Date and Time: 15 August, 2019 at 2:00 PM

Set inside an attractive stone building just inside the gate to the old town of St. Andrews on South Street, The Saint cuts an imposing figure with it’s dark stone look.

To be honest though, St. Andrews is full of old stone buildings. Everywhere you look is old stone. The university alone is four times older than Canada, so what’s the big deal? Does The Saint stand out, or is it just another old building? This review aimed to get to the bottom of the question.

Walking in the large glass front door, the pub seems to have a bit of M.C. Escher aesthetic to it, in the sense that there are stairs going seemingly everywhere at random. While the bar to your left is immediately obvious with a good drinks selection, it’s in a lounge-type area that has a set of stairs dropping down and away to the right, a set of stairs climbing up and to the right, and a set of stairs heading up into a back room, which leads to the ‘Beer Garden’, or as is known in North America, a patio.

For the purposes of this review, the Beer Garden was selected for location, because sitting outside on sunny days and drinking beer is pretty much the best thing ever.

The beer was a Cold Town Lager, which is brewed in Edinburgh (and has an unfortunate splash page that kind of makes me feel like vomiting). It was chosen for two reasons; it was a previously unknown brand, and at 3.50 GBP a pint, it’s certainly in the affordable category.

Instant win. This is a great sunny-summer day beer, which it was. Crisp, clear, very smooth with a clean aftertaste, this is exactly what a summer beer should taste like, and Cold Town knocked it out of the park with this offering. At 4% ABV, it’s not a heavy beer either, feeling close to a light beer but without giving away anything on taste. Please note: This may also be a terrible business decision in Scotland, as the number of sunny summer days’ is at a bit of a premium.

In a departure from classic pub tradition, The Saint offered table service, so I was able to order The Saint’s Burger from the comfort of my picnic table. In the event that you don’t want to sit on a picnic table, there are also comfy reclining chairs, and outdoor couches, both of which were used by other patrons during the course of this review.

After a slightly longer wait than one would have expected with the small number of customers, the burger arrived, accompanied by a bucket of chips.

A ciabatta bun was holding together a patty decorated with lettuce, tomato, relish, and melted cheddar. Before the first bite, it was clear that the experience here was starting out strong with the ciabatta bun being a firm platform for burger consuming. The first bite itself was a bit concerning, as the bun was so stiff that the burger started to squirt it’s way out the back of the whole structure, which is generally a bad sign.

An added bonus is the cohesiveness allows you to also enjoy the thick-cut chips while they’re still hot, which is a good thing. Hot, the chips are slightly above average, as they are firm and crispy. Cool, they’re a bit mushy and have a terrible mouth-feel, so timing is a crucial factor here.

Bad news first here. The patty itself was underwhelming on texture, as it was definitely a frozen job that had the consistency of styrofoam. The ingredients are definitely standard and unremarkable in selection, presentation, or quality.

Rather than trying to cram it down in four bites before it falls apart, or giving up and accepting that you’re going to finish your burger with a fork, you can eat the whole package calmly. It was very enjoyable to have a burger that stuck together nicely.

Not to be discussed today, but in a future post will be the UK tradition of eating their chips with a combination of mayo and ketchup. Let’s just say not a standard selection in North America.

As a pub, The Saint has a real mix of areas, as was previously stated. Inside close to the front is quieter with traditional comfy pub booths and more private areas, and the rooms off the main bar area are big enough to accommodate large groups. One note is that during non-summer hours and evenings it will be quite dark, and the lighting is actual candles in some areas, which doesn’t help and may be against the fire code (not to be a buzzkill). Which just means you should go outside to the Beer Garden.

As alluded to off the top, the Beer Garden/patio is the real winner here. Set well back off the street, it’s quiet, has good shade coverage, and a range of seating options. Even on very beautiful days it seems to fly under the radar and stay quite quiet, meaning that you can almost always get a seat. With the clientele ranging from locals, to university professors and students, and a few passing tourists, no group dominates the experience.

That being said, based on some posted rules, clearly it’s not the spot to party late into the evenings. Excessive rules never make for a good pub experience, and these seem to be a bit of a downer. I would love to hear the story about how they decided on that last one.

The only knock on The Saint might be that it doesn’t really have a defining atmosphere, as yet discovered at least. As a result it ends up feeling a bit sterilized or neutral, which depending on what you’re looking for could be downside, especially if you’re after that comfortable ‘local pub’ feel.

Overall, The Saint is an above average offering due to the environment, the beer selection, and the burger. One could do far worse in St. Andrews, and spend a lot more time looking for an open patio spot to enjoy some sunshine and crisp hops. And life is too short to waste sunny days looking for outdoor drinking opportunities. Especially in Scotland.

Good For: A burger that holds together. Beer Garden on a sunny day. Crisp beer at a good price. Quiet evenings. Candles. If you don’t want to see people with their taps aff.

Bad For: People who dislike stairs. Fancy burger ingredients. If taking your tap aff in the Beer Garden is crucial to you enjoying the experience. Concerns about fire regulations.

Cost: 14.50 GBP