Open …and all ours

It was a long time coming, but those glass panels of the Seafood Restaurant in St Andrews did eventually go up, Craig Millar's dream kitchen was finally installed and on 27 August, the doors opened to a flood of celebrities, food-lovers and journalists.

Since then it has been non-stop, according to Tim Butler, with the restaurant fully booked every night since it opened and famous faces at many tables.

"It is so clear that we have filled a gap," Butler says. "There isn't really another fine-dining restaurant in town, other than the one at the Old Course hotel, and we've been inundated with stars. We also opened at a very good time."

Butler is talking about Samuel L Jackson, Nick Faldo, Kenny Dalgliesh, Hugh Grant, Sean Connery, Alan Hansen and the model Jodie Kidd, who were in St Andrews watching the recent Dunhill Golf Tournament in September. The restaurant has also had some good reviews - Joanna Blythman in the Sunday Herald gave them nine out of 10.

September also brought in the "Royal and Ancients", the 1,000 or so industry captains from around the world (average age 60) who make up the ruling body for golf and who meet up in the town every autumn.

"I was a bit concerned that I'd be asked to make lobster thermidor," Millar jokes, "but it's good for business."

It wasn't so long ago, though, that Millar and Butler wondered if the restaurant would ever open. When the electricians forgot to get permission to get the electricity into the building, the restaurant was at risk of being without power on launch night. The toilets had to be changed at the last minute after an environmental health inspection and a lot of the building work had still to be finished.

Salad bar?
"There was still no electricity. We thought we might have to open a salad bar at one point," Butler says. "The journalists were coming on the 27th so we put our foot down with the contractors. All of a sudden they started to work around the clock."

The finished result, with a few jobs pending, is impressive. The floor-to-ceiling glass walls offer some spectacular views of the sea and sky, while the interior colours and textures create a warm atmosphere in contrast.

It's the Bonnet open kitchen in the centre of the dining area that dominates, however, and Millar is delighted with it. "You can see a chef has been involved in planning the restaurant. The first time I saw the kitchen I thought, ‘look at the size of that!' As it's an open kitchen, I thought I might have to curb my language, but I've got away with it so far."

The menu at St Andrews (see next week's Menuwatch), which was originally identical to the pair's other restaurant at St Monans, is evolving slowly. Millar has given Neil Clark, head chef at St Monans, free rein there, while developing his own style at St Andrews with head chef George Scott.

Average spend is about £40 with wine. Covers are up at 60 most evenings, but lunchtimes are slow at about 5 to 20. "We need to start assessing what's going on and making it more profitable," Butler says. "The Christmas thing here is also new for us. Down at St Monans you can practically shut the door over Christmas so we'll be winging it here."

At present, though, projections are on track. Butler estimated the restaurant would make £72,000 in net turnover for the first month and they've already done £80,000. They are now on target to make £800,000 in net turnover a year. St Monans is 29% up on last year - that's another £30,000-worth of trade, which will cover the extra wages.

So is the restaurant how they imagined it to be? "Not really," Millar quips. "Our ideal restaurant has one table, charges two grand a head, has one kitchen and last orders are at 7.30pm. But overall, we're chuffed to bits."

There's only one more thing Butler and Millar have left to tell me. They've decided to open a delicatessen in town. "It will be very Carluccio," Butler says. "But that's another story…"

The story so far

Tim Butler, director of the Seafood Restaurant at St Monans, Fife, has embarked on a new venture with fellow director and head chef Craig Millar to open a seafood restaurant in St Andrews, Fife. Its aim is to be one of the town's best fine-dining restaurants, targeted at the high-spending visitors who fill the golfing Mecca each year.

Meanwhile, Butler and Millar must maintain business at the St Monans restaurant, as they rely on its profits to support the St Andrews project. Trade has been good since the restaurant was voted Best Seafood Restaurant in Scotland by the AA.

Factfile

Seafood Restaurant, St Andrews
The Pavilion, Bruce Embankment, St Andrews, Fife
Opened: 27 August 2003
Directors: Tim Butler and Craig Millar
Head chef: George Scott
Restaurant manager: Gordon Armitage
Seats: 60
Staff: seven chefs and five front-of-house staff, plus part-timers
Average spend: £35-£40 for dinner
Projected monthly net turnover: £72,000
Monthly net turnover (August): £80,000
Projected annual turnover: £800,000
Projected wage costs: £200,000
Projected net profit: £100,000
Investment from landlord Simon Littlejohn: £400,000
Cost of 25-year lease: £150,000
Annual rent with five-year reviews: £40,000
Designer: Pask and Pask