FOOD REVIEW | GATE 63

Hello and welcome back!

I don’t normally do food or restaurant reviews however this year I really want to branch out my blog and review anything and everything. So here is my first ever food review!

First, I think we need to start with a little bit of background story – Gate 63 is training restaurant located in North East Scotland College. All of the food is cooked and then served by students of different years. My best friend Jack is in his final year at the college and until now I had never visited the restaurant nor tasted anything he has cooked. As part of his final year he had to partner up with another student and create a three course menu that would be served to diners. Since it was actually a menu that Jack had created I felt like I definitely had to go and see what he could do! When we arrived at the college we were greeted by a host who then showed us to our table. The table was set beautifully with nothing even slightly out of place. The decor was very modern, crisp and clean! I had never actually seen the restaurant before so I had no idea what to expect but I honestly think it looks better and generally more professional than a bunch of other restaurants about Aberdeen! However, my absolute favourite part of the decor is the massive screen that shows a live stream of the chefs in the kitchen! You can see everything that the chefs get up to while they are setting up and cooking and also how spotless the kitchen is.

The theme of Jack’s menu was “A Taste of Italy”

For starters we had Porcini Arancini, this translated means ‘little oranges’. On a basic level it is fried risotto patties but I truly have never tasted anything quite like it! It was packed full of mushrooms which compliments the risotto so well. My boyfriend really hates mushrooms but he completely demolished his plate which shows they managed to balance the flavours well. It came with a Pecorino Crisp in between the two patties which made it look so expensive and tasted amazing.

For mains we had Loin of Rabbit. I absolutely cannot fault the presentation of this dish, it was simply stunning. The mash was creamy and piped perfectly on the plate and ragu that came with it was a dream. In all honesty, the meat was cooked better than some high end restaurants that I have visited which really goes to show you that 1. these students are being trained to a very high standard and 2. high quality food does not have to break the bank!

Finally dessert! The course I was most intrigued about, Deep Fried Sweet Pasta. You must be as intrigued and excited about this one as I was!? There was three shells filled with a soft nut filling and were covered in sugar and cinnamon. My mouth was actually watering just from the smell! On the side there chocolate sauce, poached pear and coffee gelato. As a big coffee fan the gelato went down an absolute treat. It tasted like you were eating a straight up shot of espresso – it is definitely not for anyone who even has a slight dislike for the taste of coffee.

To wash it all down we ordered Mocktails that I believe were made with pomegranite juice and lemon juice? This could be completely wrong but they tasted amazing! They create a new mocktail for every service which I think is a fantastic idea to keep things fresh.

“How much was all of this?” I hear you ask. This is the part you absolutely won’t believe… It was… £10 for three courses! £10!! Soft drinks are £1 and mocktails are £1.25. They also had a range of tea and coffees.

Overall, I would 100000% book back into the restaurant. It was highly professional with fantastic quality food and I’m super excited to see what kind of menu they will promote next!

Head over to their facebook page to check out their menus and also to book your table! – Gate 63 Facebook Page

Bye for now,

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