Eating and drinking in Inverness: Church Street, the river and the market

This guide covers three parts of the centre: Church Street, the river, and the Victorian Market opposite the station. Locals on the Inverness subreddit say opinions on the pubs are divided, and the restaurants keep very different weeks, so the single most useful thing in this guide is the list of who is closed when. Read it before you book a table for a Sunday or a Monday.

Who is open when

• Seven days: the Mustard Seed, the Black Isle Bar, the Victorian Market (from 08:00, with each business keeping its own hours).
• Closed Sunday: Cafe 1.
• Closed Sunday and Monday: River House, Rocpool.
• Closed Tuesday and Wednesday: the Kitchen.

Those are the restaurants' own published hours on 11 October 2026. Hootananny prints two different sets of hours on its own page, so check before you set out.

On the river

River House

At 1 Greig Street, beside the Greig Street Bridge, River House is a seafood restaurant run by its chef and proprietor, Allan "Alfie" Little. Its site lists oysters, crab, mussels, langoustines, clams, halibut and bass. It opens Tuesday to Saturday from 15:00, with last tables at 21:15. Book by the form on its contact page or by phone on 01463 222033; it says it cannot take email bookings within 24 hours. One local on the subreddit called it underrated and also warned that it is pricey.

The Mustard Seed

A converted church building on Fraser Street, on the bank of the Ness, with a terrace on the top floor overlooking the river. It is open every day for lunch, an early evening menu and dinner, and the two-course lunch was £18.95 for a starter and main on its site. Its contact page sends you to Quandoo, or you can phone 01463 220220.

Rocpool

The brasserie at 1 Ness Walk, by the west end of the Ness Bridge, calls itself the original Rocpool Restaurant, established in 2002. It serves lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday, with an early evening menu on weekdays. Book through the reservation calendar on its site, or phone for a same-day table. A card is needed to hold a booking, and there is a £20 a head charge for no-shows or cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice. It is not the same business as the Rocpool Reserve hotel.

The Kitchen

On Huntly Street, on the west bank, in a modern building on three floors. It opens Thursday to Monday for lunch and an evening menu, and asks you to book through its website. Reviews on its site mention the views from the upper floor.

Below the castle

Cafe 1 on Castle Street has its own farm, Holly House on the Black Isle, according to its proprietor, Norman MacDonald MBE. Its week is uneven: afternoons and evenings on Monday and Tuesday, lunch and dinner sittings on Wednesday and Thursday, all afternoon and evening on Friday and Saturday, and closed on Sunday. Tables are booked through OpenTable from its own site.

Up the hill, the castle's Saltire Bistro needs no ticket. Hot food runs from 11:00 to 17:00, and in winter the bistro opens 10:00 to 18:00. Afternoon Tea in the North Tower Bar is a separate, booked thing: from £34.50, or £40 with a cocktail or mocktail, served at 12:00, 14:00 and 16:00, and the castle asks for at least three days' notice on one of its pages.

Church Street at night

The Black Isle Bar

The Black Isle Brewery's own bar at 68 Church Street pours the brewery's beer and organic cider and makes wood-fired pizzas with what it can from its market garden and farm. It opens every day from noon to midnight, and the kitchen closes at 21:00. Dogs are welcome. Its page does not mention table bookings. A commenter on the subreddit recommended the pepperoni, chilli and honey pizza.

Hootananny

A few doors along at 67 Church Street, Hootananny says it has live music every night of the week and a nightly ceilidh. Bookings are for food only; for a drink and the music, walk in. Food tables go through the OpenTable link on its own site. Locals on the subreddit named it, along with other city pubs, as a place for live Scottish music.

Uile-bheist

Back on the river, the Uile-bheist distillery and brewery on Ness Bank has a taproom with five of its own craft beers and runs tours booked online.

The Victorian Market

The market opens seven days a week from 08:00, and the market says it has over 30 independent businesses. The old market and fish hall became a food hall in a Highland Council refurbishment described in the council's news in June 2023. Traders the market names include Badgirl Bakery and Ancho, a Mexican stall from the team behind Ollie's Pops. It is the nearest of these to the station for an early breakfast.