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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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The Grill, Aberdeen
Aberdeen
AB11 6BA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Grill
As I approached the Grill I was obviously expecting some sort of pub/restaurant, but I was very wrong. This is a proper boozer where the food stretches to toasties and Mac & cheese pies (wtf). The bar supports four hand pumps which were drawing Cromarty Hit the Lip and Raptor alongside Orkney’s Dark Island and Windswept Wolf. A standard keg range is also available. During my recent Monday evening visit the plasma above the entrance was showing muted rolling news and there was some background music playing. This is a very basic pub, but the jovial welcome means I would return if passing.
On 15th July 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Grill
Located on the bustling Union Street, this is a fine heritage pub with a real locals feel to it, in contrast to the majority of pubs I visited in the city centre. You enter through a nice porch to find yourself in a long main bar with the servery along the right hand wall. The room is bare boarded and has some tremendous dark wood panels and etched windows at both the front and rear. Interestingly, there are some small, clear glass slat-shaped sections in the front windows, which were apparently left clear so that signs advertising beers such as Guinness could be hung behind them, thus being visible from outside. There is padded bench seating around the perimeter, supporting a number of tables but strangely with no chairs or stools on the opposite side of each table, meaning everyone in the pub was sat facing into the room for maximum everybody’s-staring-at-you effect. The bar has a long wood panelled counter with a brass rail which looks like it has sections designed to stub your cigarette out on. A very impressive bar back has some lovely old drinks cabinets incorporated into it, a collection of CAMRA certificates and the usual whisky bottle display. The pub has a grand ceiling with big decorative oval-shaped ornamentation very typical of its era. There was no music playing when I visited, but there were a couple of TV screens on the go showing a muted show to the disinterest of all present. I also spotted a couple of slot machines, which also take away a little from the pub’s traditional feel, but it was easy to position myself so that none of these modern intrusions were in my line of sight.
The CAMRA certificates reward the pub’s long-term commitment to provide good ale and there were four handpumps on the go when I arrived, offering a choice of Windswept APA, Fyne Hurricane, Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted and Cromarty Rogue Wave. A proper old school landlady served me a good pint of the APA and seemed a bit unsure about me at first, but turned out to be friendly, proffering a cheery goodbye as I left.
This is a lovely old pub with arguably the finest pub interior in the city centre and is somewhere I’m glad I decided to pop in, having initially dismissed it from my crawl plans. The presence of a decent ale selection makes this a solid inclusion on any city centre crawl.
On 5th July 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Grill
Everything about the outside of this pub seems designed to stop the unadventurous going in. But behind the non-pub sounding name (retained the moniker when converted from a restaurant in 1925) and the less-than-promising frosted window exterior lies a proper good drinkers pub. CAMRA Inventory listed, it’s a long and narrow inside with a massive bar to the right and two sets of red leather banquettes opposite. There's lots of polished mahogany panelling and a fine bar back with carved wood and two wonderful glass fronted cupboards for ‘Highland Malts’ and ‘Islay Malts’. The ceiling is also fabulous, with two sets of a superb oval moulding. Four ales on the bar; Inveralmond Ossiemouth, Orkney Dark Island and Red MacGregor plus another I forgot to note. A locals redoubt, though the lack of seating outside of the jumbo banquettes (with no stools on the opposite side of the tables) means an awkward standing situation if you arrive at a busy time. You can read elsewhere about this being a male-only pub until 1975 and the lack of a ladies loo until 1998 but I can report that there were around half a dozen lassies in attendance during my visit. One of Aberdeen's best watering holes, without a doubt.
On 20th March 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Grill
This place has been well described below. It's a long narrow room with some fancy decor. On the plus side it didn't have a TV turned on nor was there any music soundtrack.
There are five hand pumps which had TT Landlord, Fyne Ales Sunset Boulevard, Orkney Red MacGregor, Deeside LAF and Windswept Wolf. I went for the Fyne beer which was a ridiculous £4.75 but in good condition.
I didn't stay for another.
It's GBG 2018 listed. It gets marked down for the outrageous price.
On 18th September 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Grill
The Grill is one of the must visit pubs in Aberdeen for anyone with any sense of what good pubs should belike. It was originally a restaurant but was converted to a pub in 1925 however the restaurant name was retained.
The exterior is quite drab and you could easily be forgiven for walking straight past without giving it much more than a cursory glance. The interior however is of great interest and warrants inclusion on the CAMRA Inventory for Historic Pub Interiors. A 1940’s photo shows a food counter near the entrance but the rest is pretty much as it has been since the 20’s. Until December 1975 women were not allowed inside and a ladies toilet was only added in 1998. A flat screen in one corner is also one of the few modern concessions.
The long single room has bare floors, leather seating and some beautiful polished wood paneling along one side. The centerpiece is the ornate oval ceiling which is emphasized by the lighting. Behind the classic long bar is an impressive collection of approximately 500 whiskies sourced from around the world including several rarities. On the beer front there were 4 Real Ales; Caledoninan 80/-, Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted, Shepjherd Neame Spitfire and Deeside Talorcan on my visit although the pumps are widely spaced along the bar so it is easy to miss one. The food on offer is little more than very cheap microwaved bar snacks but for the money you can’t go wrong.
I found this to be a fascinating pub with real character, friendly locals and chatty bar staff. To walk past the admittedly faceless frontage would be a gross error of judgement.
On 3rd August 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Guy Hannay-Wilson left this review about The Grill
Superb old fashioned pub and the only CAMRA entry north of Dundee for pubs of Outstanding historical interest. A superb selection of whiskies with a menu listing literally hundreds of malts. Usually 2 real ales on handpump, friendly service and pies/stovies available. Top class...
On 23rd March 2008
- rating: 10
[User has posted 23 recommendations about 23 pubs]