Morpeth Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: A high street outfit ‘bringing a dash of Sardinian sunshine to Gosforth’, as their website proclaims – and which is well-regarded locally; they have now opened up an on-site deli, should you prefer to take away.

This “lovely hotel” in a “beautiful” Grade II-listed Arts and Crafts house remains a satisfying getaway, being particularly “perfect for afternoon tea”. There are several dining spaces, ranging from a bar offering light snacks to the dedicated Fern Dining Room for heartier meals.

2022 Review: Scant reports – too few for a rating – on this ‘upmarket neighbourhood dining room’ from ex-House of Tides chef Danny Parker, in the venerable Jesmond Dene location once part-owned by Terry Laybourne. In addition to dinner service and Sunday lunch, daily afternoon tea is a feature.

“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.

2022 Review: “Delicious, interesting dishes” inspired by the street food delivered by Mumbai’s ‘dabbawala’ bicycle delivery men, are to be found on the menu at this brightly coloured Jesmond venue with an open kitchen and verandah. It’s a spinoff of the city-centre original.

2021 Review: Fans of this puntastic pizzeria may be going OTT when they hail it as “probably the best pizza in the UK”. But Jesmond-born former joiner Calvin Kitchin and his brother Kerry take their trade seriously – their “good-value pizzas” are accredited by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana and cooked in a wood-fired Stefano Ferrara oven imported from Naples.

“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”.

2021 Review: The “excellent Persian food” at this “friendly” Jesmond spot wins high ratings for “one of the cheapest restaurants in Newcastle for cooking of high quality”. A more central branch near the station has closed down.

2023 Review: “A very pleasant change from some of the run-of-the-mill Asian offerings elsewhere in Newcastle” – this “very nice South Indian restaurant” which doesn’t have the greatest entrance (“entry is via a door on a different street and up a flight of stairs”). “An excellent range of dosas” is the highlight of its “excellent value and very consistent food”. Top Tip – “Sunday buffet is especially good value and a great introduction to South Indian cuisine for those unfamiliar and/or unsure what to order”.

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”.

2022 Review: You wouldn’t necessarily expect it from the unassuming façade, but former River Café alum Nick Grieve's “small but adventurous” bistro on the main road through Jesmond turns out some “outstanding quality” food – currently in the format of a six-course, no-choice menu (£59).

2022 Review: This Art Deco (1938) landmark (incorporating Newcastle's only surviving indie cinema) closed for much of the COVID-19 pandemic and started a phased reopening in August 2021. The coffee rooms are in the final phase following a new floor and refurbishment of furnishings throughout the building.

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”.