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Cinnamon, 476 Union Street, Aberdeen AB10 1TS


476 Union Street, Aberdeen AB10 1TS

01224 633328

I would guess that the success of Cinnamon rests on the back of clever marketing and a massive advertising budget. It is a restaurant of style rather than substance. It is a modern curry house with trendy decor.

On the Wednesday night that we visited, it was also packed to the gunnels (thus we were unlucky enough to be shown to an awful table under a staircase, despite having booked in advance). The menu appears stylish (some attempt at fusing Scottish produce with Indian spices), but at Cinnamon all is not as it seems... We ordered haddock kebabs for starters. Although the fish was beautifully marianated & cooked to perfection, it was accompanied by what tasted suspiciously like Blue Dragon sweet chilli sauce! We then had to wait forty five minutes for our main course to arrive. My main course was a curry of tiger prawns in a fennel and onion sauce. Despite the flash description, this did not tast any better than a bog standard Madras - albiet a very greasy one at that. The prawns were cut into little pieces - whether this was an attempt to make them go further or not, I don't know, but I would certainly have preferred them to be presented whole, as is the norm (especially when the dish cost £14.95, without the rice!). My partner had a lamb curry which was also disappointing. For dessert, we ordered Kulfi. This was not the nice, creamy, homemade Kulfi, such as is served in Karma (Aberdeen), but a horrid, factory made, lurid green version.

On the whole, we had a pleasant enough evening. I would conclude, however, that Cinnamon is all style and no substance. You can get better service and more authentic and tasty Indian cuisine at Naawabs (Summer Street), or indeed Karma (Bridge Street) and pay a lot less for it too! Lindsay Lush

By m at 29/11/2006 - 11:40 | 2006 | Indian | OK | Review | Scotland | ££££/$$$$ | add new comment | 851 reads

Cinnamon - Aberdeen

I visited this restaurant on Saturday 17th November, 2007 and I must say I was disappointed. Our waiter was borderline rude at one point and the food took an eternity to arrive. We expected the bill to be brought to the table but were told to go downstairs where we got a fleeting glimpse of it - handwritten and quite difficult to make out, whereas I would have liked a printed version. The food was fine but you could easily get the same elsewhere, and with better service. I was so disappointed as I had been really looking forward to going as I had seen some good things written about this restaurant. Sadly I won't be going back.

By Law88888 at Thu, 22/11/2007 - 11:19 | reply

Good food but busy and noisy

To some extent I agree with Lindsay. Although the food was good, this restaurant was far too busy. After a long wait past the time we had booked our table we were initially seated at a table next to a large party - they were VERY noisy and we asked for a different table. Eventually we were seated next to the stairs in close proximity to rushing waiters. Mistakes were made with our order, we were brought other people's food, just because the waiters were rushed off their feet!. Food quality was good, but not exceptional. Fine for value for money. But it was not relaxed dining - busy and noisy. I can't recommend it.

By Martin_B at Mon, 25/06/2007 - 11:43 | reply

Cannot take the above review seriously- Not accurate

Anyone who has a username Lynsay Lush( 70s porn star - If Im not mistaken) cannot be taken seriously. I have been to Cinnamon on several occasions and it has its ups & downs like any other restaurant but the comments about the food is ridiculous and then to compare to Nawabs gives me the impression someone did this on purpose to take the shine off winning the restaurant of the year for 2 years running in Aberdeen and runner up in the Uk curry awards- must surely be a contradiction to the first review. If I have any criticism of the restaurant is that you dont always get the best table in the house- Why is this? because they are so busy which in itself tells the story. I have heard that over 50 people on a Saturday night have been turned away because you really have to book a table at the weekend. Its popularity must reflect good food / service & atmosphere. I have been in with my friends and thoroughly enjjoyed ourselves every time and yes sometimes we did have to wait alittle longer but its because its all cooked fresh and you can duly taste it. I have been to other Iandian restaurants in Aberdeen and I cannot compare the food between them because Cinnamon is so different. so how the above writer can say you can have it at other restaurants cheaper does not fit! It would be like saying the standard of football is the same at Sunnybank and Manchester United. Its more expensive at Man Utd cos its a better quality product and you cannot compare the two. I think the above writer has either some link with the 2 restaurants they mentioned or are just criticising to take off the shine of what has been the most refreshing restaurant in Aberdeen for a long time. P.S ask yourself the question ? How does the first writer know they have a large advertising budget unless they are in the restaurant circle and are privy to confidential information! Again this sounds like sour grapes!
By ernie andrews at Thu, 11/01/2007 - 17:36 | reply

Cinnamon V Nawabs

I agree with you on only one thing, to make a comparrison is clearly unfair. If you are into paying to much for food and being seen in the trendiest place for Indian food then Cinnamon is for you. If on the other hand the quality of the food is more important than the ambience, I would suggest that Nawabs compares favourably. Dont get me wrong I appreciate that Cinnamon is good, but for me the whole package is slightly dissapointing and fails to live up to the hype. I do think the Man U v Sunnybank comment is frankly idiotic. I would say both establishments offer good sometimes great food but with differing packaging. By the way I have no commercial interest in either.

By Anonymous at Fri, 20/06/2008 - 12:56 | reply

Definitely style over substance

We went to Cinnamon 24/5/2008. Definitely style over substance.
I chose a lamb dish called 'Tak Tak Bhoona', which was quite expensive.
Given my extensive experience of Indian restaurants, I expected juicy chunks of lean lamb. In reality, it was actually more like a stew, unfortunately containing some sizeable chunks of fat.
My wife's chicken Korma was equally disappointing, containing only a very few small chunks of chicken.
It's also very expensive, at £45 a head for meal + wine.
This compares with an average of £30 per head for the same at any other Aberdeen Indian restaurant.
We won't be going back.

By Anonymous at Mon, 26/05/2008 - 12:55 | reply