Hexham Restaurant Guide

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”.

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.

“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.

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).

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.

2022 Review: A “super-friendly and efficient” stone-fronted country boozer, where chef Paul Johnson (a Nathan Outlaw alum) delivers a “great menu selection” that saw it walk off with a CAMRA Pub of the Year accolade not too long ago.

“Fun restaurant serving excellent food” from an open kitchen in a classic Victorian hotel in the town centre that has been cleverly modernised in recent years. “It’s a super place to stay, too (and the breakfast is good)”.

2023 Review: “Suits of armour, spiral staircases, gigantic fireplaces” – this “stunning, preserved medieval castle turned into a country-house hotel” makes a “wonderfully romantic destination”, just “two minutes off the A69 between Carlisle & Newcastle” – “you’d rave about it if you found its like abroad, yet here it is”. “Service is attentive, friendly and professional”, while “the food is extremely good, if not top fine dining”.

“This is the future of cooking!” – Cal & Sian Byerley’s “exceptional” converted cow barn near Hadrian’s Wall is one of the most enthusiastically rated in our survey and inspires a good amount of feedback. “It‘s quite small which adds to the occasion”. “While others talk about flying amazing produce from around the world, here we have magic being made from local and humble ingredients” by Cal, with the aid of Ian Waller. “The team really knows how to look after their guests, providing excellent information” and “interacting with the diners to give an immersive experience”. “The unique tasting menu” – £165 per person (£195 per person if you go for the chef’s table) – “is more than likely to stun you with a vegetarian dish (meat, fish and seafood courses are just as delicious, but are used to punctuate a journey as opposed to being relied on). Vegetables and herbs may not sound that glamorous but it is simply the most mind-blowing taste experience!”. Finally, there’s the “incredible wine list” presided over by Vanessa the sommelier, “who offers really well-thought-out pairings and unusual choices (that always come up trumps)”.

Scheduled for a late 2025 opening, a modern Scandi-style restaurant to be built in the walled garden of Close House in the Tyne Valley, now part of a golf course. It's from the high-achieving owners of Hjem in Wall – Swedish chef Alex Nietosvuori and his Northumberland-born partner Ally Thompson – who will work their magic on produce from the garden and meat, game and fish from within a 30-mile radius.