"Gardener's Cottage has two teeny dining rooms, each with a communal table. This is inventive cooking, but its roots remain firmly in reality, so expect some surprises that please—but no molecular nonsense. Set menus are available in either five or seven courses, and will often start with sourdough with dukkah (best paired with a G&T served with salted grapefruit). Maybe a game main follows—say, poached partridge breast with a very British bread sauce—and then it's onto an indulgent apple-and-thyme tart. The inventive drinks list has some local Scottish touches. Try Summer Martini, a secret house concoction, or the Aelder Bramble (with Electric gin, Aelder liqueur, and local seabuckthorn). Then spring for a bottle of English sparkling wine or a German Riesling from Richter Estate. There's also an excellent range of whiskies from all around the country. This is a great place to get your friends together; book way ahead." - Caroline Eden
