Highland hotel owners on the lookout for restaurant site

The husband-and-wife team behind a four-star hotel in the Highlands are on the lookout for a new site for their 'refined dining' restaurant Station Road.

Sean Kelly and Caroline Gregory are targeting the Loch Ness and Inverness areas.

The Lovat Loch Ness hotel in Fort Augustus is owned by directors Caroline Gregory and Sean Kelly, with the latter head chef. Gregory said they shuttered Station Road at Easter as it was proving too much to run both this and the 28-room hotel’s brasserie from one kitchen. The space now hosts private dining and events.

They are targeting the Loch Ness and Inverness areas, a site with 30 to 40 covers and a team of about 15. “If we could find something for next year that would be ideal,” Gregory said.

Also a possibility is taking on a “restaurant with rooms” and running a pop-up to promote Kelly’s skills. “We haven’t yet been able to spread our wings in the way we’ve wanted to,” she said.