Reviews for HAAR - October 2019

WHERE CULINARY EXCELLENCE TAKES CENTER STAGE.

We are thrilled to present a compilation of the best reviews from our valued guests, capturing the essence of what makes HAAR a truly remarkable restaurant. TripAdvisor, we've gathered a selection of reviews that highlight the unique aspects that have earned HAAR its esteemed reputation. Each testimonial serves as a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence, ensuring that every visit to HAAR is an experience to be cherished.

Wonderful evening

We visited The Haar restaurant on Saturday and this was our second visit. The evening got off to a great start when our waitress and the maitre d both recognised us. That set the mood for the rest of the evening. The food was excellent, the standards high and the presentation faultless. You can see instantly that this is a chef who is totally committed to his trade. We started off with oysters and the wonderful bread with the miso butter. We both had octopus for starters. It was delicious, so soft and succulent and beautifully presented. I followed with the BBQ duck which was so well cooked I didn’t even require a steak knife! My husband ordered the market fish and was a bit worried that it was cod and might be a bit bland. However, the smile on his face told me that chef Dean had done his magic again. The cod was beautifully presented on a bed of pumpkin and Thai green crumb and it was a definite thumbs up. We shared the seaweed potatoes and tandoori cauliflower which were both delicious. Dean came over to speak to us after the meal and he was so lovely. Not in the slightest pretentious. He is so enthusiastic and so passionate about his cooking and this appears to have been passed on to his team and waiting staff. We have been to many 3and4 rosette and Michelin starred restaurants throughout the UK and Dean’s cooking is up there with the best of them and surely deserves to be recognised. Well done Dean and your lovely team, we will certainly be back. “ - Linda M M

Fantastic Lunch at Haar

A wonderful lunch experience at Haar, definitely "relaxed dining" as we were told by our waiter. Service was excellent and food exceptional. The Octopus was easily the best I have ever tasted, served on burnt tomato puree, basil oil and spiced barley, I could eat this every day. (See picture)

The days catch of Lobster, steamed and smoked with mirin butter was outstanding.

Will definitely be back soon.” - Adventure627911

Faultless cooking and service!

We had the most wonderful lunch here today! Every course was a triumph... the complexity of the tastes presented in each dish blew us away!
The service was spot on.... and a very pleasant bottle of wine helped us enjoy the experience even more!
We will be back, without a doubt 🤩” - arlon57

Birthday celebration

A very enjoyable tasting menu of fresh local produce. Wine choices well advised and service attentive and friendly. Restaurant modern and inviting on a chilly autumn eve. Lovely celebration and looking forward to a return.”

Great place to dine

Overall, a great place to dine. Would recommend.

We were welcomed by a warm and friendly bar man who conjured up some very good mocktails for my wife and I enjoyed their new local gin and Scottish dark rum. The cocktail menu was very enticing and after trying two, I felt I wanted to go back and try them all.

The food was brilliant. Each dish had its own uniqueness. A fantastic combination of Scottish produce with Asian influence. The oyster was theatrical with smoke befitting of the Haar name. It was comforting to see Dean there overseeing things and all the staff were very attentive, personal and clearly cared about the local produce.”

A nice restaurant

We had dinner at Haar. We were offered a nice tasting menu, originally five courses but we added Scallops wich was a good choice. Everything was cooked almost perfectly. The wine pairing was perfect.” - Appelgren

Superb Tasting Menu

Came here to sample Dean Banks Tasting Menu and we were not disappointed. A veritable journey of delight from Dean and his team. From decor to service to food this is superb. We will be back here many times. Truly wonderful, thank you Dean.” - 69MikeH

Wow

What can I say.. this was the best meal I have ever had. The service as soon as we walked in was fantastic. We went to the bar before our meal where I tried their gin flight, their fantastic gin with different garnishes. The seaweed one was definitely the best closely followed by the kaffir lime leaf.
The front of house (sorry didn’t get your name) explained the whole menu, the concept and let us know we could add 2 extra dishes to the 5 course tasting menu. We went all out and I’m so glad we did. I had never had a tasting menu before, never had oysters or lobster. We were told if we didn’t like the idea of the oyster we could substitute but we didn’t. Everything was fantastic. I wanted to pick up my plate and lick it clean! My favourite was the lobster ( collected fresh from st.a harbour)which is served already prepared no fuss, we were told chef doesn’t want his diners to miss out on any bits. The belly pork just fell apart, the sauce that accompanied the scallop was amazing, the warm bread served at the start was delicious and the banoffee pie to finish off was a perfect way to finish the meal. I could go on and on!
The whole experience was fantastic and surprisingly non pretentious. The staff listened, explained, advised and were great!
We even came away with 2 bottles of gin!

