Newcastle upon Tyne Restaurants

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This restaurant is spacious but filled with customers. The main buffet is at one side with dishes named in English in two sections. Behind these there was the dessert table.
In another section of the restaurant is the sushi section. Because it is a buffet, customers help themselves to what they like. There is a large choice including lamb, beef, pork, chicken, seafood and vegetarian dishes. Also a choice of different kinds of rice, and noodles, and a selection of sauces.
Most of the dishes were delicious, but the aromatic crispy duck was awful. None of us managed a second mouthful.
Adults £13, children £5.50

Favorite Dish: Lemon chicken was out of this world. Crispy sweet and sour beef was a close runner up.

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The first time I had a meal in the new-style restaurants at Marks and Spencer , I was impressed. This time I was disappointed. We waited a long time to be seated, though there were plenty of empty tables. Several of the dishes were no longer available. Then We had a very long wait for our meals. The children's portions were very small, and the adult portions were little better. The surroundings were good and decor tasteful.
The children had fish and chips, but no ketchup was available, nor vinegar. £4.00
The tomato and basil soup was good £4.00. A plate of hummus with pita bread was £3.50.
Salmon fishcakes with lemon sauce was acceptable. £7.45

Favorite Dish: I wouldn't really say I was over enthusiastic about any of the dishes.

I came for a meal here with my boyfriend a few weeks ago, the food was amazing and the staff were friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed the live music which was playing downstairs in the bar, this was a brilliant atmosphere! I will be sure to return for a meal and drinks in the bar.

Favorite Dish: I really enjoyed the Thai Curry, it reminded me of my holiday! It was so full of flavor, i would love to have it again!

Only in Newcastle could this happen! We went to this Indian restaurant on a Sunday evening after a match, and as the waiter showed us to our table for two he asked not if this one would do, or could he take our coats, but, “What was the final score, sir?”

Anyway, to the meal, which was pretty standard Indian fare. We started with a couple of popadums, which I followed with a tasty starter of Chicken Chat Masala (shredded spicy chicken served with mini half-moon shaped puree breads) and then a main of prawn palak (cooked with spinach in a medium spicy sauce) with pilau rice. Chris started with a selection of pakoras and followed with chicken madras. We also shared a mushroom bhaji, and had a beer each, and paid £35 (not including service). There is an early evening special for £9.95, which offers a choice of starter and main course, plus vanilla ice cream for dessert - Chris's choices came from that menu, though he skipped the ice cream, which helped to keep the prices down.

The décor is simple and, like the food, reasonable without being exciting in any way. One helpful touch is the provision of a stairlift to enable disabled customers to reach the basement loos.

Favorite Dish: My starter was definitely the standout dish – the rest was OK but fairly ordinary.

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Tucked away at the back of the unprepossessing shopping centre on Gosforth High Street is this lovely new coffee shop. Displays of tempting “home-made” cakes drew us inside, although we did manage to resist these and just have the coffee we had been promising ourselves! The décor is lovely – stripped wooden tables (very well-spaced), comfortable cushions on the wooden seats, a few attractive old dressers, light walls and quirky touches. The back of the space has been opened up to give a good view of the park behind the centre – not especially pretty on a dull day in very early spring, but likely to be much more so in summer.

Prices are comparable to the chains (£2.20 for a cappuccino, only 20p more for a large one) but here you get the bonus of friendly table service, which is a real boon for older customers or anyone juggling shopping bags and/or children. We very much enjoyed our coffee break, and no doubt will be back to try those tempting cakes. The café also has a small but interesting menu of lunch options such as salads, soup and sandwiches, and a few more substantial dishes.

We returned recently to sample these lunch options, and were very pleased with everything we ate. My seared tuna with sundried tomatoes was cooked to perfection, Chris’s Croque Monsieur was bursting with cheese, and my mum in law was impressed by her generous bowl of white onion soup and the accompanying slices of crusty baguette. We made room to try a couple of desserts too, and the caramelised pineapple was a particular hit, with a hit of chilli taking the edge off the sweetness. Rosie’s is definitely a great choice for a relaxing light lunch with friends or family.

Ruth and I had lunch at this lively but lovely Italian Cafe. We were very impressed with the food as well as the friendly service. I would recommend having a meal there although it can get very busy because of the popularity.

I look forward to returning on my next trip to Newcastle!

Favorite Dish: We both had pasta accompanied with garlic bread.

I ordered the 'fregula e`s'ortu' which is fregola (similar to Isreali couscous)with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, garlic and vegetable stock. It was delicious.

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Celebrating my birthday in Newcastle last year provided the opportunity to visit this upscale restaurant that had been on my wish-list for several years. It proved to be rather a mixed pleasure as, while the food lived up to expectations, the ambiance sadly didn’t. Yes, it’s a beautiful setting: a grand old house tucked among the trees of Jesmond Dene. And the style is equally grand, with pre-dinner drinks taken in a richly decorated bar and accompanied by lovely amuses bouches. The problem though was that we experienced all this almost in isolation. The Fisherman’s Lodge operates a “first or second sittings” system for dinner, and with my mother-in-law not being keen on eating too late, only the first was really an option for us. Not that this was exactly early – at 7.15 we wouldn’t have expected to be almost the only people there – not on a Saturday evening, and in one of Newcastle’s most acclaimed restaurants. But so it was, and we sat in one half of the large dining room, with just one other table occupied in the other half for most of our time there. Only just before we left did a few more people appear, but too late for us to feel anything other than slightly uncomfortable for most of the evening. On the plus side our waiter was friendly and attentive (well he could certainly spare the time!), and we enjoyed chatting to him about the history of the house.

Favorite Dish: So, on to the food, which was delicious. The chef here is Alan O’Kane, whose food we have previously enjoyed at Sydney’s in Tynemouth (now renamed Brasserie 1883 but still under his management). He has a real skill in creating modern dishes that seem to be both light and satisfying, and he didn’t disappoint on this evening. We all enjoyed the aforementioned amuses bouches (mum in law being especially impressed by the quails’ eggs, a first for her). I loved my starter of scallops with “cauliflower textures”, raisins and a sherry reduction, but the standout dish for me was my main course of venison served with red cabbage, chestnut puree, black fig chutney, celeriac dauphine and leg meat pie. I would have enjoyed everything a lot more though in a slightly livelier atmosphere, and I have a feeling we won’t be going back, despite the quality of the food.

This pub at the northern edge of Whitley Bay offers a large if somewhat unexciting space, but its several distinct areas make it feel less impersonal and provide a separate area for families. The fairly extensive menu offers pub classics including locally caught fish and chips, which has been very good on the several occasions I have had it. Good sausages and home-made burgers satisfy the carnivores, while there are usually a couple of interesting vegetarian choices too. The prices are very good value, with most mains around £6, and both starters and desserts about £4.

There are always quite a few real ales to choose from, with several guest beers on a monthly rotation. On a recent visit I had the local (Allendale) Red Grouse, which was described as porter style but actually quite a bit lighter, though with a good hoppy flavour and lasting head.