Food Reviews

SOME restaurants are ideal for a romantic candlelit supper – and some are perfect for a gaggle in search of a party.

I’VE LIVED in Aberdeen for more than a year, so it was high time my brother and his girlfriend paid me a visit.

HAVING sampled a chain pizza take-away previously, I decided to get a meal closer to home.

SOMEONE’S birthday had suddenly hove into view and caught me on the hop.

SOMETIMES travelling into the town centre for a meal can be too much hassle.

GOOD old Domino’s doesn’t seem to be paying attention to the news of shrinking portion sizes.

THERE are many great restaurants tucked away in the Buchan countryside.

AFTER a fairly unroman-tic Valentine’s card featuring a tiger and no gift, I had some ground to make up with the missus.

IT’S been years since I’ve “gone local” when it comes to ordering a takeaway pizza.

ANY new restaurant in Aberdeen is always welcome ... especially one where the chef has the confidence to slap their name on the sign outside.

A MEAL in a monkey house might not sound like your idea of good eating.

IN A futile bid to shift the post-Christmas pounds, I’ve taken on an eating regime that would make a rabbit feel sorry for me.

I HAVE always wanted to eat in a Nando’s for what is, possibly, the geekiest reason ever.

I WAS always told by Ma Groundwater to do what she told me to.

AH, WOK Wok – the takeaway that’s so good they named it twice.

THE first time we went to Fusion it had only been open for a couple of weeks and was still very much the new kid on the block.

YOU’VE got to keep your strength up during a hard-And what better way of doing that than with a hearty lunch – which is why I nipped out to The Cross Keys for some tasty grub.

AFTER a weekend of entertaining, the thought of adding more plates to the washing-up pile wasn’t appealing.

OF ALL the places to sit when you’re looking to shed some festive pounds, next to a conveyor belt of food is probably not the wisest.

IT CAN be hard to find a quiet pub for some grub on a Friday night.

ANY new eatery that opens in Stonehaven is immediately greeted with a buzz around the town of: “Have you tried it yet?”

WHY did I promise to go out for dinner on one of the worst nights of the year?

TUCKED off the hustle and bustle of Belmont Street is a haven of cool.

WITH the cold snap continuing longer than endless repeats of Friends on TV, we decided to spice things up with a curry from an old favourite.

I WOULD like to say I’ve trekked the world in pursuit of the perfect Chinese beef curry.

THERE was a gathering for my birthday at my place – so a meal from the Chinese was top of my wish-list.

WITH the festive season over, my friends and I were desperate for a break from stodge.

I’M PARAPHRASING, but an old Chinese proverb says: On the coldest night of the year, it’s probably best not to misread the address and end up trekking round Aberdeen looking for Mister Li’s.

CHRISTMAS is coming and the geese (much like myself) are getting fat.

AFTER grafting away all week the last thing I felt like doing was cooking a meal.

CHRISTMAS is coming, the goose is getting fat ... and the budget is getting tight.

THE last thing you would expect when you go out for a pub lunch on a Saturday is to encounter a magic carpet.

ANY takeaway that doesn’t do home delivery could be asking for trouble.

GOING out for a slap-up feast and a visit to the panto is guaranteed to make you feel young at heart.

I DON’T think a bowl of soup by a roaring fire has ever seemed so tempting.

WITH the kitchen cupboards bare, and my hunger rising, I needed food – fast.

THE Mains of Scotstown Inn is a place that holds many memories for me.

WITH a lot of gossip to catch up on my pal and I decided to head into town.

IS IT weird to emerge from a supermarket having spent a whack of cash on your weekly food shop, but with a burning desire for a takeout?

AFTER an unusually early foray into the hideous world of Christmas shopping, I was out on my feet.

SO, WHAT first attracted you to the two courses plus your pint for £9.99 deal, Mr Begbie?

AFTER realising I wasn’t actually going to cook and risk missing the Doctor Who special, my girlfriend allowed us a take-away.

THE start of my trip to The Creel Inn was not as relaxing as I had hoped.

AFTER a hard day, there was no better remedy than meeting up with friends for some wholesome food.

AFTER spending the majority of the afternoon being a good boyfriend and doing all of the ironing, I was deserving of a reward.

WHEN I order, say, a curry, I don’t really expect to see Peking duck on the menu.

WITH the rain dinging down outside and a distinct lack of edible food in the fridge, there was only one thing for it – let’s go to the pub.

