The Foundry: Holburn Street, Aberdeen

WITH the credit crunch biting, dining out has to be done on a budget, these days.

And I’d heard a lot of positive feedback about The Foundry on the money-saving front – but I wasn't prepared for just how cheap it was.

I went for the nachos (£2.45) to start with. The large dish overflowed with cheese, sour cream, jalapenos and salsa – so much so I couldn’t finish it all. While the dish was tasty my only gripe was that the salsa tasted artificial.

My friend opted for the king prawn skewers (£2.49) which she devoured in record speed.

The good quality prawns were succulent, soaked in garlic butter, and incredibly more-ish.

Next, I opted for the smothered chicken with chips and peas (£3.19). The huge plateful was full of flavour and cooked to perfection.

The chicken breast was tender, the chips were a little crunchy, the only thing it could have done with was more barbecue sauce.

My friend opted for fish and chips (£3.99) which had a breadcrumb-like batter and a huge helping of mushy peas.

Although we were nearly full, with such tempting sweets we were willing to overdo it. We shared an Irish cream cheesecake (£2.49) and chocolate brownie cake (£2.99).

With a large glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, and a large Pepsi for my friend, the bill came to the bargain price of £24.03.