One of the things I like about Aberdeen’s hospitality scene is how much it is trying to diversify.
There’s West African, Chinese, Bangladeshi, Sicilian, French, Eastern European and Thai. You can add Japanese and Korean to that list, too, with the city’s latest addition bolstering this already growing cuisine.
Seoul Aberdeen is a Japanese and Korean grill restaurant. Located on Crown Street, it is just a minute’s walk from Union Street in the city centre.
Admittedly, this was my second visit of the week after being so impressed with the food. My first visit saw my foodie friend and I enjoy plenty from the grill, and when I took my sister, I made sure to order some different things, as well as some of Megan and I’s favourites from trip one.
The first thing you’ll notice when stepping through the door is the décor. There’s lanterns and tapestry hanging, a mix of booth and table seating and lots of colour.
It isn’t overly obvious that the restaurant is split into two, but if you want to enjoy the Korean grill, be sure to sit on the right-hand side as this is where you’ll find the tables with the grilling stations.
I fancied flirting with both Japanese and Korean menus, so told my sister to grab one of the tables to the right when she arrived first.
Its skylight near the rear of the restaurant makes the space bright and the left hand of the restaurant is decked out with Japanese backgrounds with some hanging faux flowers for decoration, too.
I visited on both occasions around 6pm on a Monday night, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how quickly the venue filled up. I haven’t seen a restaurant of this size in Aberdeen this busy at dinner time for a long time.
The food
Having already tried a few dishes I let my sister attempt to take the lead. Totally overwhelmed with two different menus, that both have pages to choose from, I stepped in to guide her.
While I have never visited Korea or Japan, I’ve eaten plenty of food by chefs who grew up or spent a big chunk of their career working there.
The team who were looking after us were eager to get our order, so after being asked a few times, we eventually committed.
The first item to grace our table not long after ordering was the dumplings (Goon-Mandu). I’d tried the chicken ones initially which were lovely so opted for the veggie version. The filling was a little mushier and didn’t boast near as much flavour as the chicken, but the dumpling itself (£5.95) was soft and held the filling well. A small section of the plate had some soy sauce which we dipped all eight into with our metal chopsticks.
Arriving next was the bulgogi beef strips (£12.50) and the sweet and chilli chicken (£8.50).
The grilling part was where all the fun was had. A staff member turned it on for us, put some baking paper down and sprayed some oil on top. It wasn’t long until the oil began to sizzle so we knew it was time to lay down the meat.
I did it first, showing my sister my new grilling skills I had learned last time I was here when the staff gave me a tutorial. I grabbed some of the garlic and chopped peppers it was served with and put them on the heat alongside the beef. She followed my lead, using the scissors we’d been given to cut the pieces to size. A chilli spicy dip, sesame oil and other condiments were served at the same time to dip your meat into. Bulgogi is a well-known Korean dish and takes minutes to cook up.
The last time I got the chicken it had been coasted in the tangy sweet sauce. This time it was served separately, with the sauce on the side. The fried chicken thigh meat was nice and crispy and it was a good portion for the money. My sister said the sauce reminded her of a mix between barbecue and Tomato Ketchup, but it was very fruity and was more like gochujang in my opinion.
Tempura king prawns (£9.90), Tokyo roll (£8.90) and kimchi (£2.50) arrived back-to-back next. The prawns were a spectacle. A show-stopper piece of uncooked noodles shaped into a fan for decoration hid the fried prawns. They were big and still had their tails on, and were served with a ginger and soy dipping sauce.
The kimchi was much sharper this time around and a lot crunchier. It was acidic with a sour, vinegar flavour and while the sweeter chilli notes softened the dish, it was just not as good as the first time I had it – the last time it was one of my favourites.
As for the Tokyo roll, it was very enjoyable and I adored the Japanese mayonnaise that came drizzled on top. The rice was perfectly cooked and stuck together well. Inside was fried chicken and avocado which meant there was a lot of texture which made it interesting to eat, and orange tobiko came on top. It looked brilliant and there were eight pieces.
The nigri set with salmon sashimi sushi (£14.50) was up last, although we were still making our way through the feast when it arrived. Loads of different seafood from prawn, salmon, tuna, octopus and more featured, with three pieces of salmon sashimi. Wasabi and ginger were served on the side of the dish and the sushi was one of our favourites as we both loved it.
A small bowl of miso soup came with the set but was served to us with the dumplings. It had tiny cubes of tofu in it, chopped spring onions and the dashi soup was flavoured with miso paste. My only bug bear was it wasn’t hot, more lukewarm.
The food in general here was really good, although I was left feeling disappointed by the tempura in the end when I realised, mid-bite of my second prawn, that they hadn’t been cleaned. That’s one way to bring a meal to a halt. However, we did ask to take home the remaining sushi that we didn’t finish because it was so good.
The verdict
Seoul Aberdeen offers a wide selection of dishes with everything from sushi, grilled skewers, tempura, bone marrow noodle soup, ramen and more.
The food is of great quality and I was really impressed with the freshness of the fish.
The website and menu also have the option to order in Chinese, which I thought was a great touch, and I think it is a positive addition to Aberdeen’s dining scene.
While there were times we did feel rushed by staff, we navigated through that and left feeling full, although the prawn situation wasn’t ideal.
Information
Address: Seoul Aberdeen, 13 Crown Street, Aberdeen AB11 6HA
T: 01224 596537
Price: £65.60 for seven dishes and one soft drink
Scores:
- Food: 4/5
- Service: 4/5
- Surrounding: 4/5
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