Why this Fife restaurant is still a Scottish icon, as it celebrates its 20th birthday

This year, they’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of that iconic building.

The concept is officially a little older, as the first location opened in 2003, before moving to this sport in 2005. It has also changed ownership over the years, as the original proprietor of The Seafood Restaurant was Tim Butler, with head chef Craig Millar (of Craig Millar at 16 West End in St Monans) in the kitchen.

Since 2017, it’s been under the wing of Stefano Pieraccini of The Rocca Group, with executive chef Davy Aspin.

They’re celebrating this milestone with a special Icons menu, which features dishes including Anstruther lobster linguine, and will be available until mid April.

We asked Pieraccini to tell us more.

Tell us about the new menu

My executive chef and I looked at some of the dishes we've done in the past and brought them back. The baked Orkney scallop is one that people ask for constantly. The tiramisu is a big seller as well. It’s been on the menu since the day we opened. And the same with the halibut, because it sits in the steamer for about eight minutes, and it just melts in your mouth. It comes with a mussel and butter sauce.

Why does The Seafood Ristorante continue to be so popular?

It’s always been a bit of an institution because of the venue itself. I mean, a big glass fronted box is a little bit different to the kind of classical sites. It’s so unique and had such a fantastic reputation when it first opened. From then, we've maintained a lot of the customers. We had a little birthday celebration recently and I invited Tim Butler and Craig Millar. It was really nice to see them.

Who is your average customer?

I would say slightly older, because that's the St Andrews demographic, though it's relatively mixed, because we do really well from customers coming from Glasgow and Aberdeen who come down from the weekend. For example, there’s a couple who own flower shops up in Aberdeen and they visit probably once every two weeks. They've been such big supporters, even before I took over. I'm there a lot of the time, so I know a lot of these customers personally, and I think that's what adds to the experience and how special it is.

Any challenges with the building?

The window cleaner comes every Tuesday and if there’s bad weather on Wednesday, the windows are ruined and I have to call him out again. That's annoying. If the wind blows in a certain direction, the windows get covered in sand. And in the summer, it's a bit like a greenhouse, but we've got some fantastic air conditioning and we've got French sliding doors at the front, so we can open them and have some semi al-fresco dining.

Have you spotted any good wildlife from those windows?

Yeah, we see the seals on occasion. The thing is, St Andrews Bay, like that beach, has got so much history as well with it being the Chariots of Fire beach. It’s such a special town, and there's so much history. We're just really lucky to be here.

Has the area’s hospitality side changed a lot?

There's more investment coming into the town, like at the Fairmont. Kai is the new general manager there. He's invested a lot and done an amazing job. Rusacks has had a full renovation, and they're fantastic. You've got Seaton House coming and that's going to be a fantastic hotel, with another 40 bedrooms. It's premium, and it’s bringing good clientele. On top of that, next year, you've got Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake doing their sports bar, where the old cinema was. There's a lot going on, and we've got the Open again in 2027.

You were only 22 when you took on the restaurant - anything you wish you’d known back then?

I've had such good people around me, and without them, there's no way I would be at any level. My executive chef has been with us since day one. And the word success isn't something I like using, because it's hard to measure, but in terms of where the restaurant’s got to, a lot of it is down to him and his team. I'm front-of-house. I can take the food to the tables, make you smile and tell some terrible jokes, but without the good food, you wouldn't come back.

Any suppliers you've stuck with?

David Lowrie fish merchants, as we've got a real good family relationship with them. David is the dad and Lewis is the son. We've worked with them since we opened in 2017 and their business has expanded massively. They're probably the best fish merchants now in the UK. They supply top restaurants down in London. The quality they're able to buy is fantastic, and we buy so much from them. We always get first access to the day boat halibut, because there's only a certain amount of day boats that can go out, by law, and halibut is our biggest selling fish. We're buying a fresh halibut every day now.

Do you do events?

A couple a year. I'd like to do more. We can fit about 40, so we can cater for an intimate wedding fantastically. St Andrews has got such a big affiliation with Americans who used to go to uni here. They come back and do the rehearsal dinner here before the wedding day.

How are your other businesses doing?

I sold Edinburgh’s The West Room in 2021 and I have The Broughton, so that's now five years old. Paul is the head chef there and he was Davy’s sous chef, so we keep it in the family. We launched Rico's in Edinburgh in 2021, but we sold it in 2023. It was a really special place, but I just couldn't quite get the bums on seats. There are some other opportunities presenting themselves, so we're looking at that, but it has to be right. I'm in no rush.

www.theseafoodrestaurant.com