Coming up: pig ears, all-you-can-eat Indian food, and a TV celebrity chef.
Here at Travelness, I’ve already brought you the best restaurants in Newcastle upon Tyne, the best vegan restaurants in Newcastle upon Tyne, and the best restaurants in Newcastle’s Ouseburn area.
(I was born and brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne by the way, in case you’re wondering why I have a gastronomic obsession with the place).
So this time, I’m back to bring you the 15 best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside.
Expect casual eats, high-end fayre, family-friendly spots, and lots of riverside views. Pack some cutlery and come join the party!
1. House of Tides
The only Michelin-starred restaurant in Newcastle, this place is much less formal than most people expect. Yeah, the food is well-presented and delicately flavored… but the atmosphere is welcoming and relaxed, and it’s relatively affordable for Michelin fayre.
As of now, all menus are fixed tasting menus… offering a varied bunch of locally sourced courses. Expect a good balance of meat, vegetables, and fish (though there’s a vegetarian option for non-meat-eaters). These menus change on a monthly basis.
The staff are really friendly and accommodating—they make you feel at home, and you get insights into what you’re eating and drinking.
If you want a genuinely special meal, I recommend heading here.
- Price range: $$$$
- Opening Hours: 5:30-9pm Wed-Sat, plus lunch hours Thurs-Sun
- Address: 28-30 The Close, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3RF
- Website: https://houseoftides.co.uk/
2. Tyne Bar
Not just one of the best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside, but also one of my favorite eateries in the city.
A casual pub, they serve burgers, burritos, pizzas, shawarma platters, and hipster-inspired versions of many classic pub meals. They’re most well-known for their massive (and excellent) drinks selection, with a huge range of local and international slurps.
A great pub in a great part of the city—I guarantee you’ll love it.
- Price range: $$
- Opening Hours: 9am until 11pm on Mondays, and 12pm until 11pm all other days of the week
- Address: 1 Maling Street, Newcastle, NE6 1LP
- Website: https://thetyne.com/
3. The Broad Chare
A traditional old-school pub, this place is brimming with charm—and visiting here is a proper retro throwback.
The food is old-school, but it looks and tastes much more modern. You can expect with-a-twist versions of mince and dumplings, lamb shoulder, bacon chops, fish and chips, pigs ears, and pies.
They also serve up a load of varied bar snacks—make sure you definitely munch on their Scotch eggs (they’re the best Scotch eggs in the city).
The Broad Chare team calls their venue a “proper pub,” and that’s exactly the sort of atmosphere you can expect from the place. Because it’s so welcoming and homely, it attracts a mixed crowd of friendly faces.
- Price range: $$$
- Opening Hours: Open from 12pm, 7 days a week (food isn’t served at all hours, so check the site for more details)
- Full Address: 25 Broad Chare, Newcastle, NE1 3DQ
- Website: https://thebroadchare.co.uk/
4. The Cycle Hub
Is this one of the best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside?
Well, no. Cos it’s not even a real restaurant. But I guarantee you’ll be charmed by the place, just like everyone else is.
If you want a chilled-out casual bite right beside the river, this is the best venue in the city. And it’s a good alternative to all the ‘real’ restaurants we’ve featured in this guide.
As you’ve probably guessed from its name, The Cycle Hub is primarily a bicycle rental shop and bicycle repair shop. But it’s also known for serving up decent food (think locally sourced scones, sandwiches, pastries, and cakes, along with plenty of smiles). The staff are lovely, and the atmosphere is even lovelier. You can’t sit here without a big fat smile on your face.
- Price range: £
- Opening hours: 8:30am until 4pm Monday to Friday, and 8:30am until 4:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays
- Address: Quayside, Newcastle, NE6 1BU
- Website: https://www.thecyclehub.org/
5. Hotel du Vin
One of the classiest eateries in the city, Hotel du Vin is the type of place where the menu can’t decide if it wants to be written in English or French.
Is that classy, or is it self-indulgent? You be the judge.
Anyway, the menu here is excellently executed, featuring (as you’ve probably worked out) a modern-style fusion of British and French stuff. The menus frequently rotate, but you can expect stuff like pan-seared scallops, roast porchetta, and tuna nicoise salad.
It’s popular with older couples and people who want a swanky date. It’s elegant, it’s high-end, and it’s perfect for a fancy evening.
