Foodstory Aberdeen

Foodstory Aberdeen. I’ve been umming and ahhing about writing a post when it comes to Foodstory but I think I am finally ready to put pen to paper (so to speak) and share my thoughts.

Firstly, I think Foodstory has positioned itself primarily as a plant-based restaurant in Aberdeen. There was definitely a gap in the market at the time that they opened and they filled that really well and they have garnered somewhat of a cult following over the years! The Foodstory Instagram and Facebook have well over 20k followers a piece!

It’s a great concept. They also have a zero-waste cafe, run a range of arts/meditation workshops and have a wonderful store where you can buy fresh produce and some home goods.

Anyway, I wanted to share my thoughts on my three most recent visits to the Aberdeen cafe/restaurant because I think that is fair.

These visits also just so happened to be for breakfast, lunch and dinner which is somewhat pleasing when giving a rounded review.

For breakfast, I had a quick run-through of the Foodstory menu and I ordered the porridge. I’m Scottish. I’m from the Outer Hebrides and I feel well-versed in the art of porridge. I really enjoy it and we’re talking porridge made with water and a pinch of salt so I’m not all about the fancy, full-fat experience. But this is sold as a creamy porridge with ‘with cacao nibs, local dairy or organic dairy-free yoghurt, syrup, peanut butter, caramelised banana, toasted coconut.’ It felt and tasted ‘gluggy’, do you know what I mean? That’s the best word that I can come up with to describe it. Stodgy but not in the way that nicely made porridge should be. The rest of it was absolutely fine but I’m always frustrated when you go out as a treat but know that you could have made it nicer at home!

When I visited for lunch, I played it safe and ordered some soup of the day which was tomato soup, along with some fruity iced tea. I couldn’t fault it, it was delicious. The portion size was just right for me and the flavour was good. The iced tea was also really refreshing and a nice alternative to what I would normally choose.

Now, my issue is when we visited for a set menu, evening meal which sounded really nice.

Focaccia and tortilla chips with sweet potato nacho cheese and hot sauce, to start. This was nice. A bit beige but there is nothing wrong with that, crisps/bread and dip are always a winner!

For the main, it was supposed to be ‘Foodstory fajitas’ and let me tell you, I was shocked. We didn’t receive all of the items on the menu, and the staff didn’t seem to know what was supposed to be served so they were just as bewildered as us and it was grim. We each received 4 small corn tortillas, a small ramekin of roasted peppers and onions along with three dips (one dip was the same as we had in our starter). And that was it.

I ate one tortilla because it was just.. so bland. We should have had brown rice, peacado and roasted sweet potato with our meal but really, we just received oily and flavourless roasted peppers and some dips straight from the fridge. We received a Tzatziki dip instead of sour cream?! I would say that it was half-assed, but not even.

The saving grace was the dessert, a lemon drizzle cake with 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream! I’m not sure if they went overboard on the ice cream to make up for the poor mains but it was definitely the best part of the meal. By all means, if you are looking for coffee in Aberdeen, Foodstory does a nice cake.

It just wasn’t for a second worth £20 each. Would other mains fare better? Probably.

Do I think it’s a nice restaurant? Aesthetically, yes. Are the staff nice? Yes. Does it have a nice atmosphere? Yes. Does it rest on its laurels? Also, yes.

I have never had a really good experience at Foodstory, it has always been… Ok. Satisfactory. And I often wondered if it was me because I do always hear people rave about it.

But do you really love Foodstory, or do you just love the concept of Foodstory?

Because I love the concept. I love the location, the building, and the idea.. but not a lot of the food that I have tried. That’s not to say that it has all been bad but being honest, I think there are far better plant-based and vegan restaurants in Aberdeen that sadly just don’t have the space, the hours or the location of Foodstory.

And frankly, I could have, and have had nicer plant-based dishes at other and also non-vegan restaurants.

So for that reason, I’m conflicted. I want to like it and I don’t want to bash it but there are better options in terms of healthy restaurants in Aberdeen.

If you are looking for plant-based coffee shops in Aberdeen or looking at what BYOB restaurants Aberdeen has to offer, I think it’s a good option.

I’m not writing it off but they could do a lot better.