If the food and drink team at the Press & Journal had our way, there would only be one new year’s resolution – to eat in as many restaurants as possible!
We try, but every year, that resolve is tested by a whole bunch of new places opening. Too many to get round.
Last year, despite the cost-of-living crisis and a heap of other obstacles, dozens of cafes, coffee shops and restaurants opened their doors. And even though those challenges persist, this year will be no different.
So, we have put together a list of potential new openings that have caught our eye. We say potential, because if there was one lesson from last year, it was never to count your restaurants until they have opened.
Numerous times in 2022, owners were forced to push back openings because of problems with contractors or delays in paperwork.
Let’s hope that 2023 will be kinder on the people who work incredibly hard to make the north-east food scene such an incredible place.
And though the year looks set to be a tough one, make sure you treat yourself on occasion by booking a seat at one or more of the below.
Chateau-X steak restaurant, Aberdeen
Six by Nico was a welcome addition to Aberdeen’s Union Street last year. With its themed menus and seemingly endless courses, it brought a sense of theatre to the dining experience.
Well, the people behind all that look set to open a branch of their Chateau-X steak house on the corner of Belmont Street.
Only one other Chateau-X currently exists – in Glasgow – so we are unsure exactly what the new restaurant will look like. But we can’t wait to find out.
Cocktail Bar on Windmill Brae – Aberdeen
Last year saw the very first Aberdeen Cocktail Week.
This year’s edition could well have one more venue in place, if a new Windmill Brae spot opens.
Local entrepreneurs Gilan and Hollie Kelly – who started up the Breakout Games escape rooms in Aberdeen – are investing £400,000 is the as-yet-unnamed cocktail bar on the site of the old Steinhaus bar, beneath the former Garage nightclub.
Look out for some Heston Blumenthal-style ‘molecular cocktails’ when the bar eventually launches.
Holburn Street pizza restaurant – Aberdeen
Aberdeen looks set to get another pizza restaurant, this time on the city centre’s Holburn Street.
Plans were submitted last year for the new venue, which will also have a kebab grille.
The site is the former Cacolat dessert parlour at 33 Holburn Street, next to the Glen Tanar bar.
Tim Hortons – Aberdeen
Aberdeen is set to get its very own slice of Canada this year when coffee-and-doughnuts specialists Tim Hortons finally arrives.
Affectionately known at Timmys back in its homeland, Tim Hortons is as Canadian as ice hockey and the Royal Mounted Police.
Over the past couple of years, the franchise has been expanding in the UK and 2023 will be the Granite City’s turn.
The Tim Hortons restaurant (plus a new McDonald’s) will be on the site of the former Craigshaw House in Tullos.
Heavenly Desserts and Chinese takeaway Oodles – Aberdeen
Heavenly Desserts is a luxury dessert franchise with restaurants across the UK. Word on the street is that an Aberdeen branch will open this year.
The company behind the chain has submitted plans to open a restaurant and hot food takeaway in part of the former Sainsbury’s Local on Union Street.
The dessert store will operate on one side of the building with Chinese takeaway Oodles running out of the other.
Seafood restaurant – Ballater
A new seafood restaurant looks set to open in Ballater, on the original site of the King Charles-backed Rothesay Rooms.
Plans submitted last year describe a “family-friendly dining experience which will offer honest and sustainable Scottish seafood and produce from the local area”.
Furthermore, a fishmongers is expected to be part of the refurbishment. It will be the only fishmongers in Deeside, excluding visiting vans.
Cammies – Cammachmore
Husband and wife Nalin and Annette Abeyratne purchased much-loved Cammies in Cammachmore, Aberdeenshire, way back in 2021.
The restaurant has yet to reopen, but hopes are high that 2023 will be the year.
According to the Abeyratnes, the new Cammies will boast a shellfish bar and an outdoor seafood grill and barbecue, plus diners will be able to enjoy a Sunday carvery and platter options.
Hot pot is also expected to be on the menu.
The North Bar – Peterhead
Plans for the North Bar has been gestating almost as long as those for Cammies.
The owners believe the new pub and restaurant – in the old North School building in Peterhead – will be ready to open in early 2023.
If so, the Blue Toon will have a significant new entrant to its nightlife scene.
Culture vegan cafe – Inverness
Construction has been ongoing at Culture for some time now, and the cafe should be ready to open within the next few weeks.
Owner Ella Clarke already has a successful vegan kitchen named Left Coast Culture, from which she sends out orders of dairy-free cheese all over the UK.
Culture will be her first step into hospitality, as well as an important contribution to the vegan eating scene in the Highlands.
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