Dressing up or staying close to home, a full ceilidh or a quiet dram: however you like to celebrate Rabbie Burns, we have the event for you. By the end of the dark nights of January, we’ll all deserve a wee party and a bit of poetry – our carousing bard would surely approve.
Maryculter House
This is surely the most atmospheric setting for a Burns’ Supper in Scotland. The ancient halls of Maryculter House in Aberdeenshire invite you and your auld acquaintances to dine and dance this January to celebrate Burns, and perhaps imagine all the great hoolies held here in the house’s history. Included in your ticket is an arrival cocktail, a four-course supper with a dram and poetry, and then a proper knees-up ceilidh with the Hipflask ceilidh band.
Tickets £69
events@maryculterhouse.com
The bard would be Amuse-d
Aberdeen’s fine-dining hot-spot Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish is teaming up with Glenfiddich Whisky to host a Burns Supper to remember on Friday, January 26. Dalgleish will create a special five-course menu featuring the very best local produce, and Glenfiddich’s Whisky Ambassador Mark Thomson will pair each course with a
tasty dram.
£120 per person
amuse-restaurant.com
To book, call 01224 611909
Burns & Beyond, Edinburgh
A wee festival that punches high, Burns & Beyond returns to Edinburgh with a celebration of ‘Luve, Hope and Kindness’ for 2024. Headliners this year are the incredible acoustic and electronic music composer Anna Meredith on the 27th January, and singer-songwriter and Mercury Prize nominee Nadine Shah on the 28th – both performing at the Assembly Rooms.On the 26th enjoy a brilliant collaboration with the National Museum of Scotland for a Museum Late: Big Burns Ceilidh.
Tickets from £20
burnsandbeyond.com/events
Celtic Connections Burns Supper
Celtic Connections contributes so much light and life to dark January every year, it’s no surprise the festival has a cracking night out planned for Burns. The halls of Kelvingrove will be filled with Burns songs, with Fiona Hunter and Sean Gray plus special guests to be announced. Guests will also enjoy a traditional haggis supper followed by cranachan and, of course, a dram of Lochlea whisky too.
Tickets £56
celticconnections.com/event/1/celtic-connections-burns-supper
Wit and whisky at Prestonfield
Why not celebrate the bard in the opulent surroundings of Prestonfield House? Prestonfield’s annual Burns’ Supper will be raising funds for Prostate Scotland, in an evening of, ‘wit, wine, whisky and wisdom’. After a welcome drink, guests will sit down to a fine traditional three-course dinner and a programme of music, poetry and comedy, with one of Scotland’s favourite funny women, comedienne and author Janey Godley ensuring the lassies are well represented.
Tickets £85
prestonfield.com
Links House/The Dalmore
Robert Burns Weekend
Go all out this year at handsome Links House in Dornoch, in partnership with The Dalmore whisky. On a two-night luxury break guests will stay in sumptuous suites, and enjoy an evening of cocktails, canapes and a six course Burns Supper led by Craig Swindell – The Dalmore Global Specialist Nose, with poetry and live music a plenty. Other treats in store include a ‘Haggis hunt’ at the Highland Shooting Centre and a whisky tasting experience at the Carnegie Whisky Cellars.
£1759, based on double occupancy
info@linkshousedornoch.com
Luckenbooths
Spend Burns’ Night on The Royal Mile with a five-course feast at Luckenbooths. Enjoy a dram or a glass of fizz while the piper plays, then sit down to Arbroath Smokie Cullen Skink; haggis (properly addressed of course); steak with gratin and whisky sauce, and honey and whisky cranachan. A real feast, at a very fair price and all taking place on January 25 and 26.
£45 per person
luckenboothsedinburgh.co.uk/burns-night
Burns’ Nicht at Hame
Staying in? Let Woodmill Game in Fife stock your fridge. In their ultimate Burns Box you’ll find a traditional pork and beef haggis with a homemade whisky sauce, as well as venison and haggis sausages, a wild venison cottage pie and plenty more besides. Pair this with a dram of Burns Malt from Isle of Arran Distillers – produced over the water from Burns’ Ayrshire birthplace. A light and fresh malt with notes of citrus, it’s the perfect match for haggis.
Burns Box, £67.50, woodmillgame.co.uk
Arran whisky, £30.95, masterofmalt.com
Ondine plus/Tom Brown
Kicking off a year of guest chef appearances, Edinburgh’s top seafood restaurant Ondine Oyster & Grill will welcome celebrity chef Tom Brown to the pass for a one night Burns’ Night spectacular. Tom Brown rose to prominence as head chef of Outlaw’s at The Capital and as a finalist on Great British Menu 2017. Today he runs his own Michelin-starred restaurant, Cornerstone in London. He is joined by chef-patron Roy Brett for one night only. The menu is still under wraps so keep an eye on the website for tickets.
ondinerestaurant.co.uk
Tales of the Pioneer Spirit – Hawksmoor/Berry Bros. Burns’ Night Dinner
A very special evening for whisky lovers is planned this year in Hawksmoor’s iconic private dining space, The Telling Room. Over a spectacular four-course feast, guests will have a chance to try the one-off bottlings in Berry Bros.’ ‘Collective #1: The Pioneers’, This collection celebrates 10 distilleries that are pioneers of sustainability, all with incredible stories to tell and which will be shared on the night. Slàinte mhath!
Tickets £75, eventbrite.com
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here