The Aberdeenshire coast is without doubt one of the most spellbindingly gorgeous, but relatively ignored, parts of the UK. It is ruggedly pretty, blustery even in summer and has 165 miles of coastline to pooter along, eating cullen skink, stovies and fish fresh from Peterhead. From the seawalls at Footdee, you can eat one of those fearsome lard croissants called butteries (or rowies), spread thickly with jam, while staring appreciatively at a trawler in the North Sea simply for breaking up the unending, shimmery nothingness.
If you begin your trip in Aberdeen, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more coastal dining experience than The Silver Darling, because it’s right on Pocra Quay, inside the old customs house. The quaint, cobbled harbour was first registered as a business in 1136 under King David I, and the customs house would never have won any beauty contests; it was made to survive, hewn from granite with a flat roof and a panoramic view of all the ships and boats approaching. There’s a sense from the moment you enter, passing the grand private dining room and up the stairs to the restaurant proper, that these walls have heard their fair share of gossip. Even if, nowadays, it’s the sort of charming place Dame Judi Dench stops off at on her way back from the Braemar Games, to dine on cumin and coriander-spiced monkfish, battered oysters and crispy Szechuan squid.
Times certainly change, especially for the herring, after which the restaurant is named: “silver darling” is an old nickname for these fish, back when they were consumed by the ton and revered for keeping fishing families financially afloat. Cut to 2022, however, and the poor herring can’t even find a starring role on the Silver Darling’s menu out of sentimentality. It’s there, in rollmop form and in very small letters, at the bottom of the £40 mixed platter menu, under the more glamorous-sounding mussels marinière, gravadlax and crevettes, but if you opt for the posher, £75 “full house” platter featuring the likes of a langoustine bisque “espresso”, you won’t have to face a herring at all.
The Silver Darling is one of those restaurants that will always attract guests simply for the view, so be clear when booking that you want a seat by the window. If you’re not bothered about seeing the sea, however, there is more exciting cooking happening inland at Café 52, which I swear by. Still, this is an affable way to spend time on a cold, rain-battered day with a bowl of fancy cullen skink made with local haddock, toasted oats and chives. Or, when the sun shines, take a seat looking out over the beach and knock back Loch Fyne rock oysters with red wine shallot vinegar while drinking glasses of the house white, Il Barroccio Bianco. Oysters are an acquired taste for many, so if slimy things aren’t your bag, the beer-battered Cape Wrath ones here might be where you have an epiphany. Battering and deep-frying makes oysters spongier and more subtle, and gives them a lovely, portobello mushroom mouthfeel, and they’re wonderful dipped in homemade sweet chilli sauce or seaweed mayonnaise.
Next, a plate of nicely seared Shetland scallops with a dainty salad of pickled samphire and fennel laced with sea buckthorn gel. Roast Stonehaven langoustines with garlic and lemon butter are simple yet delicious. We chose the North Sea jumbo haddock with hand-cut chips and crushed peas, which, like all posh fish and chips, lost some of its charm in the bid to be posh. Still, the batter was delicate and light and the fish nicely pale and flaky. The haddock was certainly jumbo. I chipped away at mine for what felt like an hour, making little impact on the beast, and finished off two pots of delicious, caper-laden tartare sauce in the process. It should be said, the menu isn’t completely fishy: there are Scottish sirloin steaks, chana masala vegan burgers and kale linguine, if that floats your day boat, but really this is a place to celebrate the sea. Don’t trust me, trust Rod Stewart: his face is on the wall looking ecstatic.
The pudding menu features a sea buckthorn creme brulee, but the dish that would make me pine for land if I was ever away on an oil rig would be the warm triple-chocolate espresso-and-pecan-nut brownie with PX ice-cream, festooned with crystallised pecan nuts. Never has a pastry chef rammed so many of my favourite vices in one bowl concurrently. There’s also a bramble crumble with rosemary ice-cream that feels more homespun and in keeping with the humble ancestors who worked here and never tasted a caramelised banana bavarois with pineapple glaze. This port is ancient, mighty and will live on longer than all of us; the Silver Darling is a pleasant way to stop by and pay tribute.
The Silver Darling Pocra Quay, Aberdeen, 01224 576229. Open all week, Mon-Fri lunch noon-2pm (2.30pm Fri), dinner 5-8.30pm (9pm Fri), Sat noon-9pm, Sun noon-8pm. About £45 a head, plus drinks and service
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This article was edited on 7 October 2022, to correct a misspelling of Dame Judi Dench’s first name in an earlier version.
