ABERDEEN RESTAURANT WEEK 2020 [AD - PAID PARTNERSHIP WITH ABERDEEN INSPIRED]The bumper edition of Aberdeen Restaurant Week (Aberdeen Restaurant Fortnight doesn't quite have the same ring does it?) is now well underway & if you're still trying to figure out where you'd like to eat... well, you've come to the right place. As an Aberdeen Restaurant Week brand ambassador I was asked if I'd like to review The City Bar & Diner & their £20 dinner menu. The City is somewhere who's previous ARW menu's have really appealed to me, and yet I'd just never got round to trying it. The City Bar & Diner can be found at 37-39 Netherkirkgate, and has been a mainstay of city dining for some time now, offering up dinners, lunches & afternoon teas comprised of locally-sourced produce, along with a variety of craft beers & cocktails. Inside, we were greeted by the super friendly Polly, who took our details for track & trace, then showed us to our table. It's a really nice space inside, super clean, with a mixture of modern & traditional decor. It was well set up for social distancing too, with screens separating the tables in the main dining area. The was plenty hand sanitiser throughout, along with ample Covid-19 related information. The FoodThe menu offered up by The City Bar & Diner is certainly interesting, & at first glance it looks to be excellent value at three courses for £20. I opted for the Korean Fried Candy Chicken Wings, followed by The Maryland Rooster - now, banana & pineapple on a burger certainly seems like a bit of a bold choice, but I was all in for trying it out. Kerry decided to go for the Smoked Haddock Arancini, followed by the Tandoori Lamb Shank. For dessert, we chose the Banoffee Pie & Cranachan. The starters arrived shortly after ordering, & they were absolutely wonderfully presented - they looked first class. I wasted no time in getting stuck in, and the wings tasted great. The sauce was the perfect combination of sweet & spicy, without being overly spicy. There was enough meat on the bones too, which can sometimes be an issue with wings. It's safe to say they didn't look as good as they did when they arrived for long! Kerry also really enjoyed her arancini too, & finished it all - well, I helped slightly by having a bite, & can confirm that it tasted great. The fish was well flavoured & worked really well with the mango. When our starters were taken away, Polly dropped another plate on our table, saying that the chef really wanted us to try the Tandoori Crumbled Halloumi also. Wow! These were great, really great. If you're a fan of halloumi then I would highly recommend trying these out. After a short break, it was soon time for the main courses. They were placed down on the table, & both looked very impressive. The Maryland Rooster was absolutely huge with a giant fried chicken breast taking centre stage, smothered either side by loads of toppings. Served with accompanying fries & coleslaw, it really did look like an impressive dish. I can say much the same for Kerry's Tandoori Lamb Shank too - it was a mouthwatering giant lump of lamb, served with 3 great looking garlic puri & pilau rice. Time to tuck in! Tackling this burger looked like no easy task. I considered cutting it in half, but I squashed it all together & just decided to go for it. First off, the fried chicken breast tasted great - it was juicy & the fried breadcrumbs soaked up the sweet & sour sauce to give it a nice tangy, sweet flavour with each bite. Now, here's where things start to get weird... but, stick with me. Before you know it, you get a mouthful of banana, which combined with the chicken is a bit of a strange taste sensation to begin with, but the more you get into it, the more it works, & along with the pineapple, you get the perfect amount of juicy sweetness. Don't get me wrong, it is a really strange combination to begin with, but it all comes together quite well, & I enjoyed it, I finished every bite. Kerry also really enjoyed the Tandoori Lamb Shank. Having tasted it myself, I can confirm that it was delicious. The lamb just fell off the bone & the combination of the tandoori flavours was excellent. The garlic puri was great for scooping up the sauce too! Main courses done, & bellies bulging... we thought we just about had room left for dessert. They arrived on the table looking fantastic & I dived straight into the creamy Cranachan. Straight off, the whiskey cream tasted amazing - mixed with the oats and the strawberry ice cream, it was pretty much a perfect cranachan. With a few bites left, we decided to swap & I got to taste the outrageous looking bannoffe pie. Wow! The warm butterscotch sauce smothered over the bananas & the crunchy banoffee base was incredible. You couldn't go wrong with either of these desserts. We finished things off with a coffee before ending the evening with a quick chat to the ever friendly Polly, along with the chef & then we headed off for the night. The VerdictOverall, we had an excellent meal at The City Bar & Diner - the wonderful service provided by Polly, along with the first class food made for a great night. £20 for any those three courses is phenomenal value for money in my eyes, & I absolutely recommend that you check it out.
These are tough times for many of us at the moment, but it's just as tough a time for many of these restaurants too, & without our support, we might not have them around for much longer. So go out, treat yourself, enjoy some great food, & most importantly, stay safe. #arw #arw2020 #rediscoverABDN #supportlocal https://www.aberdeeninspired.com/festival/restaurant-week/
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