A Classic St Andrews Double Act — Fish ‘n’ Chips at Cromars and Ice Cream at Janettas

Many years ago, when The Tail End expanded from St Andrews to Leith Walk, Bite hosted Fish, Chips & Champagne — a night of crisp batter and cold bubbles that reminded everyone why fish and chips remains a national treasure.

The Edinburgh branch is long gone but the original St Andrews institution still stands strong, and has been joined by Cromars — an eponymous chippy set up by Colin Cromar, the same mind behind The Tail End. Colin comes from Anstruther and worked in its famous Anstruther Fish Bar for 20 years. Chips are in his DNA and he has said of Anstruther (in an article on Linked In):

“The salty tang of fish was always in the air, coupled with the delicious waft of freshly cooked fish and chips from the many quality chip shops in the village!”

The businessman William Frame approached Colin to help him set up Cromars in 2013 and the shop has twice taken home the title of Best Fish and Chips in Scotland.

On a recent visit — graduation night — St Andrews was shimmering. Newly minted female graduates drifted through the streets in jewel‑toned satin dresses that caught the last of the coastal sunshine. It gave the whole town a sense of occasion and a soft hum of summer celebration. After cocktails in the superlative The Physician (where we met a real life Kay Scarpetta) my friend and I went for a Fish Supper at Cromars.

One of St Andrews’ quiet strengths is its student workforce. Before they head off to esteemed careers in they help run the town’s hospitality scene with intelligence, charm and efficiency. Tonight was no exception: service was brisk, friendly and effortlessly competent. 

I went classic: Fish Supper with mushy peas, tartare sauce and garlic mayo. The angel-cut haddock was supremely flaky — the kind that falls apart in clean, snowy shards — and the chips were exactly as they should be: chunky, golden, unmistakably chippy chips. My benchmark for a good chippy is the batter. It should never be heavy or greasy, and this one passed with flying colours. Light, crisp and easily digested.

Lesley chose the Mozzarella and Smoked Haddock Fishcakes, which she declared “a surprisingly good marriage of ingredients.” Unexpected, indulgent and very scrumptious.

There’s something reassuring about returning to a place with history — both yours and the town’s — and finding it still doing what it does best. Cromars is a solid, confident chippy, and if you’re doing St Andrews properly, you finish the evening the way generations of students, locals and visiting families have done: with a slow wander to Janettas Gelateria, an equally iconic establishment, for all the same very good

reasons.

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Cromars: 1 union Steet, St Andrews, KY16 9PQ - 01334 475555

Open daily 9am-8pm