The Green Cafe in Aberdeenshire

I was at this restaurant at the start of September in the group which was reviewed by Alexander Haid. I can confirm everything he has posted. We were not the group that was drunk if there even was one that evening as we didn’t see anything like that. The food was not good. Simple. My cod was overcooked and was very dry. I sent it back and the second was hardly better. The pizzas were extremely average. To react to a negative review with a barrage of lies to try to avoid the feedback and divert attention from the criticism is very poor and unprofessional. Instead take the critique on board as an opportunity to improve!

For us it was – without exaggeration – by far the worst meal in Ballater! I would like to start by pointing out that the current rating of The Green Inn was a solid 4.3 stars when I visited. Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed that many of the good reviews were actually for the Indian restaurant, which, by the way, is really fantastic. Completely in contrast to “The Green Inn”. We - two couples with hungry stomachs - had decided in advance to test the restaurant because we had already reserved a table for a group of about 12 people on one of the coming days. Luckily we decided on this dress rehearsal because after this “culinary adventure” we immediately canceled the reservation. Now for the food review: The service was initially friendly, the ambience was rather simple and a bit loveless - two crooked pictures on the wall still didn't manage to bother us any further at this point. Three of us chose pizza, one chose fish. And what can I say? It was a disaster across the board. The fish came much later than our pizzas - it probably had to recover from being overcooked. Even on the second attempt it was completely overcooked. But when the waitress brought him again, this time with an expression more reminiscent of a grumpy bouncer than a friendly waitress, there was no apology. Well, sponge about it - but unfortunately not about the taste. Let's come to the pizzas: Here you can undoubtedly say that the chef has probably never seen an Italian pizza in his life, let alone prepared it. We were served a tiny, unimaginative slice of dough that had nothing in common with an Italian pizza other than its round shape, and the ingredients on the pizza didn't make the taste any better. You might think it was a joke - but no, the seriousness of life caught up with us here too. The fact that none of us finished our plates obviously went unnoticed by the staff and therefore went uncommented - perhaps asking about the taste of the food would have been overkill? By the way, the waitress who served us at the beginning had long since disappeared by the time we were finished, and other staff members followed her straight through the main entrance, even though the restaurant was far from over when it opened. So it's no wonder that Google doesn't provide any fixed times. Conclusion: I cannot recommend this restaurant with the best will in the world. The decision not to have our group meeting there was undoubtedly an excellent choice. 2024.09.27 Update I refer to Green Inn's response to my review. There was obviously a mix-up because we were neither drunk nor were we asked to leave the restaurant. These must have been other guests. Unfortunately, this reaction confirms that criticism at the Green Inn is not accepted appropriately and is also met with false counterarguments.

I'm afraid that restaurant quality in the UK is generally a bit worse than in Europe, but the following is definitely worth noting. Slow service, small portions, high proportion of ready-made food or not particularly high quality and unfortunately at a very high cost. There is also a camera hanging directly above the table. We cannot recommend the restaurant.

I have rarely experienced a restaurant that delivers so little on what it promises. The menu proudly advertises over 20 years of tradition, but there was absolutely no sign of it. Neither the quality of the food nor the service was even remotely convincing. The portions were shockingly small - almost a joke for the prices here. It felt like you were paying for the name rather than the actual performance on the plate. The prices are completely excessive and in no way justified. For the money we left here we could have had a whole feast elsewhere. Overall, an absolutely disappointing experience that neither lived up to the high expectations nor the full-bodied promises. I definitely won't go here a second time.

What a great meal we had from here Mac and cheese was really good with garlic bread pizza with fresh veggies The food was excellent and I would recommend it.

Very expensive, overpriced even. For a rather mediocre quality: £16 for a pizza, a size smaller than the standard size... £5.5 for a carafe of sparkling water... Take the road, there are better things in the city

Had a couple of takeaway pizzas tonight, they were good but very small in relation to the cost

W⚓️s! According to the information stored on Google the restaurant is "open" on May 6th. So i walk two miles down in the pouring rain from the Hilton Hotel just to find out that the place is closed (although the illumination on the first floor also says "open". More over: Google refers to the Green Inn as "Italian Restaurant" - at the ( closed) door i realize its an "Indian" restaurant in reality! Bloody idiots.

Amazing fresh Italian food. Excellent service!

Fantastic meal here. The Risotto was one of the nicest I’ve ever had. Delicious. Staff were friendly and attentive. Would highly recommend.

Everything was very nice. The friendly staff, the food and the pleasant atmosphere. My only criticism, the pizzas are rather small for what they cost. I would return but may not have the pizza.

Okay, I have been to more authentic Italian places, but this is a unique gem all its own. The sun room was a gorgeous place to eat. They had an excellent kids menu, I think their Mac and Cheese was my baby's favorite thing he has eaten in his 11 months of life. The staff was also really great with him, and overall, which was welcome. Nice wine list. Reservations recommended!

