The Trossachs is a wildly beautiful loch- and mountain-strewn region just an hour’s drive north of Glasgow. In 2002, the area became part of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. And even better news for visitors, a foodie revolution has since flourished among those alluring lochs and impressive mountains. The vats of coleslaw and fluorescent orange cheese have been binned and the focus has turned to the abundant native food — game, outdoor-bred livestock, seafood, fruit, vegetables and wild herbs. Here are some of the best places to find it.
Monachyle Mhor
Balquhidder
A remote and surprising lochside hotel and restaurant with an eclectic turn of design. Tom Lewis is the bubbly, madcap chef owner. He’s still involved — tending the vegetable garden, foraging, sorting meat from his brother’s hill farm — but Marysia Paszkowska is head chef and her food is sophisticated, local and hearty. £££
monachylemhor.net
Cromlix
Kinbuck, near Dunblane
Best known for being Andy Murray’s hotel, Cromlix is also a fantastic place to eat. The restaurant, Chez Roux (overseen by Albert), has a Mad Men edge, with electric-blue banquettes, dusky-orange lighting and a buzzy open kitchen. They’ve kept the locals-friendly set-price menu — £35 for a three-course lunch — since it opened in 2014, which has stopped the place becoming stuffy. ££
cromlix.com
Mhor 84
Balquhidder
My favourite of all Trossachs food stops, this younger, naughtier cousin of Monachyle Mhor is a funky restaurant, bar and motel on the A84, at the Balquhidder turnoff. It’s relaxed and inviting, and the food is pitched perfectly — steaks are good, all-day eggs benedict on homemade sourdough is divine. The can-do Mhor clan also run a licensed chippy, Mhor Fish, and Mhor Bread bakery, both in Callander. ££
mhor.net
Inver
Strathlachlan, Strachur
A bit further west, but it’s worth the drive for Pam Brunton’s sublime food. She is supremely talented — a Scandi-influenced forager and preserver. The room is simple (a tiny bit hipster), with a view over west-coast wildness. And they’re building rooms, I hear. ££
inverrestaurant.co.uk
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The Cross Keys
Kippen
A lovely traditional pub with a welcoming waggy labradoodle. The Scottish gastro menu is seasonal, and well cooked and presented. Go for tasty soup, herby risotto or maybe a selection of Scottish tapas: chorizo crumb, poached egg and black pudding, or sweet-cured herring and toasted oats. ££
kippencrosskeys.co.uk
The Pier Cafe
Stronachlachar, Loch Katrine
This wee cafe, 10 miles up a stunning single-track road (or a steamship trip from Loch Katrine pier), has the most bucolic of settings. New owners Brian and Ciaran are serving fresh and strong cafe food, including scones and top-notch black-pudding salad. They’re also doing evening meals — folk rave about the scallops. And they like a knees-up, so live Scottish music happens on some weekends. £
thepiercafe.com
Brig O’Turk Tearoom
Callander
This rickety shed, run by industrious Hungarian couple Csaba and Veronica Brünner, featured in the 1959 film The 39 Steps. The mix of Hungarian food — a brilliant goulash that never leaves the menu, or hortobagyi crepes filled with slow-cooked minced beef and served with creamy paprika sauce — and Scottish-inspired dishes sounds unlikely but works. Open February-November. £
brigoturktearoom.co.uk
The Woodhouse
Kippen
This farm shop and cafe has been so successful, many imitations have sprung up, but none comes close to the original. Goldilocks-pleasing portions make it the perfect lunchtime pit stop. It has the best flat white around, too. The shop is the sort you pop to for a freshly baked loaf and come out with six steaks, hot-smoked salmon and a fine bottle of wine. £
01786 870156
Local food heroes
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The Food Assembly
Stirling
This is brilliant: you order and pay online, viewing local producers’ offerings for that week, then collect your food on a Thursday at Cycle Hub, by the station. It might be organic beef from West Moss-side Farm, or Katy Rodgers’s amazing crowdie or unhomogenised cream-on-top milk. It’s also a buzzy hub of producers — the sort of people who know where to forage for wild garlic or sweet cicely.
thefoodassembly.com
McKechnie’s Fruit & Veg Market
Kippen
A real local secret, in a rough-and-ready setting beside a country-supplies barn, this market is run by the McKechnie brothers and offers just about any vegetable, fruit or herb Ottolenghi can think of.
Boquhan Estates, Kippen, Wed-Thu, 8am-2pm; or France Farm, Gartocharn, Fri, 9am-5pm; 01389 830239
Highland Wagyu
Burnside of Balhadie, near Dunblane
Edinburgh’s star chef Tom Kitchin rates Highland Wagyu’s marbled wagyu beef the best beef in the UK. It’s about to open the Grill, a restaurant in the revamped Old Bridge Inn, Bridge of Allan, serving full-blood wagyu steaks and cross-bred wagyu and aberdeen angus, the fabulously named wangus.
wagyu.co.uk
Nick Nairn Cook School
Port of Menteith
Well-respected Scottish chef Nick Nairn tutors at his large, purpose-built Cook School, along with a rotation of resident chefs. Hands-on classes, using the best Scottish produce, cost from £79.
nairnscookschool.com
Places to stay
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Monachyle Mhor
Balquhidder
Super-stylish luxury hotel in a peaceful, majestic valley.
Doubles from £195, B&B; monachylemhor.net
Mhor 84 Motel
Balquhidder
Well-priced airy rooms, with a splash of colour and character. Plus there are now cottages as well.
Doubles £80, room only; mhor.net
Lochend Chalets
Port of Menteith
On the Lake of Menteith, with views to Ben Lomond. The refurbished A-frame chalets right down by the water have the best outlook. Perfect for families.
From £150 for two nights; lochend-chalets.com