Achi news desk-
This year the 65-seat restaurant has been refurbished, with a brand new bar installed and is set to launch a dinner service for the first time. It has also been rebranded, from The Niblick Brasserie to The Niblick Restaurant & Bar by R&A.
Executive Chef Craig Sneddon is a member of Top Chefs Great Britain. He joined The Niblick 18 months ago and has enjoyed over two decades cooking for The R&A so far.
He says: “We’re constantly trying to improve. It’s very exciting. The team is all set and ready to go.”
The high vantage point of The Niblick is very special. Sneddon explains: “It has wonderful views of St Andrews Bay and the North Sea, the Royal and Ancient Clubhouse and down the first fairway of the Old Course.”
Niblick Restaurant and Bar is popular with golfers and museum visitors but you won’t need any golfing expertise to enjoy these views and the delicious food and drink on offer. A niblick was an early style of golf club, used for playing out of the rough and thin lies, equivalent to today’s 9 iron, which you will certainly learn if you tour the museum first.
“My whole ethos behind the design and development of the menus is to use as much local produce as I can,” says Sneddon. “We cook the food people want to eat. We use beautiful smoked trout from down the road in St Monans, beef from Forfar in Angus, and we also buy excellent meat from Balgove Larder just outside St Andrews and Scott Brothers Butchers in Dundee.”
During the day The Niblick offers porridge, pancakes and full Scottish breakfasts, which are popular with golfers before or after a round. At lunchtime there is a wide mix of day visitors, Museum visitors and locals enjoying Cullen Skink, fishcakes, burgers and salads.
On Sundays our traditional Sunday Roast is hugely popular, come for Angus beef with garlic beef potatoes and herb drippings, Yorkshire pudding and all the trimmings.
The Niblick’s new lunch service starts on Fridays and Saturdays from the end of April and then expands to Wednesdays to Saturdays from May 1. Sneddon says: “We’re changing a bit. We feel there is a market out there. This is a great location, it’s such a beautiful location at night with the sunset, and the views across the water and down the coast.” The evenings will have a relaxed, unhurried feel.
“People can come in, have a drink, maybe have a cocktail and enjoy a nice dinner. The new bar has been purpose built for the space,” said Sneddon.
“It allows the front of house team to really express themselves and has greatly improved their workspace. They make beautiful cocktails. There’s a really nice whiskey and wine selection and a cocktail of the week.”
On the evening menus local seasonal produce is the focus. “We’re introducing nice dry-aged 30-day fillet steaks and some beautiful fish dishes,” says Sneddon.
“We also have some dishes during the day but overall it’s a bit more elaborate. We’ve mixed it up a bit but we still want to cover all bases, so there really is something for everyone.”
Alongside the fillet steaks, highlights of the new lunch menu include mussels with pickled cucumber, curry sauce and almonds; beef carpaccio with horseradish and beetroot pesto; tandoori chicken, and beetroot, red onion and feta vegan ravioli with candied walnuts and salsa verde.
“You have to diversify and appeal to a wider audience.” said Sneddon. “We will cater for all diets. We want to give all the guests who come in the best possible experience.”
The menus will change seasonally with the availability of local produce, giving Sneddon’s kitchen brigade the opportunity to keep learning, as well as keeping the offering fresh and interesting for regular local visitors.
“We have very good chefs in the kitchen, we have built a great team. It is an opportunity for them to express themselves with Scottish produce of the best quality. Scotland has a great natural pantry. The product we get is unbelievable.”
Watching the sun set over West Sands, cocktail in hand with dinner on the way, The Niblick really is the place to be in St Andrews this summer.
www.theniblick.com
