Situated on Aberdeen Beach, The Pier’s loyal customers can enjoy the cafe’s mouth-watering shakes and tasty dishes with a view.
“Based in such an amazing location as Aberdeen Beach, we not only enjoy tourists and visitors, but we also have a strong base of regular customers who come time after time and enjoy the quality of product and service we provide,” said The Pier’s restaurant manager Jonathan Dawson.
Influenced by seasons, The Pier updates its drinks offering on a regular basis.
Jonathan said: “We always work hard on our drinks offering and try to change it and bring new products with the changing seasons.
“For example, we produced some Easter-inspired goodies with our Mini Egg shakes and hot chocolates. These were a huge hit with our customers and our staff.”
The Pier launched a new menu when the popular cafe reopened on April 26.
Jonathan said: “Some of our new features include draft beer and cider, ice cream floats and the thing we are most excited about – our hard shakes.
“We want everyone to try our White Russian shake with vodka and Khalua or our cookies & cream shake with Havana rum and Baileys.”
Since Jonathan wants to “keep the tasty treats coming,” The Pier also has a specials board that features deliciously unusual drinks.
Collaborating with a local drinks producer Caber Coffe, Jonathan says their coffee is incredibly popular with their customers.
He said: “We could sell coffee all day long. And with the good weather emerging again, our iced coffees are also flying out.
“We try our best to make sure everyone has a good treat to choose from and we have recently had some great vegan steamers on the specials.
“We are constantly trying to develop and evolve our drinks offering with current trends.
“My favourite from our new menu is our ‘Three Sheets to the Wind’ hot chocolate. It’s a warming caramel hot chocolate with Sailor Jerry Rum.”
The Pier is also known for its wide selection of milkshakes which are made with Mackie’s of Scotland ice cream.
Jonathan said: “Our house Oreo shake and Biscoff shake are very popular as well as our new hard shakes.
“We are excited to be offering more options as the summer kicks in.
“And we also have plenty smoothies for that health kick we all look for every Monday.
“We have smoothies that bring the fruit, and we will be adding a new avocado-based smoothie for the superfood rush.”
In addition to Caber Coffee and Mackie’s of Scotland, The Pier also works with a wide range of other north-east producers.
Jonathan said: “We work with Rizza’s of Huntly, Turriffs of Montrose, Graham’s Family Dairy, G McWilliam and King Foods to name a few.
“We always do our best to ‘support local’ where we can.”
When it comes to the cafe’s food offering, The Pier focuses on providing delicious breakfast and brunch options.
Jonathan said: “We provide the classics while bringing some different dishes like our homemade pancake stacks and our BBQ pulled pork, baked beans and toast.
“We also offer vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free breakfasts.
“We are always developing our menu, refining and expanding at the same time to keep our existing and new customers excited about our venue.
“For our new menu, we were particularly looking forward to showcasing our new range of Pier steak sandwiches. toasted sourdough, caramelised onions and marinated rump steak or upgrade to a Philly cheesesteak or, our favourite, the Surf & Turf steak sandwich with garlic and chili king prawns.”
The Pier has recently started offering baked goods, too.
“We have a traybake selection which is homemade by our baker Jane,” said the restaurant manager.
“Jane has also been developing delicious homemade cookies as part of our new ice cream cookie sandwich range available from our ‘to-go’ window.”
Jonathan said “quality” is key to all aspects of how the cafe operates.
He stated: “We have a huge focus on the quality our customers receive. The quality of everything from the products we use in our venue to the food quality and, of course, the standard of service.”
The ongoing coronavirus crisis hit businesses operating in the food and drink industry particularly hard, with The Pier being to exception.
“Without a question, this has been a challenging time and we have had to adjust to the new ways of working,” said Jonathan.
“From operating as usual to being closed, to being open as a take away only, from take away to a reduced capacity and back to take away again…
“However, it helped us to focus and do what we can do best.
“It has been a hard year, professionally and emotionally, and we hugely appreciate the support that our valued customers have provided.”
Visit www.pieraberdeen.co.uk for more information
We put The Pier’s restaurant manager Jonathan Dawson through our round of quick-fire questions. See how he got on below:
What’s your customer icebreaker?
The weather. We are, after all, a nation raised to chat about the weather.
It’s the end of your shift – what do you pour yourself?
I pour myself water. A nice room temperature glass of water because that’s the kind of man I am.
If you were a drink, what would you be?
I would say water again. Water can be highly underrated, might seem dull, but you cannot live without it.
Most unusual drink request?
Very short, very wet cappuccino with no foam.
What would the theme song to your average shift be?
Watermelon Sugar by Harry Styles.
What’s in your drinks cabinet at home?
It obviously depends on the day. But I would say something light like a bottle of Beaujolais to have a relaxed evening or an easy mix of drinks to make a refreshing cocktail like Basil Smash or Aperol Spritz.
Best food and drink pairing?
It is very individual. There is nothing better for me than a quality piece of meat and vegetables with a glass of Barolo.
If you were stuck on a desert island, what three drinks are there with you?
Still water, sparkling water and maybe Rioja if the weather feels right.
You have to make a drink to represent Aberdeen. What would that be?
It has to be strong! Something whisky-based or Scotch. The first thing that comes to my mind is Negroni. It’s strong, has its character, but there is also charm.
Your favourite superhero/celebrity is sitting in the cafe. Who is it and what do you serve them?
Spiderman and I would treat him to a Surf & Turf steak sandwich and a White Russian shake.
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