Fort William feeds walkers, and it shows. Portions are large, kitchens are used to people arriving muddy at eight in the evening, and the best meal of your trip will very probably be a bowl of something hot in a pub at the foot of a mountain you have just come down.
That said, the town has more range than it used to. There is proper cooking at the Lime Tree, a good Asian restaurant on the High Street, a well-regarded café scene and a distillery. It is a small town of five and a half thousand people serving a very large number of visitors, and the supply is tight in summer — book.
Most of the town’s eating is on one street.
The Tavern at the top end is the busiest gastropub in town and does the job well. Sónas further along covers modern Scottish cooking. The Highland Coo..k, at the same address as the Tavern, has built a strong reputation in a short time.
Tuk Tuk is the pan-Asian restaurant and takeaway, and is the one locals name when asked where they actually eat. Caol Kitchen, out at Caol, does Indian food to take away.
Caorann on Dudley Road is a small restaurant away from the main drag with a loyal following.
On Achintore Road, overlooking Loch Linnhe. The Lime Tree is a hotel, an art gallery and a restaurant in a converted manse, and the Silly Goose restaurant within it is the most ambitious cooking in Fort William. It is the place to book for a proper dinner rather than a post-walk refuel.
At Achintee, at the foot of the Mountain Track, three kilometres from the town. A converted stone barn with long tables, live music, bunkhouse accommodation below and a car park full of walking boots. It is where everyone eats after climbing Ben Nevis, and it has the best atmosphere of anywhere in Lochaber.
Getting a table on a summer evening is a matter of timing rather than booking. Arrive early or accept a wait.
The Wildcat on the High Street is the town’s best-known café — plant-based, with a shop attached, and consistently well reviewed. It is a genuinely good vegan café in a town not otherwise known for them.
The Highland Soap Company Larder Café at Banavie, next to the canal, does substantial food in a large modern space with a factory viewing area attached. It is a useful stop on the way to or from Glen Nevis and it works in bad weather.
Beyond those, the town has the usual run of bakeries, and there are cafés at the Nevis Range gondola base, the Glen Nevis visitor centre and the Glencoe visitor centre.
Ben Nevis Distillery, at the foot of the mountain, is one of the oldest licensed distilleries in Scotland, with tours, tastings, a visitor centre and a café. It is the obvious rainy-afternoon stop.
The town’s pubs carry the range of Highland beers, and there is a growing craft scene in Lochaber. Several of the hotels along Achintore Road have bars with a view down Loch Linnhe, which on a clear evening is worth more than the drink.
Glencoe and Ballachulish, twenty minutes south, have a cluster of good places — the Clachaig Inn in Glen Coe is a climbers’ institution with a formidable beer list and a reputation stretching back decades.
Kinlochleven, at the head of Loch Leven, has pubs used by West Highland Way walkers.
Corpach and Banavie have the soap company café and pubs by the canal.
Further out, Arisaig and Mallaig on the Road to the Isles have seafood restaurants working straight off the boats, and a day trip west that ends with langoustines in Mallaig is a good day out.
Venison from the estates, Highland beef, and above all seafood — Loch Linnhe and the sea lochs west of here produce langoustines, scallops, mussels and crab that mostly get exported, though more of it stays local than used to. Cullen skink, haggis and Scotch broth appear widely. And whisky, obviously, with Ben Nevis on the doorstep and the Speyside and Islay distilleries within reach.
Booking. Fort William in July and August is full, and the town’s restaurant capacity is small. Book dinner in the morning rather than the evening.
Timing. Kitchens close earlier than city visitors expect — around eight or half past in several places. Coming off Ben Nevis at nine in June is a real risk of missing dinner.
Walkers. Nobody minds boots and waterproofs at any time of day. This is not a town that stands on ceremony.
Self-catering. Morrisons is at An Aird with free parking, and there is a Tesco. A large proportion of visitors here self-cater in hostels, bunkhouses and caravans, and the shops are stocked for it.
Seasonal closing. Some places reduce hours from November to March, though the town stays open year-round for the winter climbing and skiing trade.
This is the category that matters most here, and it has its own rules. Coming off Ben Nevis or the West Highland Way, you want somewhere that will not mind boots, will serve substantial food at an awkward hour, and is near where you finished.
The Ben Nevis Inn at Achintee is the definitive answer — it is at the foot of the mountain path, it is a converted barn with long tables, and it exists for exactly this. The Tavern and Sónas on the High Street cover the town. The Clachaig Inn in Glen Coe does the same job for anyone finishing there, and has a beer list that walkers travel for.
The critical practical point is timing. Kitchens in Fort William close earlier than visitors expect, often around eight or half past. In June, when it is light until eleven, it is entirely possible to come down off the hill at nine feeling triumphant and find nothing open. Either eat before you go out, book a late table, or carry something for the car.
Fort William’s visitor numbers are enormous relative to its size — five and a half thousand residents serving hundreds of thousands of walkers, climbers, coach parties and Jacobite passengers. In July and August the restaurant supply is simply insufficient, and the town’s habit is to book early in the day rather than turn up in the evening.
The other busy periods are the winter climbing season from January to March, when the town fills with a different and equally hungry crowd, and the mountain bike World Cup weekend at the Nevis Range, when accommodation and tables vanish entirely.
Out of season, from November to March, some places reduce hours but the town does not close — the winter trade keeps it open, which is not true of most Highland towns.
The Silly Goose at the Lime Tree for a proper dinner; the Ben Nevis Inn for the atmosphere; Tuk Tuk for the food locals actually eat.
The Ben Nevis Inn at Achintee, at the foot of the path.
The Wildcat on the High Street is plant-based and one of the best-rated places in the town.
In July and August, yes. The town is small and the visitor numbers are not.
Ben Nevis Distillery, at the foot of the mountain, with tours and a café.