Archibald Simpson

The Archibald Simpson is an old favourite. It has been a key part of Aberdeen for a long time. Good food, quick and cheerful service, and a reasonable selection of real ale. It has lost its shine a little recently however, the menu has lost some traditional pub dishes and I find it more difficult to select what I want. No steak pie for instance, no chilli and fairly limited desserts. More annoyingly, in my recent visit, no coffee as they had run out of milk - before 6 in the evening. Still worth a visit, but not quite as often as before... I don't seem to be able to do a new review, so here's an update today a year or so later. Still a place I like to go, still a mix of pleasure and frustration. Mediocre service today, some longer than usual waits at the bar. New menu, but still unavailability, we both wanted salads and neither of them were available. On the up side, a decent beer, a porter North Point, from Orkney brewery, which is one of my favourite breweries. We've been picking some of the small plates occasionally, rather than a main course, with Nachos being a favourite. We've had it now about 8-10 times in different Wetherspoons and this is the best presented it has ever been, by some margin - see the photo.

Service used to be ‘lefty student obnoxious’ in here. Ale was like mud and food was really poor. To the point that I made a written complaint to Wetherspoons. Over the last 12 months the quality has improved A LOT. Service has improved along with the cask conditioning and service. Just had a great lunch and beers. Had an enjoyable meal and beers in the evening also. Great spot now offering everything from great breakfast, coffee and free refills, good beer and great food. To the management and staff. Thank you 👍 your efforts are much appreciated. Our favourite local ❤️