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The Restaurant Guide for Wine Lovers

The Clunie Dining Room, The Fife Arms

84/100
  • Braemar, Aberdeenshire
  • Scottish country-house hotel dining
  • By the glass
  • Very high
  • Beta
What's this?

These are confidence labels — how sure we are that what we publish still reflects the restaurant's current practice. They are not a judgement on the restaurant; the wine and cooking are scored separately, out of 100.

  • Beta — assessed and scored, but we are still confirming some details (such as the current wine list), so it is published with that caveat.
  • No label — a fully confirmed entry.
  • In development — not yet a review; it appears so you can see where coverage is coming.

Some restaurants change their menus often, and we cannot always keep pace. Even so, our review stands as a point-in-time assessment — it can help you decide whether to visit, and it sets out the principles of pairing wine here, which should serve you whatever is on the list when you go. If things have moved on, the Vinealto pairing app can give you up-to-date advice on the spot.

The Clunie Dining Room is the fireside restaurant of a luxury Highland hotel, cooking seasonal Deeside produce for a short, focused menu. Its wine programme rests on one of the deepest cellars in Scotland — vast in reach, serious in the buying, and generous enough by the glass that even the difficult plates are genuinely provided for. It will most reward the wine lover who comes ready to explore, leans on the sommelier, and is content to pay luxury-hotel prices for the privilege.

The full assessment — the wine programme, the pairings that lift a plate, and how the room reads for a wine lover — is for subscribers.

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More in Aberdeenshire

70/100 Beta

Banchory Lodge

Banchory, Aberdeenshire

Scottish riverside hotel dining

Banchory Lodge is a riverside country-house hotel in Royal Deeside cooking an Italian-inflected menu on Scottish produce. Its wine programme is a well-organised, plainly-communicated hotel list — banded by taste, generous by the glass, with a premium cellar step-up and vegan, organic and alcohol-free choices — that answers the menu's hardest anchovy and oily-fish plates from the glass pour, even if it lacks a dessert or fortified wine and a merchant's depth. It will most reward the hotel guest who wants to drink well and easily, guided by clear signposting rather than a sommelier's cellar.

  • By the glass
  • £££
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53/100 Beta

The Boat Inn

Aboyne, Aberdeenshire

Gastropub

The Boat Inn is a busy all-day gastropub in an eighteenth-century coaching inn on the River Dee at Aboyne, built around brunch, burgers, fried fish and curries. Its short, commercial wine list will not elevate a meal, but it is fairly priced, clearly presented and offers a sensible by-the-glass choice that covers the food honestly. It will suit families and casual diners who want a good, uncomplicated glass with their plate rather than a list to explore.

  • By the glass
  • ££
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50/100 Beta

Clachan Grill

Ballater, Aberdeenshire

Scottish grill

Clachan Grill is a relaxed, locally sourced Scottish grill on Royal Deeside with a short, honestly priced wine list. The programme sets out only to be easy company for a grill dinner, and within that limit it succeeds — a crisp unoaked white for the fish, a soft red for the steak, and fair prices throughout. It will most suit the diner who wants an unfussy, good-value glass with a plate of Scottish produce rather than a list to explore.

  • By the glass
  • ££
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