Merkister Hotel in Kirkwall

Beautiful spot and scenery. Food and service excellent too

What a wonderful place to stay. We arrived to a warm and friendly welcome. The team were amazing, the room was bright and clean and the meals fabulous.

Only visited here as a dining guest, Food really good with good portions, Prices inline with anywhere else, Great views over the Loch towards the Standing Stones.

Great team and really good food.

Visited the restaurant for dinner - staff were very pleasant and the Cullen skink was delicious! Lovely views over loch Harray, would recommend

Excellent service & food, great value

Fantastic meal and great service.

Fantastic food as always. Great sized portions. Sensible and realistic prices. Highly recommend

Went for lunch with my family, hadnt booked however we were made very welcome and accommodated.Lunch was excellent with a great choice for everyone, Donna the waitress was very attentive and very helpful. Would definitely recommend a visit dont think youd be disappointed.

Excell not service, beautiful meal and everything was Covid safe. Very, very impressed.

We originally booked at the Hammersmith B&B. Our travel agent made the mistake of not updating our itinerary so we went to Hammersmith not knowing it was privately owned. We were stranded in Orkney with no place to sleep. I called Merkister and they were very accommodating. The ladies were very sweet and one of them makes the best cheesecake served in the restaurant. Thank you again for being so accommodating!

Excellent meal and friendly staff taking all necessary precautions to keep us safe during the pandemic.

Excellent service and really amazing quality Orkney food. Great for seafood lovers all fresh out of the sea. Cant recommend this place enough for food anytime of the day. Stunning views as you eat in the lounge.

We ate here during our stay in nearby Dounby. We had a perfect table by the window and enjoyed a lovely meal. Staff were attentive, professional and helpful.

A wonderful setting for any special occasion. Staff where very helpful and attentive throughout our visit. The food was outstanding some of the best food we have eaten on Orkney. All in all thoroughly enjoyable experience which I highly recommend.

Visited on many occasions. Always excellent food and great staff. Beautiful setting and lovely atmosphere.

Excellent restaurant delicious food great staff stunning view

Bright dining room with friendly staff.Pleasant, comfortable seating.Meal served hot . Very tasty food, with reasonable selection. Will be back next time in Orkney.😊

Absolute smashing place to visit. From facilities, accommodation, location, staff and food. All brilliant. And Im not a 5 star kinda guy :)

We have to go every time we visit, it has always been brilliant. Very safe and strict when it comes to COVID-19, as it should be

Had a delicious lunch here today. We were very impressed with how they are handling covid measures and felt very safe. Lovely friendly helpful staff.

The service was excellent and the food was the best we had on Orkney. Fresh produce that looks and tastes out of this world. We would recommend it to anyone and if we ever return to Orkney we would definitely return here. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Food excellent, views beautiful staff and service excellent

lovely views and very peaceful. We were a bit dissapointed though as we couldnt get in for a cup of tea and a cake... Due to coronavirus seemingly, considering all other hotels and cafes etc were happy to have you come to theirs for tea, it seemed strange why the Merkister Hotel couldnt welcome us.

Beautiful views, gorgeous food, and lovely staff

Visited the Merkister on 21.05 for a friends birthday. Beautiful view from the restaurant. Lovely range on the menu with GF dishes highlighted (I’m intolerant)Staff are friendly and informativeI had the Avocado & Prawn Parcel for starters and the steak pie (topped with sliced potatoes carrots pastry - although you can get GF puff pastry)Best part was when they heard us cheers my friend for her birthday a few minutes later a card appears from all the staff - lovely gesture!

We had a lovely lunch in the bar. It was a horrible day outside but it was cosy in the bar and we really enjoyed the food. The service was great too.

Really is one of the best places to eat in Orkney. Just had a 3 course meal and was superb. Excellent quality and lovely staff. Highly recommended.

Absolutely fabulous, gorgeous, awesome food, service and general splendidness 10/10 😋😊

Absolutely great meal and service as always. Food is ALWAYS so great and they go the extra.mile to make your nice so pleasant!

Lovely food and good service friendly staff

Fantastic three night stay under difficult circumstances (COVID-19for the hospitality industry. Staff pleasant, welcoming, and helpful. Accommodation clean and warm. Food wonderful.

