Maggie's Grill — Restaurant in Aberdeen City

It's very rare that we would ever give a restaurant a one star review, however given our experience, we felt the need to do so here. We ordered chicken wings for an appetiser, which were both dry and chewy, however not bad enough to send back given how hungry we were. We then however had the southern fried chicken, which comes with gravy, mashed potatoes, collard greens and cornbread stuffing. The chicken its self is supposed to be made with buttermilk and cajun seasoning, which it tasted nothing like. It was dry and extremely bland. The taste of the mash was indescribable, it had the oddest taste of any mashed potatoes we've ever eaten. And lastly the gravy, which had the absolute worst taste I've ever had to a point where one of us actually felt physically sick and couldn't eat anymore. The entire meal was honestly disgusting and we couldn't eat any more after a while, despite our hunger. A blonde waitress could see we were struggling and eventually after several minutes checked if we were ok, to which we very reluctantly replied yes, thinking she'd clearly see how unhappy we were and ask what was wrong. She just walked away. After a few more minutes of trying to eat the meal, we couldn't anymore, and wen't to pay. One waitress just handed us our bill, didn't ask if we enjoyed the meal (They knew we obviously didn't), and didn't even ask if we were coming to pay, just put the bill on the counter. We explained to both waitresses we didn't enjoy any of the meal, and they didn't offer our money back. The blonde waitress simply said she was sorry, after we had paid in cash. After we left however given the price of the chicken was £15.95 and the total came to just under £50, having not enjoyed a single aspect of the meal, and barely eaten any of it, we came back in and expressed our dissatisfaction. The blonde waitress took this very personally and stated that she asked us if we were ok and we said yes, despite the fact we clearly showed our discontent. She then stormed into the kitchen to talk to her boss or whoever, then came back out and said "Have you got the card". She didn't explain anything, didn't tell us we could have a refund, just spoke to us horribly and stormed around the restaurant, giving us a horrible, hostile look at the same time. Some of the worst customer service we've ever experienced, given we were so calm and nice about the whole situation, even to a point that we paid and left so as not to cause a scene. We'd been there previously to have pork belly slices of some kind a while ago, which were extremely fatty and not particularly enjoyable. The food is ridiculously overpriced, to a point where they could half the price of the food and you'd still wonder if it was worth it. This is extremely confusing to us given how highly rated the restaurant is by so many. There is no way we'll ever be back, as if the food wasn't bad enough, the customer service ended any chances of...

The gumbo! I'm from Louisiana (a bit west of NoLa) and I was skeptical, but the gumbo was incredible. Quite possibly the best gumbo I've had outside of Louisiana and Texas. This includes when I make it myself. Good flavor, consistency, spice, color, and ingredients. It was advertised as chicken and andouille; the andouille delivered! It was coarse, the edges frayed up, and had deep spice. It was clearly not your typical super processed smoked sausage. My sister (also raised in Louisiana) completely agreed. We even got an extra plate of just the andouille after tasting it in the gumbo. The gumbo is absolutely the real deal.

Okay so now that I've raved about the gumbo, let me get to the overall review. We also had the country fried chicken and the New Orleans Cajun fish fry, Cajun buttered corn on the cob. Everything was good, and the portions were extremely generous. I wasn't impressed with the corn, it was good, but not overly buttery nor spiced the way I'm used to, but the portions were very generous. The fish was good but didn't ring out Cajun either. The chicken was huge, and extremely tender. The jalapeno cornbread was okay as well, but was a bit more like cake than gritty cornbread.

Overall it was great, service was good as well. I would definitely recommend. And PLEASE...

Maggies Grill has been in Aberdeen for years, but I have just got round to trying it out. Me & a friend wanted a catch-up and where best to do than in Marischal Square. I would definitely recommend booking online as what caught me by surprise was the security guards on the door stopping us and asking if we had a reservation, but this could have been due to the nearby Christmas markets but not what you expect when arriving at a restaurant.

All the staff were really friendly and down to earth, the restaurant itself is really open with plenty of seating and views around Marischal College or on our visit the Christmas Village. The menu is full of all your BBQ favourites, pulled brisket, dirty burgers, fully loaded fries and a wide variety of milkshakes, soft juice and alcohol. I did notice the prices were quite steep with most dishes being £16+ but all the food was served hot and fresh but I wasn't quite blown away by the whole BBQ taste that others had told me about.

It could have been my choice of burger or poutine, but it all tasted good but not worth the hefty price tag of £20 for the burger, but that is my own opinion. If you are looking to try somewhere different in Aberdeen, Maggies is...