Crail Restaurant Guide

On the pretty harbour of this attractive town which overlooks the mouth of the Firth of Forth, the Smith family’s celebrated venture is arguably Scotland’s most famous chippie. The ‘Catch of the Day’ board highlights the day’s specials – almost all the fish is bought on the day served and hand-filleted by a local fish processing business, with haddock their best-seller.

2023 Review: “A lovely local restaurant with a high level of cookery” – Craig Millar’s bright coastal dining room provides “a good choice, especially fish at reasonable prices, plus beautiful sea views”. He follows a tasting menu format, offering 5-course and 6-course options.

2023 Review: “A wonderful selection of dishes, perfect for vegans and omnivores alike” wins a thumbs-up for this long-established curry house (est. 1998). “Knowledgeable staff talk about the food and recommend combinations for you.”

“Fabulous” and “innovative modern cuisine” have earned an outstanding reputation for this “welcoming and unpretentious” village inn from chef James Ferguson and front of house Alethea Palmer, who worked together at London’s Rochelle Canteen. One reporter hailed it as their “current favourite Scottish restaurant”, while Chitra Ramaswamy of The Times, in her January 2025 rave review, was brought “close to tears” by warm madeleines at the end of a “peerless” meal. Top Menu Tip – “the flatbreads, humble as they may be, are outstanding with a warm garlicky bean purée”.

“Just 100 metres from the hallowed portals of the Royal and Ancient”, all diners agree that the “location and general set-up” of this ambitious, contemporary restaurant with rooms, with a dining room overseen by Dean Banks, “give it so much potential”. But while supporters praise the “exceptional tasting menu” and all-round accomplishment here, others found it fell short this year: “we so so wanted to like this place, which used to be head and shoulders above any other restaurant in St Andrews”, but “service was quite simply not what you’d expect at this level” and there was “a mismatch between what’s on offer and the price” noted by a couple of long-term fans.

“Outstanding” seafood and views to match are the enticing prospect at this upscale contemporary-Italian, which is “not what you’d expect in traditional St Andrews: a dramatic, modern glass box overlooking the sea (great for watching the fulmars come in to land on the cliffs)”. “Scotland seems, at last, to have discovered it has some of the best fresh seafood in the world and this restaurant cooks it simply and well”. Any downsides? “In high summer it’s the default choice of the Pebble Beach golfing fraternity, so can become both noisy and busy”. The Ristorante celebrated its 20th anniversary last year and is smartly run by a young owner from a prominent Scottish-Italian hospitality family, Stefano Pieraccini.

2022 Review: “Fresh-as-you-like seafood, cooked perfectly with stunning views over Elie Bay – what more could you want?” – that’s the deal at this terrific shack “right on the harbour with a view of the glorious beach” run by Amy Elles of Great British Menu fame. Closed in winter.

“The Smeddle Family has consistently turned out very good food served by very knowledgeable and capable waiting staff” (all backed up by a heavyweight wine list) at this famous, upscale inn – sensitively modernised over the years and set “in a tiny village just outside St Andrews”. One reporter gives us the local lowdown: “As it happens the family have just announced that the business is up for sale. (March 2025). They have run it for twenty years and took it to one Michelin Star. Before them the legendary David Wilson ran it for thirty five years. Watch this space for details of the new owner…” [no transaction has yet been announced as of October 2025]

Gob-smacking views over the North Sea underpin the appeal of this down-to-earth caff, which occupies six shipping containers perched on a cliff edge and a converted horse trailer (opened by Jo and Stuart McNicol as a farm diversification project in 2018). It was highlighted this year in the Times by Chitra Ramaswamy who noted “one of the best tables I’ve sat at this year. No, ANY year” and "brilliantly done” Korean panko-fried chicken bo ssam with “giant chips, skin on, dusted with plenty of paprika and drizzled with aioli”. Reports please!

This two-year-old revival of an 18th-century watering hole in “the culinary no-man’s-land between Dundee and Edinburgh” is “just perfect”, with a “confident, pared-back menu” from chef Craig McAllister that has “an emphasis on local produce” and is “reasonably priced for the quality of the cooking”.

“Now reopened as a tapas restaurant with a Spanish chef” – this well-known and picturesque, stone-walled destination (previously named without the ‘at 24’) was taken over by Nicola & Sian Linton in 2024 and relaunched with a tapas-spin learnt from a food-truck business. Early reports are raves: “it’s exceptional in every way” with an “excellent menu featuring fish, meat and vegetable dishes – everything is delicious!”

Chef Roy Brett’s Ondine closed in Edinburgh last December after 16 years, to reopen in spring 2025 at this new five-star hotel overlooking the hallowed golfing turf of the Old Course. It opened rather late to attract reports in our annual diners’ poll, but in her July 2025 review, The Times’s Chitra Ramaswamy invested in “the most expensive lunch… in ages”. Oysters are the star turn here according to Chitra – “to sit in this fine room at teatime, with this view, eating oysters of this calibre at these outrageously good prices, is one of the best things you can do with your hard-earned cash in Scotland.” Other dishes on the “minimalist and French-leaning” menu were a mixed bag: “lemon sole meunière is a masterclass in fish cookery, the fish soft, fluffy and white as a cumulus cloud”, but some of the cooking “needs finessing” – in particular, both salt-baked beets with whipped crowdie and monkfish au poivre were “way too salty”.

“On the top floor of this hotel which overlooks the 18th on The Old Course and then on to the magnificent West Sands where the opening to ‘Chariots of Fire’ was filmed, there are few more romantic places in Scotland” (well, so long as your partner doesn’t hate golf!) than the wood-panelled rooftop dining room of this upscale four-star hotel. Our feedback (admittedly limited) says “do try the traditional Sunday lunch” and Afternoon tea here is also a feature. When it comes to the more substantial fare – majoring in a selection of Aberdeen Angus steaks – we have less feedback, although in his September 2024 review, The Observer’s Jay Rayner was put off by what he saw as a craving for “an awful lot of grilled cow” (noting as he fled an atmosphere that “smells of newly pumped testosterone”).

2022 Review: Just shy of its centenary, and hard at work sprucing up its gardens (designed by the creator of Balmoral’s gardens no less) – an “elegant” country house hotel whose “airy restaurant” combines “super, fresh, beautifully cooked and presented food with professional and friendly service”. The kitchen garden is at the heart of the operation, and there are further dining spaces outdoors.

2024 Review: “It’s just a shack on the port but the lobster or fish ’n’ chips are spectacular” at this venue perched on North Berwick Harbour, which is open seasonally from April to October. Their suppliers are accredited by Marine Scotland, and if you fancy a change from the national dish opt for crab tacos or chowder.

This small, family-operated trattoria in “a popular seaside town” celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, with a reputation for cooking that’s “always delicious” backed up by “excellent service”. Founder Angelo Cocchia is the welcoming face out-front, while his daughter Daniela and her husband Daniele di Marco run the kitchen.