If your passion for visiting museums and galleries is matched only by your desire to experience the best authentic food and drink on offer then we think a trip to Dundee is a great choice.
Design a foodie trip with a dash of culture to suit your tastes because and no matter what the season, you can enjoy some of the finest quality local Scottish food. With a growing array of restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, pubs, diners and street food outlets to choose from we know your taste buds will thank you.
What better way to start things off than with coffee. Dundee is jam packed with some brilliant coffee shops and you won’t have to go far before you pick up that freshly roasted aroma on a stroll along Perth Road.
Food and culture go hand in hand at the DCA; at the heart of the city’s cultural quarter. Spend a while in contemporary art galleries, or chill in the Jute Cafe Bar.
Dundee’s top chef’s give you some tricks of the trade at the Dundee Cookery School if you book an afternoon of fun in the kitchen with them.
The Dundee Rep raises the curtain most nights, so book your tickets and then go in search of a secret underground speakeasy.
Start your day by waking up your tastebuds with a freshly brewed coffee at Pacamara or the Tartan Coffee House on the Perth Road. Maybe add a fresh waffle or some french toast, before taking a short walk to the site of Dundee’s cultural reinvention; the DCA.
The Dundee Contemporary Arts houses two art gallery spaces, two thriving cinema screens and a packed programme of events, workshops, classes and activities aimed at all ages and abilities. Their Jute Cafe & Bar is a popular meeting place for the local and visitor alike.
DCA Jute Post House
Grab your apron for a session at the Dundee Cooking Academy. Bring out your inner chef and learn tricks of the trade that will make you the favour of the month when you entertain friends and family with some of your new found culinary skills.
Whether it’s a recipe for a hearty Cullen Skink or making the perfect Beef Wellington, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this fun gastronomic experience.
Dundee Cooking Academy
During December book tickets for a musical treat at the Dundee Rep. Their latest show; A Christmas Carol will get you in the mood to sprinkle some festive cheer.
Celebrate a successful day by raising a glass to the roaring 20’s at Capones Speakeasy, ‘somewhere’ on the Perth Road
Dundee Rep Capones
What better start to the day than comparing the simple design (and taste) of a donut whilst marvelling at the complex architecture of V&A Dundee. Finish your donuts, lick those fingers and then walk inside to enter a world of
A jaunt to St Andrews will give you time to appreciate the rich and varied culture in out local area and there’s plenty to see, do and experience there. But save yourself for a evening treat on the way home with a meal at either one of two special restaurants in Newport-on-Tay who have the best views of Dundee you could hope for.
It’s cinnamon and spice and all things (sweet and) nice with donuts from one of the top food vans in Scotland, Heather Street Foods.
Admire the stunning architecture of this iconic, Kengo Kuma designed, V&A Dundee, the first V&A museum outside London and Scotland’s first museum dedicated to design.
Heather Wee Mexico V&AWork up an appetite with an afternoon across the Tay exploring St Andrews. Rich in history and famous for a lot more than just a certain golf course, you can spend time getting Blown Away landyachting along the beach, learn about all things aquatic at St Andrews Aquarium or drink in the history of St Andrews Cathedral or why not feed the deer at the Scottish Deer Centre in nearby Cupar.
Blown Away Aquarium Deer centre
Before you head home across the bridge to Dundee, find your way to Newport-on-Tay. Savour some fantastic seafood at Boat Brae or the Newport Restaurant and look out at the twinkling city lights across Scotland’s largest river.
Head back to Dundee for a cultural nightcap upstairs at the Blue Room or down below in another of Dundee secret bars, Draffens.
Boat Brae Newport Mailmaison
We’re luck you have Arbroath and their world famous ‘Smokies’ right on our doorstep. Spent a day on the coast, walk around the picturesque harbour, visit the Signal Tower Museum and Hospitalfield House and find the smokehouses to try their freshly smoked delicacies.
Stay on the coast and delight in bustling and popular seaside suburb of Broughty Ferry. There are cafes and boutiques galore for you to explore.
Top of the day by visiting some of our favourite local Dundee restaurants.
Make an early start of day three and head over to the ancient fishing town of Arbroath where the coastal path is guaranteed to delight with beautiful scenery and blow any cobwebs away. You’ll return to Arbroath with a healthy appetite so what better way to tackle it than with a protein packed ‘Smokie’, haddock cured over oak chips to give it its distinctive flavour, a true Scottish delicacy if there ever was one. There’s now an official ‘Smokie Trail’ too.
Discover one of Scotland’s finest historic houses before you leave Arbroath at Hospitalfield House, a cultural gem that is sure to surprise you.
Arbroath Hospitalfield SmokiesBroughty Ferry is a natural stop off on your journey back to Dundee, a thriving small town that once boasted more Millionaires per capita than any other part of the UK. The ‘Ferry’ has plenty of retail therapy to offer. We’d highly recommend you sample lunch at Forgan’s or Sol y Sombra and finish it off with the gelato at Visocchi’s
Visocchis Forgans Sol Y Sombra
As your trip to Dundee comes to an end why not push the boat out, you deserve it! Three of our favourite restaurants include Tailend, the Tayberry and Mazaj. Needless to say you’ll find something to match your tastes across their amazing menus – a great conclusion to what we hope you agree will have been an amazing visit.
Tailend Tayberry Mazaj
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