I tried ‘superb’ new fine dining restaurant Falls by Orry Shand - my verdict
The Great British Menu star opened his first restaurant earlier this year, and Rosalind Erskine visited for a tasting menu dinner.
There’s a legend of the round church of Bowmore on Islay; that it was built without corners so there’s nowhere for the devil to hide. It’s also a beautiful and unique building and it’s what I immediately think of when we’re seated at our table at Falls by Orry Shand.
This new fine dining restaurant, which opened in Bridge of Feugh, near Banchory in Royal Deeside in the summer, is housed in a round main building, which has wonderfully high ceilings with skylights. There’s a real sense of calm in the room, thanks to its space but also the scandi-style lime washed walls, minimalist wooden tables and chairs and soft lighting.
Falls by Orry Shand is the first independent restaurant from chef patron Orry, who many may recognise from his stint on Great British Menu this year where he won a place at the banquet. But Mr Shand’s cooking achievements stretch way back from a career that began at 14. As well as being Scotland’s former national chef, Mr Shand has worked in big fine dining establishments such as Restaurant Andrew Fairlie and Number One at The Balmoral.
In this, his latest move, Mr Shand has taken over the former Falls of Feugh restaurant near Banchory, which closed its doors at the end of 2025. A major half a million-pound interior makeover of the venue took place earlier this year, with the aim of creating an intimate destination restaurant with views towards the river and surrounding woodland. 10 local hospitality jobs were created as part of the development and the restaurant opened its doors to much anticipation in July.
Mr Shand has hired head chef Craig Palmer, formerly of Number One at The Balmoral, and general manager Benita Robins, who came from Elements in Glasgow and Lyla in Edinburgh, and who greeted us warmly on arrival.
We visited on a weeknight, but the restaurant was busy yet serene and, sadly due to it now getting dark by 7pm, we couldn’t see any of the famed river views. But the lack of these didn’t distract from the restaurant interior, which has been completely reimagined from its previous incarnation.
Before dinner, we had snacks and a glass of blanc de blanc champagne in a lounge area, close to the open kitchen. These moreish bites consisted of: a crisp, creamy and almost pate-like golden beetroot and cashew cream rye tartlet; a rosti, with fatty smoked trout belly and topped with decadent oscietra caviar and a rich steak and béarnaise croustade.
We were then taken to our table and served the rest of the multiple course tasting menu, of which there’s no physical menu until the end of the meal.
Speaking to The Scotsman earlier this year, Mr Shand explained his no menu ethos, saying: “For me personally, and this is maybe a cheffy thing, but I prefer zero choice. I also think, where we are, it's like a bit of a destination restaurant, so you're going to have an enjoyable evening, you're not popping in for an hour to have a main course and a dessert and go home. It’s not like in a big city, where you've got so much choice, then you need to be competitive with offering a lot of different things.”
Our first dish in the dining room was parker house style bread made with crispy onions and onion seeds, topped with stick heather honey and served with cultured butter. If I could’ve had a loaf of this to myself, I would. The soft sweet sticky bread was cut through by the soft salty butter. This was served by a posh Bovril-type vegetable tea.
The we had some seafood dishes: a small mound of Stonehaven brown crab steamed with ginger, lime and almond oil, served surrounded in a vibrant green and cream buttermilk oyster emulsion with blue mussel, horseradish and dill; and the standout dish of the night, a BBQ Isle of Skye scallop seasoned with sumac, nori and kelp oil, in a foamy yellow sauce with smoked baba ghanoush and vadouvan for an kick of spice.
Next up was a vibrant coral wedge of aged confit sea trout, sitting atop Banchory chanterelles, and surrounded by a rich vin jaune butter sauce made with smoked pike roe,finger limes and scorched onions.
The final main was roast Inverurie lamb, peppered swede puree, glazed vinegar onion and confit chervil root served with a plump lamb fat steamed bun and BBQ lamb rib with black garlic. I had John Dory instead, served in a mushroom madeira sauce with black truffle. Alongside this there was a razor clam skewer and a fried bun to mop up the almost meaty sauce.
A palette cleanser of extra virgin olive oil sitting under a blackcurrant sorbet topped with English sparkling wine finished with long pepper followed before dessert of sunflower seed praline parfait served with apple and a deep mahogany meadowsweet caramel, a bitter chocolate tuile and an organic milk ice cream. Not too sweet and with very interesting flavours.
The flavours and ingredients at Falls by Orry Shand are undoubtedly seasonal and Scottish but with little twists and hints of overseas - a curry infusion, a finger lime or a hint of wonderful olive oil. It’s a journey, in flavour and of the senses.
With such good food, sleek service and the interiors, there’s no doubt in my mind anyway that this team is striving for the big Michelin accolade. The round room leaves nowhere to hide but with this level of professionalism and skill, there’s no need to.
But Mr Shand has said what most chefs say when asked the ‘Michelin Star question.’ That he’s not after one, not yet anyway. But with a crack team in the kitchen and front of house, and having employed the same interior designers as Lyla, not to mention the attention to detail in the table setting and menu, it’s hard to imagine them not aiming for those stars. Why not? It’d be a coup for the restaurant and for this area, and the food and service is definitely deserving of it in my opinion.
As we leave for the night, with no glimpse of the river views, and still thinking of the food, there’s only one thing for it. Unlike the devil in Islay, we’ll need to return.
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