For those eating lunch out at Christmas or over the festive period in Aberdeen, I wanted to find out where you can get the best value for money.
So I headed out to one of the cheaper Aberdeen festive lunch options at Toby Carvery, and the more expensive Malmaison Aberdeen.
The three course festive lunch on a Monday to Friday at Toby Carvery will set you back just £16.79, while the same at Malmaison Aberdeen costs more than double: £35.
So what exactly is the difference in quality, and which lunch offers better value for money?
How different were the starters at Toby Carvery and Malmaison?
At Toby Carvery (Cocket Hat on North Anderson Drive), there are a range of set starters to choose from.
These include caramelised onion and shallot tart, prawn cocktail and chicken liver and brandy pâté.
We went for the camembert fondue sharing starter.
The cheesy fondue had a range of items to dip into it, including pigs in blankets, honey-roasted parsnips, roast potatoes, and Yorkshire puddings.
It’s certainly not the sort of thing I’d get for my Christmas dinner, nor is it what I expected to find on the Toby Carvery menu.
Nevertheless, we tucked in.
They only serve this during the festive season, and it’s safe to say Andy and I couldn’t get enough of it.
It’s a huge sharing portion, with two enormous freshly-made Yorkshire puddings, at least six pigs in blankets, and a decent amount of the rest.
The dip itself is creamy and flavourful, and pairs surprisingly well.
The sweet parsnips are particularly delicious with the savoury melted cheese sauce.
There was also a spicy cranberry, orange and miso sauce to dip these items into, but we definitely preferred the cheese.
Andy: 4/5
Joanna: 4/5
At Malmaison (on Queen’s Road), the starter, main and dessert on the festive menu are à la carte.
The starter options include gin and beetroot cured salmon, Jerusalem artichoke soup, and a winter cobb salad.
We went for the beef, juniper and pancetta terrine, served with pickled veg, a sweet mustard mayonnaise and grilled sourdough.
This was certainly a fancier dish than the starter at Toby Carvery, but how did it taste?
The terrine was one of the best I’ve had, not at all fatty but full of flavour.
The pancetta added a nice salty hit and the chewy, crusty sourdough was the perfect vessel for tasting the terrine.
It’s not a huge portion, but it’s all you need of the rich dish.
The sweet mustard paired well with the beef, and the picked veg was a salty, crunchy delight.
Andy: 4.5/5
Joanna: 4/5
How did the roasts compare on our Aberdeen festive lunch review?
The Toby Carvery selection is the stuff of legend, and it didn’t disappoint.
Huge, golden brown slabs of roast beef, pork, turkey and gammon gleamed at us from the counter. We felt like we had definitely come to the right place.
We heaped up our medium-sized plate – you can pay £1.99 for a larger one – with a bit of everything.
The pork crackling stood out to Andy and I both as particularly delicious. It had a crunch similar to a boiled sweet, properly cracking between our teeth.
The flavour was great too, and didn’t just taste like fat as much pork crackling can.
The Brussels sprouts weren’t overcooked or soggy, which surprised me considering they could be sat out for a while.
We were allowed to try more than one meat, so tried the turkey and pork.
The meat itself didn’t stand out to us as awe-inspiring, but the trimmings outshone the turkey.
The parsnips were sweet, soft and tasty, though perhaps the outside could have been a little crispier.
Though the roast potatoes made up for the lack of crispiness there, and were soft in the middle with a satisfying crunchy outside.
There was also macaroni and cheese and cauliflower cheese to try,
As Andy gleefully remarked, “Toby, you’ve impressed us!”
Andy: 4/5
Joanna: 4/5
At Malmaison, the main options included slow braised beef, roasted cauliflower or pan fried bream.
We of course went for the ballotine of free-range turkey.
This was encased in a belt of salty proscuitto, served with bread sauce, stuffing, cranberry compote and “all the trimmings”.
However, the trimmings didn’t include Brussels sprouts, but the sweet maple-glazed carrots and parsnips made up for this.
The roast potatoes were very crispy on the outside, but a little bit dry inside.
We got about a tablespoon of chestnut stuffing on top of some tasty charred hispi cabbage, which wasn’t very much.
The cabbage though was very tender.
There was also only one pig in his wee blanket on our plate, which is a little stingy I think.
But the turkey was definitely more moist than the meat at Toby’s Carvery, and it was a thick cut.
This was incredibly moreish, and was the most tender and juicy turkey I’ve had.
Andy: 4/5
Joanna: 3.5/5
Which festive dessert stole the show?
We had to choose the Christmas pudding at Toby’s Carvery to round off our festive lunch there.
Other options on the menu were a crunchy caramel sundae, chocolate fondant or a chocolate and cookie dough brownie.
The look of the pudding surprised us, as we were expecting more of a traditional rounded pudding shape, but I suppose cooking this for so many people means a traybake style is easier.
We went for custard on top, which was sweet and lumpless.
The pudding itself was sweeter than any I’ve had before, perhaps lacking in that alcoholic hit which is at times overpowering.
But this didn’t wow us sadly.
Andy: 4/5
Joanna: 3/5
At Malmaison, the dessert options included a cheese selection, Valrhona dark chocolate torte, baked cheesecake or festive trifle.
As we often have trifle at my family’s Christmas lunch, I went for this option.
But this was unlike any trifle I’ve ever tasted.
It was a mixture of white chocolate, coconut yoghurt and poached pear.
There was a festive spice hit from the stem ginger too.
The top tasted as though it had been caramelised, with a crunchy biscuit-like topping.
This was the perfect end to a Christmas meal. It’s light enough that you can still enjoy it after your turkey and all the trimmings, but it has a great flavour to it too.
Andy and I were fighting over this by the end! It was honestly delicious.
Andy: 5/5
Joanna: 5/5
Which Aberdeen festive lunch is better value for money?
I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting all that much from Toby’s Carvery.
But the Cocket Hat surprised me.
The portions were huge, and for the cheap price of £16.79, it is undeniably great value for money.
Was the turkey incredibly tender and juicy? No.
But the pork crackling, roast potatoes, and delicious cheese fondue made up for it and then some.
At Malmaison, the portions were significantly smaller, but the food was on the whole very tasty.
If you’re looking for value for money, I do think Toby’s Carvery comes out on top.
You get a lot of food and it’s half the price of Malmaison.
There is perhaps more care put into some elements of the dishes at Malmaison, such as the moist turkey, cranberry compote, the delicious charred cabbage and excellent dessert.
But the lack of sprouts and just one pig in blanket was a bit disappointing.
Here’s how both restaurants did on taste.
Total scores:
Toby Carvery: 23/30
Malmaison: 26/30
Conversation