Siberia: Belmont Street, Aberdeen

AFTER a serious number of invites to friends’ weddings, I was starting to feel old – and I didn’t like it one bit.

So in a bid to recapture my carefree student days, I did what anyone would do and headed to the pub – the studenty Siberia to be precise.

Feeling nostalgic, I ordered the Aberdeen Angus burger (£6.95) with extra chilli (a staple of my layabout days).

The chilli was tomatoey, slightly sweet, bolstered with a good hit of cumin and had a real kick.

The burger itself was equally good. It has become the norm in the Granite City to prefix every burger with “Aberdeen Angus”, yet most have the flavour and texture of a hockey puck. This, by contrast, was tender and very tasty.

My other half went for the New Yorker (£6.95) a chicken breast covered in bacon, smothered with barbecue sauce and mozzarella cheese, with chips and salad. Standard pub fare, but great all the same.

Finally, we ordered a chocolate fudge cake (£3.20).

While moist and rich, with a deep chocolate sauce, it would have been ideal if it had been warmed through and accompanied by ice cream or cream. Nevertheless, it was duly demolished.

With a spicy Cajun mayo dip (50p) and drinks, the final bill came to around £25. Cheap enough to leave my inner-student very satisfied.