Silver Darling, Aberdeen

My husband went to the Silver Darling for lunch on our wedding anniversary. We both thought it was one of the best meals we had ever eaten. What we particularly liked was that the portion sizes were sensible (which meant you could have three courses without feeling overly stuffed). The service was friendly and not rushed - just what we like. The view out to Aberdeen Harbour is superb (even though it was a rainy day) and the ambiance splendid. A grand place and we'd certainly go there again.

People who complain that the portions are too small are just plain greedy and aren't there for the flavour or for the quality food. At so many restaurants the portions are so enormous you end up leaving half the meal (a waste of food) and have no room for other courses.

The food was ok... I would say a little over complicated and over cooked for my liking but the ingredients seemed fresh and of good quality. The service was average. Overall my opinion of this place isn't fantastic. I certainly didn't feel that we received value for money but the setting was nice, overlooking the harbour, and the building had the novelty factor. Jane, Cheshire.

Fantastic!I am a regular at the silver darling and i must say for many years has been the best on offer in Aberdeen.Service,Food,Views can you ask for more!

On a recent trip to Aberdeen I decided to try the Silver Darling, and wow, I am so happy that i did.

The service was brilliant, okay we had to pour our own wine occasionally (not that big a deal, and they were very busy).

The food was magnificent.

I had always wanted to visit Silver darling's having grown up in Aberdeen. On my trip back to the city I decided to take my parents and some family friends out for a special meal there.The service was what 1st struck me, there didn't seem to be any basically. We ordered wine, which we later had to pour ourselves as with the water. Must admit for one of Scotland's top restaurants I was very surprised as the staff did not appear to have been trained to a very high standard. One member of staff served food from across the table, when there was no need for it.I thought the portions were small and to be honest not really that great. My Tuna steak, which was a special that day, came not seared on either side, but like a rubber heal. To top it all not once were we asked about the meal, given a thank you when we paid, or in fact receive any evidence of being acknowledged.Never again, definitely the worst service I have experienced in a restaurant in a long time.

The Silver Darling should come close to being the highlight restaurant in Aberdeen. It has the location, perched at the end of the north harbour with excellent views of the bay. The interior is fine. Unfortunately, I feel its good points finish there. The first course of three poached langoustine with white asparagus, raspberry dressing and summer leaves was very disappointing. There was almost no taste and any taste that was present was provided by the gastrointestinal tract of the langoustine that had apparently not been removed. The summer leaves consisted of approximately 4cm2 of a supermarket style lettuce leaf. The main course was the special, consisting of turbot, tomato pasta, with asparagus and a mushroom sauce. The turbot was overcooked and too salty, the pasta was alright in a bland sort of way and the mushroom sauce was weak. The wine list was fair, favouring the French and the half bottle of Sancerre that I had was good and very reasonable. The service was fine although I thought the waiters would have looked more at home serving alcopops in a nightclub. The bill was £52 without a tip and I left hungry. Very disappointing.

Excellent particularly during the summer and can complement a most pleasant evening stroll along the boulevard, before and after.

Three week ago I took my wife for a nice romantic meal, at the weekend, to The Silver Darling. The table was booked for 7.30 and we arrived at 6.45. We never got the table we asked for and they were quite dismissive about the whole affair, and that was just the start. We ordered two starters and a fish main course and we got a complementary prestarter. By 7.15 we had been served the starters and I then asked the waiter to hold the main courses who then told me that they were already up and under the lights. We asked for our check and we went home, thanks. Not even a sign of an a apology!