

5. Oatmeal porridge

This was long a staple food in Scotland, as oats grew well in the highlands. It has also been a standard breakfast in my diet since my college days. So when I finally got some good Scottish oatmeal for breakfast in Fort William, I felt right at home.

6. Cullen Skink

this is a potato and onion chowder made with smoked Haddock. On Tuesday afternoon (8/15) we took the steam train from Fort William out to the west coast and the little fishing village of Mallaig. I think everyone from the train crowded into the few restaurants there for dinner before making the return trip. We did the same. On their menu I saw “Cullen Skink” and gave it a try. Pretty similar to clam chowder, which I like.

a man eating ice cream at a table

7. Macaroni and Cheese

I know, this sounds American, but apparently it has become popular in Scotland. We saw it on the menus at several restaurants. Christy tried it at the Culloden Moor Inn (near Inverness), and was well pleased. I had chile con carne with minced steak, over rice. Our B&B host had warned us ahead of time that the servings tend to be large, so we both went for half servings, and it was plenty.

8. Venison

On our last night in Scotland, we finished our tour of Edinburgh castle just before dinner time, and had several hours to kill before attending the Military Tattoo, which is held on the esplanade right in front of the castle. Just outside the gates we found the “Cannonball Restaurant & Bar”, so named for a cannonball lodged in the outside wall that faces the castle. There were several versions of how it got there. The owner was an Italian born Scotsman, and the real name of the restaurant was “Victor & Carina Contini Café” on the Royal Mile. This is where I got to try venison and potatoes. I’m not sure I could tell it apart from beef if I were blindfolded. After dinner, our host let us hang out in the restaurant for perhaps an hour, which saved us a lot of walking. He also made arrangements with security for the Tattoo show to bring a wheelchair for Christy, pushed by 2 young volunteers. They took us up the cobblestone road, past the lines and entry gate, right up to our section of the grandstand. We thanked Victor profusely.

9. Scottish shortbread biscuits

Finally, shortbread biscuits are a great example of authentic Scottish food.  Very popular around Christmas and New Year’s

And of course, no list of Scottish foods would be complete without haggis – probably Scotland’s most famous, or notorious, food item. According to my recipe book, it is minced organ meat from a sheep, cooked in the stomach bag of a sheep. It is famously lauded in Robert Burn’s poem “Ode to the Haggis”, and is served at every Robert Burns dinner (held on the poet’s birthday, January 25th). I found some Haggis and minced beef pies at the local grocery store in Edinburgh.

food in a pan next to a package

Two pies for 1.00 pound – that’s about $1.30 US. And yes, I ate them both. Not much different than sausage. It all depends on the spices. Oh, and I have photo evidence and a witness to prove it.

Featured image CC-by-2.0 from Wikimedia Commons

Which are your favorite authentic and traditional Scottish foods?  Leave a note in the comments!

Grab a taste of Scotland with these traditional and authentic Scottish food recipes.  Breakfast, meals, and snacks for kids are ...


This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them

User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.

BoardingArea