Silver Darling Restaurant, Aberdeen, Scotland

During our last trip to Scotland, we visited Silver Darling Restaurant to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. Silver Darling is one of the top restaurants in Aberdeen, specialising in seafood. We attempted to book here twice, before we finally got a table for lunch (yes they're very busy and popular!) and I'm very glad that we got to eat here as the food was exquisite. Definitely the best meal of our trip. :)

The dining room is a large raised conservatory on the flat roof of an old granite custom house providing a spectacular and panoramic view over Aberdeen Harbour and bay. 

The Silver Darling, named after the Scottish nickname for herring fish, is owned and run by Frenchman Didier Dejean. Opened in June 1986, the Silver Darling is one of the few restaurants to have been recommended in the Good Food Guide for more than 28 years. It has also been recommended in the Michelin Guide and in the Egon Ronay and in 2008, The Sunday Times ranked the Silver Darling in the top 10 seafood restaurants in UK.

The lunch menu in my opinion is really fantastic value for money. You can get 2-courses for £19.50, or 3-courses for £24.50. It changes on a regular basis, with one special item changing on a daily basis depending on the fresh produce they receive. The menu consists mainly of local fish with a French twist as well as Mediterranean and occasional Far East flourishes.

For starters, both Hubby and I went for the starter of the day - we immediately ordered it when we heard the word "scallops" mentioned. Three beautiful, plump scallops sit atop a bed of leeks and crisp filo pastry and a crayfish bisque reduction. Perfect start to our meal :)

Since this is a seafood restaurant, we made sure we ordered fish for our mains. Hubby once again went for the catch of the day which I believe was monkfish. My MIL went for the pan fried sea bass with asparagus & celeriac remoulade, green tapenade, with a tomatoes and herb dressing - she certainly was impressed with it - beautifully crisp skin and moist flesh.

I went for the rock turbot, which was poached in a seafood broth and then served with mussels, octopus and cockles atop a bed of saffron potatoes and aioli sauce. Oh and topped with julienned vegetables and samphire. Love this heart-warming, tummy-pleasing fish dish, not to mention so pleasing to the eyes too.

As for desserts, Hubby went for the cheese platter which was served with homemade fruit jellies, MIL went for the sweet custard tart with preserved raspberries and raspberry coulis (which Baby C loved, so she was standing next to granny to steal bites) and I had the vanilla pod panna cotta with grenadine rhubarb, sesame tuile  and rhubarb jus (which Baby D loved so you know where he was during dessert time).

Overall, an enjoyable meal at Silver Darling. Food was fantastic, and service was excellent throughout too. 

Verdict: Good value for money lunch, considering the high quality ingredients used. Food is excellently prepared and visually pleasing. Great place for special occasions too.


Opening times: Mon-Fri 12.00pm-1.45pm, Mon-Sat 6.30pm - 9.30pm.

Service: Excellent.

Price: Total bill £81.00 for 3 adults, including wine.

Location: Silver Darling Restaurant, Pocra Quay North Pier, AB11 5DQ, Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

Tel: +44 1224 576229

Website: http://thesilverdarling.co.uk/

GPS Coordinates:  57.142369, -2.069631


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