SCOURIE, UK. August 25th, 2026 – Crofter’s Kitchen, the North Coast 500 restaurant recently named Business of the Year at the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards, is extending its season this autumn with Hairst, a four-week dining experience celebrating the produce of its working croft and the surrounding north-west Highland coast.
Oysters served on hay, wild Highland venison, hand-dived scallops and vegetables grown just metres from the kitchen will feature on the menu when Hairst launches at Crofter’s Kitchen in Scourie this October.
The restaurant, which overlooks Scourie Beach on the North Coast 500, will run Hairst from Thursday 15 October until Sunday 8 November.
Named after the Scots word for harvest, Hairst /hɛrst/ marks the transition from the busy summer food truck season into autumn dining at Croft 17, the working family croft at Scouriemore where much of the produce used by the kitchen is grown and reared.
The approach is straightforward: cook with what is ready on the croft, use what can be sourced from the surrounding coastline and keep everything else as local to Scourie as possible.
The result is an autumn menu that reflects the landscape, seasons and producers of this particular corner of the Highlands.
Cape Wrath oysters are served on hay with cucumber granita and croft herb oil. Hand-dived scallops arrive in the shell with brown butter and samphire. Wild North West Highland venison haunch comes with fondant potato, charred kale and bramble and red wine jus, while Kylesku langoustines are grilled with garlic croft herb butter and bread.
Croft-grown celeriac, squash, kale and herbs feature throughout the menu. Eggs used in the Stornoway black pudding Scotch eggs are supplied by Crofter’s Kitchen’s own hens.
It is food designed to travel as little distance as possible before reaching the table.
“We talk a lot about our 30-mile menu, but during Hairst some of the food has travelled closer to 30 feet,” said Heather Mercer, co-founder of Crofter’s Kitchen.
“The celeriac and squash are coming out of the ground here, the hens are laying the eggs, there are brambles in the hedges and we have some of the best seafood in Scotland being landed around us. Rather than decide what we want to cook and then find the ingredients, we start with what this place is giving us and build the menu from there.”
A new Sunday tradition
Sundays will take on a different character during Hairst, with the usual à la carte offering replaced by a three-course Croft Roast served throughout the day at £55 per person.
Guests can choose wild North West Highland venison with bramble and juniper jus, Drumbeg roast pork with crisp crackling, or a vegetarian roast centred around croft-grown squash, celeriac and charred kale.
Each roast is served with croft-herb roast potatoes, a giant Yorkshire pudding, roasted croft-grown celeriac, heather-honey carrots, parsnips and gravy.
Desserts continue the focus on local ingredients and Highland flavours. Options include warm clootie dumpling with homemade butterscotch sea salt sauce, alongside an optional ice cream made with heather honey and The Hearach Single Malt from the Isle of Harris. Dark chocolate is paired with foraged North West Highland brambles, hazelnut praline and sea salt in another dessert.
“Summer up here is fast,” Heather continued. “Hairst is the opposite. The days are shorter, the restaurant is warm, the candles are on and we have time to cook in a completely different way.
“It is probably the season that feels most like us. You have this wild coastline outside, the weather can be doing absolutely anything, and then you come inside and eat oysters, langoustines, venison and vegetables that have come from almost exactly where you are sitting.
“For people willing to make the journey north in October, we want it to feel really special.”
From food truck to Business of the Year
Crofter’s Kitchen was founded by husband-and-wife team Heather and Grant Mercer in spring 2024, initially operating from a single food truck on their family croft above Scourie Beach.
Grant, a chef with more than 17 years’ experience, leads the kitchen, while Heather has overseen the development of the business and its ambition to make its remote north-west Highland setting part of the experience rather than a limitation.
Two seasons later, Crofter’s Kitchen has grown to include a permanent container restaurant set into the croft alongside its original food truck.
The business now has more than 500 five-star Google reviews, ranks number one on Tripadvisor in Scourie and was named Business of the Year 2026 at the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards.
Despite that growth, its commitment to local sourcing remains at the heart of the operation.
Seafood including oysters, langoustines and scallops is sourced from the surrounding north-west coast, while meat comes from the croft and nearby Highland producers wherever possible. Increasing quantities of fruit, vegetables, herbs and eggs are also being produced on Croft 17 itself.
“Being this remote forces you to think differently,” Heather said.
“There is no wholesale market around the corner and we don’t want there to be. If we can grow it here, rear it here, forage it or buy it from somebody down the road or around the coast, that is where we start.
“Hairst is probably the clearest expression of that we have done so far.”
Hairst runs for four weekends only, from Thursday 15 October to Sunday 8 November 2026.
The autumn à la carte menu is available Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the three-course Croft Roast taking over on Sundays.
Crofter’s Kitchen will then close briefly before reopening with its Christmas menu from 26 November until 20 December.
Advance booking is strongly recommended.
For menus and reservations, visit crofterskitchen.com/autumn-menu
