Newcastle home to Geordies, the stottie, peas pudding and The Bigg Market – all of which we’re not really that keen on, well accept the Geordies themselves of course! That said Newcastle is one of our favourite cities in the UK. There’s so much to see and do, we wanted to share our reccies with you.
Shopping: Newcastle has a fair share of shops whether you stay around the centre and shop high street on Northumberland Street, Eldon Square, Eldon Gardens, Grainger Street and Grey Street. Or you choose to source out the one off boutique shops such as designer stores End clothing (High Bridge Street) which stocks hard to find labels and Cruise (Princess Square) which offers high end designer fashion.
If Vintage is your thing then hunt out Attica (Old George Yard) which stocks vintage clothing and furniture at reasonable prices and Best Vintage (High Bridge) which has a good selection of vintage clothing.
Record shopping in Newcastle is also “canny good like” with RPM (Old George Yard) taking the lead followed by Steel Wheels (Vine La) and new kid Reflex (Nun Street).
Food: The city has a good selection of cheap places to eat, our favourites are Bar Luga (Grey Street) which does affordable bar food and offers 2 for 1 on Mussels and chips (except Sat). For the price, it’s a steal! For decent pizza and pasta try Uno’s (Sandhill) during happy hour, before 7pm it’s less than a fiver a dish.
For posh nosh Blackfriars (Friars Street) is atmospheric and looks like something from medieval times whilst the menu features traditional British dishes and they do a good roast! Café 21 (Trinity Gardens) on the Quayside has stood the test of time and is still one of the most popular fine dining restaurants in the city whilst Six on top of The Baltic (Gateshead Quays) has some of the best views in the city and dishes up decent grub.
If you’re food shopping then head to Fenwick’s (Northumberland Street) food hall which is as good as any London department store only quieter. Try the lunch box sarnies with spicy onions or the massive pick and mix.
Drink: Being Indie kids at heart we tend to prefer to drink in pubs rather than cocktail bars. Our favourites are The Dog and Parrot (Clayton Street), The Tyne (Mailing Street), The Cluny (Ouseburn), Head of Steam (Neville Street) and The Telegraph (Orchard Street). Whilst if you are looking for a club the newly opened No 28 (Nelson Street) does the trick otherwise The Other Rooms (Times Square) is always a good safety option.
Do:The Baltic Art Gallery on the Quayside often houses some pretty decent exhibitions and failing that has some great views over the city. The Quayside market which takes place every Sunday is worth a visit to check out the food and crafts. And if at any point you find yourself bored you can always take a day trip to Jesmond the student capital, eat in one of the many cheap Italians we’d recommend Avanti (Brentwood Avenue) and drink in the student pubs along Osborne Road which have happy hours every night with computer gaming to win free drinks. On your way back to the city check out Mr Lynch (Archbold Terrace) and opposite As You Like It.
Stay:
Hotel du Vin, Newcastle
Malmaison, Newcastle