Footdee – a Summer Evening and Supper at the Silver Darling
A few hours.
The route
On a long summer evening, the walk along Aberdeen's beach promenade to Footdee, or Fittie, is one of the city's simple pleasures.
Fittie's little squares of fishermen's cottages sit right at the harbour mouth, where the ships come and go and the dolphins often feed, and the Silver Darling serves seafood upstairs in the old customs house on the quay. It's a lovely last evening in town, by the sea.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
Book supper at the Silver Darling
Book a table at the Silver Darling online or on 01224 576229 for about 7.30pm: food is served every evening until 9pm, or 8pm on Sundays, and the dining room is upstairs, so say when booking if anyone struggles with stairs.
The day
Footdee
A gentle evening by the sea, flat all the way: a stroll down the promenade, a wander through Fittie's squares to the harbour mouth, and a long supper with the water outside the window.
About three and a half hours
Footdee
An attraction
Park for free on the Beach Esplanade by the Beach Ballroom, then walk south along the promenade above the sand, about 20 minutes, to Footdee, which everyone in Aberdeen calls Fittie. Its squares of low granite cottages were laid out for the fishing families in the early 1800s, and the sheds and gardens between them are people's homes, so wander the lanes quietly. At the far end, Pocra Quay looks straight out across the harbour mouth, where Aberdeen's bottlenose dolphins are often seen feeding. On a winter evening it's dark by teatime, so do the walk in the afternoon.
About 6 min on foot
The Silver Darling
Supper
Supper is a few minutes along the quay at the Silver Darling, in the old customs house, where the upstairs dining room has floor-to-ceiling windows over the beach, the harbour and Fittie. Seafood is the thing to order. Food is served every evening until 9pm (8pm on Sundays); book online or on 01224 576229, and say if anyone can't manage the stairs. Afterwards it's about 25 minutes back along the promenade to the car. In winter, book an early table.
If it rains
In rain, park on the Esplanade nearest Footdee, take a quick turn round the squares, and let supper at the Silver Darling run long with the harbour outside the windows.
The Silver Darling, a restaurant in Aberdeen.