Restaurant in Muthill, United Kingdom
Serious kitchen, small village, worth booking.
Coorie Inn in Muthill is a former 18th-century coaching inn that punches well above its postcode. Chef-owner Phillip Skinazi runs a technically serious kitchen — venison tartare, precisely caramelised scallops, celebrated Sunday roasts — in a relaxed, fire-warmed room with overnight rooms upstairs. Easy to book, genuinely worth the drive from Crieff or Auchterarder.
Coorie Inn is not a cosy pub that happens to serve decent food. That's the misconception worth correcting before you book. Chef-owner Phillip Skinazi is running a kitchen with real technical ambition: wild venison tartare with cured yolk and bone marrow, hand-caramelised scallops paired with blood orange and chilli, and Sunday roasts built around properly sourced local pork loin. The setting — a former 18th-century coaching inn on Willoughby Street in Muthill , reinforces the rustic-retreat image, but the cooking consistently outpaces it. If you've eaten here once and assumed it was a pleasant local, come back and eat more carefully. The food rewards attention.
The building does most of the atmospheric work without trying too hard. Original beams and brickwork sit alongside a colour palette drawn from the surrounding rural landscape, proper fires, and the kind of informal service that makes a weeknight dinner feel like a reasonable idea. There's also a leopard astronaut portrait on the wall, which signals the room's tone accurately: grounded in the old, but not reverent about it. The bar area, stocked with single malt options including bottles from the nearby Glenturret distillery, makes a strong case for arriving early. Boutique bedrooms are available upstairs, which changes the calculus for anyone considering a full day in Strathearn , a distillery visit, a walk, dinner, and a bed becomes a direct itinerary rather than a logistics problem.
The technical case for Coorie Inn sits in its butchery and its discipline with seasonal produce. The venison tartare is rough-chopped rather than fussily processed, well-seasoned, and the addition of bone marrow adds fat and depth without overwhelming the game. Scallop cookery is where many kitchens expose their weaknesses; here the caramelisation is described as precise enough to hold sweetness against the acidity of blood orange and the heat of chilli , a combination that requires timing and heat control. North Sea crab with cucumber, apple and chives is a cleaner, fresher dish that shows range. Sourdough from Damsel Bakery and home-cultured butter appear at the table and are worth using. The Sunday roast , local pork loin, hay-baked artichokes, aubergine chutney , is the dish most praised by returning visitors, and it earns that reputation by achieving complexity without complication. Wines are available by the glass with active guidance toward less-common list inclusions, which is more useful than a long list left to navigate alone.
If you're staying in or around Crieff for a few days, Coorie Inn is the strongest argument for eating locally rather than driving to Edinburgh or Perth for dinner. For visitors specifically combining distillery tourism with the River Earn , salmon fishing, walking , the overnight option makes the most sense. For residents of Perthshire already familiar with [Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/restaurant-andrew-fairlie-auchterarder-restaurant), Coorie Inn occupies a different register: less formal, more approachable, and considerably easier to book, but with cooking that justifies a regular visit rather than a one-off. It also compares well against similarly positioned country-inn kitchens across the UK , see [Hand and Flowers in Marlow](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hand-and-flowers-marlow-restaurant) or [hide and fox in Saltwood](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hide-and-fox-saltwood-restaurant) for context on what this format can achieve at its leading.
For more options in the area, see [our full Muthill restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/muthill), [our full Muthill hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/muthill), and [our full Muthill bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/muthill). If you're planning a broader Perthshire trip, [our full Muthill experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/experiences/muthill) covers distillery visits and outdoor activities in the region.
For fine dining benchmarks across the UK, [L'Enclume in Cartmel](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/lenclume-cartmel-restaurant) and [Moor Hall in Aughton](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/moor-hall-aughton-restaurant) represent what the country-inn format looks like at its most decorated. [Gidleigh Park in Chagford](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/gidleigh-park-chagford-restaurant) is the closer comparison in format , remote, hotel-attached, seasonal , though at a substantially higher price point. Coorie Inn sits below those in scale and formality, but the kitchen's technical output is closer to that tier than its postcode might suggest.
The Sunday roast is the dish most specifically praised , local pork loin with hay-baked artichokes and aubergine chutney. For a weeknight visit, the wild venison tartare and the scallops with blood orange and chilli are the dishes that leading show what the kitchen can do technically. North Sea crab with cucumber and apple is a good lighter option. Damsel Bakery sourdough arrives with home-cultured butter and is worth ordering. For drinks, ask the staff for guidance on the wine list's less-familiar bottles rather than defaulting to the obvious choices.
