Casting my mind back to my days living near Holburn Street, the smell of grilled cheese was no stranger to my cul-de-sac with Melt cooking up a storm seconds around the corner. And now the delicious scent will circulate the city centre with Melt opening a second base on Belmont street.
Since opening in 2016, Aberdeen’s first grilled cheese shop has pinned itself firmly as a must-eat location and it was only a matter of time before one of the top 10 grilled cheese shops in Britain (as voted by The Telegraph) would announce that it was expanding its cheese empire.
Fast forward to present day and Melt has opened a restaurant and deli (known as Melt 2) and before opening to the public at the weekend, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at the new space and the inside scoop on what Aberdeen’s new cheese restaurant has in store.
The location
Setting up shop in just a few minutes down the road from its Holburn Street take-away, Melt 2 takes roost on Belmont Street in the old Beautiful Mountain cafe across from Slains Castle.
The addition of Melt to Belmont Street adds not only to the booming cafe culture here along with neighbours Cup, The Coffee House and Books & Beans but adds a completely different dynamic of food to the street.
What’s downstairs?
Staying true to its origins, on the ground floor of Melt 2 is the deli which continues to serve the Melt toasties that the punters love with the option to take-away or sit-in.
Expect to see the veteran grills The Classic and The Bruiser (drool) return along with some new vegan additions like The Vegan Reuben loaded with FacePlant Cheese, mustard, vegan pastrami and Crafty Pickle sauerkraut.
And it doesn’t end there, you can shop local here too with cheeses supplied by Gourmet Cheese Co. (one of my faves) up in Rosemount, coffee roasted by Figment Coffee, bakery goods from J.G. Ross and Face Melt hot sauce made specially for Melt in collaboration with Singularity Sauce.
Moving upstairs
If you think it couldn’t get any better, think again. Upstairs is the restaurant where hearty food awaits your taste buds.
The menu is punchy, different and does what it says on the tin. No fancy talk, just honest food done right. Like many new restaurants, there’s a real emphasis on the “twist” to make it stand out but when speaking to Mechelle it’s clear that the food here will be authentic and kept simple using the best ingredients and culinary flare to create a taste to remember.
Check out the menu.
Recommendations from the chef
Who better to get a menu highlight from than the real cheese herself. Mechelle recommends the heritage tomato bruschetta which sounds like an instagrammers dream with creamy Burrata cheese on heritage tomatoes (sourced from local food producer VegCo) on an olive oil sourdough. I’ll take 10 please!
What’s the vibe?
There’s a Tardis in Aberdeen folks and it’s not in the form of a blue police box, it’s a cheese restaurant and deli! The minute you walk through the front doors you feel like you’ve stepped back in time to the age of chill with geometric wallpaper, retro furnishings along with a fine measure of orange and brown hues to create a 70s time capsule.
I’m a 90s kid but the 70s era is definitely my style and it might be marmite for some but regardless, everything fits together perfectly creating a space you can feel at home in. I can tell already that this will be a chilled space where diners can be immersed by good food whilst swigging glass of red or a cheeky snowball (keeping to the 70s theme of course).
Keeping it local
It’s not only the deli that’s reppin’ for the shop local campaign, it carries on upstairs too. The restaurant is lined retro furnishings supplied by vintage shop Pea Pod and if you see something you like, it’s yours (providing there’s a “buy me” tag dangling and you have enough pennies of course).
It’s apparent that there’s a strong emphasis on local and Michelle has a clear passion for using what’s on her doorstep to create a stand out experience to create a full bodied flavour for customers to enjoy.
So there’s your 101 on Melt 2 and if your desperate to find out more, I’m having dinner there tonight so keep an eye out for my follow up food review to on my order.
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The Food Hoover 