Ferryhill House Hotel: Bon Accord Street, Aberdeen

I HAD been promising to take my friend to this sumptuous former mansion house for years.

I’d painted a picture of roaring open fires, warming wooden panelling and a great array of lager and whisky where we could while away a good few hours.

When I finally delivered on my promise to treat her to a bar supper, she wasn’t disappointed.

After much deliberation we opted to share the chilli nachos to start (£4.95). They were fine and tasty with a nice touch of heat, and it was good to see the salsa was home-made. The only negative was the stringy mozzarella rather than the usual cheddar which made them a little difficult to tear and share without the help of a knife.

For the main event, I had venison (£13.95) and was not disappointed when my plate arrived generously stacked with juicy chunks of tender meat.

My friend plumped for Moroccan Lamb Tagine (£10.95) and loved the herbs and spices, although she would have liked a little more sauce.

Never one to turn down a pudding, she could not resist the cranichan (£4.50), which she scoffed with a smile. We washed it all down with a pint of Fosters (£3.10) and a pint of Kronenburg (£3.30). Coming in at around £40 it’s not the cheapest pub grub in town, but it was extremely tasty and you can’t beat the setting.