Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

REVIEW: This pitch-perfect restaurant adds to beauty of bay

Uig Sands Restaurant, Timsgearraidh, Isle of Lewis.
Uig Sands Restaurant, Timsgearraidh, Isle of Lewis.

The newly opened Uig Sands on Lewis markets itself as a restaurant with a view.

With that in mind, I deliberately booked a later sitting, visualising a beautiful sunset over the breathtaking white sands of Uig Bay as the perfect way to end my holiday in Timsgarry.

But alas, it was not meant to be, and we trudged into the restaurant completely soaked – and rather worried about the puddles of water we were leaving in our wake.

The friendly staff immediately put us at ease, however, pointing out where we could hang our jackets to dry before showing us to a table right beside the large window.

Despite the rain, we happily admired the spectacular bay and the hills around us as we sipped our wine and perused the menu, which focuses on fresh and local produce – particularly seafood.

Owned by Dickon and Elly Green, who are also behind the award-winning Uig Lodge a few metres up the road, the 40-seater restaurant opened in March and certainly already seems to be a popular spot for both tourists and locals.

It has been simply decorated, with the large window spanning one wall ensuring the view outside is the focal point for diners.

In the centre of the restaurant are two large tables – one sitting about 13 – and, on the night we were in, this added to the family-friendly, relaxed atmosphere.

My only gripe – and a small one at that – is where the specials board has been placed. Instead of being in easy view of the diners, the blackboard easel is at the bar as you arrive, meaning we had to wander over and try to remember what was on offer so we could repeat it to our company. An easy thing for some perhaps, but with so many varied flavours on offer with each dish, it was a challenge to remember and recite them back to the table.

Eventually, both my friend and I decided to go for a starter of Uig Lodge smoked salmon, with celeriac and horseradish remoulade.

It was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious – fresh and flavoursome. It is easy to see why the lodge – which has been smoking salmon since 1984 – is so popular with visitors keen to learn more about the art, and why it has picked up so many awards, including the Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Awards.

For our mains, I opted for the pan-fried cod fillet in potato crust with heritage tomato and fennel salad, while my companion opted for roast pork belly with salt and pepper monkfish, apricot and ginger beer relish and coconut cashews.

Both of us had been a little concerned about the strong flavours, but were delighted once we tucked in.

My cod was wrapped in golden potato, and looked almost like a giant rosti – though much more neatly presented – and the soft, white flakes of fish melted in the mouth, with the salad ensuring it was not too heavy.

The roast pork belly – something my friend admitted she would not usually choose – looked beautiful on the plate, with the monkfish scattered among the precisely cut portions of meat. It was perfectly cooked, and certainly seemed to go down well.

We shared sides of lemon and thyme saute potatoes and spiced roast butternut squash, which were not really necessary due to the ample portion sizes, but tasty all the same.

Despite the generous helpings we decided to go for dessert and, on the recommendation of our young waitress, both chose the raspberry lemon oat crumble. Perfectly light, with a real zing to it, it rounded off the meal nicely.

By the time we had finished our meal, there were only a few tables left, but the staff were in no rush to shoo us away.

Instead, we were left in peace to sup the last of our wine and watch darkness fall over Uig Bay.

It was the perfect end to our break on Lewis, and a restaurant well worth the trip wherever you’re staying on the island.

The restaurant

  • Uig Sands Restaurant
  • Timsgearraidh, Lewis HS2 9ET
  • t: 01851 672334
  • w: www.uiglodge.co.uk/uig-sands

The bill

  • Smoked salmon x 2 £17
  • Cod fillet £19
  • Pork belly and monkfish £19
  • Sauté potatoes £3.50
  • Butternut squash £3.50
  • Raspberry lemon oat crumble x 2 £13
  • Bottle of chenin blanc £20.50
  • Total: £95.50