Famished after our long hike on my visit to Aberdeen, Wes and I stopped into The Potarch Hotel for dinner. We’d actually stopped at another town for dinner but since it around 5pm, and no one was opened we continued on our journey back to Aberdeen, stopping in to see if the restaurant at The Potarch was open. Although open at six, the combination of a roaring fire, and the bartender saying she’d take our order immediately left little to refuse.

Defrosting in front of the fire, the menu looked amazingly appetising and I couldn’t decide what sort of food to order. In the end, I ordered the Peat Smoked Haddock & Leek Fishcake (£6.25), and the Pink Peppercorn Crusted Loin of Pork (£11.95). I think Wes tried the Breast of Ballogie Pheasant (£11.95) but I can’t remember because they also had some sort of poultry special of the day that looked just as tempting. We had a beer in the meantime to drink as we started to feel some sensations return to our hands and it wasn’t too long before our food arrived.

All of the food came out piping hot, obviously freshly made and the fishcakes were definitely the best out of the two dishes. With three reasonably sized fishcakes, the smokiness of the fish added an amazing depth that resonated well with the flickering fire. Both crisp, light and filling, I would have been happy by the fishcakes alone. It’s such a shame they were so expensive though. I was much more disappointed by the pork that came out obviously overcooked. Definitely dry and overly tough, the thick loin definitely needed the red wine jus to be edible. I’ll admit the pink peppercorn crust added a different dimension of texture and flavour but really couldn’t quite redeem it.

The Potarch Hotel is a lovely spot, obviously popular with locals since all the other tables had been booked out for the evening. Its surprisingly bright tartan carpet seems to fit in with the rest of the decore – photos of people catching fish in the summer and other memorabilia from its past. Service wise, I have to thank our Australian waitress who came over to have a bit of chat with us although she also admittedly she quite liked keeping warm by the fire at the same time too.

I think Wes and I agreed that The Potarch Hotel has a lot of potential, but with many of the dishes overpriced by a couple of pounds, you really want to pick the dish to enjoy.

Name: The Potarch Hotel
Details: By Banchory, Royal Deeside, Scotland, AB31 4BD
Contactable on: See http://www.potarchhotel.co.uk/