Aberdeen Restaurant Week - Topolabamba: Review (Aberdeen)

Working for Scotland's first tequila company, UWA Tequila, I'd like to think I now know my way around a good tequila menu. And as you can imagine, whilst enjoying a tipple of Mexico's finest, it would only make sense to enjoy the diverse cuisine the country has to offer too.

Mexican food has been a big part of my tequila journey, both in Mexico and in Scotland. Having visited Mexico back in July last year with work, I ensured I tried out as much of the local food offering as possible, eating Nopal (cooked cactus leaves) and lots of tacos, enchiladas and taquitos too.

Looking closer to home, the arrival of Topolabamba on Union Street has very much meant that I can now enjoy a real showcase of Mexican food, all in the luxury of my own city. Yes ok, I'd much rather be making the most of life living it up in Mexico where the sun doesn't stop shining, but for me, Topolabamba is exactly what I, and this city was in need of.

Participating in Aberdeen Restaurant Week which officially launches tomorrow, I decided to check out the food offering that customers can be expecting to see throughout the foodie festivities. Because as you know, February is for foodies.

Heading along on Saturday night, I decided to make the most of our outing and invited my best friend and her finace along. I was to pick from the Aberdeen Restaurant Week (ARW) dinner menu, and my guests were let loose on the whole menu. For the ARW dinner menu, guests can pick any four street food dishes and they also get a portion of guacamole and tortilla chips included in the £20.18 dinner deal.

To begin, we ordered some beers and margaritas, and I placed my order for my guac and chips so we had something to nibble on as we decided what to eat.

I decided to go for one of each out of the tacos, taquitos, tostodas and quesadillas to ensure I was covering all basis. And with a variation of fillings available (which all sounded incredible), I was in for a tough decision making session.

For my soft corn tacos, I ordered the slightly spicy chicken tinga filling. The chicken tinga boasted a real kick to it, and was smothered in sour cream and lettuce too. The soft corn tacos were the perfect size and were very tasty. I'd had these on a prior visit to Topolabamba so knew they would be awesome.

The two barbacoa beef taquitos were wrapped around the beef and topped with crumbly cheese. It resembled a long cigar, however it tasted absolutely fantastic. The crumbly cheese was great for cooling my mouth after the chicken tinga tacos, and I really enjoyed the tender, well marinated beef which melted in my mouth. It was beautifully crisp and provided the perfect 'snap' to it.

The two prawn tostadas which came on flat crispy corn tortillas were topped with fresh prawns, a huge dollop of guacamole, and a big handful of iceberg lettuce and salsa on top. The prawns were small, but there was lots of them hidden throughout the lettuce. But it was the guacamole on this dish that stole the limelight - it was utterly scrumptious and was very creamy in consistency.

For my final choice, I decided on the smoked chicken and oaxacan onions quesadillas. The large soft tortillas were toasted and stuffed full with the chicken, onions and melted cheese. The chicken and onions were lovely and sweet. This was definitely one of my favourite dishes.

The melted cheese was everywhere and the onions and chicken oozed out of the quesadilla with every bite. I loved the smoked chicken and onion filling and felt it complimented my other choices perfectly, although there was a number of different fillings available for all of the street food choices, including smoked chorizo and quesos, black bean and smoked green chilli, shredded beef, spring onion and chipotle aioli with crumbly cheese and crispy fried fish of the day to name just a few.

To be honest, the four dishes, plus the guacamole and chips was more than enough good for me - and I like my food. I think the portions may be slightly smaller than the ones I received so I think by just having two or three of each food item on the plate, rather than three or four, this would work in favour for both the restaurant and the customer. However my guests took great delight in helping me polish the different dishes off as we ended up just sharing quite a lot throughout the meal.

The food at Topolabamba is served as it's cooked, so the food is as fresh as it gets. With so much food arriving at the one time, we all just dived into one another's dishes and embraced it.

Having not see Samantha and her fiance Jamie for a while it was good to just sit back and relax whilst enjoying good food and drink. It was the perfect setting for providing a vibrant, lively atmosphere whilst keeping a cool, calm and collected undertone throughout the evening.

On top of the meal I ordered for Aberdeen Restaurant Week, my guests had also ordered their own array of dishes - which of course I insisted to try too.

First up was a must-try dish for me, the classic queso fundido - a homemade artisan style cheese fondue that has garlic roasted peppers and chopped chorizo chunks throughout it and is served with tortilla chips on the side. The melty cheese pot is a great sharing dish and I always order it to begin at Topolabamba (when I'm not having guac) as it's usually really quick to get once ordering and is a nice way to start the dining experience off.

