Slains Castle

Few tips: 1. wash the tables, 2. find somebody who cares what sort of food is he or she sending out, 3. and most importantly SMILE. Moody, filthy and below average food. If thats what you are after, this is your place.

Ich kann mich meinen Vorrednern nur anschließen, etwas schräg, meiner Meinung nach im Gothic Stil, aber OK. Es passt irgendwie zum Stadtbild von Aberdeen, was ja sehr «farbarm» ist. Aber das Pub hat schon was, auf mehreren Ebenen, meist junge Gäste. Ein Gewinnspiel, wo man Fragen auf einem Zettel beantworten musste, und man Getränkegutscheine gewinnen konnte, gab es auch.

I can’t even. The amount of fail of this place is staggering. The only redeeming quality is the good natured wait staff that shuffle from table to table with an apologetic look on their faces and a positive attitude for a truly lackluster restaurant.
Atmosphere: compensate much? Okay, castle theme is a given for the space. Even the most angst ridden, faux emo, goth kid would feel overwhelmed by the schizophrenic throat punch of vampire/​horror/​haunted church theme they try and pass off as ambience.
Food: freeze and fry. I’d say they are catering to drunk college kids and 40 something Americans who are used to Applebee’s and red robin, but even they have fresh vegetable options. It’s sad when you look at a menu for ten minutes and can’t find a single item on there worth having.
I ended up getting a triple decker steak and onion sandwich. It consisted of: bread, a few lettuce leaves, a few sliced tomatoes, bread, steak?, red onions, mayo, more bread. Oh, also ‘salad’ with no dressing, and chips. The ratio of bread to filling was a ripoff.
Drinks: renamed traditional Mai Thai, Long Island, and fuzzy navel into «themed» deadly horseman, deadly sin drinks. Really cheesy and poorly executed. Again, catering to drunk/​broke college kids who don’t know any better.
I mean, if this is your thing, please go here, pretend to be a vampire, and drink a ‘pestilence’ aka fuzzy navel. Seriously though, Aberdeen, you deserve better than chain bars and bottom line food. Vegetables exist outside mushy peas and lemon wedges. Fried food is not the only food. Come to the light, and eat delicious food!

Great place to get a pint, the beer is fresh and you’ll find people here even on weeknights. Also plenty of seating and not too loud so you can actually have a conversation without shouting. One of the better pubs in Aberdeen, and definitely interesting décor.

This is an over the top goth bar in Aberdeen Scotland. The setting is in an old cathedral and it has multi levels with dark wood ornate spiral staircases and skeletons and spider webbing throughout. I’ve been around the block a few times and this is the best goth bar I’ve ever seen. Almost spooky and quite large with nooks everywhere. It tops anything in Edinburgh. A great place for drinks but not too sure about the food. It should be on the Aberdeen must see list, even if just to walk through the place! Amazing for this genre of establishment!

This place gave me food poisoning. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE FOOD POISONING. I would never go back. I would never recommend ordering food from their menu.
We ordered some gigantic «cauldron» of alcohol (I believe it was the «amethyst» witch or something) off of their Hot Topic-​looking goth menu, and I then made the mistake of having their roast beef. Which made me sick pretty much immediately. I had to take a taxi home. And then the violent sickness began and I lost 12 lbs in bodily fluids in the next 48 hrs alone, to give you an idea of how violently ill I got. I was deathly ill for a *week* because of eating at this place and because of it, I am now afraid to order food from a pub or bar :-/

Das ist schon ein recht schräger Ort. Das Essen war gut. Die Deko ist super. Mir gefällt es.

Ein absolut cooler Laden, war mal né Kirche und ist umgebaut zum Pub. Man fühlt sich von der Deko her wie zu Halloween.
Das Guinness schmeckt und der Burger, den ich hatte war super lecker !
Dazu noch Live-​Musik .
Sehr empfehlenswert !

A really fun place with good casual food. My boyfriend and I are visiting from Dublin and had spent the last 4 days in the Loch Ness area and came down to Aberdeen to visit a friend. We ate here and it was one of the best meals we have had the whole entire trip. It was fun playing the quiz at the restaurant. Will recommend to friends and family who ever visit Aberdeen.

I grew up in Aberdeen and used to frequent this place for cheap cocktails and shots before heading to other venues later in the night.
The bar staff looked really stressed, and I’m not surprised, it’s super busy on a Saturday night, mostly with people who are at a fairly inebriated level and who don’t often appreciate having to wait to be served.
The toilets are manky, wet toilet tissue all over the place and generally not a pleasant experience, however saying that, it is so large inside that you are almost always going to be assured of a seat, that’s the reason why we came, and the only reason I’d return if I was in Aberdeen and looking for a place on a weekend to have a drink.

amazing, cheap drinks, cheap food, workers dress like halloween freaks all year round!

I took my daughter (7) here as a surprise for her ‘spooky’ Birthday. We’d traveled from Inverness (main reason camping/​funfair in Aberdeen — not just for this!)
I had e-​mailed before hand (a good few days before) but got no response.
She was so excited as we went in (along with her 4yr old sister) at around midday, only to be told, on entering, that children were not allowed in!
No where on any website had it mentioned this. Even on the About Aberdeen website: «Children are permitted into the bar and restaurant up till 6pm and only if accompanied by an adult. Families are made to feel most welcome» (!!!)
We were told that if we bought a meal we would be permitted to stay. I then enquired if they were able to do vegan food (the reason for my unanswered e-​mail) to get a short ‘No’ in response, not even chips — it had to be a full meal. To give a tiny bit of credit, the barman did permit us to look around the place (gee thanks!), but by that point I was so angry I just had to get out of there.
I know other pubs have these silly licencing rules and we’ve been caught out before but it was such a disappointment — could they please say somewhere about children — make it clear what is expected — it is offensive enough that small people, just because of their age, are excluded from places, please give us the courtesy of saying so before hand to avoid disappointment and we can avoid your inhospitable establishments in the future.

