Festive over the top hot chocolates and cookies, plus a mouth-watering Korean fried chicken burger all feature in our monthly series What We’re Eating – highlighting the best places to eat in Aberdeen and beyond.
The P&J Food and Drink team often get asked what and where we’ve been eating so we thought it would be a good idea to share some of our favourite places to eat of the month with you all.
This can be us recommending the best places we’ve visited, a certain dish we’ve tried, or even something we’ve picked up on our travels around Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray and Highlands and Islands.
Cookie Cult
Best for: Mammoth-sized stuffed cookies
Karla: ‘Tis the season to be jolly – and to indulge in festive-themed goods by local producers.
One firm that recently released its festive range which caught my eye was Cookie Cult. And when I spotted the team’s stall at the Curated in the Quad Market at Aberdeen Christmas Village the other week, I couldn’t help but secure some items.
There were around seven different cookie flavours to choose from, including chocolate peppermint, white chocolate orange, yule log, and Maltesers Reindeer, but the gingerbread spice and hot chocolate prevailed.
The gingerbread spice, loaded with white chocolate and stuffed with dulce de leche, was our favourite of the two. However, both – recommended to us by the team manning the wooden stall – were absolutely delicious.
If you have a sweet tooth, I’d definitely recommend the hot chocolate cookie, which is loaded with milk and white chocolate, and stuffed with a marshmallow.
To order online: cookiecult.co.uk
The Rustic Grill
Best for: An eclectic menu
Karla: When you head to The Rustic Grill, located on Balmellie Street in Turriff, there’s sure to be a dish that tickles your fancy.
Why is that? Because the food menus are some of the most varied I have come across in the north-east.
I have enjoyed everything from tapas-style plates, beef burgers, steak, chicken fajitas, salads, and bao buns to waffles, soups and scones at the establishment.
Overall, my favourite plate to order is their mouth-watering halloumi fries, which can be found under the ‘small plates’ section of the menu.
Drizzled in maple syrup, a pomegranate glaze and sour cream with a sprinkling of spring onion, it is the perfect accompaniment to a main dish or alongside one/some other small plates.
Address: 13 Balmellie Street, Turriff AB53 4DW
Fat Batch hot chocolates
Best for: Mouthwatering brookies and cookies, plus Insta-worthy hot chocolates
Julia: There’s no denying baker Eve Smith has been talk of the town since opening her new shop back in June. She’s the mastermind behind Fat Batch who specialise in cookies and brookies, but the team has now launched their new hot chocolates which is what spurred my recent visit.
Flavours include gingerbread, Snickers, white chocolate and chocolate orange, my friend and I opted for the latter two and loved them. They were topped with whipped cream, plenty of chocolate, biscuit crumb and a ginger bread man, or Jaffa cake.
Address: 57 Elmbank Terrace, Aberdeen AB24 3NL
The Hame Bakery
Best for: Wholesome bakes
Karla: Peterhead is an area I rarely visit, but I recently trekked to the town purely to try some items from award-winning family-run baker The Hame Bakery.
With two sites based in Peterhead, I headed to its flagship Queen Street location and ordered a toffee muffin and a festive pie, which featured all the traditional elements of a Christmas Day dinner.
The muffin’s texture was soft and fluffy, making it evidently fresh, while the toffee flavour really packed a punch. It was topped with a thin layer of sticky caramel and a drizzling of milk chocolate.
Address:
- 13-15 Queen Street, Peterhead AB42 1TN
- 57 Clerkhill Road, Clerkhill, Peterhead AB42 2XF
The best langoustine lasagne at Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish
Best for: Fine dining in the city centre
Julia: There’s one dish I will always order no matter what when I visit Amuse by Kevin Dalgleish, and that is the chef’s signature langoustine lasagne. Given it isn’t called that on the menu, you’ll find the shellfish dish on the fish section of the menu.
It isn’t described as a lasagne so to speak, but after Kevin descried it like one I can’t refrain from labelling it just that.
If you’re a seafood fan I guarantee you’ll be savouring every morsel. And what I would say is be sure to get a side of Bandit bakery bread to dip it into the sauce – you don’t want any of that to go to waste!
Address: 1 Queen’s Terrace, Aberdeen AB10 1XL
Korean fried chicken at The Braided Fig
Best for: Bistro-style pub grub
Julia: You know a dish is good when you end up ordering variations of it. That’s what I’ve ended up doing on my most recent visits to the Braided Fig.
It started with the Korean fried cauliflower, which then progressed to the Korean fried chicken, which ended with me finally ordering the Korean fried chicken burger just the other week.
The sauce is really what makes these dishes, and I must admit, the chicken too had been excellently cooked, and every mouthful is just as great as the last.
I promise you won’t regret ordering it. But you might have to be quick as rumour has it the dish might be disappearing soon.
Address: 39 Summer Street, Aberdeen AB10 1SB
Sticky ribs (and fingers) at the new Gidi Grill
Best for: Big flavours, big portions
Andy: This African-influenced restaurant is a firm favourite in Dundee, where owner Mo Adeniyi now has two outlets.
The Aberdeen restaurant, near the middle of Union Street, only opened this month and may take time to bed in among heavy-hitting neighbours Six by Nico and Vovem Meat & Liquor.
But it deserves a visit. My BBQ smoked pork ribs were worth the £22 price tag as there were a lot of them, and they were delicious.
By the end of the meal, my fingers were covered in sticky sauce, which is always a good sign.
I’ll need another visit to try Mo’s jollof rice, which I understand is a must-have. I hope I won’t have to wait too long before I get the chance.
Address: 263 Union St, Aberdeen, AB10 1TL
Yorkshire pudding wrap at Aberdeen’s Upperkrust
Best for: A lunch-time treat
Andy: The Upperkrust sandwich shop and deli is just over the road from the Press & Journal office in Aberdeen and is my go-to place for lunch.
Sheila, Jackie and the rest of the Upperkrust crew are always bouncing around making their customers feel at home.
And they have a few surprises up their sleeve, too. Not least the Yorkshire pudding wrap they made me this month.
Stuffed with beef, carrots, potatoes and gravy it tasted exactly like a roast dinner wrapped in a Yorkshire pudding. And at just £5, you can’t argue with the price.
Thanks, Upperkrust! See you for lunch tomorrow!
Address: 44-46 Upperkirkgate, Aberdeen, AB10 1BA
Still feeling hungry? Get stuck into more food content:
- ‘Matilda cake’ and super-sized savouries are on the menu at The Larder in Huntly – but what did we make of them?
- Five-star doughnuts and a vegan sausage without the sizzle: Here’s what we ate at Aberdeen’s Christmas Village
- First look at new late-night bar above Ivy Lodge as Shiprow goes up a level
- Restaurant review: The Kitchen Brasserie in Inverness delivers a fancy feast without the fuss
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