Calum ordered the smoked chorizo and quesos quesadillas, the spicy jalapeño poppers with molito cheese and deep fried in breadcrumbs served on a bed of roasted brava tomato sauce and finally, the shredded beef, spring onion, and chipotle aioli with crumbly cheese tostadas.

Jamie ordered barbacoa beef quesadillas and a shredded beef burrito which came stuffed with green rice,  black beans, pice de gallo, and queso fresco cheese.

And Samantha ordered the smoked chicken and oaxacan onions quesadillas, as well as the callo del mar - King scallops with Guajillo chilli sauce. She absolutely loved both dishes, but the scallops were a firm winner for her.

We also ordered the camarones a la plancha - two large Gulf Coast King prawns which had been grilled in chilli butter and were served with an agave tequila and lime dip. This is one of my ultimate favourite dishes at Topolabamba and I adore the sweet, mouthwatering tequila sauce that the prawns come with. Usually once I'm finished with the prawns - which are massive and incredibly juicy - I try and douse the rest of my dishes in the sauce - tortilla chips included. At £10 some may think it's a little expensive, but in my eyes, it's worth every penny.

Throughout the night we'd been ordereing a few drinks. Samantha was sticking to a few cocktail classics like French and Espresso Martini's, whilst I was on the tequila drinking frozen strawberry margarita's and classic margarita's on the rocks. Calum and Jamie opted for a few pints and some soft drinks.

It was clear to me we'd definitely ordered far too much food for the four of us, but somehow, miraculously we managed to polish off almost all of the food, helping each other out and trying everyone's different dishes.

Our server for the night had been extremely attentive and was very knowledgeable about the food and drink offering. He'd suggested some food options to us initially when we first sat down, and I was delighted he was suggesting some of my favourites.

Having sat and chatted for almost three and a half hours, we figured it was time to head home and relax so some other lucky revellers could get a seat. The restaurant was packed (as it always is on a Saturday night) and we'd thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

The Aberdeen Restaurant Week lunch and dinner menu will run from this Thursday (1st Feb) until the 8th and booking is almost essential due to the restaurant getting booked up in advance very quickly. Remember to quote the Aberdeen Restaurant Week offer when booking as this will ensure the servers have the correct menu available for you.

All I can say is if you love Mexican food and you're partial to a margarita or two, then Topolabamba is the place for you...

Happy eating guys.

  For Now...

Just Julia

Aberdeen Restaurant Week - The Boozy Cow: Review (Aberdeen)

I don't know if you've ever seen it, but Boozy Cow runs this cool wee campaign #CheatYoSelf. Basically, they pick two names per day and if your name appears on their social media on said day, you can go and treat yourself to a BC burger for just £1. If you miss the day your name appears then you get a second chance that week to enjoy a burger for £1 by heading along on the Sunday. Pretty cool, right?

So you can imagine when 'Julia' and 'Calum' appeared in the same week, that we were already conducting plans to visit on the Sunday to take advantage of our £1 burgers.

Heading along mid-afternoon, we made ourselves comfortable in one of the booths and got picking what we fancied.

We ordered some water for the table, and Calum ordered himself a soft drink too. Our server explained how the deal worked and told us we could order extra toppings for the classic BC burger if we wanted at an extra charge of 50p per topping.

Participating in Aberdeen Restaurant Week, I also saw this as a great opportunity to showcase what the Boozy Cow has on offer.

If you've never visited before, Boozy Cow is a grunge-style bar/restaurant which specialises in dirty burgers and dirty dogs.

The food is all served on metal trays which are designed to be shared, and there's a roll of kitchen roll on every table for dirty fingers as the restaurant likes to encourage diners to eat with their hands.

When we visited, we got two BC classic burgers - a homemade beef patty served in a brioche bun with lettuce, pickle and tomato. Calum added hot chipotle mesquite sauce, Monetary Jack cheese and Bourbon pickled jalapeños. I added caramelised onions, Monetary Jack cheese and ketchup.

We also ordered a side of thin cheesy fries with spiced cheese, sweet onions and mustard, as well as wagon wheel onion rings which came with a side of thousand island sauce for dipping in to.

The burgers were delicious and super juicy. Boozy cooks their burgers medium/rare, so if you're looking for your burger to be cooked for a little longer, ensure you mention that to the server.

