Review: Singh Street Aberdeen for the hottest new fish and chips

Singh Street, you had me at “masala fish and chips”.

Picture the scene: It’s date night. One half of this food-reviewing couple is Scottish. So Scottish square sausage can be too spicy for me.

My other half grew up in India. He needs blisters on his teeth for it to be hot enough.

So where do we go for a romantic night out that caters for us both? Well, on this occasion, we tried Union Square’s newest restaurant, Singh Street.

Inside Singh Street Cafe, and the coloured decor by potter and interior designer Jonathan Adler. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Billed as a Punjabi street-food inspired café food with a Scottish twist, it looked right up our street.

Next to Cineworld, the chic eatery wouldn’t be out of place at the top end of Union Street or tucked away in the West End.

It’s bright, sleek, and extremely Instagrammable interior had me snapping away long before any food arrived. It felt like being “out out” despite the view of Pizza Hut from our booth.

Singh Street, Aberdeen: small plates but big on taste

To get us started we ordered two soft drinks, poppadoms and chutneys (£8), and a portion of tandoori lamb chops (£13), to share from the small plate section of the menu.

Within minutes, a basket of brightly coloured poppadom shards arrived, accompanied by four small bowls of various chutney.

Multi-coloured poppadoms and chutneys. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

“Like big Quavers” (I know, my food and drink vernacular is exquisite), the pink poppadums were salty and delicious.

Alongside the turmeric yellow, bright orange and traditional “crisps” it was the perfect start to the evening.

The four chutney options provided a mix of fruit, spice and mouth-watering freshness. A bright green offering – comprising mint and coriander – stayed with me through the rest of the courses. Scrumptious.

Lip-smacking tandoori lamb chops were the perfect start to the meal. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Next, came two small lamb chops. Grilled in spiced yogurt and served with pomegranate seeds and coriander, the only downside was that we didn’t order two portions.

Juicy, tasty, and the smell… oh my word. My mouth is watering just reliving the moment.

Fish and chips with a spicy twist… yes, please Singh Street!

When it came to ordering our mains, there was only one option for me.

Masala spiced haddock in cripsy batter, chunky chips, spiced peas and butter curry sauce (£15).

Gimme.

Masala fish and chips served with peas and butter curry sauce. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

My husband, however, was harder to please.

He’s a huge curry fan so opted for ruby chicken (£14), pilau rice ( £4.50) and a cheese-stuffed, butter-finished naan (£4.50), however, he noted that he would have liked more choice.

For me, nine main courses are more than enough. Too much choice and I’m rendered starving by indecision.

I felt a selection that included house black daal, mutton saag, and paneer chat resulted in a well-rounded menu.

Ruby chicken, which we ate with yellow pilau and cheese naan. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Taste-wise? No complaints whatsoever.

And portions? Let’s just say when we go back, we will share a curry.

Move over pizza, cheese naan for us

My fish and chips met all the required criteria at Singh Street Aberdeen.

Chips – crispy on the outside, chunky, and fluffy on the inside.

The fish – fantastic. Super crispy batter, just enough spice to elevate it to a new taste sensation, but not too much that I was reaching for some raita. Really flaky and discernibly fresh.

Pretty much my perfect main course.

A fish supper to die for, including crispy – but fluffy – chips. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

The ruby chicken arrived in a deep bowl with large chunks of melt-in-the-mouth chicken. Accompanied by gorgeous yellow pilau, we could easily have split this and still been satisfied.

The star of this show was the homemade buttery, cheese naan bread.

Dear me, was it good.

The naan to beat all naans: cheese-stuffed and butter-finished. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Moreish, filling and piping hot, I was smugly sneering at those poor pizza-eaters opposite. You think yours is good? Pah, get yourself over here!

Mouth-watering – and memorable – mango lassi

With no room left for dessert we decided not to try the chai-spiced tiramisu or have any ice cream. Instead, Mr B opted to relive his childhood in the form of a mango lassi (£4), and I picked a very decadent Amala Chai tea (£3.25) to round off the evening.

Smooth and delicious, freshly made mango lassi. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Both were delicious, but the sweet, smooth, yogurt lassi was truly something special. Though we could have had spicy margaritas or a chai-spiced martini too.

Verdict:

For me, Singh Street, Aberdeen, ticks all my boxes.

While my husband claims his best meal ever is the (questionable and unidentifiable) meat on a stick he bought from under a motorway bridge in Kuala Lumpur, I place as much value on the atmosphere and interior as I do on the food.

Singh Street exceeded my expectations on both counts.

Stunning interior adds a touch of Punjabi glam to Union Square. Image: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson

Ladies, bonus note: the toilets are – to quote my gran – “very swish”. And such things matter. To me, at least.

In truth, Singh Street Aberdeen was probably slightly more expensive than I’d normally spend in a shopping mall restaurant – which I’ll reflect in the scores – but the overall experience made it entirely worthwhile.

I loved the ambience aided by the Jonathan Adler-designed decor, and couldn’t fault the service, though, full disclosure, we arrived early in the evening just as it was getting busier.