Staff at a Ballater restaurant say they are ‘humbled and honoured’ to be named one of the best places to dine in the UK.
Fish Shop is one of three Scottish restaurants shortlisted in Condé Nast Traveller’s inaugural ‘UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards’ 2023.
23 restaurants from across the UK left their mark on a panel of expert judges, with the Aberdeenshire restaurant hailed as a “beautifully designed seafood restaurant”.
The judges also said they were impressed with Fish Shop’s “elevated Scottish fish and shellfish”.
The official list was unveiled on Condé Nast’s website this week, recognising the best in “proper old-fashioned hospitality” across the UK.
Fish Shop makes its mark on Ballater
The award is among the first awards bestowed on the restaurant and fishmongers since opening its doors last year.
In April, Queen Camilla visited the Fish Shop to mark the official opening.
And 11 months on, the restaurant is already making waves.
Run by husband-and-wife team Marcus and Jasmine Sherry, the couple say they are delighted to have garnered so much success so early on.
Speaking to The Press and Journal, executive chef Marcus said they are “on cloud nine”.
He said: “We are over the moon. It is such a great achievement for the whole team. Everyone has been working really hard for the last 10 months since we opened so it’s a great achievement.
“It is a credit to everyone’s hard work. We are just a little restaurant and to get national awards like this, is really quite an honour. It is very humbling.
“It is very special, and it means a lot to us all.
“The fishmonger’s is something we really want to push and if the restaurant can continue on its trajectory then we will be super happy.”
Masterminded by Artfarm – the company behind The Fife Arms in Braemar – the business was created to celebrate Scotland’s fishing heritage and traditions.
The 40-cover seafood restaurant is accompanied by an adjoining fishmonger designed to cater to locals and seasonal visitors.
Formerly home to the Rothesay Rooms, they transformed the premises on Netherly Place into an award-winning enterprise with the country’s seafood industry at its heart.
Community is at the heart of the Ballater restaurant
Marcus said their success would be nothing without the support of the local community which he says has welcomed them with “open arms”.
He says he hopes their success will open the door for other restauranteurs to set their sights on northern Scotland.
He added: “The general population of Ballater and Royal Deeside have just been so fantastic and so welcoming. It is a credit to them and hopefully this helps everyone in the community and not just ourselves.
“There is not a huge number of restaurants left in Ballater and we hope that grows as tourism grows. There are a lot of award-winning businesses around in the local areas as well so hopefully that brings everyone back to this area.
“We are grateful to the local community as well as our team. We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with and we were very lucky that we still have an incredible team from the opening that has worked with us before, so we have really hit the ground running.”
