For my sins it looks like I have agreed to work in Newcastle for 2 days a week from the New Year – although to be fair it beats a 17 hour day once a week that I have been doing for the last few months so I shouldn't grumble too much.

Can anyone recommend a few good restaurants that I may frequent. Will most likely to be staying at a hotel on the Quayside near the bridge so nearby would be preferable.

Nothing ridiculously expensive (e.g not Michelin star jobbies), but nice local finds that I will never find on my own.

Also, any small venues that play live music – sort of place you can generally just turn up and pay on the door rather than booking in advance.

Any other top tips for a lone business traveller.

Honest Pub Guide

The Cluny is a great venue & bar – down the river but worth it for gigs.

The Head of Steam opposite Central Station – good little venue and pub.

Heartbreak Soup is on the quayside – always has been good place to eat.

World Headquarters for the best music in a nighclub.

I'll even recommend you a barbers

There you go – a fair starter for you.

is heartbreak soup still there? someone told me it had changed into a gallery?

Chopwell woods riding?

UNOs cheap italian in the quayside.

I found head of steam pretty studenty. may be good for you though not sure? 😕

salsa club was nice little mexican i think too.

Heartbreak soup shut, I worked there as a chef for my sins…

cafe 21 n the quayside, normally expensive but they do 15 quid 2 course set menu early monday – thursday. food is top class

Cafe zonzo in sandyford is a great little Italian, well worth a visit

music, the cluny, live music all the time. also the forth is a nice pub

Second Zonzo's.

Pan Haggerty (modern UK cuisine) near the Quayside is pretty damned good too – they have a nice pre-theatre menu which won't break the bank. Marco Polo is also good (Italian)

If you want to spend a little more the Grainger Room is very good.

Thanks everyone. Some good recommendations so far, a colleague also mentioned Pan Haggerty.

Food wise Cafe 21 and Pan Haggerty look like good places to start as they are very near where I will staying.

Grainger Room etc when I learn to find my way around. So far all I see is airport, taxi and office.

Sadly, riding will not be an option.

Hanahana is a good japenese restaurant.
Starters and puds is good (bit like Tapas but not Spanish)
Barn Asia.

All reasonably pricey
There's a massive amount of reasonable priced places in that bit of Town.

There's an oldfields on dene street which are supposed to be ok.

If you are around on Sundays or Thursday nights then Newcastle mountainbike club ride from near Palmersville Metro which is easily rideable from the quayside (It's about 2/3 of my commute).

The Flatbread Cafe is also good if there are a few of you. And Pani's… we're really got some great restuarants. Off to Jesmond Dene House on Tuesday for the first time – looking forward to that.

Personally I think the opposite, the selection of good cheapish restaurants in newcastle is shocking. if you want to spend, then yeah theres some crackers.

Second Oldfields actually, not far from you if you're on the quayside, great steaks

Also second the barbers, I've been going there for 10 years or so

the selection of good cheapish restaurants in newcastle is shocking

Agreed.

A couple of our regular haunts:

http://www.salsacafe.com – nice and chilled, cheap tapas, and doesn't get too busy even when the rest of town is a warzone…

http://www.nudonoodles.co.uk – we're regulars here. Great noodles, great staff, great value for money.

If you want the cinema, I'd recommend here rather than the cesspit that is The Gate:

http://www.tynesidecinema.co.uk

I'm agreeing with much of the above, really. They're aren't many great restaurants in Newcastle – but lots of over-priced average places.

Some of the exceptions are:
Caffe Zonzo – shortish walk from the Quayside
Cafe21 – £13 two course early dinner menus are excellent value
Barn Asia – really good Thai Viet place, more of a walk though
Vujon – good Indian on the Quayside, a while since I've been though, not super cheap…
Black Door at Biscuit Factory – short walk, again the early bird menus are excellent value

never been to Nudo Noodles. will be giving that a go over christmas!

I forgot about Nudo – cheap and excellent noodles. If you're in that area, then Blackfriars can be very good.

Why hasn't anyone mentioned going out in shirt sleeves only?
Honestly, standards are dropping around here- a serious question and 12 serious replies 🙄

warton – Member
Also second the barbers, I've been going there for 10 years or so

Pfft – n00b! I got a right telling off from Dave last time I was in there – for not getting my wedding haircut done by him, despite living 200 miles away at the time!

If you cross the Tyne Bridge, The Central is probably the first pub you see – the landlord is an old mate of mine and the pub is undergoing sympathetic renovation – really good reviews from the lads at home.

Are there any good restaurants left in the Stowell Street area these days?

jonb – it might be just me, but the front page for your mtb club tells me you lot are a real heads-down training ride sort of club – doesn't sound fun.

Barn Asia for their early specials. 5 til 7 I think. Well worth a taxi ride. Some of th ebest pork Ive EVER eaten! And cheap as well.

Why no riding?!

Why hasn't anyone mentioned going out in shirt sleeves only?
because it's far too warm for that. No shirt is the way forward in this weather. Get hammered in the Bigg Market, beat up a few students and throw up over the side of the fugly bridge onto the Tuxedo Princess.