My caramelised onions were awesome, and had a slight crunch to them whilst bringing a sweet taste to the burger. The cheese was well melted on both Calum and I's burgers, so we were both chuffed with that. Calum's jalapeño's didn't taste too different to regular jalapeño's, but he liked his burger so wasn't overly fussed about the lack of bourbon taste they had.

The chips were great, and I especially loved that they were covered in English mustard. The fries were missing the onions that were meant to come throughout them, but we were too hungry and weren't really that bothered about this slight oversight.

The onion rings were my favourite and the thousand island sauce went extremely well with them. They were crispy, juicy and indulgent all at the same time. Some of them varied quite dramatically in size, so I made sure to grab the bigger ones before Calum got wind.

It didn't take us long to scoff the lot.

Having visited before, I know how good the milkshakes at Boozy Cow are, so we decided to share one having demolished two sides with our burgers.

We opted for a salted caramel popcorn milkshake. Topped with salted caramel popcorn, caramel sauce and a heap of whipped cream, the milkshake really didn't last long as we both tore into it. It was so good that we ended up having a straw war, trying to beat one another to the dregs at the bottom. Let's just say there were a few tears of laughter following this straw-off.

Boozy Cow had been good. It's a very chilled vibe and super relaxed. My only bug bear from our visit was just how cold the restaurant was. With it being cold outside, I'd pictured the restaurant being warm, however I didn't end up taking off my jacket as I wanted to enjoy my food without freezing my butt off. I have to say, it's the first time that's ever really happened to me, so it may just have been a bad day for the heating, or it may just not have kicked in throughout the time we were there.

The restaurant is involved in Aberdeen Restaurant Week and will have both a lunch and dinner menu available. The dinner menu, which is priced at £20.18, includes two burgers (from the menu), two sides and a chocolate brownie for dessert. So for £10.09 each, that really is a bargain! Better go grab your burger buddy asap.

   For Now...

Just Julia

Aberdeen Restaurant Week - Seven café, bar and restaurant: Review (Aberdeen)

There's nothing better than finding a new restaurant that you immediately fall for. Whether that be for the food and drink offering, the friendly service, or the venue is general, nothing can beat that feeling of finding a new place you know you'll be visiting a lot.

It was only recently that I visited Seven Café, Bar and Restaurant and I've already been back twice since.

A small independent business, the independent eatery which serves simple, wholesome food, has also signed up to Aberdeen Restaurant Week (ARW), and has decided to run their ARW menu for the whole of February - which means that there's plenty time for everyone to visit the eatery for the month.

Focusing on good food done well, the eatery is all about quality and has a real focus on making customers feel right at home from the moment they walk in,

I've enjoyed every visit to Seven, however I have to say that my first visit was my favourite so far. 

I'd recommended the restaurant to my boyfriend's parents to for lunch a week or so ago, and lucky for me, they invited me along for a catch up over some tasty lunch. Having never visited, I accepted their offer and caught up with them for lunch one Friday after work.

The eatery is gorgeous inside, with a big open-plan area, a trendy bar with stools, and plenty of seating available - booths or tables, there's plenty of space for smaller and bigger groups. Not to mention the upstairs area which is an over-spill section if the cafe gets too busy. And the lovely sofa area upstairs is the ideal place to enjoy a few drinks with friends.

We sat on one of the booths and were instantly greeted with smiles all around. We ordered some drinks and scanned the menu. One of the owners, Sharon, informed us of the specials and she had me sold on the homemade chilli. It had been so long since I'd had chilli and with the temperatures outside pretty chilly at the time, I wanted something warm to heat me up.

Calum's parents were keen to try out the soup of the day which was vegetable, and they were also intrigued to try out the lunch platters.

Placing our order, I decided on the special of the day, the homemade chilli with sour cream and tortilla chips and Calum's parents both ordered the soup, as well as a hummus lunch platter and a three-cheese platter.

I immediately fell in love with the bar and the drinks offering Seven boasts. With a focus on gin and local spirits, I was delighted to see a few Aberdeen businesses on show including Esker Gin, Lone Wolf Spirits and BrewDog's beers.

Sadly, on the occasions I've visited I've not be drinking, but I'm looking forward to returning and checking out their gin flights and wine selection - not to mention their bar snacks.

We didn't have to wait long until our food arrived which was great, and it means those who are looking to grab a quick, nice lunch, can still frequent to Seven and not have to worry about running back to work late.

