The Athenaeum: Union Street, Aberdeen

I AM not a giant – I barely scrape 5ft 6in.But squeezed into the tiny booth at the trendy Athenaeum, I felt a little like Gulliver.

Two huge slabs of a deep smoked salmon pate (£3.95), however, reassured me I was in fact my regular size – even if the amount of melba toast wouldn’t fill a Smurf.

My other half went for the hot smoked duck (£4.95) to start, and the savouriness sat well with the goat cheese and sweet onion compote.

Our mains were less fine dining, more tried-and-tested pub classics. But we found the fish and chips (£9.95) and chicken burger (£8.95) a cut above usual pub fare.

The huge haddock was moist and meaty and the beer batter very crisp and tasty. With peas, salad and some crisp, chunky chips, it made for a mammoth meal.

My chicken burger was just as big – advertised as lightly spiced and coated in breadcrumbs.

I couldn’t quite find the spice, but it was as tasty and juicy as the fish.

A bowl of heavenly shoestring fries left me content. It was fast food done slowly and at its best.

We jumped at the chance of a white chocolate and kahlua cheesecake (£4.25).

The coffee wasn’t overpowering, just a hint in the background to offset the sweetness of the chocolate. With a couple of drinks, it came to a sizeable – but not unreasonable – £36.65. And I, sadly, came out a bit more giant as well.