I had it pretty clear in my mind that I’d pop in to Nikki’s for a morning roll on my way to work, today, but upon finding William Street temporarily closed to passing traffic (sadly, it turns out this was due to the tragic and untimely death of a local firefighter) I decided to give O’Brien’s a whirl.
Exterior
I’d been in a branch of O’Brien’s in Aberdeen a decade or more ago. I’d found the sandwiches to be fine although pretty unimaginative.
On this breakfast visit I thought I’d give their bacon roll a try and added an espresso for the required morning wake up jolt.
The friendly counter women who kept things bright and breezy throughout were soon about the business of preparing things. A fresh looking brown roll was my choice to which butter and brown sauce was added. The bacon was taken from a bowl of pre-cooked stuff, given a blast in the microwave then added.
Roll
I was reminded of my trip to Miller’s where I asked if they did bacon rolls. The guy said that while they did have bacon for topping on things like club sandiwches (exactly the same stuff on offer here) he wouldn’t particularly consider it as consituting a suitable thing for a morning bacon roll. I agreed.
Today’s effort from O’Brien’s was really poor. The bacon was like leather and curiously bereft of flavour. The roll itself was as fresh and tasty as it looked, but it scarcely made up for the underwhelming filling.
To compound things, their espresso was a strong contender for the worst I’ve been served in the city. It was pure burnt bitterness.
So overall, the food at O’Brien’s was very disappointing. The bacon roll should either be given a complete overhaul or taken off the menu. Their espresso was equally poor. Significant improvement is required to bring the place up to the required standard, although I can’t fault the warmth of the service.
Scores
Blythe scores O’Brien’s
1.5/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 11/20
I ate: bacon roll
I drank: espresso
I wore: action footwear
Total bill: £3.30