We will definitely be back.Thank you so much.” - 572linseyc

Perfect!

We were keen to try Haar after following Dean's progress on Masterchef.
We were not disappointed, the welcome was warm and service throughout unstuffy and friendly.

The decor is quite low key but felt comfortable.

The tasting menu was delicious, our favourites being the Pork Belly dish and the small but perfectly (un)formed 'Banoffi', what a taste sensation that was!

Can't wait to return, we are so spoiled in Fife for great restaurants.” - NorthernHeatseeker

five star lunch

We have been lucky to have eaten 4 times now at Haar. Every visit has been superb.
We took a detour yesterday on a trip north to Aberdeen and took a chance on getting a table. Week days there is a choice of 3 menus Tasting/ A la carte and a lunch menu. this time we opted for the lunch menu . I had the starter of RoastedTandori cauliflower with salsa verdi and pumpkin seeds followed by the Goan fish curry. Dessert was the lightest and two tasty sticky pumpkin pudding . Loved the meadow sweet ice cream that accompanied the dessert.
Every course we had was perfectly cooked and sooo tasty. If you are in the area or visiting BOOK. For the drivers and non Drinkers they serve up very good Mocktails
The only negative i have is that we don't live close by or it would be a regular place to visit for us” - U938NEmarym

First Class Lunch

We made our first visit to this restaurant for lunch recently. From the start we were impressed, the welcome was warm and friendly, the decor is understated but has a nice feel with some perfect background music playing. We choose the taster menu with wine, each dish and wine was explained to us and everything was superb.
A great lunch, we will be back.” - rabarclay257

Fabulous edition to St. Andrews

We were here for dinner and the food was incredible and the staff delightful, restaurant was busy but didn’t feel like we were neglected, decor is tastefully done. Will be back” - Tonyhair1985

Couldn't have asked for a better Birthday treat.

Myself and my husband recently visited for a rare night out and everything was perfect. The service was excellent from start to finish particularly with a lovely guy named Sean, nothing was too much trouble. We opted for the tasting menu as we couldn't decide and it definitely didn't disappoint. The restaurant itself has a great atmosphere and just what we were looking for from our trip. We don't live close by but will be making the effort to visit again (hopefully soon).” - Adamsmum89

5 course taster menu

Visited here last night and had the 5 course taster menu with matching wines. All the courses were delicious and presented at a high standard. I was impressed with how well the wines brought out the taste of the food.
The overall service was excellent. The staff were attentive and friendly despite how busy the restaurant was. I would recommend Haar to others. If you haven’t had a taster menu then it is well worth the experience. Thank you for a lovely meal!” - massiesa

Relaxed lunch with great food !

My husband and I had the set lunch yesterday - different starters of belly pork and tandoori cauliflower. Both were superbly cooked and tasty with corn bread and miso butter. The main course of so tender grass fed beef came with an Asian salad and seaweed potatoes. The Banoffi was to die for and the sticky toffee pumpkin pudding was also very good. Staff were attentive and Dean spoke to us personally about our first visit to his restaurant. Would definitely return.”

As you conclude this journey through the remarkable reviews of HAAR, we hope you've gained a glimpse into the extraordinary dining experiences that await you at our restaurant. From the words of our satisfied guests, it is evident that HAAR is more than just a place to dine.

We invite you to join us at HAAR and experience the magic firsthand. Let our dedicated team guide you through our diverse menu. Whether it's a special occasion, an intimate gathering, or simply a desire to indulge in tasty cuisine, we are here to make every moment unforgettable.

Thank you for embarking on this journey with us. We look forward to welcoming you to HAAR.

Ross Mcgregor