TheKua Does Food

Jim found Manon Cafe when we were on a project in Clerkenwell and I have to admit it’s a great little store that sells an amazing brew of Illy branded coffee beans. Only open during the weekdays, their baristas are both friendly and efficient.

Most importantly, their coffee is well made, perfectly creamy espresso that never has that bitter edge of a badly burnt coffee made by a poorly trained barista. Their prices are reasonable (£1.90 for a small latte) and best of all, they offer a free chocolate sample with each coffee because they also happen to house a Leonadis chocolate store. It’s a great location if you happen to work in the area, and the only downside is that it’s not open on weekends to enjoy.

Name: Manon Cafe
Details: 110 Fleet Street
Website: http://www.manoncafe.com/

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Wes and Stacy had booked a night out at a nice little restaurant in Aberdeen called Cafe 52. Booking in advance was a great idea since we ended up with the private room to the left of the entrance that gave us plenty of privacy and made the evening all the more special. Complete with a sliding glass door to keep the drafts from the entrance away, the only downside is that the staff had some trouble remembering that we were in the room every so often. For some reason, we ended up with yet another Australian waiter for the evening, who was fairly friendly but wasn’t particularly attentive, forgetting a number of the simple things (like water!) that we had to ask for several times. On the other hand, the chef was extremely helpful coming out to explain which ingredients were in what dish since due to dietary requirements, not everyone could eat everything off the menu.

In terms of ambiance, they had a decent soundtrack playing that wasn’t so overwhelming that meant that we could still chat away without having to shout over each other, and enough ambient noise to ensure that it never fell silent. The food was an eclectic mix combining quality Scottish produce with some tradition and definitely not so traditional recipes. I started with the cullen skink (£4.90), a traditional smoked haddock soup that went down perfect considering the sub zero temperatures outside. It matched exactly what I thought it should be, thick, creamy and full of haddock chunks. For the main, I ordered the prawns and scallops cooked in a rich thai cream sauce (£17.90). I had hoped for something with a lot more kick, but my palette instead met with a more sublime sweet sauce, infused the familiar Thai coconut flavours covering about four prawns and three scallops. Their home made fries, perfectly crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside made the perfect compliment for soaking up the rest of the flavours just as well as a chunky loaf of bread would have been.

The dessert menu arrived and I couldn’t quite resist finishing the meal off with the coffee flavoured pannacotta though was fairly pricey at £7.90. It wasn’t the creamiest of panna cottas that I’ve had, instead lightly infused and a much lighter custard that went down almost a little bit too well with the slice of caramelised clementines. I would have preferred a much thicker coffee sauce as it almost felt like someone had spilled a little bit about coffee on the plate instead of someone making a proper sauce.

Cafe 52 offers a great experience if you can get the private booth, though I think that each dish was definitely overpriced for what you get. The dishes are definitely on the small side for the prices you pay though the ingredients seemed fresh enough.

Name: Cafe 52
Details: 52 The Green, Aberdeen, AB11 6PE
Contactable on: See http://www.cafe52.net/

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Famished after our long hike on my visit to Aberdeen, Wes and I stopped into The Potarch Hotel for dinner. We’d actually stopped at another town for dinner but since it around 5pm, and no one was opened we continued on our journey back to Aberdeen, stopping in to see if the restaurant at The Potarch was open. Although open at six, the combination of a roaring fire, and the bartender saying she’d take our order immediately left little to refuse.

Defrosting in front of the fire, the menu looked amazingly appetising and I couldn’t decide what sort of food to order. In the end, I ordered the Peat Smoked Haddock & Leek Fishcake (£6.25), and the Pink Peppercorn Crusted Loin of Pork (£11.95). I think Wes tried the Breast of Ballogie Pheasant (£11.95) but I can’t remember because they also had some sort of poultry special of the day that looked just as tempting. We had a beer in the meantime to drink as we started to feel some sensations return to our hands and it wasn’t too long before our food arrived.

All of the food came out piping hot, obviously freshly made and the fishcakes were definitely the best out of the two dishes. With three reasonably sized fishcakes, the smokiness of the fish added an amazing depth that resonated well with the flickering fire. Both crisp, light and filling, I would have been happy by the fishcakes alone. It’s such a shame they were so expensive though. I was much more disappointed by the pork that came out obviously overcooked. Definitely dry and overly tough, the thick loin definitely needed the red wine jus to be edible. I’ll admit the pink peppercorn crust added a different dimension of texture and flavour but really couldn’t quite redeem it.

The Potarch Hotel is a lovely spot, obviously popular with locals since all the other tables had been booked out for the evening. Its surprisingly bright tartan carpet seems to fit in with the rest of the decore – photos of people catching fish in the summer and other memorabilia from its past. Service wise, I have to thank our Australian waitress who came over to have a bit of chat with us although she also admittedly she quite liked keeping warm by the fire at the same time too.

I think Wes and I agreed that The Potarch Hotel has a lot of potential, but with many of the dishes overpriced by a couple of pounds, you really want to pick the dish to enjoy.

Name: The Potarch Hotel
Details: By Banchory, Royal Deeside, Scotland, AB31 4BD
Contactable on: See http://www.potarchhotel.co.uk/

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