the beer kitchen, st andrews

1 Location

On North Street, the main drive in to the town. Good plentiful parking all around.

2 first impressions

Compact and bijou. It’s a restored church building but it feels more like a little bar. The tables are upstairs, there’s a friendly welcome from the barman and we’re seated quickly. We’re up on the mezzanine looking down to the bar area. Natural light floods in from every angle onto the exposed brickwork, and this, with the understated furniture gives the place a contemporary feel.

3 service

Knowledgeable staff were happy to advise on which of the award-winning Innis and Gunn Scottish-brewed beers to choose. Good.

4 menu

An interesting mix of old favourites and “oh I wonder what that is!” Starters or “sharers”, as they can be, are served from midday until 10pm and include the unusual savoury donut (stuffed with haggis), KFC (Korean fried cauliflower), poutine, and popcorn mussels, to more traditional spicy chicken wings and cheesy nachos. Also regular pub fare like sandwiches, steaks and burgers.

5 taste

A mixed bag. The scotch egg starter is lovely with the sharp, beery “brewn” sauce. The chicken wings, rich and deep-flavoured with honey bourbon coating, go perfectly with the blue cheese dip. The fish and chips are good. But the warm flat iron sandwich, which sounded so good on paper, fails to cut the mustard. The bread is less “chargrilled” and more burnt black and even the nice dressing can’t hide how badly wrong this dish has gone. The waiter brings replacement bread but it has literally left a bad taste...

6 price

Reasonable for “sharer” dishes but slightly higher than standard pub grub.

7 amBience

Only a couple of tables were filled on a Sunday afternoon but could get nicely buzzy at weekends.

8 something speciaL

The brewery beers were brilliant.

9 toiLets

In need of a major refurb.

10 verdict

Could be great but not this time. 12/20