Adelphi Kitchen
3 March 2014
When I heard that La Stella was closing down I was somewhat disappointed. I thought it was a real shame that Aberdeen was losing a city centre based Michelin Guide restaurant. However, what I hadn’t anticipated was what the Adelphi Kitchen would bring to the table.
I started following the new restaurant on Facebook and Twitter and watched it go through its transformation and was definitely keen to get along to try it out. My boyfriend (Alistair) and I had friends (Jen and Willie) visiting us in Aberdeen for the weekend and he had suggested that we book a table at the Adelphi Kitchen. As it was going to be the first night it was opening to the public I had said there was no way we would get a table. It was by complete chance I later saw a post on Facebook saying that they had a table for 4 available on the Saturday night. We were straight on the case and snapped up the last table.
As soon as we walked in we were greeted with a warm smile and promptly seated at our table, with our coats taken to the cloak room. Alistair was particularly happy when he noticed the Innes & Gunn beer on the menu and Willie was also impressed with the beers on offer where he ordered one of Aberdeen’s own, a BrewDog craft beer, 5AM Saint. I settled with a white wine spritzer and pregnant Jen stuck with water. Choosing our food was proving to be more of a tough choice though, everything sounded delicious! One thing was for sure though – we all wanted A Stack of Onion Rings and some Triple Cooked Chips!
Alistair ordered the Peterhead Crab Claws to start and I had the BBQ’d Fritters. I thoroughly enjoyed mine as did Alistair, even though there was crab flying all over the shiny new restaurant! Because our Jen is pregnant, she wasn’t feeling too hungry so she ordered the Hog Mac ‘n’ Cheese starter for her main course and added a side of Smoked Butter & Hard Herb Mashed Potatoes. It ended up being delivered along with our starters but the waitress realised it was meant to come with the main. It was no problem to take it away and she said she would make sure a fresh one came out along with the mains. Willie went with the 40+ Day Dry Aged Ribeye of Beef, with Triple Cooked Chips as well as some green slaw. We hardly got a peep out of Willie throughout this course. His contribution to conversation was nodding with big cheesy smiles – he was thoroughly enjoying his dinner! I had the starter portion of West Coast King Scallops and I couldn’t resist the Triple Cooked Chips. I’m not an avid cook myself, but as a big fan of scallops I always order them in restaurants when they’re on the menu. And I have to say, these really did not disappoint. I had them with black pudding but the garnish changes. This leaves me with Alistair. After a lot of deliberation, he decided to go with the Beef Short Ribs and you guessed it, some Triple Cooked Chips. As tasty as they were Alistair had some bother eating them daintily (the photo tells you all you need to know)! This didn’t stop the bones practically being licked clean though! We also ordered A Stack of Onion rings. We were disappointed that they didn’t come on the pole that we had seen in the photos on Facebook and Twitter but they tasted goooood!
It transpired that Willie didn’t order a starter because he was saving himself for the Tiramisu Knickerbocker Glory. You can imagine the disappointment on his face when he was brought the PB&J (the Adelphi Kitchen’s version of peanut butter and jelly). The waitress had apologised for bringing him the wrong dessert but Willie didn’t seem too bothered – half of the dessert was gone already! I was feeling quite satisfied so decided not to go with a dessert but had a cup of tea which came in a really cute tea set.
The customer service throughout the evening was excellent and the staff were very attentive. And at £30 per head, we were delighted with the price too. Even though there were a couple of very minor errors, we had a fantastic evening and were more than happy to put the mistakes down to first night glitches. Willie even vowed to return for his Tiramisu Knickerbocker Glory. The new décor is very rustic-chic and helps play a part in the relaxed atmosphere that the restaurant has. Oh and the toilets are very cool indeed! I’m already looking forward to my next visit ….. I just need to get in the queue with the rest of Aberdeen’s foodies.
All information is correct at the time of publishing, we recommend that you check opening times and information for individual places before visiting.