Tea was very good. Prices are very affordable. Sandwich’s very delicious, lots of options to eat and nice and cozy. People were nice

A shame I didn’t get any photos of the extremely disappointing and overpriced food. I understand season prices but my partner and I ordered soup and a sandwich each, and paid nearly £40 - the price of an actual meal. Soup was a small portion of what tasted like store bought or canned tomato with veg in it, 1 slice of brown basics bread. The sandwich was advertised as “artisan panini with salad” and was a 20p pre baked baguette with soggy crisps and a spoonful of bought in coleslaw (no fork brought out). Also asked for water which never arrived. We head up pretty regularly and will stick to the alternatives.

Walk in and accommodated us well. Carbonara vg

Wow thanks fantastic food great wine and the service as always super attentive

I can’t fault the cappuccino it was lovely and hot and the scone was lovely although I wasn’t asked if I’d like it warmed. But £7! How can you justify that for a coffee and a scone. Daylight robbery in my book. I can only presume every cafe in Ballater charges those extortionate prices because of the tourists. I’m an Aberdonian (not oil industry related) and was only out there as me and my dog are doing ‘thebighoptrail’. It reminded me why I don’t visit these beautiful local places that are on my doorstep.

Small Italian restaurant with a nice atmosphere . Service is excellent food good. The order consisted of Risotto with salmon and pouched egg, Procciutto pizza with mascapone cheese, and prok belly . The Risotto was very good, nice herbal flavor that didn't overpowered salmon. However, Felts like something was missing. I would have like a bit more pepper. The pizza was good the mascapone complemented nice, maybe a bit more procciutto would have been great. The pork belly was also nice, well cooked, and nice flavor. however, the gravy was somewhat salty. Desert consisted of vanilla yogurt Panacotta, vanilla ice cream, and tiramisu. Every dessert was great, especially the panacota. Overall, it was a good experience and nice food. Would definitely try it again.

Very expensive for what you eat. The restaurant aims to be chic but it remains a restaurant where you eat basic pizzas and pasta with unoriginal recipes. The setting is too stuffy for this kind of food. This creates a gap and the bill is very high for not much. Still nice staff.

My partner and I enjoyed our stay at The Green Inn on Saturday 26th May ,2023 after our visit to Balmoral Castle. Check in was a very straight forward process as we were provided with information and a pin to access our room before arrival. The room had a on suit bathroom and was very spacious, clean. The attention to details and decoration of this room made us feel at home. We were provided with complimentary wine, teas and coffees and enjoyed the smart television. A highlight for us was the restaurant downstairs where we were served the most delicious Italian inspired foods. The staff were very welcoming and happy accommodate to our requests. We thank you all and we hope to visit again in future.

Fine dining experience with attention to detail. Friendly staff and great service.

We stopped off in Ballater and had a walk around. We found The Green Cafe and there was seating available. Lovely inside and there was some seating outside too. We were informed they were only serving hot drinks and cakes (it was around 3pm) and we said that was fine. We ordered hot drinks and scones. The scones were amazing! The best I think I have had. There was so much fruit in them, they were delicious. My compliments to the chef. Highly recommend this cafe.

Very friendly atmosphere. Great food!

Stumbled onto The Green Inn, so not looking for Italian in Scotland, but wow! Just really great homemade food don’t right!

Good place to go in Ballater. Good food and excellent staff

Lovely welcoming owner and the best pasta I have had in years both in UK and Italy!!!!

I was an employee in this restaurant for 2 months in 2017, I do not recommend it for new customers to go or order from this restaurant, the restaurant manager, cooked and smoked at the same time and did not respect the hygiene and safety rules, the oil It changes almost every 2 weeks, and treated the new employees who came from Spain very bad

I am a wheelchair user and was glad to see the restaurant had easy access level with the pavement and I enjoyed my food. However the rating I have given is marked down for the lack of wheelchair accessible toilet.

One member of party had never been to an Indian restaurant but thoroughly enjoyed their meal

Really nice and romantic decorated place to spent a beautiful relaxed evening. Really good Indian Food and very helpful and friendly staff. You have a big variety of Menus also budget friendly!!!

Very kind staff and the food was super!

Awful experience. Service was terrible, we were there for over 2 hours and only ordered 2 drinks and 2 mains, we were tempted to walk out after an hour of waiting for the food. The food itself was tasteless and so overcooked it was tough as old boots. When we asked for the bill, the server had overcharged us (and the food is overpriced anyhow). Also no care taken in regards to covid, so sanitisation or track and trace. All in all, would not recommend.

