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.

Too Good To Go: The 3 items I received from Olive Alexanders in Aberdeen – and what I thought of them

Too Good To Go.
Too Good To Go.

Olive Alexanders is a relatively new kid on the block in the city’s food and drink scene.

The 22-cover bistro and delicatessen, located in Aberdeen’s Golden Square, welcomed its first customers in July and has been given the seal of approval by many friends of mine since.

Salads, soups, and a variety of big buns and bagels are among the food offering, as well as bacon rolls, frittata and more.

There’s also a deli area inside where customers can purchase fresh local produce ranging from cured meats, chutneys and crackers to fresh vegetables and breads.

If that’s not enough to entice you, then I don’t know what is.

It was certainly enough to see me secure a mystery bag from the venue, which joined the Too Good To Go app fairly recently.

What I got my hands on…

As soon as I spied that easily recognisable Olive Alexanders branding, I was delighted.

Not only was I finally trying a product from the delicatessen, but I was saving some money, too.

I was so elated after reserving a bag that I arrived outside the venue far too soon. I stood outside and patiently waited for my time slot, then it was go time.

The hospitable member of staff that was making my bag up warned me that the bakes inside were extremely delicate, which only excited me more. Who doesn’t love a bake?

Sourdough by Bandit Bakery.

Olive Alexanders is located just a stone’s throw away from my flat, so it didn’t take long to start the unbagging process.

One product that was fairly obvious was the mammoth-sized loaf of bread I had received.

Upon further inspection, I found out it was a classic house blend sourdough from Bandit Bakery on Rose Street. Result.

There were two more products inside – the delicate bakes.

To date, I don’t know the exact names of the bakes, I am simply judging on taste and appearance.

The two bakes I found inside my mystery bag.

One was a dainty tart. A raspberry creme brulee tart, I believe.

The other appeared to be a cruffin – a hybrid of a croissant and a muffin.

Normally I share the goods with my family, but since I was spending the evening alone, I took a chunk from each one and left the rest for them the following day.

Let’s start with the bread.

The sourdough was a hefty weight and boasted an incredibly thick, well-coloured crust. I cut myself two slices to take a goof look at the dough inside and, of course, taste it.

The loaf had an open crumb and, in terms of flavour, there was a hint of tanginess on the tongue. I added a thin layer of margarine and it made for a match made in heaven.

The tart.

It was hands down one of the best sourdoughs I have had to date – no wonder Bandit Bakery is renowned for theirs.

Now, the Olive Alexanders bakes, which were also up there.

The round tart was a delight, comprising a flaky pastry crust filled with a sweet custard. A dollop of crushed raspberry was in amongst the mix, too, adding a faint sour taste.

The thin caramel topping meant there was a slight burnt sugar flavour and crunch.

As for the cruffin, this featured the same flavour combinations – sweet and tangy. There was a clear theme.

The cruffin.

It wasn’t as crunchy as the tart as the pastry was far more buttery. There was a lovely sprinkling of icing sugar on top, too.

Was it worth it?

Olive Alexanders, I am very impressed.

Some people may be disheartened after unpacking three items from a Too Good To Go bag – in comparison to some of my previous experiences which have seen me remove as many as 10 – but the quality of the products was fantastic.

All three bakes tasted incredibly fresh, and looked and tasted the part.

Conversation