Smoke and Soul at The Firepit — Restaurant in Aberdeen City

Our family of four visited Smoke and Soul Aberdeen for the first time, but unfortunately, we found the food experience to be sub-standard.

The kids smash burger and chicken tenders were hot and were enjoyed. However, the Sunday roast was disappointing. While the presentation was appealing and tasted nice, everything was cold except for the roast potatoes which were only barely warm.

My wife ordered the Tex-Mex nachos, which also arrived cold with un-melted cheddar cheese, but they were also extremely basic, leading to them being largely untouched. She also had the chicken wings, which were only lukewarm and had a slightly pink appearance. Although they did not seem undercooked, she felt uncomfortable eating them, resulting in another plate that went mostly untouched.

We communicated these issues to our waitress and asked her to relay our concerns to the chef. Unfortunately, we received no apology or action in response. When we requested the bill and paid in full, we still felt disappointed and wished to provide feedback directly to a manager. We were informed that no manager was available. However I noted the Chef was the owner, so we kindly checked if it was possible to speak to him, giving the issues were with the food. He duly came to our table and acknowledged that some items may have been left on the pass too long and kindly offered us a complimentary drink, which we declined as we were leaving.

It would have been more effective if the staff had addressed our initial complaint sooner and made attempts to rectify the situation.

On more positive side, the drinks were a 5 out of 5. the Rizzy IPA was great and my wife enjoyed her £5...

Would not recommend due to the lack of care/knowledge regarding allergens and false advertising of vegan dishes. I advised that I had a dairy allergy so was going to order the vegan nachos. My friend also ordered the nachos but non vegan. The server came out with the nachos but didn’t specify what one was vegan so we queried and they went back to ask the kitchen and advised none. The staff apologised and said the kitchen would make a vegan portion. Over 20 minutes later, the staff member brought out another portion of nachos, I asked them to confirm that these were vegan and they said yes. We noticed that there was no sour cream on them but the cheese was very orange in colour and had a really good melt which is very unlike vegan cheese as it’s usually light in colour and doesn’t melt that well. I asked my friend to try mines and compare it with hers as she still had a bit left and she advised it tasted the same. I asked the server to confirm again that this was vegan, they went back to the kitchen and came back and said no.

Luckily, I don’t have a severe allergy but if I had eaten this I would have still be unwell. It’s very scary to think that someone with a severe allergy could be really ill or worse after eating at this venue. Also it is very misleading that they promote vegan dishes but in fact they are not vegan.

All the staff could do is apologise but really it’s very bad the...

Placed me at a draughty table in front.

Asked for a less frigid table, was told “just go upstairs and see if there’s one free, we are fully booked”

Half the tables upstairs were free.

I get one (table 22). It’s freezing cold, no heating, but at least it’s not windy. I put my woolly hat back on.

Sat and waited for fifteen minutes. No waiter came to give me a menu or take an order.

I take the menu from another table and have a look.

Five minutes later I see a waitress, ask her if I can place my order.

“No, orders are taken downstairs at the bar.“

I head downstairs to place my order: Buffalo chicken sandwich Loaded fries (with brisket and feta and guacamole ) Side of Mac and cheese £32 or so.

I go back upstairs.

The food eventually arrives.

The sandwich had a tablespoon of chicken in it that promptly plops out of the bun and squelches sauce everywhere. I put it back in but it’s basically swimming in a soggy bun and there’s basically hardly any chicken. £13 is a bit much for this.

The loaded fries have two sad pieces of feta, one of which tumbles off immediately on to the table because it was placed carelessly at the very edge of the plate. Again, a tablespoon of meat. Just miserable.

At least the mac and cheese was warm.

Totally rubbish experience; overpriced, bad food, rude and uncaring staff.

Oh and the bathroom wasn’t...