The Beach Tree Cafe
Beach boulevard, Aberdeen
Scone Spy was barking up the right tree at this eatery on Aberdeen’s seafront. We rocked up at the newly launched Beach Tree Cafe, just a stroll from the city’s expansive golden sands, on a gloriously sunny day.
Outside, tourists, locals and dog walkers just back from the beach clustered around tables tucking into lunch and homebakes (we’re told water and the occasional sausage is always on hand for pooches). Inside is for humans only and the place was buzzing.
The cafe is in the building that was once housed the Sand Dollar cafe. Now under new ownership, it’s had a facelift. Owner, mumof-one Michelle Wilson, 36, traded a life in the oil and gas industry to walk in her family’s catering footsteps. Her dad, Mike Reilly, owned the former Olive Tree restaurant in the city’s west end, and is co-founder of Entier, the largest independent catering company in Scotland.
We couldn’t have picked a busier day in this 65-seater cafe with room for about 25 outside. Despite that, Wilson and her enthusiastic team beamed a warm welcome and served us quickly. This eatery offers a tasty selection of quality fayre – locally sourced where possible – and serves imaginative options for breakfast, brunch, and lunch, with plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, along with an allergy key, so clients can dine worry-free. There is also a dedicated children’s menu. Knowing that scones were to follow, your spy went for a healthy option of grilled halloumi cheese, roasted peppers, sliced avocado and lightly dressed in a sourdough sandwich – delicious. My guest went for a bacon option and was suitably impressed.
It was time to bring on the scones. Baked fresh each day on the premises this spy found it hard to choose between fruit and cheese, served warm with lashings of butter they were just the right size and shape with a light but luscious interior. The cheese packed just the right degree of flavour, not too light yet not too heavy on the cheese, and the fruit option contained fat, juicy raisins. Both were lipsmackin’ good! We’ll be back, next time with pooch in tow.