Great location (whether you are sightseeing, fishing or just out for a meal). Lovely Loch side views. Family run hotel with a very friendly team and fab food (Breakfast and Dinners). Lots of choice kept us going for 2 weeks and we never felt the need to try anywhere else. Our 3rd visit and looking forward to returning soon.

Very traditional hotel with a bar, dining room and a couple of picnic tables on an immaculate lawn overlooking Loch Harray. The rooms are clean and old-fashioned, but everything works and they have solid, good-quality furniture. Bathroom was modern and seemed recently refurbished, although it was a little on the small side. The thing to write home about is the breakfast -- delicious, varied and plentiful. The evening meals were also pretty good and the beer is very decently priced!

Popped in on the way to our campsite very very late one very wet evening were the staff were more than happy to provide us with a brilliant hot meal and drinks even though it was so late at night and the guys looked exhausted themselves. Top team! Amazing views and beautiful hotel 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Been fishing - Kenny our Gilly for the morning. Bloody Brilliant!!Highly recommended. Im not a very good fisherman and Kenny just made it so easy thanks again

The view over the loch is lovely, and the food was really good. I had baked salmon which was delicious. We went for a special meal to celebrate being able to get back together and it was good for that.

Food is amazing i had the pulled pork bap, the takeaway service from start to finish was done in a professional and pleasant manner....it was also done in the safest way possible in these troubled times...Well done team merkister you have excelled yourselfs once again....

Excellent service. Incredibly friendly and helpful staff. A wonderful meal and beautiful location.

Hotel excellent attention to detail great. Food was good. Location fantastic apart from accessibility. You need a car! Amazing views a cross loch

The room of the restaurant smells like an old house. Service was pretty good. Good was disappointing. We had surf and turf, and some kind of steak with cheese. The beef was not tender like a steak house although the scallops were very fresh. Very disappointed with the food for the price that we had to pay.

We visited here while we were on holiday on Orkney and what a beautiful place. The surroundings are stunning and the restaurant serves amazing food, especially their fish dishes. The staff were lovely and helpful. Id recommend trying to book a window table for the views. Cant wait to visit again.

Abslutely love this place. You can go for a meal knowing you will not be disapointed-best scallops ever and generous portion also had flavoured cider first time ever

We loved everything about this hotel. The welcome was first class and every single member of staff we encountered was friendly and helpful. The room provided superb views of the loch, was spacious and comfortable.Breakfast was well presented, varied and very tasty with plenty of choice. It was possible to pre-order the hot choice daily.The bar menu in an evening was well priced and always excellently cooked and presented. There was a well stocked bar and again the prices were reasonable.A useful tip is that there is a Co-op only a mile away with a petrol station.

Lovely room, absolutely delicious meal the best steak Ive ever had and the sticky toffee pudding was melt in the mouth, followed by a lovely sleep on a big comfy bed and then a gorgeous full breakfast see you again next year

Good quality lunch menu, lots of fish options, if slightly pricey. Kids meals were average. It was quiet though, seemed to have lost its atmosphere.

Lovely evening meal by a roaring fire in the bar. Helpful staff and delicious food. The steaks were delicious and the side salads were imaginative, well presented and included plenty of variety.

Great service and very good atmosphere. The food was absolutely delicious especially the scapa delight. Would recommend!

I visit Orkney about 3 or 4 times a year, and just about every time I do I go for a meal at the Merkister Hotel. Set with beautiful views and a cosy bar and restaurant, its a warm and welcoming place to have something to eat and drink. The staff are all helpful and have always made an extra effort for kids. The food is lovely, fresh and well presented. And the portion sizes are generous (which works for me). There is a good variety on the menu, with daily specials (my favourite was the black pudding and scallops). Prices are competitive and wont break the bank. I will continue to visit the Merkister Hotel and enjoy its fare for years to come.

A group of 3 of us had dinner in the bar area. Food and drinks are ordered at the bar. 1 person had Chicken and Oatmeal Stuffing (£10.75- this came with chicken, oatmeal, roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy. Another had the same dish but gluten free. This was presented the same way but without the oatmeal stuffing. I had the Orkney Cheddar Macaroni Cheese (£10.50- the mac and cheese was in its own dish and there was a plentiful salad platter on the plate also. There was also a choice of boiled potatoes or chips with all of these dishes, and they were brought out in separate dishes. Each of us also had a can of soft drink at £1.40 each. The food was tasty and everyone enjoyed it. Service was friendly and prompt.