Haar With Rooms

The meal was a real highlight. We loved the aperitifs, the theatrical feel of the dining experience, and the impeccable service. The young team were knowledgeable and professional, and breakfast was enjoyable too. We left this morning wanting to say a big thank you for a great night and all the hard work. Our family in Crieff gave us the trip to the Haar for Christmas. We were warmly welcomed on arrival and shown to our room for the night. It was quite cluttered with furniture, though the sea view was delightful.

The décor is lovely and the staff stayed friendly, but we left hungry and frustrated. My husband and I both expected to feel comfortably full after five courses at £75 each, or £73.50 with the Black Friday deal, yet neither of us did. It felt like the restaurant was trying to get as much value as possible from us while keeping portions as small as it could. Bread was the only reasonably sized offering. At many fine-dining places it wouldn’t even count as a course, and here it seemed like a clear way to fill us up while the other portions stayed tiny. The deal was £147 for two for a five-course tasting menu. At first that sounded like a bargain, but the full menu is £75 per person, so the saving was only £3. Clever marketing, fair play, it worked on me. I kept an open mind when we sat down. The chef serving the starters was very friendly and welcoming, and those dishes were genuinely tasty. After that, though, things went downhill. I’ve eaten at plenty of fine-dining restaurants and feel reasonably qualified to give an informed, unbiased opinion. We’ve been to Dulse and Pompadour before, and both were much better for food and value. We won’t be back, and I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to friends visiting St Andrews.

Kay joined in with the fun and made our stay feel extra special, and the team went above and beyond. They even gave the birthday boy a card. We were there for a midweek birthday treat, so the restaurant was quiet, and we had a wonderful five-course taster meal. The room was clean and cosy, the bed was very comfortable, and the shower had lovely strong pressure. A big well done to the chefs for the beautiful food, and to the breakfast server for sharing her local knowledge. I’d highly recommend a visit.

The location worked perfectly for us, close to the beach and to the shops and bars in St Andrew’s town centre. My husband and I had a belated Valentine’s trip with a dinner, bed and breakfast deal, and everything about the stay was wonderful. The dinner and lovely staff were great, our room was gorgeous and felt luxurious, and I really liked the décor and artwork on the walls. A great choice for a special weekend away.