The Skerry, Oban: a seafood restaurant that has forgotten where the sea is – restaurant review

You cannot sit in the dining room of the Skerry without being reminded that the sea is 30 metres away. The restaurant, which opened in June in a converted boathouse on Oban’s North Pier, has a glass wall along the harbour side, a mural of a langoustine the size of a Fiat and a menu whose first line reads: “Everything on this page was landed within sight of your table.” It is a bold promise. I wish the kitchen had read it.

The problem is not the ingredients, which are as good as anywhere in Britain. Oban’s boats land langoustines, scallops and crab that London restaurants pay a fortune to have driven south overnight. The problem is what happens to them next. A plate of six hand-dived scallops (£19) arrived seared on one side only, the other side pale and wet, sitting in a pool of brown butter that had been made so far in advance it had split. Langoustines, served in the shell with garlic mayonnaise (£22 for five), were at least a day past their best and had the tell-tale softness at the head.

A half lobster, grilled, with chips and a watercress salad (£38), was the most expensive thing I have eaten this year that I would not eat again. The lobster was overcooked to the point of being chewy and had been finished under a grill so hot the shell was charred black and the flesh beneath it dry. The chips were good; they were also the chips you get everywhere.

There were moments of competence. A bowl of Cullen skink (£11) was thick, smoky and generous with the haddock, and the sourdough from a bakery in Connel is among the best I have had in Scotland. A pudding of cranachan with Perthshire raspberries was correct, if small. The wine list is well chosen and fairly priced, with a Muscadet at £32 that was the best decision we made all evening.

Service was the saving grace. The front of house, run by a young woman called Mairi who grew up above her parents’ chip shop on George Street, was warm and apologetic and, when I mentioned the scallops, took them off the bill without argument. She told us the head chef had been recruited from a hotel in Edinburgh and had been in post for seven weeks. It is hard to escape the feeling that the Skerry was designed by someone who understood the view and has not yet found someone who understands the food.

That matters because the town does not lack alternatives. Within 200 metres there is a seafood shack on the ferry pier that will sell you a tray of langoustines pulled from the water that morning for £12, and you can eat them on the sea wall. The Skerry needs to decide whether it is a restaurant or a vantage point. At the moment it is a very expensive window.

Dinner for two with wine and service, about £160. The Skerry, North Pier, Oban PA34. Open daily. Food 4/10, atmosphere 8/10, service 8/10.