The Highlander Café Bus is one of the most unique dining experiences in Aberdeen.
Located on Beach Boulevard, it goes without saying that the big red bus is an easy spot along the seafront.
Yes, it’s literally a café inside a bus.
The lower level is the kitchen space, while upstairs there’s seating for 22 customers who can tuck into their scran with superb views.
The sun was out when colleague Andy Morton and I, plus P&J photographer Darrell Benns, paid the quirky family-run food spot a visit last week.
It’s more spacious than I initially expected, and is adorned with artificial plants and bright décor.
But as the pair of us soaked in the interior, we couldn’t help but discuss how famished we were. We quickly got stuck into our five pre-ordered menu items.
Read on to see what dishes we tasted at Aberdeen beach food spot The Highlander Café Bus, and our ratings for each…
Dish 1: The Highlander Breakfast
The bus is open from 9.30am to 3pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays, and its substantial Highlander Breakfast is always available to order from the menu.
There’s no cut-off time.
Priced at £18.50, you’ll receive two sausages, two bacon rashers, two eggs, two hash browns, two tattie scones, plus a Lorne sausage, a slice of haggis and black pudding, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, toast and butter.
If you’re after a fair feed, then this is the dish for you.
The meat was great quality, whilst the eggs were perfectly cooked with runny yolks (perfect for dipping). However, the tattie scones and hash browns were the stars of the show for me.
There was also little grease on the ingredients.
Andy and I would without a doubt go back for the plate. After all, you can’t beat a cooked breakfast with a view.
Ratings:
- Andy: 4.5/5
- Karla: 5/5
Dish 2: Mici
We then tucked into the deliciously meaty and garlicky mici, a traditional Romanian dish consisting of grilled ground meat rolls made with beef, lamb and pork.
Each mici is priced at £1.70, so our portion (which also came with mustard and toast) cost £8.50.
The sausages had no casing – unlike any I’d had before, so my palate took a minute to adjust – and were fluffy in texture.
As for the silky mustard, it was a fantastic pairing as it was more on the sweet side.
The dish had Andy hooked from the get go and he kept going back for more.
Ratings:
- Andy: 5/5
- Karla: 4/5
Dish 3: Pork belly burger
The £10 pork belly burger at The Highlander Café Bus is one for the spice fans.
Sandwiched between a fluffy sesame bun was crunchy shredded lettuce, tart sliced tomatoes, a savoury burger patty and plentiful chunks of juicy pork belly.
The pork was flavoursome on its own, and a lather of chilli sauce brought the dish to a whole new level.
It was on the messy side but in saying that, I thought the ratio of ingredients was ideal.
Our burger was also served with a portion of salted chips.
Ratings:
- Andy: 4/5
- Karla: 4/5
Dish 4: Unicorn freakshake
Let’s shift our focus onto some of the desserts you can expect on board.
First up, our unicorn freakshake, which I couldn’t take my eyes off of.
The picturesque £7 treat comprised a milkshake that packed a sugary punch and was strawberry to taste with hints of bubblegum.
This was then topped with candy floss, strawberry and bubblegum sauce, fizzy bubblegum bottles and lollipops.
It’s definitely one for sharing but being the sugar lover that I am, I reckon I could tan the lot if I didn’t have four other dishes to try…
It’s messy too, so be sure to tuck in off the bat.
Ratings:
- Andy: 4/5
- Karla: 4/5
Dish 5: Lotus Biscoff waffle
Before we knew it, it was time for our Lotus Biscoff waffle, which cost £5.50.
There were two Belgian waffles in the portion, topped with a generous drizzling of Lotus Biscoff sauce, Lotus Biscoff biscuit crumbs, plus whipped cream and ice cream.
Given that the dessert had been sitting for a while as the pair of us left it until last, the waffles were more on the hard side. However, this was no fault of the kitchen.
They were still deliciously sweet with syrupy undertones, and the velvety ice cream and sauce were lovely.
This was another winner for Andy.
Ratings:
- Andy: 4/5
- Karla: 4/5
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