Made Scotland's best places to stop on the North Coast 500
1. Pipers Coffee House - Tain
25 Lamington Street, Tain, Ross‑shire, IV19
A charming high-street café perfect for your first stop - excellent coffee, fresh bakes, and laid-back local character. Try the toasties. Is there any better lunch when you’re on a road trip than a good trad Scottish toastie?
2. ANTA Scotland - Fearn (near Tain)
Fearn, Tain, Ross‑shire, IV20 1XW
Beautiful hand painted stoneware and textiles all made on-site. The shop if beautifully laid out in a modern light-filled building and a little café and kids’ area so you can have a pit-stop while browsing the creations of this top-class 30-year-old Scottish brand.
3. Campbell’s of Beauly - Beauly
High Street, Beauly, Inverness‑shire, IV4 7BZ
A seriously good quality Highland outfitter since 1858, offering bespoke tweeds, wax jackets, and timeless Scottish country wear. Their fair isle jumpers and tank tops are legendary, and the space is old-school and stunning.
4. The Walled Garden (Potting Shed Café) - Applecross
Applecross House, Applecross, Strathcarron, IV54 8ND
A serene, historic walled garden café serving estate-grown produce alongside artisanal gifts - an oasis after the Bealach na Bà drive and slightly set apart from the busyness of the ‘main street’ of the village.
5. The Mountain Coffee Company - Gairloch
Gairloch Harbour, Gairloch, Highland, IV21
A cosy harbour-side café and adventure bookshop (great for planning more adventures en route) - rich coffee, homemade cakes, and scenic laps of the harbour.
6. West Coast Delicatessen - Ullapool
5 Argyle Street, Ullapool, Highland, IV26 2UB
A gourmet deli with local cheeses, charcuterie, superb toasted rolls, and picnic essentials - perfect for Loch Broom pit-stopping.
7. Seafood Shack - Ullapool
Ullapool Harbour, Ullapool, Highland, IV26
A simple but super seaside trailer serving fresh haddock, crab, langoustine wraps – absolute top class seafood right at the harbour edge and we love their boast: ‘all of our seafood arrives at the shack alive’.
8. Lochinver Larder - Lochinver
Main Street, Lochinver, Assynt, Sutherland, IV27 4JY
A well-known and much-loved stop for gourmet pies, seafood dishes, game products - a renowned Highland experience. The venison and cranberry pie was winner of Scotland’s best pie and we love the customer quote in the shop: ‘It is worth me travelling 45 minutes by single track roads to buy a pie in Lochinver…’ That says it all surely?
9. Highland Stoneware - Lochinver
Main Street, Lochinver, Assynt, Sutherland, IV27 4JY
Once you’ve stocked up on pies drop in to this working pottery studio where you can watch artisans shaping ceramics inspired by the coastal landscape. The Highland Stoneware pieces are much copied but these are the originals and are true classics.
10. Driftwood Café - Lochinver
Lochinver, Assynt, Sutherland, IV27
It’s all happening in Lochinver - this one’s a rustic, peaceful stop near the woods for coffee, soup, and cake – good cosy countryside hospitality, the kind you simply don’t get when you’re down south in Moto motorway services territory.
11. Assynt Aromas Shop and Secret Tea Garden - Drumbeg
Drumbeg, Sutherland, IV27
It may just look like a small shed from the roadside but venture in and you’ll find a tea garden and shop selling handcrafted produce. Beautifully packaged soaps, oils, candles and teas all set in a woodland garden.
12. Balnakeil Craft Village - Durness
Balnakeil Craft Village, Durness, Sutherland, IV27 4PT
A former military base turned artisan enclave of potters, sculptors, glassmakers, and café creatives perched on the rugged coast. This is a great place to stop and see not just some local crafts but also to meet the people who make them.
13. Norse Bakehouse - Tongue
Woodend, A836, Rhitongue, Lairg, Highland, IV27 4XW
A family-run bakery and pizzeria with wood-fired flavours and sweeping views of the Kyle of Tongue. You get a lot of fish and chips in this part of the world so a really good pizza makes for a very welcome meal!
14. Cereal Bakery - Tongue
Former Burr’s Trading Post, Tongue, Highland, IV27 4XW
A soulful bakery-bookshop specialising in sourdough, oat lattes, and other divine baking in a converted post office. It has a real old-school trading post vibe and is such a treat to rock up at. Run by skilled bakers who recently moved all the way up from Bath. The site was bought and refurbished by Wildland Ltd (owned by Danish entrepreneur and local landowner Anders Holch Polvsen) so it’s been done to a very high spec
15. Cocoa Skye - Brora
London House, Station Square, Brora, Sutherland, KW9 6QJ
A sweet inviting chocolate café offering handmade chocolates, Belgian waffles, hot chocolate, and coffee—a sweet Highland stop.
16. Cocoa Mountain - Dornoch
Castle Street, Dornoch, Highland, IV25 3SN
An indulgent chocolatier and café serving award-winning truffles and hot drinks - stop for a hot chocolate, buy some gifts to take away and it's a very fine pit stop..
17. Sutherland Sporting Tweed Company - Rogart
West Langwell, Rogart, Sutherland, IV28 3YB
A treasure trove, so exciting if you like a bit of traditional tweed! Tucked inland from the east coast, this small-scale artisan tweed maker produces some of the Highlands’ finest estate tweeds. It’s not a typical shop - more of a working tweed house with a showroom, so it’s best to call ahead (01549 402229) before visiting. If you're interested in Scottish textiles and traditional craftsmanship, it’s well worth the small detour.
18. The Jail - Dornoch
Castle Street, Dornoch, Sutherland, IV25 3SD
More fun than it sounds, this former 19th-century jail has been repurposed as a boutique for cashmere, ceramics, jewellery, and country clothing. It has a made in Scotland range and some good quality other luxury brands such as Barbour and knitwear by Harley and Eribe.
19. The Storehouse Restaurant & Farm Shop - Evanton
Evanton, Ross‑shire, IV16
A converted storehouse on the shores of the Cromarty Firth. The farm shop is full of local meats, bread, cheeses, preserves, and home bakes, with a restaurant next door. Great for stocking up on things for the fridge, picnic stuff and foodie gifts.
20. Prickly Thistle Mill - Evanton
Unit 11D, Beechwood Road, Evanton Industrial Estate, Evanton, Ross‑shire, IV16 9XJ
Scotland’s only B‑Corp sustainable tartan mill. You can visit and get a tour of the place, see zero-waste tartans being woven, and buy from the shop. This is a great example of a truly modern, female-led business doing great things in the Highlands.
