The best restaurants in Aberdeenshire North East Scotland

Amazing place wonderful fresh made to order food sandwich with side salad with fruit and tortilla chips best tasting sandwich I have had in a long time grate selection of soft drinks wonderful coffee and our friends from same bus trip had cake well it looked like 2 slices together they were that bit do give it a try if you are in town the owners are so friendly they also have baked goods for sale to take home with you and hand made Halloween earrings that my daughter is going to be over the moon with

My husband and I went out ad hoc for the day as it was our anniversary. I haven't been well so we didn't book anywhere to eat as we weren't sure if I would be able to go out. Hence we were dressed in our everyday comfy attire and was just looking for a pub tea somewhere. On our way home we stumbled on Kildrummy Inn which looked very nice but still expected it to be an ordinary run hotel. We walked in to find the most beautiful restaurant in an hotel and were greeted so warmly as if dressed like the other guests whom at all made an effort.. From that moment on the experience grew. The host I think named David showed us through to a beautiful warm fire, it was freezing, then took our drinks order, which came with the most delicious complimentary nibbles, he also spent a long answering all my husbands questions about the Inn. He took our order and I mentioned I normally had a Diane Sauce with my steak, which wasn't on the menu, "No problem Madam, our Chef would be happy to make that for you". Can I say I have never had a nicer Diane Sauce, the whole meal and every member of staff could not have made our visit more attentive or special. During our meal after our starter we had a surprise complimentary tomato consume, again delicious. We came to realised the restaurant is normally well booked in advance but we couldn't have been luckier as there was a last minute cancellation, so be aware a booking in advance is normally required. If your in the area or happy to travel a wee bit please don't miss out on this experience. Yes a bit more expensive than an ordinary pub lunch but we have paid more for a less superior meal or experience in other locations, hence worth every penny. Please take the opportunity to frequent, you will not be disappointed both the food and drinks choices are excellent and you will leave having had a guaranteed very special evening.

Amazing food with the highlight the lamb shank my husband had. He wants to come back tomorrow!! Momo and samosa starter were lovely and the complimentary sweet and chilli potato snack was a delight.

Fantastic food, great atmosphere. Very friendly staff and excellent service. Probably one of the best burgers I've had in the UK, my son had the same burger and agreed it was one of the best.

This is one of best coffee shops I have known. It's such a shame that it's taken me 72 years to discover it. Great coffee and delicious food. The bacon rolls are gigantic.

Great food, atmosphere and reasonably priced for a 2 course Sunday carvery. Staff were great with us too, another good experience here

We spotted the sign for the Arch cafe on our way to Banchory and decided to stop for lunch - and were so glad we did! We had such a warm welcome and were served by very friendly and efficient staff. The homemade food was delicious and arrived promptly : the menu was varied with an excellent choice. We can highly recommend the cafe and want to say thank you to the whole team involved.

The visit we had to here was lovely! Atmosphere was amazing. The servers and locals were very nice. The food and drink you could not fault. Definitely making this a fav spot

A lovely local cafe, friendly and welcoming plus dog friendly. Small but very well done menu all made to order, sandwiches toasties and mains. Nice tea and coffee selection with scones and other tasty treats. Vegan and diary free available. If in the area again definitely coming back and will 'push Liz' s buttons '

Sit in or take-away this is an excellent restaurant for those with a palate for spice. Also very, very friendly service, always feel valued as a customer.

Thank you for catering so well for gluten free. Gluten free cones and a lot of effort to avoid cross contamination. Done with a smile and no problem. Tubs don't cut it really (usual option for us gluten free folks) so to leave with a cone and a smile, just like other people, is fabulous.

Excellent donuts, fantastic coffee and very warm welcome. The place was busy with cyclists refuelling: soup smelled delicious. Our treats were so good we went back to buy more to take home for breakfast!

What a fabulous restaurant! We arrived 10 minutes before our booked time and were warmly welcomed and shown straight to our table. All staff were very helpful and extremely attentive which gave us an indication of what we might expect with the food and we were not disappointed! They do a fixed price lunch menu but we were able to mix and match so chose mussels from the a la carte menu followed by steamed lemon sole from the lunch menu and both were so tasty and the sauces very flavourful! We also had the very moreish Crab pancakes as a pre starter and wonderful sour dough bread which is baked daily in the restaurant! We had no room for desserts but they too looked great! We live a 3 hour drive away from Ballater but my goodness it was so worth the journey and we will certainly be back!

Had lunch here on a cold wet day. There are a couple of pavement tables but it was not a day for sitting outside. The soup was ideal and very tasty. It was noticeable that the staff were exceptionally helpful towards customers with mobility problems, going outside to help one person out of a car and through the door. Very heart warming.

The soup and other dishes were all make by the chef to a very high standard. Extremely tasty and highly recommended. Great cafe