Table for four at Rustico, Union Row Aberdeen

The in-laws were up, and in a rare alignment of their visiting, it being their anniversary and my wallet feeling flush we decided to treat them to dinner. Rusticos is a long established Italian restaurant whose menu is centred on the cuisine of the Southern regions of Italy.

We’ve been to Rusticos twice before so we had an idea what to expect. Although the wife didn’t expect my ‘knocking a glass of water into her lap’ trick last time. Something I was at pains to avoid during this visit.

We booked an early meal. We arrived slightly early but were greeted warmly and they showed us to our table straight away. We ordered drinks, I went with my usual Peroni which is served in a Peroni glass. I love drinking Peroni out this glass and is one of the reasons I order it when I’m at Rusticos. The shape of it and the fact it holds precisely one bottle is part of the appeal. I want a set of these at home. Now that we’ve established that I have a worrying fetish for Peroni glasses we can turn our attention to the food.

To open I went with the Bruschetta. The bread was crisp, the tomato fresh, and it was infused with garlic with a very generous helping of olive oil. A very tasty opening gambit to the meal, that didn’t last long on my plate. Our plates were whisked away and no less than 15 seconds later main courses were arriving, “a bit much” I thought. Thankfully they were meant for another table, but it took them a moment to get their act together. No harm done, at least it brought a moment of comedy to proceedings.

For the main course I selected the ‘Filletto Pizzaiola’. This was three pieces of fillet steak with roasted vegetables, olives and about three super tankers worth of olive oil. The steak was lovely and overall the meal was pleasant enough. However at £19:99 I’m looking for more than pleasant, I want to be blown away, speechless, in awe. It also seemed familiar, you see on my previous visit I went for the veal and well, it was essentially the same meal bar the choice of meat. My wife went for the steak whilst the in-laws went for the ‘Linguini Marinara’ and the ‘Penne Gamberoni’, from whom I heard no complaints.

For dessert we selected the ‘Sweet Of The Day’ an appealing combination of Chocolate truffle and vanilla ice cream with a shot of brandy over the top. It was lovely but the brandy was too much. Had they added just a dash of brandy it would’ve been better balanced and more enjoyable.

I finished with the obligatory double espresso and the bill that came to a shade over £100.

Overall Rustico’s provides an enjoyable dining experience, however on the evidence of my latest visit they’re falling short of their capabilities. The service was friendly enough, but I felt a little rushed by them. The Main Meals section of the menu is a bit too pricey and could do with a little more variety and a lot less oil. The next time I visit I will endeavour to try out some of their pasta, partly to see how good it is but mostly for the sake of my wallet!


6/10 – Good food and atmosphere, but they are capable of higher standards. Must try harder.