O’Neill’s: Back Wynd, Aberdeen

AFTER a very chilled-out day on my own, Saturday night was a time to catch up with friends.

Although I offered to cook, they decided it would be safer to grab some pub grub.

When we heard traditional Irish music spilling out of O’Neill’s, the choice was made.

The three of us opted to share two starters – breaded calamari with tartare sauce and mushrooms and melted Irish cheddar (both £2.50).

The large plate of mushrooms was bursting with flavour and we each scrambled to get as many each as we could. Although the calamari and tartare were a tasty combination, the rings themselves were a bit bland.

Burgers were on the agenda for the main course, with my two friends opting for BBQ burgers (£4.95), while I chose the lentil and spinach version.They agreed that the BBQ mountain was fresh-tasting, not greasy – and even gave the ultimate compliment by saying it was the perfect burger.

My mammoth veggie alternative was bursting out of the bun. It’s hearty taste and crunchy bread went down a treat. My only gripe was that, due to it’s size, it could have done with a bit more veg inside to stop it from being dry.

Totally stuffed we battled on and shared a huge slab of hot chocolate fudge cake (£2.99).

It’s thick, gooey icing and moist sponge transported all three of us to chocolate heaven.

For £22.80, we were stuffed, satisfied and had cash left for a couple of drinks.