Review of 'The Silver Darling'
Travelling around Scotland with my mother I was determined to visit Aberdeen as I had never actually visited the city. I came close once but gave up after having been stuck in construction traffic for an hour or so, turning around with never having set foot in the city. Knowing I was going to be in Aberdeen I sought advice from a friend who was born there and regularly returns as to where to go for a nice meal. He told me at once to go seafood restaurant “The Silver Darling” though did warn me that it is a bit pricey but the food is very good and the views of the harbour are amazing. Interestingly enough, I recalled seeing the recent television series “Adam Richman Eats Britain” (you may recall Adam Richman as being the star of food contest television fame in “Man vs Food”) where he visited “The Silver Darling” and mentioned seeing dolphins just outside the window…as well as how good the food was.
We managed to get a booking for a Thursday night at opening time, 5 pm but were a bit early. The restaurant is at the end of the harbour near the harbour master viewing station in an area of the city known as “Footdee” (the foot of the Dee, presumably) which has a number of old fisherman houses that are much as they have been for a 100 years complete with cobble streets. It is also one of the only places in the city where you can park for free. We spent a few minutes walking along the edge of the narrow mouth of the busy harbour and around the corner on “Footdee Beach” with a fairground in the distance. This is definitely a commercial harbour with a lot of traffic going back and forth throughout our visit.
You enter the restaurant on the ground floor where the toilets, “The Captains Table” private dining room, interesting art and pictures of the area are located but the dining is actually on the first floor which you access via a metal spiral staircase with the wall showing pictures of the famous people that have eaten here (yes, Adam Richman included).
The restaurant is divided into two main dining areas, a small section at the front looking towards the beach and a larger area to the side and back looking out over the harbour with the sections divided by a small bar area. The general look is clean and modern with wooden floors, tables and chairs, along with floor to ceiling windows on the exterior walls. There is a fun blackboard showing the boats in the harbour and their catch but as to whether it is kept up to date, I do not know.
Being the first into the restaurant we were given a choice of seats so we chose a table for two at the window in the side dining room beside the bar with an amazing view of the harbour and the golf course on the far side. Even being this early it was late in the year so by the time we left it was quite dark so we could not really see too much in the water in terms of sea-life.
The dining menu is a large single-sided sheet filled with interesting, local seafood options that highlights their “Silver Darling Signature Platter” (£100), then continues with “Cape Wrath or Loch Fyne Oysters” (chilled or grilled, £4 each, 6 for £22, 12 for £44), “Mussels” (Shetland Blue Shell, served in two styles: Mariniere and “Ale & Rosemary”; £10 as a starter with bread or £20 as a main with skinny fries), and “Tasting Platter” (£50). The rest of the menu is divided into the predictable “Starters” (£10 to £16), “From the Sea” (£24 to £32) and “From the Land” (meat and veggie; £18 to £40) then “Sides” (£4.50 to £10). Our friendly server also told us of the specials of the day - A starter, and a couple of mains.
It was not long to wait after ordering. I started with the special of the day, namely, local crab fishcakes (£12). These were served with a lovely, light sauce that in no way overpowered the delicate flavour of the crab which was slightly sweet. The fishcakes were quite firm with a crunchy exterior but not too “crabby” - It did not have that overwhelming fishy flavour that you get when eating less fresh seafood. The tangy carrots on the side added a burst of flavour. I had been considering the “Crispy Haggis & Ox Cheek” from the “Starters” (£10; “Parmesan & roast garlic mayonnaise, braising liquor, sweet & sour onions”) but I wanted to have some local seafood in the fishcakes…and it sounded good when the server described it.
For my main I had the “Seafood Linguine” from the “From the Sea” section of the menu (£30; “scallops, prawns, langoustines & mussels, bound together with a creamy langoustine bisque, topped with herbs, Parmesan & croutons”) which was very nice. Again, not a huge portion but everything promised was on the plate (again, all local, I was assured some fresh from Shetland which is “just up the sea” from Aberdeen). The scallops are always a favourite of mine and these small scallops were slightly sweet and perfectly cooked (soft but not firm). The langoustine was the star of the show with a mostly decorative half langoustine perched on the top when delivered to the table (not much meat there though, nothing in the thin claws but I managed to get a bit of flavour sucking out the juice from the head). There were a good number of, thankfully, shell-less mussels that were very fresh and delicious. The bisque was not overpowering and added a nice creaminess to the dish.
My companion decided that she would go for the “Tasting Platter” despite the cost (and the size) thinking that she was here, so why not and a lot of what was on offer she enjoyed. So, this consisted of (wait for it) “home cured gravadlax, pair of oysters (chilled or hot [we got chilled]), deep fried whitebait, highland smokery hot smoked salmon, crevettes, Stonehaven langoustines, rollmop herring, and Shetland blue shell mussels” served with “homemade bread - seaweed mayo, tartare sauce, red wine vinegar mignoette”. For £50 actually it is a pretty good value, but I had baulked at ordering this myself as a few of the items included that I am not overly a fan of (rollmop herring, and whitebait). It turns out though that I ended up sampling a good amount of the dish - She was not a fan of oysters so I delighted in receiving the two LARGE fresh oysters (no seasoning, thank you), very sweet, very delicious and she was also not keen on the whitebait so left a large amount uneaten which I started to try and changed my mind about them not being too good so continued through half the bowl - They were not overly fishy, VERY fresh and a light batter. The bread was quite nice as well though the seaweed butter suggested no taste of the sea whatsoever (though was fine as far as a salty note was concerned). I am told the rest of the platter was quite good indeed as she devoured it - All fresh and very tasty. She is not a huge fan of sauces but I did sample them and they were quite light so did not overpower any of the seafood with the red wine vinegar mignonette providing a sharp tang when needed (presumably for the oysters but I left them alone).
We gave the desert a miss because of the amount of food we had eaten but there was nothing too amazing on that menu with four desert dishes (2 with alcohol; £10 and £11) along with a cheese platter (£12) and ice cream/sorbet (£8).
Between courses we just watched the rather large boats passing us just outside the window which was quite pleasant. The service throughout was friendly, if not overly so with a full restaurant to deal with by the time we left. The meal came to £99.60 for the two of us which did not include a tip but did include a bottle of still water for the table (£4.60) and a ginger beer for me (£3). I don't think price this was too bad for the quality of the food and the portion sizes. The location has to also add something to the meal…
All in all, a wonderful meal with great views. Will definitely look at returning.
Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”
Review Date: 2025-10-16
Cuisine: Seafood
Address: Pocra Quay, Aberdeen, SCOTLAND AB11 5DQ
Location: Aberdeen (Scotland) - Footdee
Map:
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Telephone: +44 (0) 1224 576229
URL: https://www.thesilverdarling.co.uk/