Places to eat in St Andrews

The top-ranked TripAdvisor restaurant in St Andrews, The Grange is worthy of all the praise it receives. Housed in a 17th-century farmhouse overlooking St Andrews Bay, the locally sourced menu makes good use of local trout, lamb and salmon, all delivering big, clean flavours. Open from Tuesday to Saturday and Sunday lunch, the restaurant is less than a five-minute drive from St Andrews’ town-centre.

Another high-quality restaurant, but with a more laid-back approach is Forgans. Known for their home-brew beer, ceilidh throwdowns, vast Scottish gin collection and expansive brunches, they do some of the best steaks and grills in town, as well as a wide range of fish and vegetarian dishes. The must-try dish is their crispy haggis balls, parsnip crisps and malt whisky gravy!

An institution for over 30 years, the Vine Leaf Restaurant handily split their mains and starters into meat, fish and vegetarian, with two and three-course options. Located on South Street, it’s just a five-minute walk from our St Andrews hotel.

The Tailend Restaurant and Fish Bar is a modern hybrid of a traditional fish and chip shop and trendy restaurant. The menu takes this one step further – opt for your trusty haddock and chips, or have it lightly fried with homemade pesto. The daily specials are always delicious, and with a wide selection of beers and wines on offer, this Market Street mash-up is well worth checking out.

Pizza and pasta fans need to book a table at Little Italy, a cute and cosy Italian restaurant on Logie Lane, just off Market Street. With traditional stylings – even down to the red and white tablecloths – this charming restaurant serves up some of the best thin-crust pizzas on the Scottish east coast.

A tourist hotspot, café culture looms large in St Andrews, with dozens of coffee shops all offering caffeine-fuelled treats. One of the town’s favourites is Café in the Square, nestled under an archway just off Market and Church Street. With homemade soup, sandwiches and cakes to the fore, they do a great range of coffee and, when the sun is shining, their courtyard setting makes for a lovely sun-trap.

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, make sure the St Andrews Waffle Company on South Street is on your agenda. Spanning sweet and savoury, basic and truly gluttonous – yes, the Full Belgian breakfast waffle with haggis and black pudding, we’re looking at you – you can have your waffles with virtually anything, with plenty of coffees, loose leaf teas and ice cream floats to wash them down with.

Family-run and using local, seasonal ingredients, The Cottage Kitchen on Logies Lane serve up breakfast, lunch and Sunday roasts, as well as enough baked treats to make Willy Wonka giddy with excitement. If you’re in a rush, grab one of their enormous sausage rolls and decide which of the cakes, scones, cookies, biscuits or meringues you’re going to try.

Located at the British Golf Museum, Café at the Museum is the ideal place to blend history, culture, sport and – quintessentially – a classic British high tea. The views across the greens are perfectly complemented by the tasty sandwiches, scrummy cakes and hot drinks – and a tip from us: if it’s cold out, order the hot chocolate, you won’t be disappointed!

Finally, get your ice cream fix at Nardinis or Jannettas Gelateria. Both offer a wide range of scoops, cones, frozen yoghurts and sorbets. Handily, all the cafés mentioned are less than 500m from our St Andrews hotel.