Birdhouse Café in Banchory serves fresh food and velvety coffee

After weeks of promising to take my friend to Birdhouse Café in Banchory, we finally managed to pin down a date.

I’d been to the High Street spot a few times before.

Like a siren call, their delicious coffee keeps enticing me back whenever I’m in the area. And the brunch is excellent too (try the French toast if you haven’t already, trust me).

But I’ve never had the chance to try the main menu, although I always thought it looked like a tasty offering.

I love the blue, it really brightens up the High Street. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

And when I heard Denny hadn’t been before, I knew we had to rectify this and go on our next little day trip.

Although it took some time to get a date sorted, I think our catch-up at this Aberdeenshire spot was worth the wait.

Birdhouse Café, Banchory, a reprieve from a dreich day

The pretty blue café front is such a welcome sight when you’re walking down the Deeside High Street.

It’s quite small with around eight tables. And it’s very popular with locals, cyclists, and visitors, so I was worried we might struggle to get seated.

Thankfully, when we arrived on the dreary, dreich day, it was just after the lunchtime rush, and there was a prime spot right next to a radiator. Result.

The inside is very fresh, and minimal. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

As well as being quite small, the décor is quite minimalist. This makes the space feel fresh and open.

I really like the simple aesthetic here. The wooden panelled walls are all painted white – bar the feature wall which is a dark green shade.

Once we had shuffled out of our wet jackets and settled into our seats, we had an important decision to make.

Should we order coffee first to warm up, or save it to have with a fancy piece after?

One look at the cake cabinet and our minds were made up.

So I ordered a Summer House ginger beer (£3), and Denny opted for an Irn Bru (£2) and we took a proper look at the menu.

Find juicy Korean chicken burger and a toastie bursting with fillings at Birdhouse Café

I am a burger fan, and have been desperate to try the Korean chicken burger (£13.50), which I may or may not have mentioned in the car on route to Banchory.

My friend decided she liked the look of the toasties. Being a meat-lover, she ordered the chicken and chorizo (£10) option.

We weren’t waiting long before two pretty full plates were swiftly dropped off at our table.

We were served two generously filled bowls. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

My burger looked impressive, with large, juicy chicken tenders piled high inside and topped with melted cheese.

And I’m happy to report that not only did it look impressive, but it was delicious too. The chicken was fried perfectly and didn’t feel greasy. And the Korean sauce was so tasty — lightly spiced but full of flavour.

The brioche bun it was served in was nice and light, and it came with a good amount of wedges as well as a fresh side salad.

Every mouthful was delicious. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

Across the table, my friend was just as quiet as I was while savouring our meal, aside from the occasional hum of appreciation as she tucked into her massive toastie.

She did take a moment to point out how packed it was. The toastie came with the same fresh side salad and a generous helping of crisps.

We both had clean plates by the end, but we still had room for something sweet.

The biggest (and quite possibly tastiest) cinnamon bun can be found in Banchory

We were both even more impressed after being told everything is baked in-house. This includes the bread and brioche burger bun we’d just devoured.

And honestly, it was hard to choose one sweet treat because everything just looked so tasty.

The impressive cake cabinet, with everything made in-house. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

My eyes were drawn to the biggest cinnamon buns (£3) I have ever seen. Meanwhile Denny was tempted by the lemon meringue pie (£3.50).

We both ordered a latte (£3.60 each) to go with our baked goods. I always love the coffee here, it’s all freshly roasted and ground, and always turns out velvety smooth.

The coffee by Long Walk is just fantastic. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

My cinnamon bun was gorgeous, the dough was so soft and fluffy with a good amount of cinnamon.

The icing slathered on top was wonderful too, rich and creamy, it complemented the spiced bun well.

The lemon meringue pie and cinnamon bun were the perfect sweet treats. Image: Lauren Taylor / DC Thomson

Denny was delighted with her lemon meringue pie, telling me that the meringue was light and fluffy and the lemon filling was nice and tart.

We both wanted to try what the other had, so I ended up taking a lemon meringue pie home, and Denny took a cinnamon bun with her.

So what did we think of Birdhouse Café in Banchory?

As I mentioned, I’ve been to Birdhouse Café a couple of times for coffee or brunch, and was excited to try the lunch menu.

I did not leave disappointed.

And my friend Denny was just as impressed as I was, especially once we learned all the baked goods — from the breads and rolls to the wide selection of cakes and sweet treats — are all made in-house by the owners.

Owner Colin and his daughter Edie. Image: Kami Thomson/DC Thomson

The portions were excellent, all the food tasted super fresh, and you can tell a lot of skill (and quality ingredients) went into the preparation.

We visited just as the café was winding down, but the atmosphere was great throughout, and we were left to yap away over our coffee even after we were finished with our meals.

The owners, Colin and Ruth Redman, were both really friendly and clearly very passionate about what they do, which always makes the experience even better.

Some may think it’s a little on the pricier side, but considering the work that must go into making everything and how fresh and tasty it all was, I’d argue it was good value for money.

I think it’s safe to say we’ll be back soon — hopefully it just won’t take us as long to organise next time!

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