Award-winning Adamson an awesome Aperitif to your golfing visit
The Adamson, located on South Street, is in a building, which for over 100 years, was at the heart of day-to-day life in St Andrews for many locals. The Post Office called this grand building home from 1907 to 2011, but its history is far greater than that for both St Andrews and Scotland.
The building is the former home of the Adamson family, including Dr John Adamson, a physician, and pioneering Photographer Robert Adamson. John produced the first Calotype portrait in the early 1840’s and he taught his brother Robert about Calotype. Robert went on to produce over 2500 Calotype portraits and his work appeared at the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851.
In 2012 the building came under the ownership of another family, the Daltons. Julie and Graham are directors and a great debate was had over what name should be given to their venture. Julie’s background is in hospitality and it was only ever going to be a restaurant, and in a lightbulb moment ‘The Adamson’ was decided upon.
The Adamson restaurant opened its doors in April 2012. Behind the bar of the restaurant there are a selection of vintage cameras sourced from a local antiques and collectibles shop on St Mary’s Place. On your arrival you will be given a warm welcome and shown to your table by the wonderful and attentive staff. They will attend to your every need and are never far away throughout the evening.
The Adamson truly is an experience not to be rushed and you can start your meal with a few nibbles whilst deciding what to order. The nibbles in themselves are, like everything else here, first class. The Mini-Baked Loaf with an Olive Tapenade is absolutely delicious and enough to set you up for the meal. Likewise the Olives and Smoked Almonds give you a taster of what The Adamson is all about – world class food.
The menu at The Adamson is extensive and wide-ranging, so the nibbles are perfect for whilst deciding upon what you want to eat. We can highly recommend the Shetland Mussels which are served with pancetta, mustard, garlic and parsley cream, and speaking as someone who has never tasted Wood Pigeon before, the Scottish Wood Pigeon.
Wow! I will definitely be eating it again, it is a small starter served with Foie Gras, cherries and sweet Basil, and it really was a splendid combination of flavours and textures, just perfect to launch into the main.
To accompany our meal we had a bottle of Long Beach, which is a South African Sauvignon Blanc and just perfect to complement our main dishes of a Blade of Beef and Atlantic Sole.
The Atlantic Sole was a perfect combination of mild flavour and firm texture, served with creamed Kale, brown shrimp and macadamia nuts.
I had the Blade of Beef served with a bean cassoulet, salsify and sun blushed tomatoes, and it was phenomenal. The beef was so well-cooked it collapsed on my plate when I placed the knife on it, the taste and the size of the portion was perfect. A superb and succulent dish.
Now, what can I say about the dessert? Amazing, incredible, delicious, delightful and downright fantastic. I had the Charry Parfait, as recommended by our waiter, my goodness it is the best dessert I have had anywhere, anytime.
Served with chocolate ice cream and hazelnuts, this sweet was an explosion of different tastes, it truly was an experience worth waiting for.
The Adamson source much of their produce locally including Dundee, Glenrothes and Carnoustie and the chefs are, it goes without saying really, highly skilled and passionate about what they do. The restaurant can cater for dinner for two or larger groups, which is perfect if you are having an Easter weekend as a golfing couple or a group of friends.
Once you have finished your meal it is definitely time to head next door for a drink or two at The Adamson Bar before you continue your evening out in St Andrews.
The Adamson Bar opened in April 2015 and is a brilliant complement to the restaurant for pre or post meal drinks. It is inspired by bars in London and is a trendy and contemporary space, unique in St Andrews.
It is comfortable, with minimal furniture and has classy, contemporary décor. It is a bar that you can visit for a quiet tipple, or with a larger group of you and was incredibly popular during The Open last summer with the thousands of visitors to St Andrews.
It is very popular with Students on a Thursday and the bar runs a different theme for many days throughout the week. The music fits perfectly with the style of the bar, as does the lighting and the staff, as with the restaurant, are attentive, welcoming and knowledgeable.
We found the drinks priced competitively with other bars in St Andrews and had three Vodka (house vodka is Ketel One) and Lemonade, plus two glasses of Ochagavia Cabernet Sauvignon.
This bar is definitely somewhere you could come and begin your evening experience in St Andrews, however, we wouldn’t blame you if you fancied staying here all night, we did.
SHANK, by Matt Hooper
Matt Hooper is an Associate Member of the Sports Journalists Association
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