Restaurant in Linlithgow, United Kingdom
Scotland's steakhouse benchmark. Book for occasions.
Champany Inn is one of Scotland's most credible OAD-ranked steakhouses, sitting just outside Linlithgow with a consistent record across 2023 and 2024 Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe lists. Booking is easy but hours are restricted — closed Monday and Tuesday, Saturday dinner only. Counter seats deliver the best experience; build an evening around it if you are travelling from Edinburgh.
Champany Inn is one of Scotland's most credible steakhouses and, for a special meal in the Linlithgow area, it earns a clear recommendation. Seats at the counter and in the dining room are not unlimited, and the kitchen operates on a restricted schedule — closed Monday and Tuesday entirely, with limited lunch windows Wednesday through Friday. If a specific date matters to you, plan ahead. For explorers willing to make the drive out from Edinburgh, this is a destination worth building an evening around.
Champany Inn sits in the countryside near Linlithgow, and the format here is classic steakhouse done with conviction. Opinionated About Dining ranked it #314 in its Casual Europe list for 2024 and awarded it Highly Recommended status in 2023 — a consistent double-year signal that the kitchen delivers at a level that registers with serious food travellers, not just local regulars. A Google rating of 4.6 across 455 reviews reinforces that this is not a venue coasting on reputation alone.
The editorial angle that matters most for first-timers: counter seating. At venues like this, the bar or counter position puts you closer to the action , the sear, the smoke, the rendered fat hitting a hot surface. That proximity changes how you experience a steakhouse meal. If counter seats are available when you book, request one. The sightlines and the ambient heat from the grill add a layer that a standard dining room table cannot replicate. This is the kind of detail that separates a good steak dinner from a meal you actually remember.
The opening hours structure deserves attention before you plan. Lunch runs Wednesday to Friday (12–2 pm) and Sunday (12:30–7:30 pm). Dinner service runs Wednesday to Friday (5–9 pm) and Saturday (5–9 pm). The venue is closed Monday and Tuesday. Saturday is dinner-only. That Saturday dinner slot , the most in-demand window , fills faster than mid-week options, so if Saturday is your target, book early. Sunday lunch runs longer and is worth considering for a more relaxed pace, particularly if you are travelling from Edinburgh and want to avoid evening traffic back.
Scotland's steakhouse category is smaller than London's, which works in Champany Inn's favour. There is no direct in-region competitor operating at this recognition level. For context, Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder is the reference point for fine dining in central Scotland, but it operates in a different register entirely , tasting menus, formal service, Michelin two-star. Champany Inn is the answer when you want excellent beef, a proper room, and none of the tasting-menu commitment. Those are different decisions, not competing ones.
For food and travel enthusiasts who track venues across the OAD lists, a #314 Casual Europe ranking is meaningful. It places Champany Inn in a tier where the kitchen is operating with genuine care and consistency , not a tourist trap, not a local institution running on fumes. The 2023 Highly Recommended status preceding the 2024 ranking suggests the kitchen has maintained or improved its output rather than declining after a one-year spike.
Booking difficulty is rated easy. This is not a restaurant where you need to set a calendar reminder three months out. That said, Saturday dinner is the tightest window given the limited operating schedule, and the restricted hours mean any given week has fewer available covers than a seven-day restaurant. Book a week or two ahead for mid-week visits; give yourself more runway for Saturday.
For more places to eat, drink, and stay in the area, see our full Linlithgow restaurants guide, our full Linlithgow hotels guide, and our full Linlithgow bars guide. You can also browse our full Linlithgow wineries guide and our full Linlithgow experiences guide if you are planning a longer trip.
Champany Inn is located at Champany, Linlithgow EH49 7LU. Service runs Wednesday to Friday (lunch 12–2 pm, dinner 5–9 pm), Saturday (dinner only, 5–9 pm), and Sunday (12:30–7:30 pm). The venue is closed Monday and Tuesday. No price range data is confirmed in the Pearl record , check directly with the venue before visiting if budget planning is a priority.
Quick reference: Steakhouse, Linlithgow, OAD-ranked, Wed–Sun with varied hours, easy to book.
See the comparison section below for how Champany Inn sits relative to the wider UK dining scene.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Champany Inn | — | |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | ££££ | — |
How Champany Inn stacks up against the competition.
Yes, and it's one of the stronger cases for a special-occasion dinner in the central Scotland area. Opinionated About Dining ranked it #314 in Europe for casual dining in 2024 and gave it a Highly Recommended in 2023, which puts it in credible company for a celebratory meal. Saturday dinner is the natural slot for a proper occasion, though Sunday lunch (12:30–7:30 pm) offers more flexibility if your group needs daytime timing.
It's a countryside steakhouse outside Linlithgow, not a city-centre restaurant, so plan your journey. The format is classic and conviction-led: this is not a place experimenting with tasting menus or sharing plates. Opinionated About Dining's back-to-back recognition confirms it delivers on its core promise consistently. Arrive knowing what you want from a steakhouse and you won't be disappointed.
Bar seating options are not confirmed in the venue's published details, so this is worth checking directly before visiting. What is clear is that the restaurant operates specific service windows Wednesday to Friday (lunch 12–2 pm, dinner 5–9 pm), Saturday dinner only, and Sunday lunch from 12:30 pm, so timing your visit matters regardless of where you sit.
Specific menu items aren't documented here, but the venue's identity is built entirely around steak, so the beef is the obvious anchor of any visit. OAD's recognition across two consecutive years points to consistency rather than novelty, which means leaning into the core menu rather than looking for specials or off-piste dishes is the right approach for a first visit.
Dinner gives you the full weekly spread of available nights (Wednesday to Friday, plus Saturday), making it easier to book at pace. Sunday lunch (12:30–7:30 pm) is the one session that stretches into the afternoon and suits a more relaxed, longer meal, particularly if you're driving out from Edinburgh. Weekday lunches (12–2 pm, Wednesday to Friday) are tight two-hour windows and better suited to a focused, shorter visit.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
