THE CITY // Bonobo Cafe


Let's face it, when it comes to dining and drinking trends, it can sometimes take a little while for things to sweep as far North as Aberdeen. Often playing catch-up to Scotland's bigger cities, we can appear a little behind the times in our choice of venues to eat and drink. 

You can imagine how excited I was, then, to hear that we had caught up on one particular trend, with the Bonobo tribe bringing the first fully vegan cafe to Aberdeen!


Bonobo first came to my attention through Ashleigh (Eats Vegan) quite some time ago now when they were running a weekly pop-up cafe in the Well-being Centre every Saturday. This venture proved such a success that it wasn't too long before they set their sights on a permanent venue of their own, launching a Kickstarter project that raised £14,000 and enabled them to purchase and renovate the old Bite Me site on the city's Skene Street.

Sanding down staircases; painting walls (with the name of every backer!); reclaiming furniture from the old Music Hall; crafting shelves and a natural art piece; building a beautiful rooftop garden where they grow their own vegetables and edible flowers - the Bonobo tribe did it all, transforming the venue into a charming and inviting space, lovingly created by their own hands.


Eager to show off their handiwork, the cafe opened its doors to the public on June 15th, with a simple breakfast, lunch, cake and coffee menu full of plant-based treats. 

I've been in a few times since its opening, fully appreciating the choice of dairy-free milks available for my compulsory latte; sampling a selection of cakes; and munching my way through a very enjoyable lunch.  A satay tofu wrap for me and a salad of the day for dad, our meals got a solid thumbs-up from both of us; likewise the chocolate brownie and that peanut butter lotus blondie we shared with mum. Yum! 

I haven't made it down for breakfast quite yet, but that full cooked breakfast (or the Bonoboats, or avocado on toast, for that matter) sound so tempting that I feel like I might need to rectify this very soon.




The menu is fairly small and simple at the moment, but the food is of an excellent standard and I would love to see the selection expand - particularly into the realm of larger, hotter meals - as time goes on.

It's early days for this ethical little workers' cooperative and I get the impression they have big dreams for their cafe, seeing it as a potential event venue and a base for social action, as well as a place to socialise, drink and eat, cruelty-free.

I, for one, am already enamoured with Bonobo and can't wait to see how it grows!


73-75 Skene Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1QD

xo

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2 Comments

  1. Looks so pretty! I have similar blue and white plates at home and I really like the design. It's great to see that Bonobo shares my taste for plates ;) Love, Iga www.igaberry.com

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