aberdeen reviews

[Sillyness]

So...when i try to find reviews on places in Aberdeen, I never get very far and thought i might be nice to have the low down from people in the know.

About places big and small! The more, the merrier!!

I'll start...

Last weekend, DH and I went to Queens Links for breakfast before a beach walk and cinema.
Had food in Inversnecky cafe, then went next door to Washington Cafe for hot chocolates.

Looking at their menus, Inversnecky was WAY more expensive AND their service was poor in comparison. Yes, they were busy, but waitresses would walk past seeing our empty plates and not clear them.
DH had a cheesburger and chips which was nearly £7 and had a crappy pattie done from frozen. Considering you can get a better burger from the burger vans around (check out the 'brewster burger' at Kittybrewster retail park.)
Also, my baked potato was small despite being nearly £6 and came cmplete with dark thick hair!

In short...don't go there!

Tyrebagger forest also has a number of different walks, and the easiest takes you through the sculpture park. It's about 5 miles outside Aberdeen on the A96. Also great Christmas tree sale there in the right season.

Really glad you enjoyed it waswondering. It is my favourite place to walk with the dcs.

Great thread! We go to Aberdeen several times a year to visit family and friends, and there are lots of places on this thread I'd like to try out. We used to live in Aberdeen, but that was before we had children so don't really know all the good places to go with them. We do however ADORE Hazelhaead Park - i think it's the best in the world - fabby playpark, great paths for scooters and bikes, flowers, animals AND a cafe. I also love going to Stonehaven for the afternoon - great shops to potter around, lovely walk along the beach and a a gorgeous cafe right on the edge of the water - called The boathouse. Well worth a visit. xx

Ooh, good thread. I love St Cyrus beach, although it's a bit of a trek. Doesn't take too long to drive there though. It's also home to the weirdest place I've ever been to - Steptoe's Yard. It's like an almighty junk yard.

A bit nearer is Crawton. There's some lovely rocky beaches there and an amazing nature reserve. Every time I've been there it's empty and you have the whole place to yourself.

I love the Falls of Feugh too. It's amazing watching the salmon jumping about. The tea shop is pretty good, nice afternoon tea

Down at Aberdeen beach I love the Motown cafe in the arcade. It does the best bacon sarnies, and lovely soup and paninis - cheap too. Plus, it's never as busy as the other beach cafes. As the name suggests, they play motown and soul music, which I love. Also, lovely comfy leather sofas and a fab view of the sea.

Thanks Sapphire, i wondered about that place and WAS actually hoping for a place with big sofas (plus i love that music too!) so will def try it!

(Perhaps we could have our next meet up there!)

Would be a good place to take the fellas! Is only open at the weekends so prob no good for our meetups

Great thread.

DH treated us to lunch at Rustico's a couple of weeks ago and they could not have made a bigger fuss of DC who is 13 months. Service and food great.
Can't wait for slightly warmer weather to take kids along beach at Stonehaven - Molly's Cafe/Restaurant is amazing (though no prams as small inside).

Brilliant ice creams at Aunty Bessie's - DH fav is tablet flavour!

On the negative was v disappointed at lack of baby facilities in Abdn. In the big centre - one with John Lewis, saw baby changing sign and thought I'd give her a top up of milk. Realised it was just the toilets beside the food area and the baby facility was a bit to lie them on to change nappy - plus the toilets stank. Fed her back in the car instead.

BTW the burger van at B&Q at Bridge of Dee is good. Been there every Saturday for last 4 weeks - yes house is getting a make over. No wonder I'm not losing weight!

Have just been to the car boot sale at Thainstone....man i love that place. however i usually go in august, so it was a lot quieter today!

can't wait to check out stonehaven - thanks folks!

(will get to rusticos too at some point!)

Sapphire - btw, was at the beach yesterday with dh and went to check out motown cafe...got lost and thought you must have meant nobles bar (and wondered how the hell you got upstairs with the pram!)
now i see it's inside the arcade. WILL find it!

Yeah, it's upstairs in the arcade. There is no lift, DH and I carry the pram up the stairs - bit awkward but do-able.

John Lewis used to have a room on the top floor, in amongst the furniture, with a very clean baby change for 2 babies and a couple of seats for breast feeding, one with a curtain round it. I haven't breast fed for 5 years though but I can't imagine why they would have removed it.
Boots had one too, through a corridor in the middle of the perfume wall in the Bon Accord (on the ground floor) which had private breast feeding and more open baby change. They even used to have spare nappies if you needed them.
M&S had one on the top floor in a room in the same little corridor as the toilets but not in the toilets iyswim.
Debenhams in the Trinity Centre had one too - again on the top floor.
I assume all these places are still there.

The John Lewis one is still there. I do find it clean, but the nappy bins do stink. Didn't know there was one in Boots, will check it out. Union Square has decent family rooms, very handy if you need the loo when you have a pram with you. I tend to feed LO in one of the coffee shops though.

I think feeding in public has come a long way in the last few years so maybe the need for them is reducing, which in that respect would be a good thing.
As I say, I don't know if the boots one is still there - my babies are getting bigger!

Anyone been to Ferryhill House Hotel? Google it, it looks nice!

Yep silly, it is nice. In fact DH, DD and I went there for an alfresco drink in the sunshine the other day. There's quite a few benches outside, gets really busy on a weekend though. I haven't eaten there but the food looks nice too...

I'm not being funny, but seriously... Washington Cafe by the beach is the business!

We went there the other morning for breakfast which:
-was well priced.
-coffee wasnt too milky as usually is in cafes.
-toast was HOT
-toast was not buttered, but had butter (and jams) on the side.
-'fry-up' was NOT at all greasy!

LOVE IT!!!!

i am feeling a little poorly today, lived in aberdeen 7 years ago and i'm feeling nostalgic for my student days
i used to love cafe 52, the Nargile (the one just off the top of union street), the foyer and yantze river (does it still have the 80's decor)
i have memories of the tastie tattie for fueling a saturday night, monday nights at the mud club and trailing down to a random kebab shop on ?market street for the greatest chilli pickles.
now we live in the midlands and the young things who parade around on a saturday night with no clothes on think they are so hard, they have no idea- strutting around outside amadeus in a teeny leather skirt and a vest top with the haar enveloping you, that defined an aberdeen night out.