I stuck into my chilli which was the perfect size. The chilli beef was delicious and boasted a nice wee heat to it. The sour cream was lovely and cooling, and the tortilla crisps were great for scooping up the remains of the chilli beef and rice. The rice itself was lovely and fluffy, and I was pretty full after polishing the bowl off.

Calum's parent's platters looked incredible. I was eyeing up his mum's hummus platter and I actually ordered it for myself the second time I visited Seven. 

The hummus board was delicious and came with regular hummus as well as a beetroot hummus, focaccia bread, an array of oatcakes, olives, sun-dried tomatoes and a side salad. There was more than enough hummus to go around, and I would have happily shared my platter with another person as it was a little too much for me to tackle on my own. The bread was delicious and the sun-dried tomatoes were superb. I don't really like olives so I left those for the others to get stuck into when I visited with Calum and his friends, but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Calum's dad ordered the three-cheese platter which consisted of three house cheeses, onion marmalade, balsamic onions, focaccia bread, a side salad and a mixture of oatcakes too.

He really enjoyed the selection of cheeses he got, and was chuffed to see a blue cheese included, as well as a brie. He scooped the onion marmalade onto the oatcakes and topped it with some cheese. It looked like he was really enjoying the platter, and the balsamic onions too.

As well as lunch platters, Seven also has a wide selection of sandwiches and cakes available throughout the day, however, I couldn't bring myself to tackle a cake as I was completely full and couldn't eat another morsel.

In the evening, the restaurants offering completely changes and you can find everything from black pudding bon bons with a pink peppercorn sauce, to confit duck leg, to chicken satay. They also have some delicious desserts on offer including homemade sticky toffee pudding, chocolate brownies and pink Champagne sorbet. Having recently taken on a new chef, the food offering has sky rocketed and is proving to be rather popular with the regulars.

With a great lunch and dinner menu available throughout Aberdeen Restaurant Week for incredible prices, Seven is definitely one place you'll want to check out for both.

It's cute, quaint interiors partnered with the friendly staff and outstanding food and drink options, there's no excuse not to pay the team there for a visit.

Located just off of Union Street a door up from Pizza Express, it's one independent you'll want to go searching for. A hop, skip and a jump away from where I stay, I'm definitely excited to return yet again.

  For Now...

Just Julia

Aberdeen Restaurant Week - Soul Bar: Review (Aberdeen)

There's something about Soul Bar that just looks magical. Located within the former Langstane Kirk, this modern conversion with a twist is a city hot-spot for many within the city.

I've visited Soul many a-time, be that for dates, nights out with my girlfriends, lunch with the family, or a quick meeting over a coffee. It's stunning on the outside and even more gorgeous on the inside, with the original glass stained windows and features which are most noticeable on a bright day.

Every time I've visited the food has always been good, but following a wee reshuffle in the kitchen and a new menu, the food I experienced last week was something else.

I usually go for the likes of a club sandwich or a heartier pub-grub-style dish when I visit, so it was good to push myself to try something different. Picking from the Aberdeen Restaurant Week menu which kicks off this Thursday (1st Feb) until the 8th, I was very much looking forward to seeing what customers could expect when visiting during the new initiative.

We started our night off with a few cocktails. I opted for the Weegie Sour and my sister Nicole enjoyed the Beat the Blues. The Weegie Sour appealed to me with its addition of homemade Irn Bru syrup. A shorter drink, the Tanqueray gin-based cocktail also boasted egg white and was topped off with a dehydrated orange slice. The Irn Bru syrup was delicious and not too over powering, and the egg white provided a nice sweetness.

Nicole's Beat the Blues also boasted Tanqueray gin, but had more of a tropical vibe about it with lemon, sugar and Blue Bols used within it. It finished with a slice of pineapple and a pineapple leaf to garnish, and looked very appealing to the eye.

Both drinks were very tasty, and we swapped a few times to try each other's out.

Ordering from the Aberdeen Restaurant Week dinner menu which consists of three courses for £20.18, I was intrigued to see what the food would be like.

For starters, I ordered the Scottish bloody Mary mussels and Nicole decided to go for the smoked ham hock and smoked dunlop cheese croquette.

The mussels looked incredible, and I could smell the spice of the chilli straight away. The portion was huge, much bigger than I'd anticipated, and I was over the moon with the dish I was presented. Sticking in, I grabbed my fork and began fishing out the mussels. They were so soft and smooth, and every single one was open - a great start for any dish with mussels in it.