During my stay in Aberdeen, I went to Slain’s at least a handful of times. Why? Because of the 7 deadly Sins drinks. I Think I had Pride, Gluttony, Sloth, and Skanky (?), but I cannot remember the other 7 heavenly shots names I had (probably because I was a little bit inebriated). Anyways Slain’s was built into what once was a church (a bit blasphemous) but it’s a really cool building and worth a looksies. Check out on the first floor the «bookcase» entrance to the bathrooms.

In eine ehemalige Kirche ein Restaurant mit «Gruselcharakter» einzurichten, das ist mutig und witzig. An den Wänden des mehrstockigen Restaurants hängen riesige Ahnenbilder, deren Augen einen scheinbar verfolgen. Die Bars auf den unterschiedlichen Etagen sind mit überdimensionalen Reagenzgläsern und «Laborrohren» verbunden. Das Licht gedämpft und teilweise bunt. Der Besitzer kann sich freuen — je staubiger und älter die massive Holzeinrichtung wirkt, desto authentischer die Atmosphäre. Passend dazu stehen «Monster-​Burger» und die 7 Todsünden als Cocktails auf der Karte. Als ich in Aberdeen Ausstauschstudent war, habe ich alle meine Besucher dorthin geschleppt. Essen ist zwar einfach, britisch und Fast Food, dennoch waren alle begeistert und erzählen heute noch davon. Hui Buh!

I quite like this place. I’m not there that often, but I like the design of it, the fact that I can usually get a seat, and the fact that it’s not full of annoying people (usually). My only problem with it is that it’s a bit on the pricey side.

I’m not sure if this place was just well decorated, or if it’s actually built in some sweet ass old building. It’s got a great bar, and the seven deadly sins shot menu. If you finish all seven, you will probably die, or at least find out the next day that you threw up on somebody’s head (as they were vomiting) and then tried to wash your hands in the toilet you were simultaneously retching in. Gross but true. If you are in Aberdeen, this place has an excellent ambiance, and a pretty good crowd.

I’m really surprised by the review on qype about this place.
I visited Slains for supper around 3 months ago and while the décor and atmosphere are good — I was staggered at just how bad the food was.
How is it possible to screw up deep fried food? Just ask slains! I walked out without paying because the staff were so bad at resolving the poor food issue.
Cold burger and RED HOT mouldy coleslaw?
I’ve heard nothing but bad things — maybe I’ve just been unlucky.

fab cocktails and really nice food. great for a crowd of girlies!
love it!

A fun, quirky pub. The interior is decked out to make it look almost like a spooky, haunted mansion, and it can seem quite dark inside since the lighting is quite dim.
It serves cocktails, spirits and beers and usually has several drinks promotions on. The cocktails are my beverage of choice there, called ‘The Seven Deadly Sins’ which come in seven different concoctions which are reasonably priced, and there is an offer on if you buy more than one.
It also serves a good selection of pub food, which includes burgers and pies.
This is quite a student hang out, and the clientele seems to be mostly people in their 20s. There are different things happening on different days of the week there such as pub quizzes etc to win prizes.
The staff are friendly and the service is quick. Recommended for a fun day or night out!

My B/​F and I went here during my visit. He lives in Aberdeen and I was able to visit him during my winter break.
I tried one of their creamier and chocolatey drinks. It was delicious. Granted it was obscenely sweet. However, it was still good. My B/​F got a regular beer.
The place is decorated with skeletons, coffins, and other really cool «scary» decorations. The ambiance was laid back and nice, typical of a pub. As a tourist, I was thoroughly amused by the décor.
I would give this place 5 stars; however, the washroom was insanely difficult to find. The door leading towards the washroom is disguised as a bookcase.
Lovely place. A must visit for Aberdeen.
By the way, funny enough, my profile picture is of me sitting in Slain’s Castle.

great food and cocktails, very good fun.

Visually impressive, would be better if it wasn’t so mainstream. As part of a chain it sort of loses character but is nice and different compared to some places. but you can understand it would be less profitable if it fitted to one type of person so wouldn’t be here.
This place has a nice atmosphere though so it is usually more laid back then other places and over the last 5 years I have met some amazing people in here.
Quite dark inside and does have an amazing halloween presence and the cocktails and themes are fun. Toilets are funny to find and they have signs up now anyway. I miss the tea sets. :)
The booths are also amazing to sit in. You also get some privacy when eating.

Very average which is a shame given the impressive décor. After being you’ll forget the experience fairly quickly. Always worth going on halloween though.

I have got to say i only visit this place for one reason, the cocktails! Slains castle is renowned for their 7 sins cocktails and we’ve always found they cater to everyones taste.
Slains castle itself can be very dark and confusing if you’ve had a little to drink or in some peoples cases without the drink!
The ladies toilets are hidden on a bookcase wall and as far as i’m aware there aren’t any signposts to them so anyone visiting for the first time will struggle to find the toilets!
The food in this place can be delicious but you are definately paying for it. It is an overall expensive place to go.

Une église gothique transformée en restaurant version épouvante. Le décors est sympa avec par exemple la porte des toilettes planquée dans une fausse bibliothèque.
La nouriture est plutot bonne et pas trop chère. Une adresse pour les jeunes à la recherché d’exotisme