Clarets Calling
St Andrews finally gets the all-day spot it’s been missing, with a view that does half the work and a kitchen that keeps up.
There are restaurants you go to for the food, and then there are those where the setting threatens to steal the show. Clarets manages to hold both. Set inside the R&A World Golf Museum, the view across the Old Course and West Sands is as strong as anything in Scotland, but crucially, it is not carrying the experience.
Lunch lands confidently in that sweet spot between polished and relaxed. Nothing overworked, nothing trying too hard, just a menu that understands exactly what people want to eat in that setting.
The tomato focaccia with burrata, pesto and rocket (£10) is the right kind of generous. Properly seasoned, well balanced, and priced where it should be. The second burrata, paired with romanesco and a toasted hazelnut cracker (£10), leans more refined, lighter, slightly more composed on the plate. It is the sort of dish that makes sense at lunch when you still want to function afterwards.
The Clarets house salad (£14) is where it sharpens. Roasted squash, kale, spelt, toasted seeds and feta, this is not an afterthought. It is substantial, textured and actually satisfying, which so many house salads fail to be. You could order it on its own and not feel short changed.
The fries are a small but telling detail. Koffmann cut, crisp, and finished with paprika rather than just salt (£6). It lifts them out of the ordinary and makes them feel intentional.
Desserts hold their own. The sticky toffee pudding with malted milk ice cream (£9) is the standout, rich without being heavy, and just nostalgic enough.
What becomes clear as you sit is just how broad its appeal is. A table beside us was perfectly happy with a grilled cheese. A multigenerational group of ten worked their way across the menu without fuss. Others dropped in for coffee and cake, stayed for the view, and lingered. That flexibility is difficult to get right, but it is exactly what gives Clarets longevity.
The room itself is good rather than exceptional. It is comfortable, well put together, but it does not lean into the kind of high-end detailing you might expect from a location like this. No crisp tablecloths, no sense of ceremony. That said, it feels intentional. This is not trying to be formal dining.
And that decision carries through to pricing. You might expect to pay over the odds for a view like this, but prices are fair and portions are generous. Starters on the dinner menu sit around £11 to £17, mains from £20 for a burger up to £28 for duck frites, with a ribeye for two at £60. It is accessible without feeling cheap.
Clarets comes from the same team as The Seafood Ristorante next door, its more formal sister restaurant. That is a destination, a known quantity. Clarets is aiming for something more flexible. More accessible, more frequent, somewhere you return to without overthinking it.
And that is where it lands well. Breakfast and brunch feel like a natural fit here. Coffee, eggs, something indulgent, that view. It is easy to see it becoming a regular. Lunch already works.
Dinner, importantly, looks promising rather than padded out. Duck frites with claret jus (£28), cod Kiev (£26), haggis hash to start (£14). It is grounded, recognisable and priced where it needs to be. If execution matches what we saw at lunch, it will more than hold its own alongside its sister.
For now, it is a strong opening. Not just a good addition, but a genuinely useful one.