Silver Darling Restaurant, Aberdeen, Scotland

During our last trip to Scotland, we visited Silver Darling Restaurant to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. Silver Darling is one of the top restaurants in Aberdeen, specialising in seafood. We attempted to book here twice, before we finally got a table for lunch (yes they're very busy and popular!) and I'm very glad that we got to eat here as the food was exquisite. Definitely the best meal of our trip. :)

The dining room is a large raised conservatory on the flat roof of an old granite custom house providing a spectacular and panoramic view over Aberdeen Harbour and bay. 

The Silver Darling, named after the Scottish nickname for herring fish, is owned and run by Frenchman Didier Dejean. Opened in June 1986, the Silver Darling is one of the few restaurants to have been recommended in the Good Food Guide for more than 28 years. It has also been recommended in the Michelin Guide and in the Egon Ronay and in 2008, The Sunday Times ranked the Silver Darling in the top 10 seafood restaurants in UK.

The lunch menu in my opinion is really fantastic value for money. You can get 2-courses for £19.50, or 3-courses for £24.50. It changes on a regular basis, with one special item changing on a daily basis depending on the fresh produce they receive. The menu consists mainly of local fish with a French twist as well as Mediterranean and occasional Far East flourishes.

For starters, both Hubby and I went for the starter of the day - we immediately ordered it when we heard the word "scallops" mentioned. Three beautiful, plump scallops sit atop a bed of leeks and crisp filo pastry and a crayfish bisque reduction. Perfect start to our meal :)

Since this is a seafood restaurant, we made sure we ordered fish for our mains. Hubby once again went for the catch of the day which I believe was monkfish. My MIL went for the pan fried sea bass with asparagus & celeriac remoulade, green tapenade, with a tomatoes and herb dressing - she certainly was impressed with it - beautifully crisp skin and moist flesh.

I went for the rock turbot, which was poached in a seafood broth and then served with mussels, octopus and cockles atop a bed of saffron potatoes and aioli sauce. Oh and topped with julienned vegetables and samphire. Love this heart-warming, tummy-pleasing fish dish, not to mention so pleasing to the eyes too.

As for desserts, Hubby went for the cheese platter which was served with homemade fruit jellies, MIL went for the sweet custard tart with preserved raspberries and raspberry coulis (which Baby C loved, so she was standing next to granny to steal bites) and I had the vanilla pod panna cotta with grenadine rhubarb, sesame tuile  and rhubarb jus (which Baby D loved so you know where he was during dessert time).

Overall, an enjoyable meal at Silver Darling. Food was fantastic, and service was excellent throughout too. 

Verdict: Good value for money lunch, considering the high quality ingredients used. Food is excellently prepared and visually pleasing. Great place for special occasions too.


Opening times: Mon-Fri 12.00pm-1.45pm, Mon-Sat 6.30pm - 9.30pm.

Service: Excellent.

Price: Total bill £81.00 for 3 adults, including wine.

Location: Silver Darling Restaurant, Pocra Quay North Pier, AB11 5DQ, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

Tel: +44 1224 576229

Website: http://thesilverdarling.co.uk/

GPS Coordinates:  57.142369, -2.069631


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Indian Food @ Nazma Tandoori, Aberdeen, Scotland

Nazma Tandoori is one of the Indian restaurants in Aberdeen that we used to frequent while we were still dating. During our last vacation in Scotland, we took the kids here for a family meal and to satisfy our craving for British-Indian curries. 

Having won the British Curry Awards for four consecutive years, it is often touted as the best curry house in Aberdeen.  In their menu, you can see testimonials from many famous people who have dined here.

They have a pretty extensive menu here, ranging from mild to spicy curries, various types of naans, rice, and side dishes. To start, we always have the crispy pappadoms with comes with 4 different condiments (raw onions, tomatoes, mango chutney, yogurt)... kids liked it too.

Modern interior

We decided to go for the milder curries - we ordered the lamb rogan josh (our fav!) as well as the murgh tikka makhani (butter chicken) as well as a peshwari naan and paratha. Since British Indian curries are quite rich, these were more than enough to feed our family of 4.

