Northumberland Restaurant Guide

“A lovely setting on the Coquet estuary” makes Martin & Ruth Charlton’s 12-year-old quayside spot a popular choice for eating seafood (“their nearby Fish Shack is also great”). But one or two regulars are beginning to wonder if “it’s getting a bit too big” for comfort.

“Exceptional” ‘new Scandi’-style cooking has won widespread acclaim for Swedish chef Alex Nietosvuori and his locally born partner Ally Thompson at their five-year-old restaurant-with rooms – a 24-seat dining room with open kitchen, “in a beautiful setting in the wilds of Northumberland”, close to Hadrian’s Wall. “The food is created with passion, delivered to the table with unbridled enthusiasm and reveals combinations, textures and flavours which are a sensory revelation”. The couple’s spectacular new purpose-built venue, Frejya, in a walled garden within the Close House estate at Heddon-on-the-Wall, is scheduled to open in late 2025.

Set on the village green in a charming hamlet a few miles from Hexham, a “lovely old inn” with a “warm fire in winter” and a conservatory offering sweeping views over the Tyne Valley. The blackboard-listed cuisine features some “very good local produce, e.g., game and fish” (plus “fantastic steaks”) making it “a favourite” in these parts; it’s been ably steered by chef Phil Mason and FOH wife Karen since 2007, and is the follow-up to their acclaimed former venture the Green Room, which occupied the old luggage office at Hexham railway station.

This “lovely local Indian” is “a proper restaurant in a converted old railway station” (and also has spin-offs in Newcastle and Hexham). “It’s a favourite to combine with a day in the Tyne valley, followed by a couple of beers, then an excellent curry here”. Book their well-known ‘Passage to India’ for £56.50 per person, including travel from Newcastle, orders taken on the train, meet-and-greet at the station, and your meal (not including drinks).

Loire Valley native Greg Bureau is behind this “well-established and well-regarded” Gallic bistro: a jewel of this “lovely market town” (especially since they added a glass balcony) and long reputed for its “highly reliable” cooking and “tremendous value” sets. Linger over a meal amid vintage French posters and then amble over to the “fine abbey a short walk away”.

“A hidden gem” in Jesmond – “we used to bring our children and now bring our grandchildren: the menu (by no means only pizza) hasn’t changed much but along with the classics there are good daily specials (search out the blackboard!)”. “Food is good and tasty, service very quick, with a jolly vibe” – and it’s “walk-ins only, which means we give it a miss on Saturdays, when queues can be in the street”. Top Menu Tip – “the best garlic king prawns”.

A “fabulous country pub” that’s been serving the local community for two centuries and sits on a hill in this charismatic village between Hadrian’s Wall and Tyne & Wear. Chef-owner Rhian Craddock was championing local and sustainable cooking long before it was trendy, and that ethos informs the “outstanding menu”, which is full of “quality food at very reasonable prices”. PS – they also sell bakery goods on Saturday mornings, with a pizza pop-up due to return in spring.

This “very traditional” early Victorian seaside pub specialises in “wonderful local seafood” – and is “very welcoming on a cold day”, when its “warm fire and a bowl of chowder” are just the ticket. Former pro rugby player David Whitehead had his first job here, and returned as owner 11 years ago.

Dave Coulson, a former MasterChef: The Professionals finalist, ensures that this whimsically named split-level venture on a shopping parade in Jesmond is “great for a business meal as well as for leisure”. The “good value and delicious set lunch” (£25 for four courses) remains the top draw, though the classically inflected cooking also takes in a more decadent £90 tasting menu – all “top rate” and with “excellent” service to boot…no wonder reporters “love it”.

A “lovely building” – a 13th-century former Dominican friary that’s among the oldest dining rooms in the kingdom, and also includes a cookery school – adds considerably to the lure of this long-running and “very reliable” restaurant. It’s a multi-tasking spot that will take you from breakfast through to an evening meal, all based on “good locally sourced produce” from fish to game. Further boons are the “helpful staff” and (in clement months) courtyard garden.

“A longstanding ‘go-to’ destination for a good night out” which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year – Roberto & Walter Pani’s “consistently good” Sardinian venture “has stood the test of time while others have come and gone”. It has an “interesting menu of Sardinian specials and wines to try”, a “buzzing atmosphere”, and “if you are new to town, you’ll feel quickly at home”. Top Tip – “perfect for a pre-theatre meal as the Theatre Royal is just around the corner”.

For 10 years “the go-to establishment for a fine-dining experience in Newcastle”, Kenny & Abbie Atkinson’s Quayside spot is these days slightly eclipsed in feedback by its younger sibling, the nearby Solstice. Reports ands ratings remain positive, but sometimes came with a sting in the tail in this year’s annual diners’ poll: for example, “expensive but actually reasonable for the quality of food and service on offer”… “really good but meagre portions”… “well-executed, but not hugely exciting”.

In its days as ‘21 Queen Street’ (long RIP) this Quayside address led the local field for many years, and this casual dining successor took over in 2016, owned by Andy & Sam Hook plus chef Troy Terrington. Reports this year, though, continued the uneven theme of last: one regular hailed it as a “fabulous place that never disappoints” but others thought it “rather average” (“at the last visit, we felt we could have cooked our meals better at home”).