Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Restaurant review: Mi Amore in Aberdeen is forever a firm Italian favourite

Mi Amore is the perfect venue for an authentic Italian meal.
Mi Amore is the perfect venue for an authentic Italian meal.

If I could only eat one cuisine for the rest of my life, it would be Italian.

The mindboggling variety of dishes is one thing, but even better is how simple most of them are.

By focusing on fewer ingredients and making sure they are the best quality available, Italian food always tastes fresh and flavourful without trying too hard.

But enough of my love letter to the Italian food gods, it was time to eat and where better than at Mi Amore, which literally translates to “my love.”


The venue

Located on Huntly Street, the restaurant has been around long enough to develop a bit of a cult following.

Any time I mentioned to someone I was visiting Amore (officially it’s called Amore though everyone I spoke to called it Mi Amore), they would rave about how excellent the food was or tell me about how they are dying to visit after hearing great reviews.

Mi Amore has a legion of fans, and with good reason.

My mum happens to be one of these cult followers but hadn’t visited since the restaurant changed hands a couple of years back.

I’d never been before so decided to take her, my dad and my boyfriend out for tea to see if it lived up to expectations.


The food

We arrived on a Thursday evening to find nearly every table taken.

I took this as a good omen and enjoyed seeing the hustle and bustle of a busy independent restaurant as we were shown to a table upstairs on the mezzanine.

The menu is extensive and filled with all kinds of Italian classics as well as some “Mi Amore favourites”, as my mum put it.

The restaurant offers classics alongside more unusual dishes.

Cautious of filling up too much before our mains, we picked bruschetta pomodoro and calamari to share for starters, though we were also tempted by a classic caprese salad and an antipasto platter.

The bruschetta was excellent, with olive oil drizzled fresh bread and a mound of garlicky juicy tomatoes topped with fragrant fresh basil.

The calamari disappeared quickly.

It disappeared quickly, as did the portion of calamari which was golden and crisp.

Our server was friendly and very efficient, and soon was plonking down huge cerulean blue bowls of pasta in front of us.

Cannelloni stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach then oven-baked in a creamy tomato sauce arrived in front of me and I was in cheesy heaven.

It’s not what I usually go for but was rich and hearty (and possibly my new favourite).

The seafood linguine went down a treat.

My dad was already making headway with a large plate of seafood linguine which was loaded up with monkfish, mussels, squid and king prawns.

At the other side of the table, my mum had been delighted to find that her old Amore favourite was still on the menu – penne picante – and was as good as it had always been.

It is made up of al dente penne pasta smothered in a rich tomato sauce and topped with mushrooms and spicy slices of pepperoni.

Lobster ravioli in a white wine sauce was my boyfriend’s pick and was a generous portion which he described as very flavourful, though possibly a touch salty.

Feeling just about ready to burst, I found myself staring at the dessert menu.

Do I dare try to fit in that classic dessert of all desserts, the holy tiramisu?

It was a risk, but she who dares wins, and win I did with a beautifully light and fluffy coffee-soaked sponge.


The verdict

Amore was the perfect pick for a dinner with my folks.

Not only was the food first class, but the atmosphere and service were also excellent (even when I tipped over a glass of montepulciano and soaked the table – oops).

The restaurant had a mixture of big groups and small tables of two, many of whom seemed to be regulars.

I feel a bit like I’ve been let in on a secret, a hidden gem in Aberdeen where you go to find unfussy, unpretentious but damn tasty Italian food.

The limonchello digestif (on the house) only sweetened the deal.


The bill

For two starters, four mains, one dessert, a couple of beers and a bottle of wine, the bill came to £104.58.