In my bowl was a selection of vegetables including celery, onions, spring onions and red chilli. The vegetables were all delicious and nice and crunchy, which was suited very well to the soft mussels. I counted over 20 mussels which I thought was fantastic value for money, and it almost could have been a main dish in itself. The mussels were cooked in a bloody Mary broth which I soaked up with the torn, warm wholegrain baguette that also came with the dish.

The dish boasted a real heat to it, so if you're not too good at handling spice and would like the mussels, I think it's best you mention this to any of the servers so the kitchen team can accommodate this. For me, it was pretty spicy, but I was hoping it would be, and I quite like a real chilli kick in some of my food.

I was also given a finger bowl to clean myself up which I was very grateful for.

Nicole's ham hock croquettes looked incredible too. The three giant ham and cheese croquettes sat on a bed of a red wine jus and spiced parsnip puree. The puree was sublime. It was incredibly creamy and had a lovely sweetness to it, and it worked very well with the jus which was much richer and more savoury. 

The croquettes were extremely crisp on the outside, and the smoked ham hock and smoked cheese were mixed together inside, creating a beautiful mouthful of many different flavours.

A lover of seafood also, she gave me a helping hand with my mountain of mussels, ensuring that I managed to polish them off.

Moving on to mains, I was very excited for this course. I'd ordered the pan cooked venison with buttered purple broccoli, black pudding dauphinoise and cauliflower puree. The venison was cooked to perfection, and was beautifully soft and chewy all at the same time. A more lean, game meat, it boasted a beautiful colour and was rich in flavour. Juicy and tender, the jus that accompanied it provided an additional sauce to it, making it even more moist.

The black pudding dauphinoise was sweet and spicy. The potatoes had a lovely creaminess to them, whereas the black pudding had a gorgeous spice to it, contrasting the thin sliced pieces of potato very well. The buttered purple broccoli was lovely and crunchy, and the cauliflower puree was a little saltier than the parsnip puree with went with Nicole's starter, balancing out the rich, sweetness of the jus.

Nicole had decided on the panko coated sole goujons which came served with hand cut chips, tartare sauce, and a red onion and pea shoot salad.

A big fish lover, Nicole was delighted with her choice and was very impressed with the dish. The hand cut chips were enormous, as were the sole goujons which had been cooked in a slightly herby batter. The tartare sauce was creamy and chunky and the salad was a lovely addition, providing some real fresh flavours to the dish.

For dessert, we'd decided to wait a wee while before tackling our blood orange panna cotta and citrus lemon tart and ordered another drink.

This time our server Maddy - who was fantastic may I add, recommended another drink from the Bartender's Creations menu to go alongside our desserts, telling us about the Cranachan. 

Featuring Chambord, Dalmore 12, raspberry, cream and toasted oats, it sounded like a dessert in itself and something we'd both very much enjoy. The cocktail was so creamy and bursting with raspberry, it was super rich and was definitely a drink I could probably only manage one of, as divine as it was.

Our desserts arrived soon after receiving our drinks and we were both very chuffed with our choices.

My blood orange panna cotta danced on my plate as Maddy placed it in front of me. The dessert came with a lovely orange syrup and an orange salsa which had been constructed with segments of blood orange, mint, passionfruit and raspberries. A large thin toasted wafer sat upright between the salsa and the panna cotta, and it was fantastic. Not only did it provide another texture to the dish, it brought a real sweetness to it which combatted the bitterness the blood orange salsa boasted. The panna cotta itself was lovely and light, and wobbled all over my plate any time I moved it.

Nicole's citrus lemon tart was served with a dollop of Chantilly cream and fresh raspberries. The lemon wasn't too tart which Nicole enjoyed a lot, it was quite sweet in comparison to other lemon tarts she's had, and the crispy pastry provided the perfect home for the creamy, custard lemon filling.

The raspberries went very well with the lemon and balanced the sweetness of the dish out with their fresh, more tart and slightly sour flavours. The addition of the coulis on the plate also added to this, and the Chantilly cream was an added bonus for her as she adores the vanilla essence based cream.

Bellies once again full, we were both left extremely impressed with the food offering Soul Bar has in store for Aberdeen Restaurant Week. 

Not only are the menu's themselves great value for money, but both the lunch and dinner menu's boast an array of high quality food that not only shows off the chef's talents, but also highlights just how focused on providing something different and refreshing to the food scene in Aberdeen the establishment is.

If you haven't already booked, then it's worth getting in touch with them sooner rather than later as the venue gets booked up quite quickly in advance - especially during the weekend.

For Now...

Just Julia