Lion & Unicorn Hotel and Restaurant

The Lion and Unicorn stands on the main street of Thornhill, a Stirlingshire village eight miles north of Stirling on the B822 and roughly midway between Stirling and Callander. The building dates from 1635 as a coaching house, one of the older licensed premises in this part of central Scotland and still operating from the original stone structure with open log fires in the dining rooms.

The kitchen is the principal draw and the reason the place sits in the eating-out section of this guide rather than the accommodation section, although four en-suite letting rooms are available above the bar. The menu is extensive and home-cooked, written by the in-house chefs around traditional Scottish dishes; the open fires lend the dining rooms a working warmth most country pubs don’t manage in winter. The Sunday Mail’s quote about people coming “from miles around to relish the atmosphere” is now part of the village’s own self-description and stays painted on the wall.

A separate public bar carries Sky television and a pool table and runs as the noisier alternative for drinking-only visitors. A beer garden opens through the summer for outdoor seating. The operation is open seven days a week, all day long, through the year.

Thornhill is eight miles north of Stirling via the A873 and a similar distance south of Callander via the A84 and a turn west at Blair Drummond. Bookings and current menu by phone on 01786 850204, by email to enquiries@lion-unicorn.co.uk, or at the Lion and Unicorn website.