When Julie Wijkström opened The Adamson in St Andrews 11 years ago, it was one of few places in town to get a cocktail. That has certainly changed.
The cocktail connoisseur has 30 years of experience and has been one of the driving forces behind establishing St Andrews as a drinks destination.
In the early days of The Adamson, Julie remembers dining customers sometimes struggled to get to their table because the bar was so full.
The venue expanded in 2015, adding a separate cocktail bar that will celebrate its eighth birthday on Saturday, perfectly placed during St Andrews Cocktail Week which runs for 10 days from tomorrow (Friday March 24) until Sunday April 2.
Alongside a whole host of food and drink venues, The Adamson is ready to serve up the best the town has to offer.
Julie says: “St Andrews is a holiday place and a student place, and we’ve got locals, students, golfers and tourists.
“I think people look for things here that they can get in the city, be it Edinburgh or London.
“People who visit St Andrews know they can come to The Adamson and get a great cocktail, and they do.”
Cocktail offers for all clienteles
The owner of The Adamson and restaurant Hatch has trained many bartenders serving drinks in St Andrews and beyond.
One of them is Bart Upton, assistant manager at Rogue.
He started working at the restaurant and cocktail bar, also on South Street, in August, after coming into the cocktail scene after the first Covid-19 lockdown three years ago.
Now he’s working on transforming Rogue‘s cocktail menu to intrigue its wide array of visitors.
Bart says: “The student population is very important to us. You notice it when they go away at Christmas time, because it does get quieter.
“We’re starting to see golfers coming across and I’m taking bookings for groups in the summer, so we should get enough tourism to tide us over.
“We get a real mix which is good.”
It’s a similar situation down South Street at The Criterion. Assistant manager Fraser Wilson gets a mix of locals, students, golfers and tourists though the doors.
Fraser joined the bar team just over a year ago, when it had no cocktails on the menu. In the last 10 months, he’s grown the offering to 33 drinks.
“We’re very much a traditional bar, we go through more Guinness than you can shake a stick at,” he laughs.
“Our clientele had never really asked for cocktails, but when we introduced them it went down fantastically well. Since we started the demand has been fantastic.”
Different kind of nightlife
While St Andrews can’t quite compete with Scotland’s bigger cities on the nightlife front, it has its advantages too.
Bert highlights that the town is full of independent and small businesses, rather than large chains, making the offering unique.
He continues: “We have lots of places that offer late evening drinks to the same standard as the bigger cities.
“Students might say the late night out scene isn’t the strongest, but on the cocktail side I think we do well to keep up with the cities.
“I prefer just staying in St Andrews, going to different bars and pubs. It’s a different kind of night out, but I enjoy it more.”
Fraser agrees, saying that you get a good night out in the town regardless of what you’re after. There are many different options, from fancy cocktail bars to pubs.
At The Criterion – being a busy bar – simplicity is key. But that doesn’t mean quality suffers.
The entire menu features Scottish spirits, or each drink has been given a Scottish twist. It means the staff can easily make the drinks without compromising on taste.
Over at The Adamson, mixologists and bartenders enter competitions to showcase their skills and creations, and to keep up with trends.
Julie has noticed non-alcoholic cocktails are on the rise, and not just for the designated driver.
She says: “Guests don’t just want a coke or lemonade if they don’t drink, they want something more exciting so they can also be in the bar and have a cocktail.
“Some will have one alcoholic cocktail, then a non-alcoholic one, just so they don’t drink too much. Others don’t drink for health and wellbeing reasons.
“It’s a very new trend, so we’re always creating and looking at new spirits and non-spirits.”
Thriving cocktail scene for St Andrews
While Bart at Rogue hasn’t entered any competitions yet, he is constantly focusing on building on the skills he learnt at The Adamson.
He says that his former workplace does a great job in building a good atmosphere in the town.
“Many staff have worked, trained and developed at The Adamson who have now moved on to other venues,” he explains.
“It means we’re always looking out for each other, and work together to push the cocktail scene in St Andrews further.
“The amount of places to eat and drink here is almost ridiculous for the size of the town. It’s very well-rounded and has a lot to offer.”
Fraser also points out the wide range of hospitality venues in the town and says there’s almost too many. But with a varied clientele there are enough guests to keep venues going.
As a seasonal town relying on tourists and students, there are always peaks and troughs in activity that bigger cities might notice less of.
Despite it’s size, Julie is positive that St Andrews will become more popular.
She says: “The destination of St Andrews is growing and expanding, and people want to be in that scene.
“That’s the important thing for Scotland, everyone talks about the home of golf, which we are, but also people can come to the home of golf now and there’s more choice.
“They don’t have to travel to Glasgow or Edinburgh to find a trendy restaurant, they can dine and drink in St Andrews and it feels great.”
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