Editors Note: This review is for the South Street Location, NOT the North Street Location. There is a difference, primarily being the type of Americans in attendance at the different locations. North Street = more American golfers, due to the close proximity to the 18th green of The Old Course. South Street = American university students. In addition to different addresses, they also have different menus’ and different burgers. Stay tuned for the North Street review shortly!

Date and Time: 6 June, 2019, Thursday at 1:30 PM

This stop was a focus-point from day one in St. Andrews. You want a beer and a burger, you go to a brewery, right? I actually went here my very first evening in St. Andrews, pre-burger investigation, but decided it needed a return visit. Drawn in by the advertising out front which loudly proclaimed a burger and beer for 10.95, this was an immediate stop.

Fair warning at this stage though. The advertised burger and beer is actually 3/4’s of a pint, not a full pint, which in my opinion is total bullshit. You can upgrade to a full pint for 12.70, which is still a pretty good deal, but that’s not the point. In my mind, the unit of beer in a beer and burger deal is a pint, so it’s a bit of a bait and switch move to charge more for a full pint. Imagine if you walked in, asked for the beer and burger deal, and they said “actually that’s just for 3/4’s of a burger – you want to upgrade to the full burger?”. Immediate riots. It’s possible this only applies to me.

The beer was a St. Andrews Brewing Company Yippie IPA. Tastefully hoppy, and looks like a glass of weak orange juice, which is often a warning sign for offensive IPA’s. While it does have a heavy citrus lean, the Yippie IPA avoids the new trend in IPA’s which is to punch you in the toungue with flavour, and has quickly become my go-to beer in St. Andrews.

Went for the basic burger rather than anything too fancy. Arrived quickly, and relatively well-assembled, which is more important than you might think, as a minor pet-peeve of mine – no one likes it when your patty is sliding between the two pieces of bread like a bar of soap when washing your hands. The basic burger comes garnished with red onion, lettuce, and some sort of spicy mayo on a lightly toasted but unremarkable bun. Good burger, the construction held together well during eating, and it hit the notes of not too firm of a patty, but also not becoming a soggy mess during consumption.

Real hit here was the fries. On the small side, but GREAT crunch notes made for a top notch mouth-feel, especially due to the just-right salting. Big ups for the fries.

Overall vibe was top notch too, and there are several options to choose from. I went with the outdoor patio, which is right on the street in traffic offering good people-watching. The indoor first-floor has more of a pub and standing-room feel, while the second floor “Beer Hall” has long communal tables in two rooms, where you can hang out with friends or play table games, if that’s your thing (there is a copy of Settlers of Catan, for those of you re-living the glory days of the early 2010’s).

To be honest, the move here is either outside on a quiet day, or on the first floor. Both times I have been on the second floor, it’s been loud, noisy, and full of young people having a good time, which is just the worst. Yes, I am 85, thank you for asking.

Worth Noting: Timing and day of the week may radically affect your experience at the St. Andrews Brewing Company South Street location. During a recent Friday night outing resulted in the kitchen being closed at 8:00 PM, the staff seemed a bit overwhelmed, and it was a zillion degrees and humid in the second-floor front room.

Good For: Solo beer and burger for lunch on a nice day. Evening drinks with a few friends. Tasting local beer.

Bad For: Large groups who want to sit outside, as you’ll close down the street. Prime time during evenings. Watching sports – no TV’s anywhere on location. People who dislike students.

Cost: 12.70 GBP for a full pint and a burger