If you don't have a local watering hole of your own yet, Ole St. Andrew's Inn might be a good place to adopt. It's a quiet, low-key establishment where people can talk as they tipple and not shout to make themselves heard. Although there are four large televisions, the bartender cringes at the mention of the term "sports bar", or even "sports-ish bar," and the televisions function on mute.

The restaurant area surrounds the horseshoe-shaped bar. The menu features the standard burgers-and-fish-and-chips pub fare. There is an interesting selection of beer on tap and, as you might expect, a long line of single malt Scotch on the top shelf.

The walls are lined with golf clubs, and a stuffed pheasant hangs near the register, which you would expect from a place named after a famous golf course. There's karaoke on Wednesday nights, shepherd's pie on the menu and Tracey Chapman in the jukebox. A knot of regulars grumble about the bus system while a couple gets up to dance to the last strains of "I Could Write a Book." In its own quiet way, the bar is almost theatrical, the perfect staging of a neighborhood watering hole.

Centerstage Reviewer: Alan Simmons