Soul Bar, Union Street, Aberdeen

HOUSED within a former church, Soul Bar is pretty dark on a sunny day – even with light streaming through the stained-glass windows.

That said, it’s a stylish and trendy hang-out, and on a bright Saturday afternoon it was buzzing inside.

My brother and I settled down with some papers, looking for a hearty lunch.

I can’t resist calamari if I see it on any menu and consider myself something of an aficionado.

This version (£6.95) didn’t disappoint – the light batter crumbling gently away from the tender squid in moist mouthfuls. The accompanying tomato dip was a bit overpowering, though, and I opted just to douse it in lemon juice instead. My brother’s soup (£3.50) was a big flavoursome bowl of yellow pea and ham – he gave it a thumbs-up.

I chose a veggie option for main course – risotto with peppers and sun-blushed tomatoes (£8.95). The rice was lovely and sticky and the flavours were fine.

My bro’s chicken and noodle dish (£9.95) was huge. Big fillets of chicken with a mountain of noodles to mop up the honey chilli sauce.

Overall the food was very tasty and the service was friendly and polite. The starters were so prompt they arrived even before our drinks – but the main courses then took a bit too long to arrive.

With soft drinks the bill came to £37.75, all very reasonable for the feast we had.