The Sunday Times
Chitra Ramaswamy invested in “the most expensive lunch I’ve eaten in ages” at this revival of chef Roy Brett’s “much-loved Edinburgh institution” Ondine, which closed last December after 16 years, at the newest five-star hotel in St Andrews overlooking the hallowed golfing turf of the Old Course.
Oysters are the star turn here. At £30 for six they’re at the top end of oyster pricing, though Ondine also serves them every day from 3-6pm at £1.50 a shuck (£3 for cooked) in “Scotland’s first oyster happy hour” – an offer strongly tipped by Chitra: “To sit in this fine room at teatime, with this view, eating oysters of this calibre at these outrageously good prices, is one of the best things you can do with your hard-earned cash in Scotland.”
Other dishes on the “minimalist and French-leaning” menu were a mixed bag: “lemon sole meunière is a masterclass in fish cookery, the fish soft, fluffy and white as a cumulus cloud”, but some of the cooking “needs finessing” – in particular, both salt-baked beets with whipped crowdie and monkfish au poivre were “way too salty”.
Chitra Ramaswamy - 2025-07-13
