Tribute bands seem to be 10 a penny now, and some are good and some not so good.
When I was in second year at school, a boy gave me a tape of a band called The Police and I instantly fell in love with them – the band, not the boy just to clarify.
The English rock band has sold over 75 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. So when I saw an advert for The Polis coming to The Tunnels on a Saturday night, I thought why not.
Bistro Verde
Possibly not the rock stars’ restaurant of choice, we chose Bistro Verde – situated within Aberdeen’s Merchant Quarter at The Green – for a pre-gig meal.
As we walked there we passed the demolition of the indoor market, which is now just huge piles of rubble and machinery.
Bistro Verde has large windows on to the cobbled Green and we were warmly welcomed by our server and shown to our table.
The restaurant has quite cool, funky décor. One feature wall has pastel pink, green and blue statement wallpaper with dogs and a large cocktail sign. A gallery wall of vintage pictures and TV stars adorn another wall while an eclectic mix of artefacts are displayed on some open shelving.
One of the tables even has a sign saying “naughty corner” – I wonder what you have to do to get put there.
The tables and chairs are very conservative but I think this works against the colourful walls and décor.
I ordered a gin and tonic while my husband ordered a Wheat on the Green beer, exclusively brewed for the restaurant by local brewery Six Degrees North.
The food
Bistro Verde is predominantly a fish restaurant with a menu boasting mussels, oysters, scallops, prawns and more. My husband has always said that the Cullen skink here is the best so he immediately chose this for a starter.
When served he was rather dubious as it didn’t look like the soup he has had in the past, but he needn’t have feared, it was up to the usual high standard.
The Scottish chowder was full of smoked haddock, potatoes, cream and leek. He always prefers the potato and fish chunky and indeed it was, with lashings of cream and chunky brown bread.
I kicked off my dinner with king prawn spring rolls on a bed of pineapple salsa. This was a hefty portion and the rolls were packed with the finest noodles and shellfish. The pineapple salsa added the sweet element to the dish, but I would have preferred more of a kick of spice from it.
I found myself intrigued as I watched a single diner opening the oyster shells and emptying its contents straight into her mouth. Not for me, although the tempura battered oysters with soy sauce and chilli might be worth a try.
On to the main event, and I ordered something I had not eaten for a long time – surf and turf – while my husband chose the roast cod loin from the specials board.
We did swither a few times as I really fancied the katsu seafood curry with tiger prawns, king prawns, mussels and clams – next time.
My fillet steak was served perfectly cooked and draped with a couple of garlic tiger prawns. The fabulous handcut chips were presented Jenga style on the plate and I thoroughly enjoyed dipping them into the creamy pepper sauce.
Along with mushrooms and vine tomatoes this dish was a real fusion of flavours, but I would have welcomed some more of those prawns considering the £39 price tag.
Across the table the cod loin was cooked just right, flaking just perfectly and with a crispy skin that added some texture to the dish. The cod was resting on some herby crushed potatoes and creamed spinach, delicious mild flavouring that didn’t overpower the fish.
We sat back relaxed with empty plates.
The restaurant was getting busy but the two staff on duty ran it like a well-oiled machine. There was also a real mix of clientele from more mature couples to groups of youngsters, so the atmosphere was fairly loud and lively.
Always one for a pudding I had spied a neighbouring table enjoying the trio of mini desserts – perfect for me who wants a taste of them all. We decided to share, and they really were mini but very tasty; and anyway, we had to go and dance soon.
There was a strawberry trifle, a sticky toffee pudding and an old-school jam roly-poly. The roly-poly with a dollop of custard was the stand-out pudding on the plate for us.
The verdict
Bistro Verde has always been a favourite of ours, although we hadn’t been since lockdown. As well as dinner it also offer a fabulous set lunch menu at an excellent price.
Despite being so close to the sea, Aberdeen doesn’t have a lot of seafood on offer, so it was nice to see the place thriving on the Saturday evening we visited.
And as for The Police tribute band, they definitely brought back loads of memories and we left wanting more – a bit like that fabulous roly-poly.
Lesley Taylor is a staff restaurant reviewer. She works in the DCT Media events team and is based in Aberdeen.
Lesley has been reviewing restaurants across the region for more than a decade.
Information
Address: Bistro Verde, The Green, Aberdeen AB11 6NY
T: 01224 586180
Price: £95.65 for two courses for two, a shared trio of desserts, one beer and one gin
Scores:
- Food: 4/5
- Service: 4/5
- Surroundings: 4/5
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