With a boyfriend who works the night shift most weekends, dining out on a Saturday night is a very rare and sacred experience.
So, to say we were a tad excited to have a reservation at Cafe 52 would be an understatement.
A relative tourist to Aberdeen, having moved up to the city last year from Dumbarton, I stumbled across the quirky restaurant by accident and was immediately intrigued by the bright umbrellas artistically hanging up outside.
Successfully navigating shift patterns, we eventually managed to find a Saturday night that worked for us both and took our rumbling bellies along to sample the delicacies on offer.
The Venue
Soaking up the Saturday night buzz of the city centre we were certainly in high spirits by the time we reached the venue (absolutely nothing to do with a few tipples beforehand, honest).
Located at The Green, an amazing wee cobbled quadrangle tucked behind Union Street, we eyed up the rustic/hipster-style outdoor seating area where customers were tucking into dishes under heaters before making our way inside.
Instantly welcomed by a friendly face, who we later discovered is the restaurant manager Ashley, we were immediately shown to our table.
Modern and minimalist yet relaxed and unstuffy, we felt right at home as we scanned the long and narrow restaurant while having a sly look at what dishes our neighbours were already devouring.
The food
Having tackled the Aberdeen Parkrun earlier in the day, we were both ravenous as we greedily scanned the extensive menu.
For starters, my eye was immediately drawn to the Florian Romanian smoky sausage with apricot and tarragon relish with toasted ciabatta.
My belly also let out a rumble when deliberating the Scottish baked black pudding with cassis poached pear.
But eventually, my obsession with local seafood meant there was only one dish I wanted to savour and I opted for the luxury marinaded herring fillets with baby capers, marinaded courgettes and garden herbs.
Equally, if not more obsessed with seafood than me, my boyfriend weighed up the roast fennel, roast onion and crayfish salad before eventually settling on the smoked mackerel pate with toasted ciabatta.
Savouring every sip of our Grenache Noir red wine, it wasn’t long before our starters arrived.
Diving straight in for a forkful of herring, I was quickly in seafood heaven as the saltiness of the herring brought my tastebuds alive.
Soft, tender and with that fresh from the sea flavour, the herring worked beautifully with the baby capers while the marinaded courgettes and garden herbs perfectly balanced the saltiness of the dish.
With plenty to share, I happily allowed my boyfriend to have a taste and he described it as a “salty, pickily seafood treat”.
Smothering the toasted ciabatta with a generous dollop of smoked mackerel pate, I decided it was only fair that I got to try his starter too and boy was it good.
Letting out “mmmms” as the moist and moreishly salty mackerel pate hit my palette, I couldn’t stop myself from reaching for more!
A bit of a fishing fanatic, my boyfriend declared the mackerel a winner.
“Why aren’t we eating more locally sourced fish like this,” he mouthed in between bites.
Laughing with the manager Ashley as she cleared our plates away and added an extra table on in preparation for our main course, we wondered if our eyes were too big for our bellies.
Perfectly timed to let our starters go down, our eyes lit up in unison as our mains arrived.
Opting for the crispy French duck confit with garlic potatoes, I wasted no time in getting stuck in.
So tender that it just fell off the bone, the duck was unbelievable.
And paired with the most garlicky potatoes I’ve ever tried, I was in a kind of food trance.
Across from me, my boyfriend was also in a state of utter bliss having ordered the slow-cooked blade of beef casserole with tandoori and marsala spices and almonds.
Remarking on the beef’s liquorish-like taste, my boyfriend, who loves his meat, described his main as “excellent”.
Together with our mains – and justifying the fact that we had run 5k that day – we also ordered three side dishes (don’t judge us).
Despite my belly telling me otherwise, I just couldn’t stop eating the homemade chips and fried parsnips with honey and salt, slathering the lightly pickled red cabbage slaw on top.
Plates clean apart from a few leftover sides that we got packaged up to take home, we both sunk back in our seats in an attempt to make extra room for dessert.
As chocoholics, we settled on sharing Mrs B’s rich chocolate and banana pudding served with banana ice cream.
Spoons clashed as we fought over every last morsel, this dessert was in a league of its own.
The verdict
Waddling along the lively city centre streets in search of a taxi, we both couldn’t stop raving about what we had just experienced at Cafe 52.
From the excellent service (big shout out to Ashley who was just brilliant) and chilled-out vibes to the simple yet sensational dishes, it really was a meal to remember.
My boyfriend particularly loved the fact that Cafe 52 serves up fresh, locally sourced herring and mackerel, fish that perhaps isn’t as in vogue as say salmon but arguably tastes better.
“That’s the best meal I’ve had in Aberdeen,” he boldly declared which is quite the compliment considering he is also relatively new to the north-east having only moved up four years ago.
Like the herring and the mackerel, it’s perhaps not fashionable to write a food review without criticism but here goes: I really couldn’t fault it.
Address: 52 The Green, Aberdeen AB11 6PE
T: 01224 590094
Price: £82.70 for two starters, two mains, three sides, a dessert and two glasses of wine.
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