- Price range: £££
- Opening hours: Monday to Thursday, from 7am until 10am, AND 6pm until 9pm. Fridays, from 7am until 10am AND 6pm until 10pm. Saturdays, from 8am until 11am AND 12pm until 4pm AND 6pm until 10pm. Sundays, from 8am until 11am AND 12pm until 4pm
- Address: Allan House, City Road, Byker, Newcastle, NE1 2BE
- Website: https://www.hotelduvin.com/locations/newcastle/bistro/
6. Brinkburn Street Brewery
Brinkburn Street Brewery is technically in the city’s Ouseburn district…
… so (depending on how pedantic you want to be) calling it one of the best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside might be a big fat lie. But it’s super close to the neighborhood, and it’s only a 2-minute walk from the river… so let’s not worry too much about the details.
Anyway, this place is primarily known for being a brewery. But apart from unique and interesting drinks, they also serve unpretentious with-a-twist versions of classic pub food. Top eats include Greek-style lamb tacos, slow-cooked stews, a load of varied pies, and lots of bar snacks.
The atmosphere is hipster and casual, and it’s largely popular with people in their 20s and 30s.
For more information on this part of Newcastle, check out our guides to the best things to do in the Ouseburn, and the best cafes in the Ouseburn.
- Price range: ££
- Opening hours: 11am – 10pm Mon&Tues, 11am – 11pm Wed-Sat, 11am – 9pm Sun
- Address: Unit 1A, Ford Street, Byker, Newcastle, NE6 1LN
- Website: https://brinkburnbrewery.co.uk/
7. Aneesa’s Buffet
Like Indian food? Like all-you-can-eat buffets? This is the place for you.
Though Aneesa’s is defo a case of quantity over quality (which buffet in the world isn’t?), the food here is way better than most people expect. So unless you’re an esteemed Indian food aficionado, you’ll love munching at the place.
On-offer meals and morsels include pakoras, samosas, ribs, kebabs, paneer, endless curries, and even some pizzas and desserts. Excellent for a reasonably low-cost family meal, or a no-frills chow down with a group of friends.
… and because the place is so busy and popular, the food is regularly eaten, regularly replaced, and always very fresh.
Unless you’re difficult to please, I guarantee you’ll be impressed.
- Price range: $$
- Opening hours: 4pm until 10pm Monday to Friday, and 12pm until 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays
- Address: Forster Street, Newcastle, NE1 2NH
- Website: https://www.aneesas.co.uk/
8. Khai Khai
Another Indian option, but very different to Aneesa’s Buffet. While Aneesa’s promotes eating as much as you can, Khai Khai is more about delicately flavored portions of high-end Indian fayre.
UK Indian restaurants aren’t usually this classy.
A relatively new joint, it’s rapidly becoming super popular. The decor is atmospheric and ambient, the food is served in metal bowls, and they offer a wide selection of vegan options.
Expect curries you’ve heard of, curries you haven’t, and some of the best lentils you’ve ever eaten. A good choice for Indian food for couples.
- Price range: $$$
- Opening hours: Monday to Thursday, from 12pm until 2:30pm AND 5pm until 10:30pm. Fridays & Saturdays from 12pm until 11pm. And on Sundays, from 12 until 9:30pm.
- Address: 29 Queen Street, Newcastle, NE1 3UG
- Website: http://khaikhai.co.uk/
9. Dobson & Parnell
Just a couple of doors down from Khai Khai, Dobson & Parnell is another high-end option.
They offer both set menus and tasting menus, depending on what’s seasonal, and whatever the team of chefs feels like conjuring up…
…so you’ll get different flavors and fayre whenever you go—but you can expect stuff like cod with courgettes & fennel cream, charred mackerel with gooseberry & ginger ketchup, and pan haggerty with asparagus.
Inside, the decor is all modern, wood and leather—and the team are seemingly trying to win an award for ‘most light bulbs collected in any one room ever.’
For classy couples, this is one of the best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside.
- Price range: $$$
- Opening hours: Thurs-Sat 12pm – 2pm and Wed-Sat 5pm – late. Sun 12pm – 4pm
- Address: 21 Queen Street, Newcastle, NE1 3UG
- Website: http://www.dobsonandparnell.co.uk/
10. Trakol (at By the River Brew Co.)
Located on the Gateshead side of the Quayside (the south shore of the Tyne River technically isn’t in Newcastle), this restaurant sits inside By The River Brewing Co., an open-air drinking area with a load of street food stalls.
Of all the eating options here, Trakol is the most formal by far.
It offers both indoor and outdoor seating areas, and there’s a focus on seasonal and ethical food. You can expect oysters, salt-aged duck, deer, leek & lentil pate, and excellent Sunday dinners—this is all much more high-end than its shipping-container aesthetic wants you to think.