Restaurant in rapid decline. No Track and Trace. No customer Service. Odd staff making an odd atmosphere. All recent reviews on Trip Advisor tell the same story we experienced. We were in twice last week and were shocked at how poor the service in here has gotten since our last visit 2 years ago. Food is still excellent but staffing is a serious issue. On Thu night restaurant nearly empty, one person cooking and only house manager serving. We saw him get angry and fall out with a another couple over a glass of water and ask that they leave! Food took a long time but was very tasty. So we decided to give it another try on Sat night. Restaurant was busy with more staff on but after 1 hour waiting for our starter we'd seen table staff arguing loudly with each other and the only food coming out of the kitchen was takeaway orders. Table staff were hiding in the kitchen. Tables got restless and started asking for their food. I noticed starters being brought to tables that had come in after us, but not to whole tables, only one or two people at each table. Clearly the kitchen had lost track. When went to find the manager he immediately lost his temper and began to shout at me. We left and went to the other curry house in town where food is equally as good and customer service is excellent. India on the Green did not collect Track and Trace info from us on either night - it's a legal requirement in Scotland.

Very good food ... dal tadka was excellent . We got good discount too.

Over charged on takeaway and long wait, told half an hour and waited over an hour. Staff didn't seemed bothered. 😠

This restaurant was excellent. Great food, very friendly staff and the price was much less than we expected. I can definitely recommend it.

Asked to leave because in our humble opinion .. the tray with toppings for our poppadoms looked a bit tired. Asked for a fresh one. Game over! Bizarre! And shockingly poor customer service. Sorry but true.

Even though we were the only guests, the order of the starter and main course didn't work. The meal went like this.

Staff were friendly and helpful and the food was very good

Wonderful place, went for dinner and were early, before they opened for the evening but that was not an issue. Fresh food and plenty of choice. The South Indian Garlic Chilli Lamb was the best i have ever had, i still rave about it !!!, but 2.5hr to 3 hr trip is a bit far for a take away, sadly ....🤔

Great food, friendly staff, really organised regarding covid-19, felt very safe under their guidance

Best indian resturant we have ever been to!! Tandori mixed grill was amazing

Amazing Indian food, even better than many London restaurants. A must have whenever you visit.

Fantastic food, prices are more than reasonable , staff are excellent and will cater to needs. Take out or eat in options . Would recommend to anyone that enjoys Indian cuisine.

Fantastic food, you will not be disappointed.

Excellent restaurant. One of the best curries we've had. Especially liked the unique dishes on the menu. Staff were very attentive.

The food is great, unfortunately the service appeared to be a mixed bag. One night the service was fantastic, but another it was mediocre at best.

Out of this world Indian with very good looking space. Lovers the service

Delicious meal with very attentive staff

Very lovely meal and service well worth the money

Excellent food and very good service.

Excellent food after completing Jocks Road with the boys ...could not fault it

Amazing food and great, very attentive service. I recommend the peshwari naan.

Beautiful food and amazing service

Verry nice restaurant good food excellent service

Wonderful food and great atmosphere. Can't fault it one bit.

Amazing food, amazing service!!

Jim Scotland is a legend full of knowledge & great sense of humour.

A fantastic Indian restaurant with a brilliant wine selection that complements the food also very reasonably priced.

Cracking Indian! Had a great lamb shank and sesame lamb kebab. Suggest booking as it's popular.

Very nice meal, we will go again.

Good friendly service and nice meals with extensive choise.

What a meal it was just perfect, the staff couldn't do enough for us. I was part of the bmw group, can't wait for next time. Thank you all do, so much.

Very friendly helpful staff and delicious food. Lovely evening out 😊

Food excellent, prices very reasonable, staff very nice

Great service, food was lovely and the boss made us feel very welcome. Only downside was no card machine to pay as he said he had just taken over the business. Cash machine is just 50m away across the road. We'll definitely be back.

Very tasty and friendly Were invited for a drink after dinner. There was good whiskey from Loch Lomond.

Busy restaurant with some unusual choices. Had a hard time communicating that we were vegan; I'm not sure they quite understand what it means. We were offered complementary chicken twice. We were then told we'd get onion bhajis instead, which never came. Table next to us complained their food was raw and undercooked. There was no card machine. Really odd to have balsamic glaze with the mains and olives with the pappadums. Doesn't quite work. To their credit they did ensure our mains were butter free. I hope they can more clearly mark their menus in future to make it clear food can be veganized on request.

Superb meal here last night. The food was delicious and the staff were most attentive and friendly. Spotlessly clean surroundings and a very warm welcome received. Very good experience and a perfect place to enjoy dining in whilst on holiday. 10/10.

Superb attention and exquisite cusine. Uniquely catered for one of our group who has dietary in tolerances. Wish I lived near here. Good job guys.

