Restaurant Review 7 - Ythanview Hotel, Methlick, Aberdeenshire.

Ythanview Hotel

Methlick

Aberdeenshire

01651 806235

www.ythanviewhotel.co.uk

This is our local.  We eat here fairly regularly.  Lovely village pub atmosphere, good pub food and child-friendly.

Yesterday we took the in-laws for tea.  

First up was Cullen Skink £3.75 - it was gorgeous - thinking about it makes me drool.  I love cullen skink and this was a fine example.

The kids had children's haddock, chips and beans - a big portion for £4 each.

I had a steak and ale pie - £8.50.  I got a huge pie with loads of steak in it.  I didn't manage to finish it but it tasted great.

Steve's Mum had a Caesar salad which looked really nice - £8.95.

Steve's Dad had breaded haddock and chips - £8.50.

Steve had Jay's curry with half rice and half chips - £8.50.  He always has this when he comes so it must be good!

The other good thing about this place is that they have a good selection of real ales.  Steve's Dad and I both had pints of Spitfire which went down very easily.

Our total bill for two starters, two kids' meals, four mains and drinks was £68.35.  I think it is good value for the hearty portions.  We really need to keep good, local places like this. 

Restaurant Review 6 - Crabshakk, Glasgow.

Crabshakk

1114 Argyle Street

Glasgow

0141 334 6127

 Link to Jay Rayner review - 2009

Was down in Glasgow for a couple of days and managed to meet up with my two sisters-in-law for a meal.

Lindsay chose Crabshakk and I'm really glad she did.  It was brilliant.

The place is tiny but we managed to get a big table to ourselves upstairs.  Really busy for a Wednesday night which is a good sign.

Lovely menu - excellent seafood done simply but perfectly.

We just ordered a selection of dishes from the starters, mains and accompaniment sections and shared them among us.

This is tempura squid £6.95.  Very tasty and the squid was surprisingly tender.

Small langoustines £9.95.

Seared scallops with anchovy butter £12.95.

Fat, juicy scallops and the salty anchovy butter is a wonderful combination.

3 crab cakes £6.95.

The desserts were overpriced for what they were and certainly don't match up to the beautiful seafood.

For the three of us to eat well, have a dessert each and share a bottle of Pinot Grigio cost £82.95.

I can't wait to come back.  I would probably do the same again and share a selection of dishes but maybe skip on dessert.

Restaurant Review 5 - Yatai, Skene Street, Aberdeen.

Yatai

Skene Street

Aberdeen

01224 635480

http://www.nosushi.co.uk/index.php

Steve and I managed to get to Yatai to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary.

As you may already know from a previous post, this is my favourite restaurant in Aberdeen.  We have been a few times - all when it has been in Skene Street.  We didn't manage to get to it when it had moved for a while to Langstane Place but it sounds as though that was for the best.

Quite astounded by some of the awful reviews on TripAdvisor.  I'm not sure if the quality really did go downhill when it was in Langstane Place or if some people just really can't get on with something a bit different.

Anyway, we loved our visit as usual.

Service is great - they will explain everything to you and really help you to understand the way it works here and give you more information about how the food is made, how they eat in Japan, what kind of sake to try, and so on.

The building is not great.  I have no idea how wheelchair users would get in.  The whole place seems a little run down.  However, the food is amazing!

Here is a photo (taken from Yatai's blog - link above) of a recent menu that is similar to the one we got to choose from last night.

Highlights for me were the selection of seasonal appetisers, duck breast in teriyaki sauce and the soft shelled crab.

In the selection of appetisers we got seared venison, a kind of pastry parcel filled with Shetland crab, raw pickles - radish and garlic, and cucumber with a miso paste.  All delicious.  The duck breast and belly pork skewers were both beautifully tender and tasty.  The soft shelled crab was delicious too and I can be a bit of a wimp about eating things that look too much like whole animals but I gave it a try and loved it.

We also had venison in a barley miso sauce which tasted fine but it was very reminiscent of any Scottish stew my Mum or Grandma would have made.  Nothing wrong with that but I come to Yatai for something a bit different so wouldn't choose that again (especially not as one of the most expensive dishes on the menu).

