Crail, Scottish Restaurant Guide

“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.

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”.

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.