One of the best parts of travel is the food. With basically no exceptions, every place in the world has good food. While some cuisines are more or less to my particular palate, eating what the locals eat, what places do well, will typically be a terrific experience. Yes, even in Scotland.

Scottish food has a reputation that is even worse than English, and that southern neighbor isn’t known for its cuisine. (Although let me tell you, good English food is terrific, albeit fairly heavy.) And much of that negativity is due to one dish: haggis.

But what is haggis? How is it actually prepared and served today? And, most importantly, is it good? Let’s talk about Scotland’s national dish, and then we will get into some other aspects of the cuisine.

Haggis doesn’t sound appealing, and that is the majority of its issue. Traditionally, it is “funky bits,” what Anthony Bourdain would call the good bits, of sheep – lungs, heart, and liver, together called the pluck – mixed with spices, stock, and oats, and steamed inside the sheep’s stomach. It sounds icky. Add to that initial ick factor that it was traditionally served inside the stomach itself, and it is no wonder that haggis gets a bad reputation, mainly from those who have never tried it.

So let me dispel some of this. First, despite my belief that it would come out as a stomach on a plate, haggis is almost never served like that these days, outside of very traditional settings. Heck, it is almost never even made inside a stomach, or even an artificial lining. Most restaurants just make it in a big pot. (I have to admit here that I was incredibly relieved to experience this my first time ordering the dish.)

Secondly, while haggis is still a dish made up of offal (internal organs), that isn’t something that should be scary to an American audience that eats hot dogs and sausages. In fact, so many cuisines have things made from these parts (larb in Thailand, morcilla in Spain, pate in France, etc…) but just do a better job on the marketing side of things. Maybe the Scots are just too open and honest?

Finally, you won’t recognize any of the offal bits in haggis. The meat is so finely ground that it sort of tastes like a cross between a loose meatball or meatloaf and a sloppy Joe. So don’t worry about the feeling of eating a bite of lung. It’s also well seasoned so you don’t taste lung, if you’d even know what lung tastes like.

Haggis is nearly always served with neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes), with both coming mashed in every instance I had while in Scotland. Add a whisky gravy for extra flavor and to make the mashed veggies not quite so heavy, and it’s truly a spectacular dish. I should know. In about a month spent here in Scotland, I believe I had haggis at least seven times, or an average of about twice a week. All were from restaurants; I didn’t get the canned stuff from the grocery store. And it ranged from quite good to absolutely extraordinary.

Most haggis dishes I tried were fairly straightforward, with the three components (haggis, neeps, and tatties) served either next to each other or stacked. But I also had haggis that was griddled (sort of like a good corned beef hash would be) for a crunch, haggis fritters, and a version of chicken balmoral (which is roasted chicken stuffed with haggis). It’s quite exciting!

But I understand if haggis just isn’t something you’re willing to try, for dietary reasons (although there are vegan versions, which I’m guessing are more mushroom or chestnut based, though I didn’t try one) or not being able to get over what it is. Fortunately, Scottish cuisine offers more. What are some of the highlights? I’m glad you asked.

First off, there is a lot of overlap between Scottish and English food, especially pub cuisine. Things like fish and chips or bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potatoes) can be found all over. The only real difference in Scotland is that the fish in fish and chips tends to be haddock rather than cod, and the mash in bangers and mash often has mustard in it (or other options, on occasion).

Then there are the Scottish ingredients, things the country is specifically known for, but without a particular basis in a single dish. This includes salmon – Scottish salmon is some of the best in the world, with most at this point being farmed just off the coast – and other seafood like mussels, berries, and of course, Scotch whisky, which you can find out more about by clicking here.

But you want specific dishes, right? Ok, here are a few of my favorites. Let’s start with the scotch egg, an odd thing of a soft boiled egg encased in ground meat and then breaded and fried. You’ll find them as starters sometimes in a pub, and they can be decent, if not particularly healthy. Just recognize that they are often served with a mayo-heavy sauce, which if you’re like me is a huge negative.

Cullen skink is one of my rainy day go-to orders, and since this is Scotland, you’ll have plenty of those sorts of days. It’s a chowder of smoked fish (haddock is typical) with onions and potatoes, generally served with good Scottish brown bread.

At least in Edinburgh (not that it isn’t elsewhere; I just didn’t come across it) there are a lot of places advertising Scottish hog roast. I went to Oink, a small chain, to try it. Roasted pulled pork, cracklin’, choice of spread (haggis is an option), and sauce on a roll. Amazing to eat in a park.

Looking for dessert? Besides the normal array of things like sticky toffee pudding and trifle, seek out cranachan, the Scottish national dessert. It is pretty much a parfait of whisky-infused whipped cream, fresh raspberries (sometimes muddled with more whisky), and oats. It is also light and delicious.

As for drinks, try a Scotch while you’re here. There are plenty of varieties that are less peaty and smoky. Beers and ciders are also good choices, with my favorite beer being Innis and Gunn’s lager. Or just go for a pot of tea.

Yeah, Scottish cuisine gets a bad reputation, but I think it is an unfair one. Haggis is something absolutely worth trying once (and you might love it as I did), but even if you don’t, the food here is much better than you’d have guessed. Enjoy!

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