The waiter recommended about 6 dishes for the two of us.  We ended up having nine plus one dessert between us.  Steve also had sake.  The bill came to £72.  This is pricey for us but I am happy to pay it as you get a very different dining experience, everything is made fresh and from well-sourced good quality and, often, local produce and most of the dishes are incredibly moreish.

5 stars from me.  I think I'll have to go and do a Trip Advisor review to try to redress the balance a bit.

Restaurant Review 4 - Hoodles, Old Meldrum, Aberdeenshire.

Hoodles Playbarn and Coffee Shop

01651 873813

www.hoodles.co.uk

Okay not really a restaurant but a cafe in a playbarn.  First let me warn you - you do not want to come here if you don't have kids.  It is FULL of children running around, screaming, etc..  Great for those of us who have kids as it means we don't need to worry if ours aren't perfectly behaved as no one will notice but I certainly wouldn't come here if I wanted a peaceful lunch or coffee.  The soft play area for the kids is great.  It is £4.75 per child at peak times ie weekends so it is expensive.  A good treat once in a while if it is raining and miserable outside and you need to let them burn off energy but at that price it really has to be a rare treat.

The cafe is excellent.  Lots of lovely paninis, soups, and home-baking!  Yum.  They have buckets that you can fill with 5 items for the kids for £3.50.  The thing I like about their buckets is that you can fill them with ANY 5 items you like.  There are no constraints.  You know how some places say you can have a sandwich, a drink, a yoghurt OR fruit, and sweeties Or crisps. I find that quite annoying whereas here I can actually choose what I know the kids will eat and can have a yoghurt AND fruit if I so decide.  When we were there on Saturday we got two buckets for the two kids but if I am skint I can actually get one bucket - I'll get two juices, one sandwich, one box of raisins and one crispy cake and split it all in two.  Anyway, I appreciate the fact they are flexible about what you put in the bucket.  Items come out at  70p per item which is not too bad.  They have sandwiches, crisps, fruit, cheese, yoghurts, crackers, milk, fruit juices, chocolate covered marshmallows, crispy cakes, boxes of raisins.  Good choice.  And they always have a great selection of cakes and traybakes for the Mummies and Daddies.  I also always have a brie and redcurrant jelly panini - yum.  So for lunch for the four of us we were about £15 but it was quite an extravagant lunch with lots of cakes.

We do love it here for a wee treat. 

Restaurant Review 3 - Yo Sushi, Union Square, Aberdeen.

http://www.yosushi.com/

I love Yo Sushi just for the novelty.  I know the food is only average.  If you want great Japanese food in Aberdeen you have to go to Yatai, Skene Street, 01224 635480 (http://www.nosushi.co.uk) but we tend to keep Yatai for special occasions.

Yo Sushi is good fun, though.  We have been a few times and really enjoy it.  We took the kids for the first time two nights ago.  Adam's face just lit up when he saw the conveyor belt and he was fascinated!  He immediately got into it, shelling edamame beans like a demon and trying to master the chopsticks.  Isn't it wonderful how kids just throw themselves into things?  I am rubbish with chopsticks but I think that is because I don't practice - I'm too worried about making a big mess and showing myself up.  I need to be more like my kids and just have fun trying.

Rufie was feeling a little under the weather, I think, so he didn't enjoy it so much but he did have a bash with the chopsticks and ate a few edamame beans.  Poor soul had a fever later that night so that explains why he wasn't so into the sushi experience.

So, you order drinks, miso soup and hot dishes from the waiting staff.  You attract their attention whenever you like by pressing a button on your table.  And you help yourself to the cold stuff and occasional hot dishes that go by on the conveyor belt.  The price of the dish is denoted by the colour of plate it is on.  At the end of the meal the waiter counts up the number of each colour of plate you have used and presents you with your bill.  Easy, relaxed, informal, fun.

Our bill came to £57.50 which is quite expensive for a quick weekday evening meal when the two kids ate very little.  I take the blame for that, though, as I insist on choosing the most expensive plates - I love the sashimi!  And we always stuff ourselves.  You could eat a much more sensible meal for much less here but only if you have better willpower than me.

Restaurant Review 2 - The Poacher's Rest, Auchmacoy, Aberdeenshire.

