Chef Dean Banks has opened a new Mediterranean-inspired restaurant in the heart of St Andrews.
Amber has taken over the former BrewDog premises at 159 South Street, bringing an informal menu influenced by the food and beach bars of Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the south of France.
The restaurant is Banks’ second venue in the Fife town, where he also operates the fine-dining restaurant Haar. Designed as a relaxed, all-day destination, Amber serves sharing plates alongside seafood, meat, pasta and rice dishes.
Smaller dishes include padron peppers, Manchego cheese, focaccia and patatas bravas, as well as filo-wrapped feta served with honey and sesame.
The main menu features lemon-baked cod with ratatouille and basil, king prawn saganaki, steak frites with chimichurri, vodka rigatoni with burrata and crab linguine.
Desserts include tiramisu, Basque cheesecake and vanilla panna cotta with roasted peaches, toasted almonds and amaretti. Amber also has an eight-seat bar serving cocktails, spritzes, wine and Crémant.
The interior combines warm lighting, woven fittings, hanging plants and olive trees, while an arched bar towards the rear is backed by St Andrews white sandstone. A prominent floral display has also been installed around the entrance.
Members of the public were invited to help shape the restaurant before it opened, voting through social media on elements including its décor, exterior design and menu.
Banks said the involvement of local people was particularly important because he lives in St Andrews and his children attend school in the town.
He said: “People like to feel part of something new, so this is why I wanted our followers to be involved. Guests got to choose décor, menu items and many things along the way.”
Banks was a finalist on BBC television series MasterChef: The Professionals in 2018. His restaurant group also operates Dulse in Edinburgh’s Leith and West End, Temple Lane in Dundee and Restaurant 1925 at The Caledonian Edinburgh.