Tuxedo Princess.

Fail. No longer there.

well I never knew that. The highlight of any friday night out in Newcastle is no more. Where does the discerning gent empty his stomach these days?

tells me you lot are a real heads-down training ride sort of club

couldn't be further from the truth

did you go to newcastle mountain bike club or http://www.midaircrisis.co.uk, the later gives a better representation. Just a group of mates who go biking.

I don't think there has ever been a "training ride" in the two years I've been. We do races, but mostly for fun, a few of us are competitive but no one is really into racing and most just go along for the riding and atmosphere. Most rides are just XC affairs in a very light hearted manner.

In one of the many bars 'round the train station'. Despise those places. Perdu even took over Blackie Boy and turned it into an uber trendy, identikit bar.

If you head along the quayside away from the the bridge you will come across La Tasca for cheap deals. Plenty of bars and other eating places in town. Lots of chinese buffett places too.

Newcastle MTB Club is fairly leisurely. Check the website out.

"Perdu even took over Blackie Boy and turned it into an uber trendy, identikit bar."

haha i was in the blackie boy the other day and it's far from uber trendy with it's trebles for £1.50 and selection of old slappers and middle aged men who still act 18, however it has changed from old

The Forth on pink lane (near the station) is a good spot for a pint and some half-decent pub food.

As previous posts have mentioned the Ouseburn area is good – Cluny, Free Trade, Tyne and Tanners make a good evening out – you can walk there from the Quayside too.

jonb – it was the MidAirCrisis website that the following came from:

But BEWARE – we're a mountain bike club, not a cruising outfit. You need to be able to pedal hard, climb hills, jump off a kerb, balance a bit and pedal for hours. Waggonway tootlers please take note.Last Sunday in every month should be New Rider days. 20 to 45 miles. Thursday nighters are 15-30 milers, 3-3.5 hours and generally OK for fit new riders but you need decent lights you can see with, NOT CANDLES.

It doesn't sound that friendly and threatening up to 30 miles mid-week and 45 miles on a New Rider weekend day would have me re-googling for a less intense bunch. You might not be, but thats how it sounds from here.

Where we ride is pretty flat and if we do a lot of wagonways to get somewhere then 30 miles is doable without much effort, especially in summer. Typically closer to half that.

I think the new rider 45 mile thing is a joke, but only if you're in the know. We did once organise a new riders day when we got lost and ended up doing 45 miles. Our record, non event ride is about 55miles but again not all of that was intentional, we have at least one member with a bus pass (and a nice downhill bike!)

We got a bit fed up at one point with people turning up on hybrids expecting a leisurely pootle and dying at the first sign of a hill.

I know exactly where you ride – I grew up there.
So – given that your website tells me that you ride twice as far as you do and there are in jokes that I don't get, you could see where I might get the wrong impression?

Barluga on Grey St is a relaxed environment that does good food and due to the fact its a bar restaurant its a nice place when eating alone, you dont feel self conscious. The staff are also visually charming too….

Nudo is fantastic but the staff can be great or not so depending on the direction of the wind.

The Hyena comedy club is also a good night out as well as the Live Theatre on the quayside that do a dinner and show package in a very intimate and beautiful environment.

As far as the Blackie Boy goes I must stick up for the lads that own it as I know them personally. The bar had been losing money for over 2 years and they took over the bar and debt and staff responsibilities in the middle of a recession thats full of failing bars and invested over £150,000 into it aswell as taking on more staff. I know it may not be everybody's cup of tea and the old customers may not be too keen but seeing as they were gonna lose it anyway if it went bump I think people should just accept change happens…..

qcamel – I agree totally with you. It's just a shame to see the small pubs being swallowed up. Although it had been bordering on a dive for a number of years. All credit to them for taking it on!

lets not forget the newcastle arms for the best pint in town

I'll just sit here sadly mourning the loss of the Broken Doll…

and the Mayfair 🙁

sorry but the broken doll was a sh*te hole. the mayfair and the barley mow were great places

Indeed, I'll have a word. I never read that bit but it does give the wrong impression.

pick up 'the crack' magazine for venues/whats on etc union on grey st have them outside or pick one up from a venue 🙂

pubs: the cluny, tyne, freetrade, cumberland arms, head of steam, tilleys, the forth, the telegraph, the bridge worth popping your head in and most have bands regularly on (except forth/telegraph/tilleys). also check out the star and shadow cinema for bands and decent films from time to time

sorry but the broken doll was a sh*te hole. the mayfair and the barley mow were great places

Yes it was, but that doesn't mean it wasn't great.

The Mayfair is sorely missed (refer to my 'cesspit that is The Gate' comment above), as is the Barley Mow and the Farmers.

was the farmers at the end of the strip of kebab shops in haymarket? Including the legendary "Newcastle Kebab Center" the greatest name for a kebab shop ever

Yup, that's the one.

spent 10 years in newcastle before moving down to manchester.
great city. ahhh happy days.

havent been up for a while so can offer any help 🙂