Most people that live in Turriff and the surrounding areas will be well familiar with The Kastille, formerly known as Buckley’s.
Located on the town’s Castle Street, the business has a USP. Well, it’s certainly unique in comparison to many other hospitality venues in the north-east, in my opinion.
The Kastille not only acts as a space for functions with its own bar and restaurant, but it also keeps its doors open into the early hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
Yes, it’s also a nightclub.
Hundreds of revellers visit every weekend, including myself on occasion.
However, as busy as it gets during The Kastille’s popular ‘club nights’, I cannot shout enough about the food offering — and here’s why.
Take a look at the picturesque terrace area and Whisky Blu Bar at The Kastille
Other than the main restaurant — known as the Castle Suite Restaurant — The Kastille also boasts a cosy lounge space known as the Whisky Blu Bar.
Stylishly decorated with grey flooring and wallpaper, modern lighting fixtures and its own separate bar area, it provides the ideal space to relax and celebrate with friends and family (or as a solo diner).
In terms of what’s on offer outside – should the sun be shining – The Kastille also benefits from housing three separate terraces.
The ground level sky terrace is used most often, and it offers fantastic views as well as privacy to enjoy your food and drinks in peace.
Another thing I love about the business is that you can order via The Kastille app. Oh, and you can even opt for delivery (if you live within the radius) or collection.
Diners should expect an eclectic (and lengthy) menu
The range of dishes and drinks available at The Kastille is superb.
There are starters and small plates, lighter dishes, mains, prime steaks, burgers and wraps, sides, rotating specials, puddings and kid’s meals on the food front.
As for drinks, expect wines, beers, lagers, spirits, teas and coffees, and cocktails. The pornstar martinis and strawberry daiquiris are firm favourites of mine.
I could speak about the menu all day, but the main thing to point out is that there is plenty on offer to get your teeth stuck into (literally).
My good friends Abby and Robert joined me during my most recent visit last Thursday. The weather was on the cloudy side, so we were shown to our table in Whisky Blu.
Kicking things off with cocktails and mocktails, plus the starters…
After catching up with owner Adrian Walker and our server Troy Reilly, our drinks orders were swiftly taken.
For Abby and I, it was two mocktail pornstar martinis (£5 each). For Robert, a strawberry daquiri (£9.50).
We also requested two starters to share between us – nachos (£8.45) and one of the week’s specials, halloumi fries (£8.45).
The chef(s), as per usual, know how to present a plate. It must be challenging to make nachos look the part with such a mishmash of ingredients, but the dish looked great.
Chilli, melted cheese, sour cream and jalapenos had been smothered across a bed of crispy tortilla chips. There was plenty of each item too.
That’s another thing you’re guaranteed at The Kastille, platefuls.
As for the halloumi fries, I hadn’t seen them presented in such a visually impressive way before. They resembled mozzarella sticks, one of my favourites.
Stacked on top of one another, the creamy slices of halloumi had been deep-fried in a golden-brown batter, and paired with an Asian salad and chilli jam.
The chilli jam was incredible, adding a punch of sweetness that complimented the zingy salad and cheese perfectly.
We kept the nachos on the table to pick away at when our mains arrived, but the halloumi fries had been demolished.
Main courses fit for meat lovers on this occasion, but there are plenty for other dietary requirements too
Our drinks were near enough non existent too, so a round of water was brought along to the table. Despite the sun being away, it was still a hot evening in Turriff.
Again, two dishes were ordered when it came to the mains.
The fillet of seabass (£19.50) was recommended and given that I hadn’t tried this dish at The Kastille before, it was a no-brainer.
Everything on the plate, which also included tender stem broccoli and potatoes, was well-seasoned and well-cooked.
A thin sauce (or dressing) also featured. This had a salty flavour profile with a hint of chilli. Although a tad overpowering at times, it paired well with the butteriness of the seabass, which was soft, flakey and juicy.
Speaking of juicy, our other main was the chicken Balmoral (£18.95). There was lots to take in on the plate, but despite there being so many elements, it looked elegant.
A chunk of chicken wrapped in bacon had been placed in the centre of the dish.
Surrounding it? A haggis bon bon, glazed vegetables – including carrots and parsnips, to name a few – and boiled new potatoes.
The bon bon was crispy on the outside yet fluffy on the inside, while the veggies had a lovely buttery taste.
Everything had been coated in a rich malt whisky sauce.
Opting for sides of skin on fries (£3.50) and sweet potato fries (£4), I think we bit off more than we could chew.
I asked if the remains could be popped inside some takeaway boxes, and Troy happily did so.
The desserts we ordered – and why the chef(s) ‘knocked it out of the park’
Although being ready to request the bill, the three of us agreed we’d have to put at least one of the puddings to the test.
Adrian made a few suggestions before we whittled it down to the sticky toffee pudding (£7.95) – a classic – and another one of the week’s specials, the banana and rum parfait (£8.45).
Even if you’re not after a two or three-course meal, visiting The Kastille for a dessert alone should be on the cards.
Served with a scoop of velvety ice cream, a small jug of cream and a warm toffee sauce, the dessert was everything you could hope for in a solid sticky toffee.
The cake itself, topped with sliced strawberries, melted in the mouth.
Onto the other plate, it was unlike any pudding I’ve had in the past.
The parfait, rectangular in shape, was on the lighter side and boasted a fluffy texture. Primarily sweet, there were subtle notes of banana to avoid the flavour proving overpowering, which I feared initially.
Salted caramel sauce, crushed meringue, vanilla ice cream, candied orange peel and sliced bananas were also in amongst the mix.
To put it bluntly, this dish was faultless. The chef(s) knocked it out of the park.
The verdict
The Kastille has always been a go-to venue for me – whether it be for enjoying a cocktail on the terrace, celebrating a birthday with the family or tucking into some tasty dishes.
When it comes to the latter, I believe it needs to be shouted about more.
The team have nailed it when it comes to their food offering, and I would highly encourage you to stop by to try the menu out for yourself.
Information
Address: 10 Castle Street, Turriff AB53 4BJ
T: 01888 563838
Price: £98.75 for two starters, two mains, two puddings, two sides, two mocktails and one cocktail
Scores:
- Food: 4.5/5
- Service: 5/5
- Surroundings: 4.5/5
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