8 Best Restaurants in The Borders and the Southwest, Scotland

The arrival of this tiny family-run restaurant has lifted Dumfries' status in the culinary world. The menu is small and changes regularly but is always creative and adventurous with clear Mediterranean influences. Try the slow beef with polenta or the wolf fish with broccoli and wild garlic. Reservations are essential.

Lovely and old-fashioned, this white-washed inn is always full, mainly because of its good beer and hearty, well-cooked food including steak and ale pie. Located directly on the harbor, it has few local rivals, but customers come from far and wide to eat here and walk the headland behind the pub to the rocky shore of the Solway Firth. That exercise may help you appreciate the excellent housemade desserts. When weather permits, you can eat at tables in the garden. For those who want to linger, there are also seven reasonably priced guest rooms, five of which overlook the pretty harbor.

This charming 18th century building in Melrose´s central square offers an interesting bar menu that includes Camembert croquettes and Kofta kebabs. The main supper menu is ambitious, with choices like monkfish tail and salmon with prawn risotto.

A country hotel that recalls an old coaching inn, the opulent dining room at the Horseshoe Inn has large gold-framed mirrors and heavy drapes to emphasize its grand style. The dinner menu combines well-established favorites with fine dining, from fish-and-chips to roast lamb and baked cod. There's an impressive three-course roast menu on Sundays for £25. As you would expect, the pace echoes the surroundings and the cuisine—slow with plenty of time to savor. If you elect to stay in the area, the restaurant also has eight rooms.

The atmosphere in this popular restaurant near the Eastgate Theatre on Peebles's main street is relaxed and cheerful; there is a buzz of conversation and an informality that reflects the shared plates that are the basis of the menu. These small plates make dining a creative experience as the dishes reflect and combine several culinary traditions. Options include pork collar with hispi cabbage, mushroom and peanut bao buns, and scallops with chicken butter sauce, just to name a few. The lunch menu is more in line with typical pub grub like bacon rolls and fish sandwiches.

The talented chef at this unpretentious restaurant has built its menu around what local suppliers can offer. This range of ingredients creates options like the wood pigeon starter and the occasional squirrel dish, which is very popular. There are also choices like smoked duck with blue cheese and hazelnut, game pie, and rack of lamb, too. The vegetarian menu is long and creative.

The interiors of this traditional red-sandstone house in central Jedburgh are quite conservative, but the fine-dining menu is creative. Food presentation is artistic, and the taste of what is always local produce confirms the artistry. You might begin with mussels marinière or queen scallop ceviche and continue with the sea bass with asaparagus risotto or the artichokes two ways. Thursday's steak nights are especially popular with rib-eye aficionados, and the restaurant has a cocktail bar and a house beer. There are simple but elegant bedrooms if you prefer to linger.

Just off the town's cobbled square, this well-established pub and restaurant with wooden tables and a bustling, cheerful atmosphere seems to be permanently busy. Its extensive menu combines generously sized burgers, steaks, and meat pies with the ever-popular fish-and-chips. The craft beers are good, food is delivered quickly and politely, and desserts are too tempting to resist, especially the sticky toffee pudding (made with dates) beloved by Scots. Reservations are advised for dinner, with the last food orders at 8:30 pm. There is live music on some nights.