Restaurant of the week
Whitehills, Banff, Aberdeenshire
The Galley Location
Couldn’t be better as the waterfront cafe and seafood restaurant is opposite the marina on Harbour Place.
First impressions
The utilitarian exterior of this eatery belies its bright, smart interior with large windows looking out on to sailboats, bobbing at their moorings.
Service
We arrived on a blustery early evening to a warm welcome. The waiting team were friendly and efficient and happy to advise on menu options.
Menu
The imaginative menu was divided into starters, seafood mains, non-seafood mains, with a whole section devoted to vegetarians and vegans, as well as desserts, a snack selection and bakes. There are gluten free options too.
Taste
For starters we went with pan-seared scallops set on black pudding with Drambuie sauce, along with breaded Brie bites – both were super tasty. Mains included slow roast lamb shank in a red wine and rosemary jus, which was tender and flavoursome. My guests went for chicken Balmoral, and homemade fish pie, bursting with flaky haddock in a creamy cheese sauce – scrumptious. But the star was the lemon sole with colcannon mash, sauteed green veg, and finished with a prawn and white wine sauce, described as “out of this world”. For dessert we went with chocolate cake with ice cream and a crème brulee, heaven!
Ambience
Fun and friendly. This place is adapted for people with disabilities both in the restaurant and the toilets, which were squeaky clean.
Price
With drinks our meal for four came to £133 which we considered reasonable for an eatery that lays claim to serving only the finest and freshest of local produce.