Tel - 013587 22114

Steve and I have never been to The Poacher's Rest despite living fairly close to it so we finally decided to give it a go.  Started off well as we arrived in the cute village with the sun low in the sky giving the golden barley fields a warm glow.  Inside, it is just what you expect of a little old-fashioned village pub.  Unfortunately there only seemed to be us and one other table there the whole evening which doesn't bode well for business.

Our waitress was lovely - friendly and efficient - and the pace of the meal was perfect.

Steve started with Garlic creamed assorted mushrooms served on toasted ciabatta (£4.25) and these were yummy!  I had Chef's own chicken liver and pork pate with cumberland sauce and oatcakes (£4.95).  I got a generous lump of pate although I could have done with a little more of the delicious sauce.  The food was served in a fairly dated style with a limp, boring side salad.

Next, I had the Grilled haddock with banana and chutney (£8.25).  This was a great idea - combination went very well together but the fish was a little tired - probably a day or two old.  Plenty of veg and potatoes came alongside.  Steve had Sauteed chicken breast stuffed with stilton, served in a port cream sauce (£9.95).  He enjoyed it but as you would expect with that combination, it was fairly rich and he felt very full afterwards.

Still, I convinced him to help me with a pudding.  It was a chocolate brownie ice cream thing.  We argued over whether it was home-made or Brake Brothers but I'm pretty sure I'm right and it was commercially bought!

The whole bill came to £38.45 for two starters, two mains, one pudding, one soft drink, one beer and a couple of coffees.  That is pretty cheap!  Okay, the food didn't blow me away but it's quaint, local and cheap! And the service was excellent. 

Restaurant Review 1 - Fennel, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

While the kids were at their grandparents on Thursday night, we decided to try Fennel in Inverurie.

www.fennelrestaurant.co.uk

Nice looking place and a lot bigger on the inside than I had imagined whenever I'd driven past. 

The waiting staff were friendly, and welcoming although service was a little slow at times.  The main courses took the best part of an hour to come but the waitress let us know about this in advance saying that it was because a lot of orders had gone in at the same time.  We got water at our table with no charge (as it should be) and a couple of warm olive rolls which were good but not home-made I don't think.

Menu was interesting and varied.  Mainly normal bar meal fare such as burgers, steaks, chicken breast, battered haddock and a few more interesting sounding dishes.  A good selection for vegetarians too, for example, "Baked ricotta, parmesan and basil cake with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, served with a cardamom honey dressing" (£9.95).

I started with "Aultbea black pudding fritters with a spiced apple chutney" (£4.95).  These were lovely - the perfect sized portion and enough chutney for the fritters.  I would probably have preferred a little salad with it, though.  Steve had the "Cullen Skink" (£5.25).  It was okay but a little thick and salty and you can certainly get much finer in the area.  I would expect a better Cullen Skink somewhere as local to Cullen!

My main was "Slow roasted belly of pork with mustard crust, bubble and squeak and cider and onion gravy" (£12.50).  This was disappointing.  The mustard crust was very gritty and overpowering.  I also felt there was a lack of vegetables - there was a little cabbage in the bubble and squeak but not much.  I love slow-cooked pork belly which is usually very flavoursome but this was quite dry and a bit boring.  

Steve had "Rib-eye steak with home-made onion rings, hand cut chips, roasted tomatoes and vegetables and blue-cheese and port sauce" (£17.50).  He could have had a Diane or pepper sauce instead.  As it was, his steak was cooked beautifully - rare as he asked for - and the sauce was lovely.  I was also quite jealous of his array of vegetables after having hardly any at all in my whole meal.

There was a nice selection of puddings but neither of us could manage any more.  Had I had room, I would probably have chosen the "Chocolate and hazlenut creme brulee with Langues de Chat biscuits" (£5.25).  Instead I had a hot chocolate and Steve had an expresso. It was half past nine by the time we got out which was fine with us as we wanted a relaxed meal but I might not risk coming here if I had limited time.

So, the bill for the two of us with two courses each, one soft drink, a hot choc and a coffee came to £45.15.  I would certainly come back again - for a reasonably priced, local place it's definitely worth a second visit.  I hope it keeps busy as it's lovely to have nice places to eat without having to go into the city.