I’D HEARD nothing but good things about Chef Jang. But the out of the way location and the early closing time of 5.30pm had always put me off.

OKAY I admit it ... I’m an unashamed food snob. I have always thought that people who order set menus in Chinese restaurants are lightweights.

THE one thing I love about taking a drive out in the country is when I find a wee gem of a pub serving good food.

THEY say starve a fever and feed a cold. Not being one to argue with medical advice, when I felt the sniffles coming on I reached for a box of tissues and our takeaway menus.

SOME of the oldest olive trees in the world have been growing on the same spot for more than 2,000 years.

DECISIONS, decisions. They are most definitely not my strong point.

AFTER a very late night on Friday, my first thought on Saturday was what to have for lunch.

SUNDAY afternoons – they were invented for relaxing.

NOTHING beats a luxury meal on a Sunday.

DUE to the late-night nature of my relationship with kebab shops, I rate them on quantity not quality.

ALWAYS enjoyable, occasionally brilliant and bright yellow.

AFTER spending the day moving house, cooking a meal was never going to be on the cards.

SATURDAY nights were made for this – The X Factor, a bottle of wine and, most importantly, a takeaway.

IT’S always good to escape to the country for a meal in the North-east – provided you can get to your favoured restaurant.

WITH its gothic looks dominating Belmont Street, Slains Castle has long been the eeriest place in town to get a bite to eat.

I USUALLY treat set menus with the same suspicion as I do pills to make me thinner, or creams for my bald spot.

I’VE got a confession to make – I’ve never even seen The Sopranos.

AFTER a long day at work cooking seemed like an awful strenuous task.

THE last time I got a takeaway from Cinnamon I had to pick it up from the Union Street restaurant.

YOU know you’re on to a winner when you have to queue to eat in a restaurant.

IT’S always a joy to find some new culinary delights and dinner haunts.

STUCK with a cold, people were constantly suggesting chilli to clear my head – and obviously I couldn’t disappoint.

TRUE confession time ... Derbar will always have a special place in my heart.

MY MISSUS loves France. Stick her in a beret, give her a glass of Sancerre and she’s sorted.

SOME nights nothing quite does the job like a chipper especially after a hard work out at the gym.

MUCHALLS is a lovely wee place, but I’ve never had too much call to go there – until now.

THE North-east is full of little nooks and crannies with great eateries to discover.

FOR a birthday treat my other half fancied his all-time favourite meal – pizza.

I’VE been going to the Mill of Mundurno for donkey’s years and over time it has changed in many ways.

PUBS contain three of my favourite things in life – food, beer and football on TV.

FOOD and films go hand-in-hand for me, be it popcorn at the cinema – or a takeaway and a DVD.

WHEN it comes to celebratory dinners, my friends are nothing if not consistent.

I’M ONE month into my healthy-eating kick and things are getting dire.

WITH tummies rumbling my boyfriend and I had been hankering after a Chinese take-away all day.

LIKE Brigadoon, it arose from the mist. The haar had blown in and swathed the Inn at Heath Hill in thick mist.

I LOVE visiting garden centres when I have a day off – especially ones with cafes.

THERE are times when you just can’t resist the urge to indulge in some fine Chinese fare.

FORTUNATELY my appreciation of French food is a lot better than my abilities with the French language.

STONEHAVEN harbour is the perfect setting for a sunny Sunday.

IN THESE times of financial hardship, we are all looking for a way to save a bit of cash yet still enjoy ourselves.

GOING green seems to be all the rage at the moment.

HIDDEN inside an unassum-ing stone building, The Bieldside is a bit of a surprise.

WHEN it has been one of those weeks at work and you just can’t be bothered cooking, a take away is the only option.

A COUPLE of yards from the busiest road in the North-east is perhaps not where you’d expect to find a quiet and quality place to eat.

ONE of my pre-night out rituals is to have a good meal before I paint the town red.

SATURDAY nights are, for me, all about indulgence and relaxation. So, after a week of chasing my tail, I decided it was take-out time.

A FUNNY thing happened on our way for a curry ... it turned into a pizza instead.

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

AS A lover of all things Japanese, I was delighted to find a new sushi joint had opened minutes from my flat.

LIKE Scotland and the Ashes, cooking and myself just do not go together.

THE glorious seafood smell hits you the second you step inside Bistro Verde.

WHEN it comes to curry, I know what I like – namely something to melt my face.

WELL, one thing you can say about the Filling Station is that it does exactly what it says on the sign – it fills you up.