In partnership with
FINGAL
All aboard Fingal! Permanently berthed in Leith’s Alexandra Dock, this former lighthouse tender has come home to the port where she was first registered, to live out her old age in glamorous luxury liner style.
Fingal was the last ship to be built by Blythswood Ship Building Company in Glasgow and was launched in 1962. Most of her sea-going life was spent working out of Oban as a service vessel for the Northern Lighthouse Board, a connection proudly celebrated throughout the elegant £5m five-year refurbishment by new owners The Royal Yacht Britannia.
On the top deck is The Lighthouse Restaurant and Bar, open to non-residents, with wide views of Leith docks and out to the islands in the Forth. The rippling steel ceilings are illuminated by warm orange lights, creating an intimate and relaxed atmosphere, which the clever sectioning of the restaurant adds to. In the dark the amber ceiling reflects in the windows giving the illusion of the last rays of an incredible sunset. From behind a gleaming bar, suited staff mix sailor-strength cocktails. The Lighthouse Bar Martini is the house pour, made with Britannia Gin, Great British Vermouth made on the Dalmeny estate, grapefruit bitters and pickled Amalfi lemon.
The menu is short, seasonal, and interesting with Scottish seafood a speciality, connecting both the maritime heritage and the dock-side location. Executive chef Mark Alston and head chef Brendan Willis have pitched their menus perfectly – adventurous diners will be delighted, without alienating those who prefer a more traditional approach. The house hot smoked salmon is tender and aromatic, served with a creamy cucumber relish, fruit chutney and buckwheat blinis: a classic. The scallop starter takes a bolder approach: seared slices of scallop are served on a deep, rich scallop roe taramasalata, with red grapefruit adding a citrus lift and pine nuts a nutty crunch and a little sweetness: a triumph.
A main course of cod loin arrives with a cumin-scented spiced crab macher jhol sauce, crisp roast Jerusalem artichokes and a rice cracker dusted with seaweed and topped with white crab and dill. It’s a delicious, slightly unexpected combination. Leave space for pudding if you can, both the toffee-apple reminiscent apple tart tatin, and the vanilla seed flecked coffee panna cotta are incredible.
Delightfully, many of the ship’s original features have been preserved: a glass walkway allows guests to see into the former engine room. The floors slant slightly, keeping the ship's original camber (which may feel more pronounced after sampling The Lighthouse Martini). A double height ballroom with a shimmering beaten stainless steel ceiling allows light to bounce beautifully around.
Recently the AA placed Fingal in the UK’s top 25 five-star hotels and awarded the restaurant two AA Rosettes. The floating hotel has 22 elegant cabins, ranging from the smaller classics to two-floor luxury duplexes with sitting rooms. Once, spotting Fingal on the horizon would have been a welcome sight to lonely lighthouse keepers; today it’s a welcome escape from landlubber life into a world of gleaming art-deco interiors, cocktails and wonderful food: a real beacon of Scottish hospitality.
fingal.co.uk
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article