Aberdeen Restaurant Week ContinuesI just want to start this post off by saying I wasn't asked to review McGinty's as part of #ARW2019, but after having a great night at The Hop & Anchor last week, we decided to head out again and check out another #ARW2019 menu and McGinty's menu caught our eye straight away. Having been open for around 10 years now, McGinty's is a firm city centre favourite - located at the top end of Union Street, McGinty's has been offering up hearty pub classics, along with a selection of premium & local drinks for what seems like forever. Admittedly, I haven't eaten there in quite some time, so sampling their #ARW2019 menu seemed like the perfect chance to reacquaint myself with this Aberdeen institution. When we arrived at McGinty's the place was absolutely mobbed! I forgot when I booked the table that there would be football on at that time - but that only added to the atmosphere! We waited at the bar until there was someone available, and we were served by our eventual waitress (unfortunately I didn't catch her name) for the night, who showed us to our table before setting it up for us, and taking our drinks order. The FoodMcGinty's have pulled together a selection of staple items from their main menu for their #ARW2019 £20 three course dinner menu, and it was this menu that made us book a table here in the first place. There is something for everyone on there, with vegetarian and vegan options included. For our starter, we decided to share the Nachos and Crispy Cauliflower Bites between us - I was absolutely buzzing for the cauliflower! The starters made their way over to the table, reasonably quickly after our drinks arrived, but long enough as to know that everything was cooked freshly. We didn't hesitate to dive in and I started to tackle the mountain of nachos, cheese and chilli that lay in front of me! The nachos were great, they didn't become too soggy with the chilli which is something that can sometimes happen, the chilli was suitably spicy and gave a warming kick to everything and the stringy cheese bound it all together perfectly. If I had to make one complaint - it's that it's quite a large dish, and I would say it almost has to be shared between two people or it could become too much. Moving on to the Crispy Cauliflower Bites, that were served with McGinty's "house" hot sauce. Now these were an absolute treat, and probably one of my favourite dishes of #ARW2019 so far. They were covered in a crispy batter that almost made them pakora like, and gave them the perfect crunch. The house hot sauce dip topped this dish off perfectly - it gave the cauliflower bites the perfect combination of sweet and spicy flavour that just went together so well. Looking back, I honestly wish we'd opted for two servings of these! At least it gives us a reason to hurry back... After we'd finished out starters, we got the chance to have a bit of a break from the food whilst we awaited the arrival of our mains - I'd opted for The McGinty's Burger, with Kerry choosing the Spinach & Falafel Burger. The burgers soon arrived, and we finally came face to face with the challenge that awaited us. Both burgers were pretty big, and served with a plethora of chips, coleslaw and salad. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that The McGinty's Burger was going to be no pushover - stacked with a huge patty, cheese, onion rings and a big dollop of haggis...woah! I poured on some of the accompanying whisky sauce and got to work devouring this monster of a burger. The patty itself was cooked perfectly; suitably charred on the outside, and tender and juicy on the inside. The accompanying cheese, onion rings and haggis all brought their own flavours to the burger, with the haggis especially providing an extra layer of depth, almost like a second burger patty - which made it quite a feast. It all tasted great together, but I have to admit that I did eventually start to struggle with the burger - I think that the haggis, combined with everything else just made it a really heavy dish, but that doesn't take away from the overall flavours. I didn't taste Kerry's Spinach & Falafel burger myself, but she assures me that it was very tasty, full of flavour and overall, nice to try something different. Our plates were cleared away, and we placed our orders for dessert - opting to share the Sticky Toffee Pudding, with ice cream, and the banoffee Waffles an' Ice Cream. When the desserts finally arrived in front of us, my stomach was still bulging from the starters and main (and beer!), but when I saw how good they looked, there was no way I wasn't going to be tucking into these dishes! I started off with the sticky toffee pudding, and it was almost everything a sticky toffee pudding should be; it was warm, spongy, moist, and the accompanying sauce and ice cream worked well with the dish. There was something missing, however, that I couldn't quite put my finger on - it didn't taste bad or anything, it just felt like it could have tasted even better. Next up, the banoffee waffles and butterscotch ice cream, and I'd been looking forward to these ever since I'd first looked at the menu days before! And they certainly did not disappoint - the waffles were warm and fluffy, the already melting ice cream, combined with the sliced banana and toffee sauce worked absolute wonders for the dish. I couldn't pick a fault with this dessert, and if you choose to check out McGinty's anytime soon, I would 100% recommend it. Job done. The VerdictAs with The Hop & Anchor, and probably every other restaurant offering three courses for £20, McGinty's was absolutely fantastic value for money, and you really can't fault anything when you get value you like that. The atmosphere was awesome, the service was fantastic, and most importantly, the food was great. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I hadn't been to McGinty's for a while, so it was good to be reminded of what I'd been missing out on. McGinty's, we'll be seeing you again soon.
#ARW2019 #comedinewithus https://www.mcgintysmealanale.co.uk/ https://aberdeenrestaurantweek.com/
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