Star spot - The Living Room
June 2008
Kathryn Armstrong goes gourmet at region’s (officially) coolest hotel.
The Grey St Niche Hotel in Newcastle has earned the accolade of one of the country’s coolest hotels. Which obviously gives rise to the ‘what is cool? Question and therein a debate in itself.
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Centre Stage - Caffe Vivo, Newcastle
April 2008
There’s a very real danger that you might miss the opening scenes next door if you’ve booked a pre-theatre table at Caffe Vivo. Not because they staff or slow or the performances at Live Theatre are not engaging.
More that well, once inside, Caffe Vivo is a place you might want to linger a while.
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Sunny Days - Adrianos, Gosforth
February 2008
We may be freezing our socks off here at the moment, but a sunny new Sardinian restaurant is sure to leave you feeling like you’re basking in the Med. Adrianos is the new Italian kid on the block in Gosforth, and everything
about it is warm, inviting and buzzy.
It’s buzzing because it’s new and different – any new restaurant in Gosforth is generally greeted with open arms – and has an imaginative, ‘sunny days’ feel to the menu.
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Cooking a treat - Cook’s Café, Stokesley
November 2007
Restaurants are as much about ambience as they are about food. It might make a chef’s custard curdle to hear such a thing but you can tolerate less than great food in stunning surroundings more readily that perfect food in a stiff, charmless environment.
And I reckon creating that X-factor is tougher than it seems.
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Bouchon Feast - Bouchon Hexham
October 2007
Bouchon is just the sort of place you hope to find when you’re on holiday in France - the menu just makes you go all francophile.
It’s tremendous that this authentically French eatery (with an Anglo twist) has opened in the North East.
The menu is exquisite, with eight or nine starters and the same number of main courses plus a couple of daily specials, while the cooking is absolutely right on the mark.
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Barn Asia - Barn Asia Newcastle
September 2007
The best thing about tapas is that you’ve never made the wrong menu decision. Unlike that awful moment in more conventional restaurants, when you realise that you really, really actually wanted the dish your pal has chosen, with tapas there’s room for indecision.
Joy then to find a new restaurant expanding on the highly social and very enjoyable concept of small, sharing plates, this time with an Asian twist.
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Grey Matter - Cafe 21, Trinity Gardens
July 2007
A bit of a grey area doesn’t always mean good. But this isn’t just grey. Think pewter, slate, all those Armani-ish hues of grey as you slide into the sophisticated surroundings of a very stylish place indeed.
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A New Gastro Pub Is Flavour Of The Month - As You Like It
June 2007
As You Like It is a new gastro pub and terrace in Jesmond, Newcastle which aims to bring a country vibe to town. From the same owners as city bars Mr Lynch and Apartment, both in Newcastle, it appears to be flavour of the month at the moment.
The emphasis is on locally-sourced produce, home-style cooking, comfy chairs that are a bit lived-in, and a good organic menu for children, with not a turkey twizzler in sight.
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On the food miles trail - Malmaison Newcastle
May 2007
This local food thing has got all of us diners in a food miles frenzy. No bad thing, of course. All hail
the local producers helping us enjoy ‘real food,’ meat that tastes like meat, poultry bred by people who care, fish as shiny and fresh as can be.
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Measuring up - Café 21 @ Fenwick
April 2007
It's a truth universally acknowledged that a glass of wine at lunchtime sets you up for an indulgent shopping session. Which makes it a touch of sheer genius on the part of Fenwick to site the new Café 21 right next door to the luscious French Salon, home to all manner of delectable designer labels.
On your way in you eye up the Max Mara, over lunch you ponder the ‘price per wear’ issue and by the second glass of wine it’s pretty much bought and paid for.
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