10 Places Where Locals Love to Eat in Aberdeen

The Silver Darling, occupying a former Customs House on the edge of the quay, takes full advantage of its magnificent location with floor-to-ceiling windows offering sweeping views of the harbor and the North Sea. Keep an eye out for dolphins and seals in the bay, or watch ships come in while you have a French martini or a glass of Veuve Cliquot.

The menu is passionately Scottish, showcasing Aberdeen Angus Beef, Loch Fyne oysters, and Shetland scallops, among others. Choose your fish from its central blackboard listing the catch of the day. The Silver Darling sources its fresh fish from the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market every morning. Crumble, cheesecake and a selection of homemade ice creams complete your meal.

Yatai Izakaya is a modern Japanese restaurant serving sharing dishes and small plates in a casual setting. Chefs use traditional Japanese cooking methods mixed with their own unique ideas to produce dishes like prawn steamed buns, deep-fried ginger chicken, teriyaki pork ribs, and vegetable skewers flavored with lime and chili.

It's worth trying the omakase-style dining, where the chef chooses the dishes based on your likes and dislikes. Match your food with a Japanese tipple, from Asahi lager, yuzu and grapefruit beer, Suntory Roku gin and jasmine tea. The best seats are at the benches facing the kitchen, where you can watch the chefs displaying their knife skills.

Combine your caffeine boost with some reading at Books & Beans, which consists of a cozy cafe and a bookstore. The menu is a well-chosen selection of soups, sandwiches and salads, plus all-day breakfasts of double-stack pancakes and maple syrup oatmeal. Tea and coffee are all fully fair trade and there's a selection of homemade cakes, too.

The second-hand bookstore sells every genre imaginable, but fans of graphic novels and science fiction will especially enjoy browsing its shelves. Peruse the selection on the first floor then take your purchases upstairs to relish it over a fragrant cup of coffee. Regular events include pop-up shops and poetry nights.

Ma Cameron's is one of the oldest pubs in Aberdeen, having served beer and ale to the city's residents for more than 300 years. The venue is a hit with Aberdeen's real ale drinkers thanks to a rotating selection of cask ales from Belhaven and Inveralmond, along with several fantastic Scottish malt whiskeys.

The menu is classic pub grub, with dishes like sausage and mash, steak and ale pie, and haggis fritters with whiskey sauce. Grab a seat in the rooftop beer garden when the weather is nice, or eat in the atmospheric snug. Ma Cameron's is even rumored to be haunted – ghostly footsteps have been heard after closing time.

Bonobo Cafe is a welcoming spot with all the ethical credentials you could possibly wish for – completely vegan, environmental-friendly and run by a workers' co-operative. Alongside classics like avocado on toast, it also serves vegan burgers, sausages and other comfort food. Try the tofuiche (vegan quiche made with tofu) or the full Scottish breakfast with vegan haggis.

The cake menu changes daily, but often includes chocolate brownies, oatmeal cookies and carrot cake. The eclectic interior and tables of reclaimed wood are complemented by a pleasant rooftop garden full of colorful murals and pretty hanging baskets. You can also take part in a vegan cooking workshop, yoga class or meditation session.

You wouldn't know it from its unpretentious location, but Angus & Ale serve some of the best burgers in Aberdeen. Angus beef is dry-aged on the bone for tender, succulent burgers, while their chicken is fried in spiced buttermilk. Experimental toppings on offer include apple and ale chutney, black pudding, haggis, and smoked Arran cheese.

One of Angus & Ale's specialties is craft beer, with a menu covering a good range of IPAs, stouts and pale ales. There are also some well-chosen Scottish whiskeys from Craigellachie and the Isle of Islay, and inventive cocktails like the key lime martini. The modern interior is comfortable and makes good use of the original architectural features.

Café Bohème is a full-service restaurant serving masterly French cooking made with local Scottish ingredients. Founder Dominique Mancellon is originally from Provence, and the restaurant offers French classics like onion soup, pan roast duck breast, fillet steak and cassoulet, accompanied by first-class French wines and local Scottish gin.

Let the chef choose your meal with the 5-course tasting menu, which comes paired with 5 handpicked wines and features dishes like red wine-glazed ox cheek and dark chocolate marquis. With its brick walls and enormous open fireplace, it feels like you're eating in the French countryside.

Goulash is a well-kept local secret, tucked away in a cul-de-sac in the center of Aberdeen. Hearty Hungarian dishes like beef goulash and chicken paprikash are richly seasoned with paprika and bay leaves to keep you warm in the Aberdeen winter. The hortobagyi pancakes are especially popular, stuffed with chicken and served with cream of paprika.

Hungary is known for its sweet wines and the restaurant serves several, along with the Hungarian red wine known as Bull's Blood and pálinka (fruit brandy). The dinky dining room feels like you're being welcomed into someone's home, which is enhanced by an open fireplace and maps of Hungary hanging on the walls.