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    The Criterion

    4.6 (21 reviews)
    InexpensivePubs
    Open 10:00 am - 1:00 AM (Next day)

    The Criterion Photos

    THE CRITERION ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Touristy
    Intimate

    Recommended Reviews - The Criterion

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    Your hero Mancow will have eaten here 20 days in a row by the time this is posted.
    Mancow M.

    I would move here Fife Scotland to eat here every single day. I have eaten here every day for the last 14 days straight. One of my favorite spots on Earth. The coldest Guinness. The best Steak & Ale Pie. (Mancow tip: mix a side of mac & cheese into your pie.) Local Lowland whiskeys. Great staff: the owner, Phil, Sophie,and the great Frasier. Just phantasmagorical ! Honestly, I am NOT kidding, at one point sitting at this place I wondered if I am dead and this is one aspect of my Heaven.

    Mac and cheese

    We stopped in here for drinks when walking around st andrews and was talked into trying some food. Well worth it, one of the best meals i had in Scotland.

    Fritz Banfield B.

    If you love a local pub/ bar that is usually packed with happy people, The Criteron is the place for you. The "Cri-Pies" are the only items on the food menu, but they are outstanding. They have three different pies available (beef, chicken, or vegetarian). They have an enormous tap beer selection and plenty of mixed drink choices! Awesome vibe, but a little hard to carry a conversation because of how loud it was. I guess that is the trade off for a place filled with people having a great time.

    Chips & a pint of Thistly Cross

    I'm so glad this pub has a large outdoor seating. They don't take reservations so you can usually just walk up and get a table, wait time can go from 10-45 minutes just depending on how crowded the pub is & time of day.

    The bar. Always old cronies there.
    Thomas M.

    Friendly, unspectacular pub/bar in the centre of St. Andrews. The pub offers fairly modern decor, a small outside seating area on the pavement, and a few (three or four) real ales, one of which was marked as "Cask Marque" when I visited in July of 2015. "Cask Marque" is a stamp of quality for pubs that take care of their cask ales so the beer isn't served past the expiration date. The pub is rather on the smaller side, thus not suitable for bigger groups. Some traditional Scottish food can be found on the short menu. It includes haggis, of course, but I ordered "stovies", a very basic beef stew with potatoes and onions. At UKP 6.95 the couldn't really be called a "mains", so I left a little hungry. Food quality was only okay. There are not nearly as many traditional pubs on this street as one would think, so "The Criterion Bar" is recommended for drinks.

    Outside
    Joe P.

    Dog friendly pub in St. Andrews selling a few real ales and craft beers. There's a seating area out the front for when it's sunny (like when we visited) and they serve popular pies (actually in a pie pastry, not like standard "Scottish" pies which consist of stew with a bit of pastry on top! Rant over!). There's live sports TV available too.

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    1 year ago

    Just go! Fun spot, great pies and casual. Go for lunch, go for dinner, go for both....

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    4 years ago

    Five stars! Wonderful dinner. Have the Cri' pie. Hannah, behind the bar, is a delight. I'll be back.

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    Review Highlights - The Criterion

    We both opted for a Steak & Ale pie and it lived up to expectations.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    The Blue Stane - Photo. May 2015.

    The Blue Stane

    3.9(7 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    £

    My family and I were visiting St. Andrews and I was looking up places to eat and yelp introduced us…read moreto this place with super high ratings. It is British food so I expected the typical hamburger, pasties, pastas, and pizza menu ,but for a Bar like british kinda restaurant 4.5 stars is high, so we went. High Yield: A Bar/pub restaurant that offers pretty sweet combo deals good for a family, with hearty burgers, pizzas, pastas, curries, soups, and other things on a large menu with a festive environment. Food: I give them a 3/5 We did the 2 for 10.99 deal. From that deal you can order anything that is marked as qualifying for this deal. You can choose from hamburgers, lasagne, Hunter's chicken, and even chicken masala or vegetable tikka! So we ordered the following: Vegetable tikka: I don't like peppers and this one had a lot of peppers. So if you're someone like me, ask them to remove ahead of time. This seemed to be about a 3/5 in flavoring as my sister didn't even finish 1/3 of her portion. Came with basamati rice and naan. The naan seemed alright and the basmati rice also seemed ok. Hunters Chicken: A chicken breast with bacon put in the middle with some sauce on top. Came with onion rings and wedge fries. Chicken was alright- a little dry for my liking, but the bacon probably helped in keeping it moist Classic Lasagne: This is a beef lasagne with a generous amount of cheese on top baked in its own small dish. The beef was enough for you to see. Lasagne was a little ovvercooked for my liking. And a generous helping of cheese. Very hearty and rich and warm for anyone wanting a good comfort food to keep them warm on a cold day. Soup of the day- Potato Leek- This soup was also pretty good. Add a dash of pepper on top and you're set to go. Not too creamy and not too watery, flavor was just right. 5 a Day Salad- Definitely recommend this if you're someone tired of the Caesar or typical house salad- this one is one of the most unique blends I've ever seen. It had avocado (unripe, you can taste the weird watery texture), green grapes, tomatoes, lettuce, and some red kinda veggie that I wasn't a fan of. But if you need greens, this is the way to go. Service: you order at the bar counter and then sit down. Our waiter was attentive enough. Friendly enough staff so they get a 4/5 for service. Bang for buck: 5/5 2 main courses for 10.99??? You can't beat that kinda deal if you're on a budget. Def recommend. and desserts are 2 for 6 pounds.

    Came in and paid for the pub quiz that was supposed to start at 8pm and we are two questions in at…read more9:24 because the app "keeps freezing". Ordered chips and poured salt on them and it turned out that it had been replaced with sand--explained this to the staff and there was barely an apology. However, the low prices somewhat redeem the low quality of the customer experience and the atmosphere is very sociable. Overall, this place is good for a pint and some football but absolutely nothing else.

    Photos
    The Blue Stane - Photo. May 2011.

    Photo. May 2011.

    The Blue Stane
    The Blue Stane

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    The Criterion - pubs - Updated May 2026

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