The advantage this coast has over most is the horizon. It faces due west, the sun goes down behind Ailsa Craig, and on a clear evening from late spring to early autumn you do not need the restaurant to do very much work.
The short list
- Wildings, Maidens — the one to book. Ask for a window or terrace table around 7pm in summer and the sun drops behind Arran while you eat. Seafood, Ayrshire beef, and rooms upstairs if you would rather not drive.
- Austins, Girvan — small, harbour-front and quietly good, with a proper wine list. The town's date-night table. Book, and check the opening days.
- Glenapp Castle, Ballantrae — the splurge. Fine dining in a five-star Victorian baronial castle in its own woodland, fifteen miles south. Also does afternoon tea, which is a cheaper way to see the place. Book well ahead.
- 1906 at Trump Turnberry — Edwardian grandeur with the links and the lighthouse beyond. Dress smartly and expect the prices; the Ailsa Bar is the more affordable way in.
- Souter's Inn, Kirkoswald — thatched outside, modern inside, and relaxed. The unfussy option when you want a good evening rather than an occasion.
- The Harbour Bar, Girvan — for the pre-dinner pint in the beer garden, or the post-dinner live set upstairs.
The one that beats most of them
Chips from Graziano's, a bench on the promenade, Ailsa Craig on the horizon and a June sunset that does not finish until after ten. It costs about six pounds. We have thought about this and we stand by it.
Making an evening of it
Pair dinner with something before it: the short climb up Byne Hill for the view, the walk to Turnberry lighthouse from Maidens, or a boat round Ailsa Craig in the afternoon. Afterwards, the darkest skies in Europe are an hour inland — see stargazing.
Check sunset times when you book. In midsummer the sun sets after 10pm, later than most kitchens serve; in midwinter it is gone by four. Late April to early September is the window where dinner and sunset actually overlap. See Girvan for couples and places with sea views.
