The Foveran
St Ola, overlooking Scapa Flow · Hotel
View on Google MapsPhoto: The Foveran
Restaurant with rooms in a low modern building above Scapa Flow, three miles from Kirkwall and long regarded as one of Orkney's best tables.
Good to know
Parking
- ✓Free car park
- ✓Free street
Accessibility
- ✓Accessible parking
- ✓Accessible entrance
- ✓Accessible toilet
- ✓Accessible seating
Payment
- ✓Credit cards
- ✓Debit cards
- ✓Contactless
Details via Google — worth confirming with the hotel before you travel, especially for access needs.
Photos
Photos via Google
About The Foveran
The Foveran stands in its own ground at St Ola, roughly three miles from Kirkwall on the Orphir road, in a single-storey building angled to take in the view across Scapa Flow. The setting does a great deal of the work: from the dining room and from the rooms you look out over the anchorage where the German High Seas Fleet was scuttled in 1919, with Hoy and the smaller islands on the horizon.
Accommodation is a small number of ground-floor en-suite rooms, quiet and comfortable, with the sea view from most. This is not a large hotel and it does not pretend to be; it is a restaurant with rooms, and guests are here principally because they want to eat well and not drive afterwards. Rates generally start around £150 for two with breakfast.
The kitchen has held its reputation for decades and is one of the names that Orcadians themselves suggest when asked where to eat. The menu is built on North Ronaldsay lamb, Orkney beef, hand-dived scallops and local crab, with Orkney fudge cheesecake a long-running fixture on the pudding list. Booking a table is essential in summer even if you are staying, and it is worth timing dinner for a long evening so you get the light going down over the Flow.
Reception hours
- Monday
- 6:00 – 10:00 PM
- Tuesday
- 6:00 – 10:00 PM
- Wednesday
- 6:00 – 10:00 PM
- Thursday
- 6:00 – 10:00 PM
- Friday
- 6:00 – 11:00 PM
- Saturday
- 6:00 – 11:00 PM
- Sunday
- Closed
Current hours may differ from the usual schedule above (e.g. holidays) — check Google Maps for today's hours.
What guests say
An amazing restaurant with rooms. Down a tarmac drive around 10 min drive from Kirkwall. Lots of free parking. Reservations required Great views and delightful food. Spacious restaurant, with a large chill area. Stunning views. Good choice of starters, mains and desserts. Vegan & vegetarian menus available. Good choice of beer, wine and of course whisky. Rooms are very clean with tea and coffee. WiFi throughout. Room 4, the shower and toilet is across the corridor. All other rooms are en-suite, so in theory it’s your private bathroom. Yummy breakfast, choice of numerous options hot and cold Staff are very friendly and nothing is too much trouble.
3 months ago · via Google
We had dinner there, we did not stay in the hotel. Lovely welcome, comfortable area to have a drink and peruse the menu . Waiting staff were attentive and personable. The food was top class topped off by magnificent views over Scapa Flow. A flyby from a hen harrier topped it all off
2 months ago · via Google
It’s a beautiful location and the dinner we had was very good, the waiting staff were friendly and confident. However the attentiveness of the service and waits before and during the meal were too long and the staff did not appear to be alert to this even when at the end of our evening there - the restaurant wasn’t busy at then and tables were being laid up whilst we sat and waited. At this pricing and food quality level I think one should expect better. Maybe more of the staff should be empowered to carry out more of the duties.
2 months ago · via Google
Unbelievably poor dinner service. The food was good, and the views lovely, but waiting an hour in a near empty restaurant for desserts and none of the servers noticed? Incompetence.
3 months ago · via Google
Diners like this restaurant's excellent food, which includes a good variety of starters, mains, and desserts, with vegan and vegetarian options available. They also highlight the stunning views of the bay and the spacious, comfortable dining room. Guests mention the friendly and attentive staff, who provide top-notch service.
Summary via Google
At a glance
- Address
- A964, Kirkwall, KW15 1SF Get directions
- Property type
- Hotel
- Location
- St Ola, overlooking Scapa Flow
- Star rating
- 4 star
- Guest score
- 9.1 / 10 (380 reviews)
- Prices from
- £150 per night
- Good for children
- Yes
- Good for groups
- Yes
- Booking required
- Yes
- Destination
- Orkney