The lamb rogan josh, a Nazma classic was rich and creamy with lots of tomatoes. Love the curry sauce which we mopped up with the naan. (If you would like to try making it at home, here's a recipe for it)

Lamb rogan josh

State as one of the chef's special, the murgh tikka makhani was rich and creamy but the sauce was a tad too sweet for me - the chicken is lightly marinated and roasted in a tandoor and then served with a spiced, buttery sauce. I would like to recreate a butter chicken dish at home, do leave me a comment below with a good recipe if you know of any. Thanks :)

Naan and paratha

We also ordered a side of aloo gobi aka cauliflower and potatoes. This was nicely spiced, definitely enjoyed eating this.

After our Indian meal, we dropped by Duthie Park again with the kids :)

One of the Wild Dolphins that we found during our stay - Yellow Dolphmarine. Dusk by the River Dee 

Verdict: Certainly one of the best places for Indian curries in Aberdeen. A bit pricey but nice ambiance and good service.

Price: Total bill £51.30, including 4 drinks.

Location: Nazma Tandoori, 62 Bridge St, Aberdeen, AB11 6JN, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Tel: +44 1224 211296

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Aunty Betty's + Stonehaven Beach, Scotland

One of our favorite places to visit outside Aberdeen is Stonehaven. Such a quaint little town with a picturesque beach and harbour, the beautiful Dunnottar Castle, and also some great restaurants for dining.

Love coming down to Stonehaven beach

One of our friends told us to visit Aunty Betty's if we're going down to Stonehaven Beach. She even went as far as saying that it is the best ice cream she's ever had. We were told that on weekends, there are long queues at the shop.

Aunt Betty's sells sweets, candies, chocolates, cupcakes, bread, cookies as well as ice cream (that they're famous for). Their ice cream is supplied by Simpsons of Buckie. They have around 18-20 flavours available here. The base ice cream is made with all dairy products and no hydrogenated fats or other oils, hence the ice cream has a real old fashioned creamy taste and a great mouth feel.

Inside the shop..... candyland

We went for the salted caramel, mint chocolate crisp as well as Buckie bounty (coconut) flavour. We really really really loved the first two flavours - so yums! Creamy and delicious! (£3.50 for 2 scoops)

After ice cream, we went back down to the beach for a bit of fun x

Kids having fun at Stonehaven Beach

Opening times: 10am to 10pm.

Price: £3.50 for 2 scoops.

Location: Aunt Betty's The Promenade, AB39 2RD, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland (by Stonehaven Beach).

Tel: +44 1569 763656

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aunty-Bettys/161290873933285?sk=timeline

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The Carron Fish Bar + Stonehaven Harbour, Scotland

We were in Stonehaven for the day, and come lunchtime, we decided to get takeout from The Carron Fish Bar in town. Since it was a relatively nice day, we decided to have it by Stonehaven Harbour - certainly a wonderful view to eat our lunch to.

Stonehaven Harbour

We ordered a fish supper (ie haddock and chips £6.10) and a king rib (deep fried patty of minced pork £2.50) to share. The smell of the sea, the sight of the boats and delicious food certainly made it a unique dining experience for the kids.

The haddock was coated in a lovely, crispy batter and the fish was fresh and flaky. And the chips were really good as well. It was our first time trying a king rib too, and it was juicy and moist - not good for the waistline and heart but definitely delicious!

Fish supper

King rib

The Carron, formerly known as The Haven is well-known as the birthplace of the world famous deep fried Mars bar. We were leaving space for ice cream so decided to skip that.

Seagull, hoping for leftovers

After lunch, kids put on their Wellie boots and went down to the Harbour to watch the ducks. So picturesque! (Hard to believe that it was raining on/off all morning). Hope you enjoy the photos!

One of the homes near the harbour with a beautiful flower display/garden

Location: The Carron Fish Bar, 1 Allardice Street, Stonehaven, AB39 2BN, Scotland.

Tel: +44 (0)1569 765377


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