Grahame G.
Yelp
Tucked away down a side street in Aboyne is this wonderful emporium of trendy furniture, home decorative accessories and... coffee? Yes, you heard right. Make your way past the Aladdin's cave of designer goods and you will find a great little cafe area serving delicious lunches.
The main shop sells a variety of stuff ranging from mirrors and large items of furniture to designer coat hooks and door handles. They also sell cards and gifts, jewellery, scarves, lamps, soaps, toiletries... this place is a proper emporium. It's an interesting combination, and bears more than a passing resemblance to the other main cafe-type venue in Aboyne, the Corner House. Diversification is the key to survival in these parts.
On a Sunday lunchtime, the Black Faced Sheep became the choice of venue by virtue of being open, and although it was busy they managed to get us seated in the little extension at the rear pretty quickly.
I ordered soup and a sandwich, expecting them to come together, but it was a separate large bowl of carrot and coriander soup that arrived first, with a small bread roll on the side. I'd gone for this thinking that it would be less creamy than the alternative soup (mushroom), but ironically the reverse was true. Nonetheless, they were both delicious.
For mains we both opted for the poached salmon petit pain with side salad. This was much better than it sounded, with a good helping of salmon in the roll and a massive and very varied salad filling the rest of the large plate - absolutely yummy.
The final accolade (and the fifth star) goes to the coffee - for the first time EVER I received an Americano as nature intended - a decent-sized cup with an espresso shot in the bottom and a small jug of hot water on the side, so that you can make it to the strength you desire. I have never had this anywhere in the UK before, so full marks to the Black Faced Sheep - you made me irrationally happy with this small gesture.
