HCAU Reviews: Mad Penguin
Address: 47 Netherkirkgate, Aberdeen.
Right next to Marks and Spencer’s Food Hall on Netherkirkgate you will find Mad Penguin, an artisan gelateria and coffee house that opened in October 2016. They make gelato and sorbets in flavours you’ve only dreamt of, including Punk IPA, biscoff and mince pie. What drew me there was that it is an incredibly vegan friendly place and I have never left feeling disappointed! Actually, I usually feel like I’m in heaven (I have missed tasty ice cream so much since going vegan as most places only serve lemon sorbet…). Something I really love is that this is a coffee place that is open until 8-9pm every day instead of closing at 6pm like so many others. What I have missed is some vegan cakes, but I have spotted at least one now on their Facebook page (a banana chocolate chip peanut butter cake, yum!). Since everything is produced using natural and local ingredients, from scratch, there will be different options basically every time you go there. Pretty exciting if you ask me!
There is usually chill music playing on a low volume that sets the mood and makes it easy to chat with a friend, and it’s also a great place if you want a coffee when you get some studying done. What makes it even better is that coffee and hot chocolate is on offer every now and then, sometimes the prices are as low as £1.50 for coffees and hot chocolates. They have milk replacements that make both lattes and hot chocolate suitable for vegans (and lactose intolerants).
Furthermore, this is a local place and I think we should all try and support everything local. Aberdeen is packed with chain restaurants, so try to move away from them every now and then to support the local businesses. To quote a post from Mad Penguins Facebook page: “Please, don’t buy your morning coffee from a big foreign owned chain who pays no taxes here, there are some awesome, unbelievably good coffee shops in this town who are locally owned“
PS. They take customer requests! Happy munching, – HCXO
Unless otherwise stated, all pictures come from Mad Penguin’s Facebook page.
Photos: Linn’s own & https://www.facebook.com/madpenguingelato/posts/330188900692141