Frequently Asked Questions

We pronounce it like 'yorna'. The name means 'Barley' in Scottish Gallic as well as Irish Gaelic, representing Brian and Glen. It's an important crop in both countries, and can be used in the context of food and drinks.

The restaurant opened on the 30th of May, 2023.

The menu changes seasonally, showcasing produce at the time when it's at its best rather than to a strict timetable. It's continuously evolving, with Brian almost always working on a new dish to be added; once he's happy, it will go on the menu, and he'll start to work on the next one.

Generally speaking, the whole menu rotates fully every two months or so. It might be more dynamic in the spring and summer months when we have more fresh seasonal produce appearing.

Yes.

The whole restaurant is built around the number of guests we felt we could manage alone while still offering the quality food, wine and service of a great fine-dining restaurant.

This means we're highly efficient: nothing goes to waste because we know exactly how many diners we're taking care of and exactly how much food we require.

The added benefit of the setup is that diners get to interact directly with the decision-makers every night. If you want to know how something was prepared, or exactly why that wine was chosen to suit that dish, they can have a chat about it. It's a very relaxing and informal four hour experience with lots of opportunity for conversation!

We believe that four is the maximum optimum number of diners at eòrna. There are two curved ends of our dining-bar, and they perfectly accommodate four diners and allow conversation between everyone. Once that number becomes five or six diners, it's just not possible to have everyone speaking together as people are too far apart.

I'm afraid that because there is only Chef Brian preparing everything for all twelve diners that it's just not possible to offer more than the single menu that we serve. He isn't able to prepare more than one dish per course to the standards to which we hold ourselves.

With that being said, If you have an allergy that is unlikely to affect your experience (this might be nuts, or kiwi, or pork for example) then do reach out to us by email or telephone to discuss this. It can even be possible to enjoy the menu if  you're avoiding gluten, but that would most likely need to be in the spring or summer months. In the Autumn and winter pasta and pastry are often key elements of the menu.

If you are considering a private party at eòrna, there can be a little more flexibility on the above, but everyone will need to eat the same menu. We do not offer vegetarian, vegan or dairy-free menus.

Brian and I first worked together in the Michelin-starred 'number one' restaurant in the Balmoral Hotel. When I joined, it was my first "serious" Head Sommelier job, and Brian was the Head Chef. Over three and a half years working together, we developed a great working relationship based on a shared love of classical cuisine and wines.

Lots of Chefs aren't particularly interested in what Sommeliers are doing, and so it was very refreshing to have one who wanted to taste all of the wines I was matching to his food, and who offered interesting opinions on the combinations. Since I consider my wine taste very 'classical', it doesn't feel like a challenge to match Brian's classical style of cooking.

After the Balmoral, Brian and I went off and did some other jobs for a few years. When Brian had the idea to set up something like eòrna, he gave me a call and I said I would be delighted to work with him on this project.

Brian washes his own pots and pans, and I wash the glasses, plates and cutlery.

I'll not forget the day that I told Brian I was thinking of putting 'head KP' on my business card. He pointed out how much more washing up he does than me, so I'm proud to be the 'assistant-head KP' instead.