Newcastle Upon Tyne Restaurant Guide

“A perfect time-warp” – the “Art Deco bar/cafe” in Newcastle’s only surviving independent cinema “hasn’t changed in 50 years and more”. “My family are into our fourth generation coming here since the 60s and we’re still enjoying our coffee, tea, sandwiches, baked potatoes and other light meals” (and “specials sell out quickly for good reason”). Particularly tipped for breakfast, coffee or a light lunch, it’s “also a great venue for singles – you won’t feel out of place!”

“Still going strong after all these years”; for “real Italian food” (the “usual suspects” plus “some interesting Sardinian specialities”) you “can’t beat” brothers Roberto & Walter Pani’s recently refurbed “old favourite”, launched in the mid nineties.

“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.

“The building is so historic” – an “ancient” thirteenth-century friar’s rectory that claims to be the UK’s oldest dining room – it helps make for a good occasion at Andy and Sam Hook’s restaurant, events venue and cookery school. The “reliable, locally sourced” cooking from a bistro/brasserie style menu (from nut-roast to sirloin steak) also rates a favourable mention.

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.

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.

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

“A great pub beautifully located on the Newcastle quayside near Live Theatre”, with “fantastic bar food, a class above other pubs and a cask beer selection to match” – “the upstairs restaurant is also very popular”. This is a “consistently top-notch establishment” which provides a “great all-round drinking and dining experience” – but be warned: it can be “noisy”.

This “almost hidden” two-year-old serves “great South Indian food” – much of it vegan, following recipes from the state of Tamil Nadu. It’s executed a “brilliant” transition to a permanent site in Jesmond after making its name as a “pop-up in an old fire station in West Newcastle”. Top Tip: “Sunday sapaad (lunchtime set menu) should be your first port of call”.

Behind “an unassuming but smart exterior”, Kenny & Abbie Atkinson’s much-accoladed venue was Newcastle’s highest-rated last 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.

“Right on the banks of the Tyne, under the iconic Tyne Bridge, with some of the UKs best city views” – these “trendily laid-out, converted shipping containers” have “a fabulous setting” and are “quirky in every way”. “Start with a beer: there’s around 15 to choose from, many brewed on the premises, served in 1/3 and 2/3 measures (a good plan given the strength range, of 5%-10%)”. The food is “cooked in-view” in a ‘fiercely seasonal, open-fire kitchen’ and the fairly eclectic results are regularly outstanding: “mains were as good a meat as I’ve had. The Barnsley Chop was gargantuan, cooked with seafood (it works!). The whole lemon sole easily fed two, and was perfect”. The odd reporter does strike unlucky, though: “duck predicted as ‘tender’ wasn’t… steak and bone marrow was very salty yet vegetables were bland”.

“One of the best views in the world” (if you don't mind Newcastle’s urban sprawl) elevates a visit to this posh art gallery restaurant. It dodged the usual critiques it has often received last year, and although even some fans concede that “there is better-value food to be had in the city”, it was consistently well-rated (“creative without being silly”).

“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!”

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.

“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”.

A Toon institution for 35 years, this Punjabi curry house behind Central Station has been run since 2000 by chef-owner Bob Arora, and is known for its “consistently amazing food”.

Dave Coulson’s “grown up” seven-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).

“Love this place” – “the Indian street food flavours are wonderful” and “very different” at this Jesmond outfit with bright interiors, an open kitchen and verandah, which compares favourably with the city-centre original.