Crofter’s Kitchen, the award-winning eatery on the NC500 next to Scourie Beach, has opened a converted 40-foot shipping container restaurant in one of Britain’s most remote coastal locations. In two seasons, the business has become one of the NC500’s best-known food stops winning Scotland’s Best Street Food at the Scotsman Scran Awards 2025, and holding a number one TripAdvisor ranking in Scourie, recording 94% year-on-year turnover growth in its second year.
The new indoor dining space, on Croft 17, Scouriemore, means that it will be open year-round for the first time and will operate beside the existing outdoor food truck.
Heather Mercer, co-founder of Crofter’s Kitchen, said, “We wanted to create the cosiest dining space in the Highlands. Paint-splattered timber, sheepskins on every chair, artwork by a local artist and the Atlantic metres away. We have taken the very best of what is on our doorstep and we are cooking it for everyone.”
Head Chef Grant Mercer, who left his role as head chef at the Kylesku Hotel to launch Crofter’s Kitchen in spring 2024, has built the menu around a 30-mile sourcing radius. It includes tandoori monkfish kebabs, wild garlic pesto gnocchi with fresh local fish, and a prawn and crayfish roll dressed in a house-made Irn-Bru hot sauce. Lobsters, langoustines and crab are supplied by a local fisherman, while scallops are hand-dived off the northwest Sutherland coast.
The project has been 18 months in development and has involved planning applications, architectural drawings, utility connections and funding applications which led to support from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish EDGE Regional Award in 2025.