Booking is generally easy , this is a small Perthshire village restaurant, not a city destination with a months-long waitlist. That said, Sunday lunch fills faster given the roast's reputation, so book a week or two ahead for weekends. Weeknight tables should be direct at shorter notice. If you're planning to stay overnight, coordinate the room booking at the same time.
Yes, with a clear-eyed view of what it is. The cooking is technically accomplished and the setting , a restored 18th-century coaching inn with proper fires and informal service , has atmosphere without feeling forced. For a special occasion that calls for white-tablecloth formality, [Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/restaurant-andrew-fairlie-auchterarder-restaurant) is the local alternative. But for a celebration where the priority is good food, a real sense of place, and a genuinely relaxed room, Coorie Inn is the stronger choice.
Don't arrive expecting a direct country pub. The kitchen is running seasonal, technique-driven food: tartare, precisely caramelised scallops, cured yolks, bone marrow. The room is informal and the service is friendly, but the cooking expects to be taken seriously. If you're visiting from outside the area, the overnight rooms make the trip significantly more worthwhile , single malts from Glenturret at the bar, dinner, a bed, and a morning in Strathearn is a better package than a long drive back after dessert.
The bar is specifically noted as a draw , stocked with single malts including Glenturret, with cocktails available. Whether bar dining (as opposed to drinking) is offered is not confirmed in our current data. Contact the venue directly to clarify before arriving with that expectation.
No dietary policy is confirmed in our current data. The menu emphasises seasonal, locally sourced produce with dishes built around meat, fish, and dairy, so specific requirements are worth raising directly when booking. Contact the venue in advance rather than assuming flexibility on the night.
Muthill is a small village and dining options within it are limited. The nearest meaningful alternative for serious food is [Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/restaurant-andrew-fairlie-auchterarder-restaurant) , Scotland's most decorated restaurant, formally structured and priced accordingly. If you're flexible on geography, see [our full Muthill restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/muthill) for a broader picture of what's available in the Crieff and Strathearn area.
No dress code is specified. The room is described as informal, with a rural, rustic character , exposed beams, proper fires, relaxed service. Smart-casual is a reasonable interpretation: clean and considered, but not suited. This is not the kind of room where you'd feel underdressed in walking clothes or overdressed in a blazer.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coorie Inn | Easy | — | |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | ££££ | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Coorie Inn and alternatives.
The bar at Coorie Inn is a proper destination in its own right, not just a waiting area. Cocktails and single malts from nearby Glenturret distillery are available, and the cosy setup makes it a reasonable option for a lighter visit. Confirm with the venue directly whether bar snacks or a full menu are served there on your intended night.
Yes, provided your group is comfortable with a relaxed, informal setting rather than white-tablecloth formality. The kitchen delivers technically assured cooking — venison tartare, perfectly caramelised scallops, Sunday roasts that draw specific praise — and boutique bedrooms mean you can make a night of it. For a landmark anniversary or proposal, the intimacy of a small Perthshire village inn works in its favour.
The Sunday roast is specifically praised and worth planning a visit around. On the à la carte side, the wild venison tartare and scallops with blood orange, fennel and chilli are the dishes that show what the kitchen can do. North Sea crab and seasonal produce dishes reflect the Scottish sourcing philosophy most clearly.
The menu is produce-led and changes with the seasons, which typically means kitchens at this level are accustomed to adjusting. That said, specific dietary accommodation is not documented in available venue information, so contact Coorie Inn directly before booking if requirements are significant — the address is 6 Willoughby St, Muthill, Crieff PH5 2AB.
Muthill is a small village with limited dining options, so Coorie Inn is the primary reason to eat here rather than nearby Crieff or Perth. If you want a wider choice, Perth offers more variety at different price points. For similar produce-driven Scottish cooking in a country setting, you'd be looking further afield into Perthshire or toward Edinburgh.
This is not a gastropub — the kitchen operates at a level above casual country dining, with butchery skills and seasonal sourcing that reward attention. The atmosphere is informal and the space incorporates original 18th-century features alongside deliberately quirky décor, so expect character rather than polish. If you're coming from Edinburgh or Perth, build in time: Muthill is a destination in itself, not a stop on the way somewhere.
For weekend dinners and Sunday lunch, book at least two to three weeks ahead — a chef-owner operation in a small village has limited covers and fills quickly when word of a strong kitchen gets around. Sunday roasts in particular are praised enough to draw regulars, so leave it late and you'll lose your table. Midweek may be more flexible, but confirm directly.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
