Fife Restaurant Guide

In prime golfing territory a short drive from St Andrews, Geoffrey and Katherine Smeddle’s well-known and highly acclaimed restaurant-with-rooms “never disappoints”. It again won praise this year for its “quiet excellence” – both its service and its modern Scottish cooking which can be accompanied by a vintage from their very extensive (and in places expensive!) cellar. “Good news, lunch is back on Fridays and Saturdays”.

2023 Review: “A seafood restaurant that never fails to please, with constantly changing menus that reflect what is available seasonally”. That’s the take on this small (24 covers) family-run fish restaurant and ‘seasonal hotel’ which sits on Hawkcraig point, with views of Edinburgh and the islands of the Forth. “The owners really do pull out all the stops to give a nice dining experience. Great for that special occasion!”

2023 Review: Part of the Balcaskie Estate – which provides much of the produce for the menu – this seventeenth-century pub is run by chef James Ferguson and front-of-house Alethea Palmer, and continues to be highly rated for its short-but-impactful menu that would look just as at home in Shoreditch as it is in the middle of Fife.

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.

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.

2021 Review: A bright Indian street food design is laid on strong at this large yearling, serving a variety of boldly flavoured bites. One or two encouraging early reports of “amazing flavours” win it an inclusion, but too few reports for a rating as yet.

“Great fish ’n’ chips” are one of the joys of this Victorian-style harbourside venture, a classy collab between Welch Fishmongers and top seafood restaurant Ondine, that also offers fancier and always “fresh” catch (oysters, grilled langoustines, smoked salmon). Just a “shame it’s not bigger – wish they’d move into one of the vacant units around and expand!”

This “lovely restaurant by the Water of Leith” is “just the perfect place for a business lunch”, with “lovely staff, simple fish dishes and rock-solid wines”. Set in a seventeenth-century watchtower, it has been running for more than 20 years and is the flagship of a small group with a branch in the city as well as The Shore next door.

“One of the stalwarts of the Edinburgh scene” – Tom & Michaela’s flagship venue opened in this converted warehouse in Leith in 2006 and was yet again the city’s most commented-on destination in our annual diners’ poll. “A real treat”, it’s “simply superb at every level” with “wonderful” cooking that “changes with the seasons”, “a beautiful setting” and “professional service”. “Even though it’s a 250-mile trip for us with a stop over it’s well worth it: our favourite eating experience in the UK by far!”

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.