John McNulty’s award-winning Etive Restaurant has relocated to Oban, to allow the chef and his new business partner, sommelier David Lapsley, to concentrate on the restaurant brand.
The Taynuilt, the old coaching Inn, where John launched Etive in 2017, is undergoing a major refurbishment and will re-open later in the year as an unlicensed guesthouse. Meanwhile the new restaurant is now up and running in the old Light of India premises at 43 Stevenson Street, Oban.
David told DRAM, “When John opened Etive, it was with the plan for the hotel and restaurant to become a destination for people. However, we quickly found although it was successful, most of our custom was coming from Oban.” He continued, “I’d been thinking about buying my own restaurant and then it made sense for us to do it together.”
Says John, “We have worked really hard to establish the Etive so it is very exciting to be joining Oban’s culinary scene and introduce what we do to an even wider audience.”
The new site can seat up to 20 customers, and will follow Etive’s ethos at the original restaurant “where sea meets land”. It will operate as a showcase of John’s cooking, with affordable a la carte and tasting menus that concentrate on innovative cooking using the very best locally sourced produce. It opens from Wednesday – Sunday for lunch and dinner.
