North East England

• A-mezze-ing - Beirut Lounge Review

  Nothing beats a warm, genuine welcome when you enter a restaurant. Along with great food, it’s all about the experience and when a place manages to make you feel like a guest in their home you know they’re onto a good thing. We had been looking forward to checking out Beirut Lounge, having seen lots […]

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• The Art of Eating Out - The Smeltery at MIMA Review

  An art gallery isn’t usually the first place you think of when it comes to eating out. The Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) is a place we’ve never been before, with the terrible excuse of an hours drive putting us off. So when we were invited to the launch of their Sunday Lunch service […]

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• Greed is Good - Rub Smokehouse Review

  Rub Smokehouse is one of the latest contenders in the ‘dude food’ battle – basically the bigger the portion, the better. Think double cheeseburgers INSIDE calzone pizzas, towering mountains of belgian waffles and fried chicken and every man versus food (#foodporn) dish imaginable. Greed is good here people! The restaurant is in The Gate complex, […]

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• Heaven is a Place on Earth - Harissa Kitchen Review

  It’s physically impossible to get anywhere on time with a toddler in tow. Anyone with a small child will attest to this. So when we had reservations at Harissa Kitchen, which I’ve been very excited to check out, I was feeling quite smug as I put Little Dude’s coat and shoes on. “We’re going to […]

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• Island Life - Turtle Bay (Newcastle) Review

  The minute you walk into Turtle Bay you’re hit by the party vibes and island-life atmosphere. From the bar serving a multitude of cocktails (they have a selection of over 40 rums from across the Caribbean) to the reggae music and genuinely cheerful staff, it makes for a great first impression. We were shown to […]

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• Bushtucker Trial - Thaikhun Review

  Most people’s idea of a fun night out don’t include eating dried silkworms and mealworms. Toon Lunch Club is always up for a challenge though so when Thaikhun invited us to come and sample some creepy crawlies along with some Thai street food at their Metrocentre restaurant we jumped at the chance. Walking into Thaikhun you […]

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• Pleased to Meet You - Pleased to Meet You Review

  The other day we decided that it was about time we checked out one of the Newcastle restaurants that has been on our list for a while now – Pleased to Meet You. The popular gin bar expanded last year and opened a new restaurant with top chef David Kennedy at the helm. We took […]

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• Crowning Glory - Hawthorns Review

  Stephenson Quarter is fast becoming the place to be in Newcastle. The area behind Central Station has gained a foodie following thanks to the Boiler Shop Steamer (closed for refurbishment – come back soon please!) and last year welcomed the Crowne Plaza hotel to the Toon. Keen to embrace local traditions and ingredients, their restaurant Hawthorns is […]

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• Turkish Delight - Ottoman Review

  Ottoman Turkish Restaurant is housed in the former home of Black Door on Clayton street (and has been many things over the years – Indonesian, pub grub, Asian fusion). Turkish seems to have been the most popular though, and it’s a nice place to grab a very reasonably priced lunch. The story goes that the […]

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• Not Bowled Over - Lane 7 Review

  Sometimes you want more than just good food, you want to let your hair down and have some good old fashioned fun. In Newcastle we’ve got somewhere that aims to combine the two – Lane 7, the ’boutique bowling’ alley. Open for nearly three years and a staple part of newcastle’s hipster scene, if you’ve never been […]

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