Arran restaurant owners: sustainability is 'worth the extra work'

Kirsty grew up on Arran before – like so many others – leaving for the mainland, where she met Gordon. They had never planned to return to the island but, when presented with the opportunity to open a new restaurant here, decided to take a chance and bet on themselves.

Informed by Gordon’s earlier professional experience during 17 years as a chef, this became a fine dining venture. Although relatively successful, the couple ultimately decided that the pressures, and the consequent lack of any meaningful balance between work and family life, outweighed the benefits, and decided to move on to something new.

Luckily, Kirsty’s connection to the island meant that a new opportunity arose: they took over premises on the opposite side of the island, transforming a former gift-shop into one of the highlights of the island’s developing food scene.

A seat here comes with a complimentary view over the shoreline and out into the Firth of Clyde, which is of course entirely appropriate given the menu. But those seats aren’t guaranteed: there are just eight inside, complimenting a couple of picnic benches and some standing space on the patio. Booking are only accepted for the evenings of Tuesday and Thursday – otherwise, this is a walk-in, daytime operation.

As well as the seafood menu, which constantly changes based on the availability of ingredients, customers can buy a range of other products. Many are sourced on the island – vegetables come from Whiting Bay; bread comes from Blackwaterfoot; milk and ice-creams are provided by Arran Dairies – but other items come from suppliers across the UK, and the home-baked cakes and cookies are always popular.

Kirsty says that they have had a great deal of support from locals since opening in May 2018, but that tourists are also a vital part of the equation. This isn’t unusual on Arran, nor is the fact that the business is seasonal and closes for the winter, giving the couple time to relax, recharge, and develop their offering during the darker, quieter months. Recently, however, the “constant disruption” caused by the repeated ferry cancellations has “become the norm” and, without doubt, affected their business.

Despite this, they have found a way to thrive.

Gordon that says, initially, they just wanted to run a seafood restaurant and therefore focused on providing a menu that would bring people through the door. That meant using products like farmed salmon, some of which is produced just a few miles away at the southern end of Lamlash Bay – but today, you won’t find any of that on the premises.

Kirsty tells me that customers, especially tourists, regularly ask why they don’t have Scottish salmon on the shelves, and a mischievous grin spreads across her face as she talks about educating visitors on the “reality” of fish farming.

Now, they are keen to promote sustainable seafood as part of broader action to protect and restore Scotland’s marine environments.

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Shellfish is central to the vision here, with a local fisherman providing hand-dived scallops and creel-caught lobster and langoustine, but the situation is more difficult when it comes to fish: although they would “rather not use fish that has been trawled” this would make it all but “impossible” to run a seafood restaurant. Gordon explains that he would love to find a commercial, line-caught fish supplier, but says that this doesn’t seem to be something that is available.

The menu at Mara changes each day depending on the availability of ingredients (Image: The Herald / Gordon Terris) The menu at Mara no longer uses any farmed seafood and the couple, whose whole livelihood depends upon selling fish for human consumption, were part of a recent campaign that successfully opposed the opening of a new farm off the north-east of Arran.

But even without any new developments in the local area, bottom-trawling and dredging boats continue to operate nearby. In fact, the lack of any inshore limit means that Gordon and Kirsty sometimes find themselves standing in their restaurant, working out a sustainable offering for their customers, while a fishing boat goes back and forth outside, trawling or dredging the seabed with each pass. As if to prove a point, one such vessel appeared during our visit.

They want to see better protections for fragile marine environments like inshore waters, and better education about the impact of unsustainable practices, and are keen to play their part.

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This might seem surprising, given that it makes life more difficult both in the kitchen and front of house. Mara could make a lot more money if its owners abandoned their principles but, according to Gordon, the logic is actually very simple, and reflects their focus on long-term sustainability over short-term profit: “We’ll not have a restaurant to run if we don’t help protect these waters.”