Sunderland Restaurant Guide

This “excellent takeaway on Tynemouth’s busy Front Street” – with “adjacent restaurant also popular with locals for its extended menu” of “attractively presented, super-fresh seafood” – was founded 10 years ago by Simon Walsh, a chef with a background in fine-dining. Top Tip – “expect queues at weekends”.

“You can always guarantee something a bit different or unusual” at Anna Hedworth’s Ouseburn operation, which upsized from its original shipping containers site seven years ago. “Not obviously romantic, but it’s cool and quirky with excellent cooking”. The changing menu offers the likes of “Cheese & Sauerkraut Doughnuts, Beetroot Borani with Walnuts, or Pan-Fried Hake & Sag Aloo with Curried Mussel Sauce” – making it “imaginative and generous, particularly considering the price point”.

“On a great location just off the Quayside”, this is “not really a traditional pub, but with Terry Laybourne at the helm you can be assured of the highest standards of both food and beer”. “They promise ‘honest, home-cooked food like pubs used to serve’ (well, none of the pubs I used to go to served food as good or as varied as this!)”. It’s also “perfect for the Live Theatre next door” (which it helps to fund). Top Menu Tip – “get a selection of the pub snacks (which should include the Lindisfarne oysters) to share: it’s like having special pub-themed tapas”.

“Great atmosphere, great cooking, great concept” – Terry Laybourne’s busy wine bar/restaurant just off Newcastle’s Quayside offers an enticing menu inspired by the south of France and Italy. It’s next door to the Live Theatre, so perfect for pre-theatre wining and dining.

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”).

2023 Review: This 2021 opening is “a brilliant restaurant innovation in Tynemouth village to add to Adam Riley’s successful (and widely acclaimed) beach Fish Shack” – because “for all the hoo ha, who wants to sit on a beach with the wind whipping in from the North Sea? Better be tucked up inside, where you can have an excellent selection of small plates, often using parts of the fish (e.g. cod jaw) that are otherwise discarded”. “Dishes range from simple small plates made to order at the ground floor wet fish counter, to an outstanding 5-course themed meal in the first-floor dining room, allowing chef to showcase his creative skills using the latest catch.”

“It is rare that male diners rave about broccoli”, but then again, the “broccoli is next level” at this “nicely decorated” and “truly unique” Quayside Indian, where “there may not be much on the menu that you recognise” (and where “it’s all about the smoke and fire” achieved by the Josper grill). Add in an “atmospheric location” and “good-value” set menus, and “this slick operation shines” – no wonder it’s always “crowded”. Top Tip – “if it’s your first visit I recommend the ‘Chef‘s Feast’ to truly grasp the range and quality of the cuisine”.