WE BUMPED into Wonder Woman, in full costume, as we arrived, but she did not have time to chat as she jumped into a waiting taxi.
She was with a bunch of other fancy-dressers hitting the town on a Saturday night. It’s funny what you come across in these country hostelries around Aberdeen, isn’t it?
It was party time inside Bennachie Lodge Hotel at Kemnay as well: as we were guided into the conservatory-style restaurant to one side, we discovered there was only one “table” occupied, but there were 22 people sat at it and it extended virtually the whole length of the room.
My wife and I were the only other diners but, before long, the place was heaving with people. I was glad we had taken our seats by 6.30pm because, by about 8pm, we reckoned there were more than 50 people in for dinner.
It has been open in its current form since last year and is in the same ownership as Jaff’s, a few miles down the road at Dunecht.
Bennachie Lodge occupies a former manse dating back to the 18th century and sits along the main road into Kemnay, with a large car park at the front. Wherever you drive here, the iconic peak of Bennachie pops into view all the time.
A smaller, more traditional dining-room opens out into the conservatory part, which has an attractive granite wall down one side and pleasant views of the gardens to the other. We received a warm welcome from the staff, who remained chatty and informative all night.
They were also eagle-eyed: after our meal, a waiter fumbled with my wife’s liqueur coffee and some of it spilled into the saucer – it was all a bit messy, but we were not going to make a fuss. The restaurant manager, however, spotted it from yards away and immediately ordered it to be replaced with a clean saucer. It was a nice touch: very efficient and made us feel that we were important to the staff.
We discovered we could order from two menus – one for Bennachie and one from Jaff’s. So it was the best of both worlds or, rather, the best of Dunecht and Kemnay.
I was able to order my starter from Bennachie’s menu and my main course from the menu of a restaurant four miles down the road. I just hoped they were not going to make it at Jaff’s and drive it over. I’m only joking, of course. It sounds complicated, but it was pretty simple to follow.
I seem to say this a lot, but this was the best Cullen Skink starter I had tasted. It was packed with delicious, chunky potatoes and smoked haddock. It was a meal in itself and very satisfying. I had mentioned to the man in charge that we had dined at Jaff’s last year and he was very anxious to know if Bennachie’s Cullen Skink was better than theirs. It seemed that some healthy, friendly rivalry was going on.
My wife’s prawn and apple cocktail was also an excellent choice: prawns and diced apple were bound together in a marie rose sauce and served on salad leaves. We started to notice that the portions were also very good here.
For mains, I made a last-minute switch from my intended lamb shank when I saw an impressive fish dish going past in a waitress’s hands. Yes, it was haddock prawn mornay for me.
I was happy with my choice, especially when it landed on my table and I could admire it close up. The North Sea haddock was stuffed generously with prawns, topped with rich creamy cheese sauce and served with a good choice of vegetables and mashed potato. It was the sort of dish which was not just satisfying, but actually lifted my mood and made me feel good.
However, my wife’s choice was the winner, hands down. The head man had mentioned casually, almost as an afterthought, that one of the “specials”, which did not appear on a board or menu, was Beef Wellington. Well, how often do you see that these days?
My wife jumped at the chance, and what a treat it was. It was a magnificent sight on the plate: the round, perfectly proportioned block of pastry was the centrepiece, of course, which opened up to reveal its hidden gems.
Flaky on the outside, soft on the inside, the puff pastry was coated with pate and enveloped the tenderloin of beef, cooked medium rare, which offered a lovely pink contrast with its surroundings. Mashed potato, crispy vegetables and a red-wine jus completed the picture.
I don’t know if it really was named after the Duke of Wellington, but this was a king among dishes. We enjoyed every mouthful – I say “we” because I helped my wife eat it. I know, you don’t have to say anything.
We rounded off perfectly with one of my favourites, home-made creamed rice pudding, and home-made sticky toffee pudding.
When the bill came, we discovered that the Beef Wellington also carried a special price – £22. Perhaps we should have been aware of the price before ordering, but we had no regrets about paying it – it was worth every penny. The total bill, with a couple of glasses of wine and soft drinks, came to £66.
We were impressed by how the five-man team in the kitchen, led by head chef Steve Wilson, kept up a cracking pace even with 50 people in. Perhaps Wonder Woman was working in there as well.
Bennachie Lodge Hotel, Victoria Terrace, Kemnay. Phone 01467 642789.