Brown Sugar Cafe - Ballater

This cozy café has friendly waitstaff and serves delicious paninis. I particularly enjoyed the brie, speck, and cranberry panini. The scone was also excellent - light and fluffy. I highly recommend this place. We tried to eat there again, but it was fully booked, which speaks to its popularity.

Despite its unassuming appearance, this restaurant offers great food and service. It also has a charming back yard where you can relax. I ordered the veggie/vegan breakfast with an extra tatty scone instead of the egg and was pleasantly surprised by the delicious vegan haggis and tasty tatty scones. They also offer a vegan spread for your toast, a variety of teas and coffees with two types of non-dairy milk. I also picked up some delicious date and oat slices for our walk. The prices are reasonable and the restaurant is dog-friendly. My only complaint is the use of sauces in sachets, which I find wasteful. Overall, I would definitely return for breakfast or tea/coffee and cake.

I highly recommend this restaurant for anyone looking for a reliable spot with great food, atmosphere, service, and venue. This little place checked off all the boxes for me and I had to write a review. They accommodated our gluten-free request, satisfied our taste buds, and provided excellent service by friendly and courteous staff. Perfect for lunch or a coffee break.

We stopped by for lunch but there were no tables available. The staff offered to clear and hold one for us if we returned in 5 minutes. We agreed and my partner inquired about vegan options, to which they mentioned they had vegan cheese for paninis or could remove the egg from the vegetarian breakfast. We were all pleased with this and went to spend 5 minutes in the village. However, when we returned, we were informed that they had given our table away after seeing us walk off.

For lunch, but no available tables. The staff said they would make us clear if we wanted to come back in 5 minutes. We agreed this and my partner specifically asked if they had vegan options that they said they had vegan cheese, so Paninis could do or take the egg from vegetarian breakfast. All three of us were satisfied with it and we removed 5 minutes in the village. When we came back, we were told that they had seen us, how we ran off and gave the table away!