Not the best Indian in ballater

Very nice place to try some unique Indian cuisine. Coming from Utah, the variety was very different than what most of our restaurants offer. Service was very good.

It was a lovely meal with nice background music. Excellent service. Will go back

Good food pleasant staff go there a lot

Excellent food very friendly and excellent service. Highly recommended

Interesting place this - almost slight eccentric?! Majority of the staff are lovely and engaging others wander around not knowing what's really happening ; but you get the sense they have been there since its opened..... Some of the food was lovely. The poppadoms/poppadums and different chutney types accompanying them were devine. The starters were a mixed bag with lovely if almost sweet (from balsam vinegar sprinkled over it!) Chicken tikka/pakora - to the frankly bonkers langoustines which were still shelled but inside a paratha?! Not easy to eat. Curries had a home cooked flavour to them which will either work for you or not. TBH the tastiest curry was my daughters Garam Masala! Not the incredible place many have talked about in my book. Interesting though.

Visitors on holiday visited on a Tuesday night table for 6 booked via open table, Arrived and were seated in conservatory drinks served than asked to move as regulars who had booked at the restaurant had arrived. and we were moved into other room on our own. Service was poor but fortunately the food was excellent. So visitors beware locals come first.

Meal was really good. They came with free soup and pacoras when we got the pompadoms. Staff were very welcoming and they gave us a complementary drink after our meal.

Indian with a beautiful winter garden

Went in, waited to be seated, looked at the menu and the prices did not match the menu in the window, very expensive, left!

Super place. Very good ambience. Food is awesome. Must try for everyone. They also offer free drinks for you to comeback. And I guess its worth it...staff is really friendly and will try their best to make you comfortable. They have a real great chef. Parking might be of a little concern, but there are lot of places around to park. But that shouldn't ,e a reason to miss this awesome place. You must go.

Very good cuisine, extremely friendly service and very child-friendly!

Extremely good and authentic food. Particularly check out pages 3 & 4 of the menu. We are ftom the San Francisco Bay Area where there many communities of Indian residents, many of whom are friends. This food is real on ots foundation but prepared with the exquisite touch of an excellent chef. We are going back tomorrow.

This place does dishes you will never have heard of, as well as traditional ones. The good is amazing! Try the 21 Spice dish or the Mishty Kadoo (not sure if correct spelling haha!) My one and only issue..... Dessert menu was disappointingly standard ffozdn stuff.... I expected to be wow'd like the main courses but alas it was not the case. Otherwise, this place is great! Very reasonably priced too and they bring you free nibbles to taste too.

Great food but service wasn't quite up to par

Brilliant food +all staff so friendly

A bit dark on the inside, but right in the middle of Ballater, with truly exceptional food. Highly recommended.

good Indian cuisine. Among other things, you have to plan a lot of time. We waited 30 minutes for our bill... However, there are slight language barriers as hardly any English was spoken (although with a strong accent) but the staff was very friendly and even recommended dishes to "Indian newbies".

The food, the attention of the staff, etc. exceptional. A totally recommendable site. Very careful when someone is allergic to any food. Congratulations 😃 The food, the waiters, etc, was exceptional. A great restaurant to go. Very careful when someone is allergic to any food. Congratulations!! 😃

Great food here, highly recommend

We had a great takeaway from here. The portions were generous, tasty and looked good too, not an easy thing with a curry. The naans were nice too though the Meena naan could have had more meat in it. The onion bhajis were crisp on the outside and yummy. I'll be back next time I'm here.

One of the best Indian restaurants I have been to, whenever I come up to the Cairngorms I always make sure I stop here for dinner! Been returning for 4 years now. Delicious food, very high quality, particularly if you want seafood and more interesting/unique takes on Indian food, well worth the trip and the prices. Also the staff were lovely and very good with my kids too!

Enjoy a meal for 7. Good attentive service.

Very good food, nice service, price OK.

Good food and nice staff.made very welcome they go the extra mile to please their customers recommended !!

Excellent. A cut above the usual curry shops.

Sleek but tasteful decor, language barrier staff, hardly speak English!, food is fine.

We are regular customers of loch Nagar tandoori. We came here to compare as we'd been recommended it. Staff were very friendly and couldn't fault the service but it was alot less homely and cosy inside. We were very surprised by the bill, alot more expensive. The poppadoms werent cooked freshly, but apart from that the food was good. Just didn't have the same wow factor as loch Nagar somehow. We enjoyed our time here but would go back to loch Nagar tandoori next time.

Best food I've had in a long time. Indian food raised to a new level

I tried the takeaway over the Christmas period. The portions were very generous, in fact I couldn't manage the amount I got. The food itself was very nice and also very reasonable. I hope to return next time I'm in Ballater and eat in the restaurant itself. I will Ould recommend this restaurant to anybody who enjoys a good Indian menu.