Special menus have been unveiled by several Aberdeen restaurants for a new project which aims to boost customer numbers and showcase the best cuisine in the Granite City.
More than 30 city centre restaurants have signed up to the first Aberdeen Restaurant Week which will run from Thursday, February 1 to Thursday, February 8.
Each restaurant has created a unique menu for the event with a simple pricing structure which also reflects the project’s inaugural year.
Participating restaurants include, Rye & Soda, Moonfish, Musa, Café Harmony, Food Story, Kirkview Cafe, Soul, Café Boheme, McGinty's Meal an' Ale and the Carmelite.
A two-course lunch will be priced at £10 per person and a three-course dinner will cost £20.18 per person.
The initiative has been launched by leading business organisation Aberdeen Inspired to encourage visitors and residents to support city centre restaurants during what is traditionally a quiet time of the year.
Restaurateurs attended a special event at His Majesty’s Theatre’s 1906 Restaurant on Wednesday afternoon to speak about their menus, highlight what’s on offer and network with fellow restaurateurs and food bloggers.
Adrian Watson, chief executive of Aberdeen Inspired, said: “The inaugural Aberdeen Restaurant Week has certainly captured the imagination of many of our city centre restaurants which have pulled out all the stops and created fantastic menus for the public to enjoy.
“As well as helping to increase footfall and customer spending, this project offers a unique incentive for customers to explore some of the best of Aberdeen’s cuisine. It’s also an opportunity for participating restaurants to showcase their food and customer service styles.
“We’ve seen from other parts of the world just how much of an impact restaurant week can have and I’d urge people to look at what’s on offer and make the most of some of the finest cuisine in Aberdeen.”
Sandy McKinnon, owner of Foodstory, said: "To celebrate the first Aberdeen Restaurant Week we’ve developed a new three-course menu for £20.18.
“We are passionate about healthy plant-based foods and we wanted to create an exciting alternative menu which is 100% plant based and gluten and wheat free."
Andy Reiach, general manager of Boozy Cow, added: "Aberdeen Restaurant Week is a great way to showcase your restaurant and reach out to people who may have never dined with you before.
"When creating our menu, we thought outside the box and came up with ideas for dishes that showcase the products that we pride our self on. We hope guests will be blown away and come back and try our main menu.
"It’s a lot of fun and it definitely generates a lot of business during a challenging time of the year.
“Before I returned to Aberdeen I had witnessed the success of restaurant week in Canada and the benefits it brought to the local economy, it increases footfall throughout the city centre and generates a buzz around the city.
"I have seen the impact from both sides of restaurant week working in the industry and then being a guest in several restaurants throughout the event. It opened me up to food I had never thought about tasting and made me want to get adventurous and ultimately dine out all week.
"The idea to bring such event to Aberdeen can only enhance the industry here and bring excitement and a good vibe back to the city centre in the current economic climate."
Aberdeen Inspired is the banner under which the Aberdeen Business Improvement District (BID) operates. It is a business-led initiative within the city centre in which levy payers within the BID zone contribute.
Proceeds are used to fund projects designed to improve the business district. Due to its on-going success, the organisation won 2017 European BID of the Year in July.
For more information about Aberdeen Restaurant Week, please visit: www.aberdeenrestaurantweek.com
