6 Best Restaurants in Aberdeen, Aberdeen and the Northeast

Huge windows overlook the harbor and beach at this quayside favorite in a former customhouse, long one of Aberdeen's most acclaimed restaurants. The French-inspired menu focuses on fish: try the crab bisque with samphire to start, then move on to a lavish seafood platter of scallops, mussels, langoustes, prawns, and cockles.

This artsy café-restaurant has an innovative menu, an atmospheric dining room with open kitchen, and covered outdoor seating. The menu features veggie options such as mushroom falafel, grilled halloumi with crushed walnuts, and barley fricassee, as well as lots of imaginative Middle Eastern-fusion meat and seafood choices. No matter what you order, local produce makes it tasty and fresh. The handsome restaurant is in a silvery granite building with exposed-stone walls, huge windows, and shiny black tables.

A bright, breezy vegetarian and vegan café-eatery, Foodstory pulls in a loyal crowd to graze on its healthy, freshly made breakfasts, lunches, and wonderful cakes. Expect organic breakfast and brunch choices such as superfood porridge, scones, and filling dishes such as vegetarian hot pot. Lunch options include a daily-special light dish, soup, rolls, pies, wraps, and heaped salads. Recycled chairs, tables, wooden panels, and tiles give it a homey kitchen-canteen feel. In addition, Foodstory is proud of its zero-carbon and zero-waste credentials. It also offers yoga and meditation classes.

This elegant yet relaxed seafood restaurant can be found along a medieval lane next to St. Nicholas Kirk. Mains may include freshly caught sea trout, halibut, or hake served with imaginative accompaniments such as celeriac with seaweed. The sophisticated atmosphere of the dining room is enhanced with striking landscape photography and somber lighting. A gin bar serves craft distillations and cocktails.

Ask anyone about this long-established place and the response will probably be overwhelmingly positive. Fish-and-chips is the specialty, and the secret-recipe batter is now the stuff of legend. Finish the Whale—a gigantic fillet of battered haddock with fries —and you'll be rewarded with a second one free. The decor is basic; think wooden chairs and tables. Ashvale also has siblings in Elgin, Ellon, Banchory, and elsewhere in the northeast.

The slick facade and glowing red interior might be a little intimidating at first, but the smiling staff is approachable and happy to help you choose the right blend of flavors and textures. The menu includes dishes like kushiyaki-style skewers of aged sirloin steak, sushi, miso soup, and salad.