Newcastle Upon Tyne, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

Behind “an unassuming but smart exterior”, Kenny & Abbie Atkinson’s much-accoladed venue was Newcastle’s highest-rated this year. Set on the Quayside in a Grade I listed sixteenth-century town house, you enter through the “lovely bar”, and climb to the upstairs restaurant, which is warm and vibrant, with “extremely helpful staff”. In the evening, the offering is a ten-course tasting menu (for £95) which is almost universally rated as exceptional in its quality.

“Still setting the standard for Newcastle restaurants” – Terry Laybourne’s “first class” brasserie remains the city’s most-mentioned venue, as it has been for most years in various locations since 1988. “Caring and friendly staff” provide “creative” food and it’s recommended for just about any occasion.

“A real star amongst Newcastle’s growing stable of good eateries” – ex-architect Anna Hedworth’s casual, all-day haunt has moved from its original home in a Byker shipping container to a bricks-and-mortar building thanks to a Kickstarter campaign. Serving up accomplished all-day fare and now also dinner: “excellent cocktails to start are followed by great food based on local and seasonal ingredients”.

Dave Coulson’s “grown up” six-year-old in Jesmond is one of the city’s best-known and best-liked addresses: “a very pleasant venture with some surprising dishes” either from the à la carte, competitively-priced prix fixe (two courses for £25) or the “fantastic seasonal tasting menu” (£80 – must be ordered in advance).

“On the coast road through Jesmond not far out of Newcastle’s centre”, and hiding behind a “shop-front style façade that doesn’t really do it justice”, Nick Grieve’s bistro proves to be a “cosy” and “romantic” spot, with “lots of care taken to source and present quite excellent dishes”. “Brilliant Sunday lunch” too – “hooray!”

MasterChef: The Professionals finalist John Calton’s follow-up to hit North Shields gastropub Staith House took over this former Burger Stop, in central Newcastle’s finest medieval street, The Side, in May 2018. Early reports on the “casual” small plates spot are stellar, with “fantastic” dishes featuring “combinations not seen elsewhere” hereabouts.

Terry Laybourne’s 21 Group closed the beloved Caffè Vivo in August 2018 to much local ire, but after a remarkably short interregnum, the space was “reinvented as an imaginative, wine-led tapas restaurant” (“still with an Italian slant”, and featuring a new bar and metro-chic décor). Reassuringly, head chef Emanuele Lattanzi, a carry-over from the Vivo days, oversees the menu, which dances about all over the place (mac ‘n’ cheese, black pudding, etc.) but so far it’s the “fascinating wine list” which draws all the comments.

Chef Troy Terrington’s “refined European food” and a “lovely ambience” win praise for Andy Hook’s three-year-old venture on the Quayside (in times gone by, on the site of Café 21 and Pan Haggerty).

A former stomping ground of overachieving North East chef Terry Laybourne – this “smart” boutique hotel overlooking Jesmond Dene certainly provides a “lovely setting for a special occasion” – most particularly afternoon tea. As of 2018, Danny Parker (ex-of starred Newcastle venue House of Tides) took over chef duties from longtime former incumbent Michael Penaluna, but feedback on more serious fare is still very mixed (eg “food OK, but not value for money”).

A “stunning” early 2019 revamp has scrubbed up this elegant continental-style café/bistro that’s a classic local rendezvous. Aided by its in-house bakery, it comes into its own for breakfasts or cake-fuelled afternoon teas. More substantial fare sometimes takes flak for being “pricey and average”.