Hello again!
Back at it with another food review! My last food review was on Gate 63 which is the North East Scotland College student restaurant. If you fancy checking it out just click here and it will open up a new web page!
Recently, I have made four trips to a new restaurant and hotel that hit Aberdeen in mid-August time and I am yet to have a bad experience!
The Sandman Hotel Group opened in Canada over 50 years ago and became incredibly popular with a great reputation. They eventually started to branch out and became international opening up their famous hotels and restaurants in Texas, London, Newcastle and now the deen!
There restaurant is split into two sections; the first being a super chilled yet classy bar area. The actual bar is situated in the centre and surrounded in a beautiful marble work top. Above the bar there are TV screens all around so no mater where you sit you can watch whatever delights are on at the time – usually some kind of sport. There is lots of seating around the bar itself and also 10+ tables/booths of different sizes which is great.
The second part of the restaurant is a lot more formal and has more than double the amount of seating as the bar area. It is a darker and quieter vibe than the bar area with its navy walls and gold accents. The music volume is generally lower in this area which is nice for if you want a more romantic evening or even just a catch up with friends.
Now for the most important part – FOOD!
As I mentioned previously, I have been to the restaurant four times now and have had something different every time. The menu has a wide variety of options and I’m confident that there is something for everyone. The pricing of the menu is also extremely fair especially for the quality.
When I visited the restaurant with Zoe we decided to get two starters and share them so we opted for the Double Cheese Nachos with guacamole – obviously! – (11.75) and the Calamari (6.95). I do feel that Nachos were on the pricier side and we had to pay £1.50 extra for the guacamole however they were absolutely LOADED with cheese and for me personally I think it was worth it. Calamari is a fave for both Zoe and myself and it did not disappoint!
For mains we had both had steak done medium and I truly have zero complaints about the dish. It was cooked perfectly and presented beautifully too. We also didn’t wait a long time to be served either which can sometimes be a problem when you order steaks.
To wash down our meal we decided to go for the House-made Hard Lemonade which was the special that day meaning they were £5 each. Basically you pay for the best double vodka lemonade ever. It was super refreshing and sharp tasting (definitely didn’t go with our steaks).
Literally the next day my mum and I decided to head down to Chop for lunch. We decided to share the Mini Mac Sliders (£8.25) and chips each and it was the perfect amount of food for lunch. The Mini Mac Sliders are three beef sliders with burger relish, american cheese, dill pickles & onions and they tasted amazing! I definitely think you could have these with chips as a main meal for one and be more than satisfied!
Along with lunch I had a Pomegranate Beet Soda which was super refreshing and was presented beautifully too! It was recommended to me by our waitress and it did not disappoint. After we had finished lunch we decided to have a quick coffee before heading back to work. I must say I think the restaurant would benefit from adding a wee it of shortbread or tablet when serving tea or coffee but that is just personal preference!
The one dish I don’t have a photo of was the Ginger Beef Rice Bowl which I think I have to say is my favourite dish to date. It was the right balance of sweet and spicy with crunchy veg through it too – amazing!
Overall, I am so impressed by this restaurant and I think it is a great addition to Aberdeen. My only note would be to try and visit them during the week rather than the weekend as I have heard that it can be incredibly busy on the weekends and a bit of a struggle to get your food in a decent amount of time. Each time I have visited it has been a weekday and I’ve never experienced any issues at all!
If you’re interested in finding out more about the hotel or booking a room click here or if you fancy indulging in Chop’s menu click here.
Bye for now,
2 Comments
Looks delicious!
It was indeed! x