Brunch is a quintessential part of menus in cafes across the globe nowadays. And in my opinion, it must be a challenge for business owners to make their eatery’s offering stand out.
It is difficult to spruce up a slice of toast, after all.
One thing that entices me to try brunch at certain cafes in the city is social media, and I am sure the same can be said for a lot of you.
The pictures have to be bright and have a lot going on. By this I mean have a number of tasty-looking ingredients on the plate, not just a measly rasher of bacon and a dollop of scrambled eggs that are oh so clearly overdone.
Cup, on Little Belmont Street, is a prime example of an eatery doing this right, among other things.
During a recent scan of the business’ Instagram page, I failed to spot a picture of grub that didn’t look appetising.
So on hearing the news that the cafe was participating in Aberdeen Restaurant Week (ARW), I put it straight on my list of places to stop by.
The food
The ARW offering at Cup is a £10 lunch board, which includes a small drink, rainbow bagel or gluten-free roll with a filling of your choice, crisps, a miniature traybake and a taster soup.
I stopped by with my mum. A fellow coffee fan, I opted for an Americano with milk on the drinks front, while she decided on a cappuccino.
They arrived before the grub and, to our delight, were piping hot. This was more than welcome given the dismal weather outside. But the main event was our boards, both of which were a feast for the eyes.
The ‘cheesy one’ – featuring smoked cheese, sliced apple and red onion chutney – was my lunch partner’s desired filling. There was no apple available, so that was replaced with sliced tomato.
Each component was sandwiched in between a Cup staple, their rainbow bagel. I hadn’t seen one in person before and they’re just as, if not more appealing than how they look in pictures.
My mum was happy to hear the bagel was plain, so it meant the contents could do all the talking in terms of flavour.
The smokiness of the cheese was apparent from the get-go due to its aromas, while the fresh tomato was juicy and had a rich sweetness to it. But it was the red onion chutney that proved the star of the show with its predominantly zingy notes.
She proceeded to dunk chunks of the bagel into her smooth taster soup, butternut squash. Both of us chose this flavour over the broccoli and stilton option.
I followed suit and dipped my ‘vegan one’ into my own adorable miniature soup cup. It boasted a mild, warming spice and was silky in texture.
There was vegan haggis, smashed avocado, hot sauce and chickpeas tucked inside my seeded gluten-free roll.
The haggis had a slight kick to it, which was amplified by the sharp hot sauce. They teamed well with the other components as the chickpeas were subtle in flavour and the avocado, which was perfectly ripe, was lovely and creamy.
The rocket leaves in our sandwiches were a nice touch, too, adding some nuttiness.
The remaining savoury item was the crisps – tortilla chips. Not overly salty, they also tasted divine dunked into our soup.
Taking our time to enjoy the boards and soak in our surroundings, the cafe was packed to the brim – something that always brings a smile to my face when eating out.
The atmosphere was buzzing and there was plenty to admire in terms of interior, from the trendy artificial grass wall to the unique ‘sweet wall’. I’ll let you find out for yourself what that is exactly, but I love the concept.
Speaking of sweets, the pair of us thought it was finally time to tuck into our traybakes.
We caught a glimpse of the home bake counter on browsing the cafe and there was plenty to choose from including Biscoff rocky road, empire biscuits and millionaire’s shortbread. But it was the caramel and coconut traybake and Kit Kat blondie that prevailed.
My traybake comprised three layers, coconut, caramel and white chocolate.
Extremely sweet, there were so many textures in amongst the mix that married so well together, from the chewiness of the coconut to the creaminess of the chocolate. In terms of describing the caramel, I only have one word, wow.
The Kit Kat blondie melted in the mouth, too, but featured chunks of Kit Kat throughout that added an exceptional crunch.
Sipping the remains of our coffee, we thanked our hospitable servers for a lovely lunch service and made our way back out the cobbled street.
The verdict
The ARW lunch boards at Cup were the ideal size for my mum and I, featuring just the right amount of each dish – all of which were a joy to eat.
And for £10? It’s a steal in my opinion.
The atmosphere was also warm and friendly. All in all, it was an incredibly pleasant experience and I look forward to stopping by Cup again in the near future.
Information
Address: 9 Little Belmont Street, Aberdeen AB10 1JG
W: www.cupteasalon.com
T: 01224 637730