They have a massive range of drinks, and most of the slurps and sips are locally sourced.
For eating and drinking in the summer sun, this is one of the best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside (even if it is technically in Gateshead). I love coming here with friends.
11. Gino D’Acampo Restaurant
You’ve probably heard of Gino D’Acampo, that Italian chef famous for appearing on loads of British TV shows.
Well, though I’m sure the guy isn’t sweating away in the kitchen here, the place (and its menu) was made in affiliation with him. The menus are made up of Italian classics, like pasta, pizza, and risotto. Other offerings include veal, steaks, salmon filets, and aubergine parmigiana.
The restaurant is inside the INNSiDE by Melia Hotel, but you don’t need to be a resident to chow down here.
Because the restaurant has floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s a nice place to head on a sunny day.
12. Victor’s
Another high-end option, this place is well-known for its colorful flower-filled ceiling. Add that to shiny metallic interiors, bright lighting, and a load of glass, and eating here makes you feel like you’re eating in that haunted hotel from The Shining.
There aren’t any murderous ghosts in the bathroom though, so that’s nice.
Expect coconut-crusted cod loin, wild garlic roast chicken, poke bowls, superfood salads, and… towers of sushi with fire blasting out of them.
If you like fancy food and fancy decor, you’ll think this is one of the best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside. If you don’t, you’ll probably think it’s all a bit too much.
- Price range: $$$
- Opening hours: 12pm until 12am Monday to Thursday, and 12pm until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, 11am until 12am Sunday
- Address: 106 Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3DX
- Website: https://www.victors.co.uk/venue/newcastle/
13. SIX (Inside the Baltic)
SIX sits on the top floor of the Baltic Art Gallery.
It offers classic-modern cuisine… so you can expect cod with chorizo crust, lamb with Middle Eastern spices, sous vide beef, and plates that look like they’ve been plucked from an art installation (which, in a way, I suppose they have).
They also offer brunch, bottomless brunch, afternoon teas, and tasting evenings.
But SIX is most famous for its lofty views. If you want munch-time panoramas over the city, this is the best restaurant on Newcastle’s Quayside—and it’s an especially good option for a fancy date.
- Price range: $$$$
- Opening hours: 5:30 until 11 pm Tuesday, 12pm until 11pm from Wednesday to Saturday. 12pm until 5pm on Sundays. Closed on Mondays.
- Address: Floor 1, Quays, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, South Shore Road, Gateshead, NE8 3BA
- Website: http://www.sixbaltic.com/
14. Tomahawk Steakhouse
If you want steak, this is one of the best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside—as you can tell from their name, they specialize in the stuff.
The food is high-end in a hipster way. So rather than old-school elegance, you can expect wooden boards, many-times-fried chips, food served in hot bowls, and plates that seem to be either too big or too small.
On-menu items include steak (obviously), cod with prawns, and a chicken shawarma board. Sides include charred broccoli with garlic butter, stilton & creamed spinach, and mac & cheese.
And at the front of the restaurant, they have a life-sized sculpture of a cow. Just in case you’ve forgotten what steak is made from.
15. Hard Rock Cafe
If you’re looking for family-friendly crowd-pleasing action, this is a great spot—even if you’re eating with pre-teen picky eaters, you’ll find plenty of options here.
On-menu offerings include pancakes, platters, milkshakes, burgers, nachos, flatbreads, wings, and all the other stuff you’d expect from an American-style restaurant. The portions are all pretty hefty.
It’s fun and friendly, it’s unpretentious, and the restaurant has a small on-site shop. They also offer some local memorabilia and occasional live music.
For more family-friendly fun in Newcastle, here are our guides on the best water parks near Newcastle, the best beaches near Newcastle, the best pumpkin patches near Newcastle, and the best zoos, aquariums and animal farms near Newcastle.
- Price range: $$
- Opening hours: 12pm until 10pm Monday to Thursday. 12pm until 1am on Fridays. 9am until 1am on Saturdays. 9am until 10pm on Sundays
- Address: The Guildhall, Sandhill, Newcastle, NE1 3AF
- Website: https://www.hardrockcafe.com/location/newcastle/
Before You Go
Alright, that’s everything you need to know about the best restaurants on Newcastle’s Quayside!
If someone forced me to recommend only two of them (like you are right now), I’d tell you to visit Tyne Bar (for laid-back) or House of Tides (if you want something special).
For more on the city, check out our guides on the 22 best things to do in Newcastle, and everything you need to know about the Newcastle accent.
Thanks for reading, thanks for choosing Travelness, and thanks for being such a lovely human being. Bye for now!
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