ALMOST 50 eateries across the city are taking part in Aberdeen Restaurant Week from today (Monday January 16), including several new venues which have signed up for the first time.
From now until Sunday, January 29, diners can enjoy a huge variety of exclusive food and drinks offers at local restaurants, cafes and bars.
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Each venue has curated a special offering for Aberdeen Restaurant Week, from delicious tasting menus to sharing platters with a glass of wine, starting at £10 per person.
Thousands of guests are expected to take advantage of the special offers while sampling global cuisines ranging from traditional Scottish fare to tapas, vegan, Thai, Indian, modern British and Italian dishes.
Restaurants are already reporting a huge uplift in bookings for the next two weeks.
Among the new venues for this year are Six by Nico, Olive Alexanders in Golden Square, PadThai Hot Pot and Grill on Union Street and Common Sense Cafe on Union Terrace and The Terrace Restaurant at His Majesty’s Theatre, both of which overlook the recently renovated Union Terrace Gardens.
Six by Nico will be offering a complimentary glass of fizz to diners who quote ‘ARW’ when they book to experience the new Neverland tasting menu.
Taking guests on a magical flight with Peter Pan, the six creative courses include The Lost Boys, Captain Codfish and Food Fight!
Nico Simeone, director of Six by Nico, said: “We’ve been welcomed to Aberdeen with open arms and were made to feel like part of the community instantly. It’s been amazing to see the positive response from everyone in the city and afar, we hope this small token of our thanks goes down well with everyone.
“We’re really excited for our future in Aberdeen and hope to see more familiar and friendly faces around.”
Aberdeen Restaurant Week is being organised by city centre BID Aberdeen Inspired, which first brought the concept to the city in 2018.
Chief executive Adrian Watson said: “We are excited to be launching the first Aberdeen Restaurant Week of 2023, which is now a well-established and much anticipated event.
“We are proud to have almost 50 different restaurants, cafes and bars signed up to take part this time, with several taking part for the first time. Among them are 210 Bistro, Pigs Wings, Jewel in the Crown, Faffless, Pinehurst Lodge and Books and Beans, which choose to pay a voluntary levy to be part of Aberdeen Inspired and be involved with Restaurant Week.
“There is a huge selection of cuisines and offers for diners to choose from, whether they want to try something new or return to an old favourite,” he said. “We know January can be a quiet time for hospitality venues so this encourages people to get together with friends or family and enjoy new dishes and special offers.
“The feedback from the restaurants involved is that they are seeing a noticeable uplift in bookings for this time of year thanks to Aberdeen Restaurant Week, and we hope visitors will also take the time to enjoy everything else the city has to offer while they are in Aberdeen.”
With Burns Night taking place during restaurant week there are also two Burns Suppers on offer as part of the event, one at Siberia on Belmont Street and the other at The Esslemont on Union Street.
Siberia will serve up its Burns celebration for three nights from January 25 to 27, while the Esslemont Burns Supper is for one night only on the Bard’s birthday – Wednesday, January 25 – and will feature all the classic ingredients of a great Burns Supper and fine Scottish fayre from some of the best local suppliers.
Set to be a celebration to remember, diners can look forward to a welcome cocktail specially crafted for the night – The Tropic of Laurencekirk, based on Fettercairn Whisky – a five course meal including The Bread Guy’s sourdough, H M Sheridan’s venison meatballs and much more.
All Aberdeen Restaurant Week bookings should be made with the restaurants directly.
Aberdeen Inspired was established to attract, sustain and boost investment in Aberdeen’s city centre for the benefit of its levy payers and all those who live, work, shop and visit there.
In addition to levy payments, which go to support city centre improvements and initiatives, the BID brings in additional funding which that for every £1 of levy collected, at least £2 is invested in the city centre.
The BID footprint covers Union Street and the surrounding streets, including Broad Street, Market Street, Bridge Street, Huntly Street and Holburn Junction.
- Further information on participating restaurants is available on the Aberdeen Inspired website at https://www.aberdeeninspired.com/festival/restaurant-week/restaurants
