Gourmands Find A Soft Landing In Granite City

Buzzy establishments like Tarragon and Moonfish Cafe are a foodie’s dream in Aberdeen.

- Liza Weisstuch

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND’S THIRD LARGEST metropolitan area, boasts multimillion-dollar upgrades to charming 19th-century gardens, the fabulous Aberdeen Art Gallery and that most covetable type of food scene: homegrown and authentically buzzy but still low-key. Here, a selection of the best the city has to offer.

Moonfish Cafe

At this small dining room on a narrow cobblestone street in City Centre, the decor is minimal and the shelves are packed with dozens of gins, many Britishmade. Chef-owner Brian Mcleish changes the menu every 6 weeks in accordance with the phases of the seasons; his modernist dishes, which have earned the restaurant Michelin recommendations for the past 6 years, take cues from traditional Scottish cooking—think a clever interpretation of a fish pie in the form of baked scallops, roasted-cauliflower puree, basil pesto and house-cured sausage under a puffpastry top.

Tarragon